Rapunzel

Good question - when it came to prize giving they had no idea who came where. The route is stunning but they do need to realise that in organising an event and charging R180 per entry, there is an obligation to give some sort of value in return and sharing the same finish venue as the Cape Epic doesn't quite cut it

Can't say I'm surprised - falls into the "bad value for money" rides but Lourensford is so beautiful that I couldn't resist entering.

... and I'll try the sunlight liquid (instead of using a touch of the stans as a lube next time - don't think my husband will stand too close this time to see if the tire stays on)

They are the ZTR crest with tape and valve (not rim strip). Both the Geax and Spesh tires are folding. I could get the bead out of the recess on the rim without a problem, it was just getting the actual bead over the rim which was the challenge (but glad it took me less than 3 days). Will definitely take a look at the stans video (and do some more upper body strength training in the interim :-))

My Geax tires have been reduced to slicks so I purchased a Specialized fasttrack to replace it with (29er). Now you have to understand that I'm stubborn and I don't like to be helped with these things (I may be stranded on my own at some point so Ms Independent needs to be self-sufficient). Holy cr@p did I battle to get the old tires off and the new ones on. I've heard that they aren't the easiest wheels to get tires on and off but I broke one of my tire spanners and had an upper body workout of note. Then to add to the entertainment, I pumped up the newly installed tire a bit harder than I'd ride it to get it to seat properly on the rim and BANG!!! off the tire came and sprayed my spectating husband in an expensive shower of stans (my ears are still ringing). My stubborness did at least pay off and my fasttrack is on and ready to roll but has anybody else had similar challenges getting tires on and off stans rims?

I'm using it after my stock of dridex dried up (that home-made brew of fructose, maltodextrin and salt). Works fine for me and is good value for money.

prepare yourself for a long thread! MTB will probably reduce leg speed a bit but it will definitely make you stronger and improve your bike handling skills. Who knows, maybe you'll become another convert

I only use bombs for emergencies and to inflate a new tyre and have not had a problem with my stans drying. What I have found is that on 2 occassions my valves have started leaking after using bombs.

those of us brave / stupid enough to reply on this post 1.7m about 56kg and yes, I love the hills

i'm not one for blogging on such a serious issue - I've gotten hold of the councellor whose portfolio is safety and security and he wasn't aware of these problems. Please can all of you who have been victims forward me date, time, case number and a brief description of what happened (if you haven't reported it yet, please do so) and I will forward it through to Mr Thorpe. [Mod's note: Thanks for the initiative MTBM !! But rather ask those who want to, to PM you for your email address... Bit risky displaying it in the public forum... all sorts of 'bots' and spammers can pick it up here!]

what about bank fees? my bank's staff are supposedly wearing running shoes to improve their efficiency but they're still ripping me off (would take business elsewhere but the others aren't much better )

learning to use crutches they're a bit of a no-brainer

I rode back to the start with him - he said it was pretty tough so maybe you mistook his grimace for a grin

holy #$&@ am I going to take strain - also starting in E. Hopefully my legs make up for the lack of style because I'll be on a GT with an old 8speed group set, very old wheels, olympic mtb shoes,.... maybe I should just put my camelbak on to finish the picture

It's not racetec's fault - they provide an automated timing system and it is up to the event organisers to monitor the route and the finishing chute. When I had a problem on the Wellington Gravel Travel, the marshals had been instructed to remove the bike board of anybody taking shortcuts or retiring. Alternatively they need to put timing mats on the route but I'm not sure what the implications are surrounding that.

she certainly didn't come past me at any point!

crumbs - some stressed out people up north! Been on plenty of group training rides (mtb mostly) here in cpt and there are so many gentlemen. Particularly our night ride bunches tend to regroup regardless of the gender of the people who've fallen off the back.

Just finished off my first Geax barro race - don't recommend these. They're not very durable (virtually no tread left on my rear tire after about 500km) and traction on climbs isn't great. Going to replace with Specialized fasttrack 2bliss which work well on my 26er in dry western cape conditions.

Also doing Sani. Will be doing all training in cpt northern suburbs and Stellenbosch.

Training certainly becomes more intense when time's at a premium. This is good for intervals, hill training and tempo rides which are all great for conditioning the body but one important element is missing - the mind. You remember when you started cycling and you went for your first 30km+ training ride. You were poked afterwards and you never thought that 50km would be possible until you'd successfully done it. I find that constantly training for shorter periods makes races of 4+ hours a mental challenge to complete. So long rides are important for conditioning my mind, but also great for getting the butt, neck and shoulders used to hours in the saddle. That said, it's pointless putting in stacks of junk hours and logging up impressive mileages. If you want to be competitive, your shorter intense rides are going to give you the edge.

the olympics have worked well for me too but the only problem is trying to find mtb shoes locally in smaller sizes (have to wear 2 pairs of socks to get my olympics to fit properly but then it takes on stacks of water if there are river portages /rain)

That Giant is a beautiful and good value for money bike. I recently purchased a Felt Carbon (upgraded wheelset to ZTR crest and changed saddle an replaced riser with flat bars). The bike is definitely faster on the flats and rolls better on rough terrain but I still descend substantially faster on my dualsus 26er. Where I do find the 29er tough is on steep climbs where it feels as though there is some threshold speed under which you suddenly battle to keep momentum. I've raced twice on the 29er and feel that it is definitely faster but the 26er wins the comfort category hands down. What many people claim to be a weakness in the 29er is it's handling on tight turns - I'm coping fine with the switchbacks on hillcrest, contermans and meerendal (go figure )

you'll have to be picky - many of the races don't fit the requirements for seeding (too short, too few competitors, route cut short for whichever reason like the argus mtb 2010).

thanks soooo much fitter - worst case I'll put the ruby on my anthem and jett on my hardtail.

... sounds like they were describing meerendal or contermanskloof.