Rapunzel

Only a few small crashes in our bunch so eternally grateful for getting home in one piece. Feel for the guys out on the route with the wind. Had to hold onto a traffic light on the way back to the car to stop myself from being blown away and there were some patches on chappies where the wind from the side was strong enough to blow me well off my line.

I was on your wheel over the finish line Rob. Great race report and stunning pictures. Meurant and team, stunning route and excellent venue. Left me with a big smile on my face :-)

Also loved it - awesome route. Started at the front so no hold ups but the limited technical skills further back in the pack probably caused some inevitable bottle necks.

Don't be so cynical, there are still a few of us around who obey the rules of the road.Just think - the next motorist that nearly mows you down may have been the guy stuck at a red traffic light while you cruised through as if the laws of the road were merely suggestions. At some point we need to lead by example.

Found an awesome date ball recipe (will see how they handle a few hours in the back pocket): 250g block dates roughly pulled apart 2 tablespoons cocoa 1/4 cup almonds 1/4 cup coconut 1 teaspoon water 1 tablespoon honey Put nuts in blender and then add the rest of the ingredients (makes a heck of a noise) and then roll spoon fulls into balls and put in the fridge. The recipe suggested adding orange rind too - may try this when they're in season again.

Depends on the intensity of your training ride. Lower intensity allows you to use fat as a fuel source whereas high intensity uses mostly glycogen (which will give you roughly 1.5 hours of quality riding before you need to consume carbs).

"Dear everybody in South Africa. Please treat others the way you'd like them to treat you". there, problem solved

Songo - do you folks have some eyes on the ground? With an expensive sport like mountain biking being encouraged in impoverished communities like Kayamandi then I'm not surprised that this is happening.

Absolutely shocking!! People reported littering should be automatically disqualified and be liable for a fine to assist covering the costs of cleaning up post event.

I understand that the gravel was a contentious issue and I would probably have felt different if I'd come down. Regarding the route - van schoorsdrif is the only other suitable route to the finish and that road is in such a bad state of repair that it couldn't be used (whole road surface has disintigrated over a far longer distance than the 2km gravel of malanshoogte).Regarding the gravel - it would probably have been wise for the organisers to have briefed riders on the start line to a: keep a suitable gap between yourselves an other riders on the gravel b: keep your speed under control to reduce the need to brake c: keep your weight back to reduce the risk of your front wheel getting bogged down in loose sand. That said, we shouldn't be scared of improving our bike handling skills as it reduces the risk of crashing in a host of circumstances.

how ironic - I was also in the A and % combined bunch and there was so much space on the left hand side!

A and % also had a few people hitting the deck on the gravel but an amazingly organised event.

I was riding bottelary road direction stellenbosch around 8:45am and didn't have any problems but will keep eyes peeled next time.

I see on the ppa newsletter that entries after 27 January are unseeded - I don't recall seeing that anywhere in the entry process R285 for an unseeded road ride???

first few hundred meters are as smooth as a baby's bottom. I rode the rest on my road bike and it is fine albeit a touch bumpy. Vissershok however appears to have grown longer and steeper since I last went up

I'm on coastal core. The difference in premiums between a more comprehensive plan and a basic hospital cover is huge.We rather invest the balance in our access bond and then use it where required for out of hospital expenses. In the year our daughter was born, our family's out of hospital expenses came to R25000 but it still worked out cheaper than being on the comprehensive plan. The biggest concern is that major medical expenses (surgery, chemo, ICU, ...) are covered. Treatment at hospital outpatients is very expensive. For injuries that are unlikely to need admission, we use Intercare who have longer working hours and an x-ray department on site.

Try riding the trails before making any conclusions. The route contains some of the most awesome singletrack in the tygerberg hills - it has no free miles but doesn't contain any unnecessary torture. leaders will probably average between 18 and 19km/h

much as I'm technically proficient, after all the investment into the first half of the race it just doesn't make sense to take the risk to save 10sec (unless you're going for a top 10 finish).

Have you folks already arranged a meeting time and place from D'ville. Mtb or skinny wheels?

Sterkte Kritzie - they leave a very big hole in our lives when they're gone

Agreed JanJan - many people train early morning or late evening and their bodies don't learn to cope in the heat. I've found that the more fit I am, the more I perspire (no glowing, I sweat buckets). Do try to ride with a pulse monitor to give you an idea of what your body is up to. If your pulse is racing and you're hardly able to pedal, you're probably putting your body under extreme stress which is neither healthy nor fun.

Sadly, Smidgen (aka Pie) has passed on to the big kennel in the sky .Her lonesome sister Nugget, has managed to kill another 2 rats in the last week and we're hoping that she'll pass her skills onto the next addition to the family. Other than FAW and CPT SPCA, which other Cape Town organisations are good for doggie adoptions?

Copperhead - was that you I was riding with most of yesterday? With Val de Vie one of the main sponsors and the start/finish venue, a certain amount of sand is inevitable and I felt the route a vast improvement from the previous year. I've assisted with organising mtb events and it is an extremely complicated affair and land owners do sometimes deny access at the last minute. The waterpoints were fantastic - we stopped at most of them as rehydrating was a real challenge in the heat. Trail markings were excellently done and the washed out descent was very rideable and washaways were cordoned off. Regarding start times - November could dish up any weather in the cape and moving the start time earlier (especially on a Sunday event) must surely make arrangements for volunteers, paramedics, marshals, .... very difficult. Well done AG and the sponsors

here they are but there may be some changes