The Saint

Don't worry Eugene I think we all know that the peeps from CSA were to busy memorizing quotes from Charles Dickens rather than memorizing the route.

Urrrrrgggggg I really feel sick to my stomach, especially after listening to the cr@p about SA's This really does just go to show that them f'ing that one up was no fluke

Ummm I think some resignations by this afternoon would be more appropriate

Terrible - I wonder if Charles Dickens at least has the balls to start typing out his resignation

You been riding in Australia?

Please define a faulty product

Thanks so much, I don't feel like such an idiot anymore

Errrr scuse my ignorance but what the hell does that thing do? Actually what the hell is that thing?

I have used it and it is great, only problem is carrying around a big smart phone, it is just not practical.

I think the main lesson to be learned here is "Listen to your body". No matter what any device says or the readings it is giving, you as an individual know when you are poked. When your body tells you it is tiered, Slow Down give it a rest let the bunch go. It really is only a bicycle outing and nobody other than you really cares if you came 100th or 175th. Frankly to risk killing yourself over a battle for 99th and 100th place is really not worth it.

The bulk of your time in zone 4 with brief visits to the zone 5 area. As for the cramping that in most cases is related to not training the distance rather than diet. To help with cramps increase your salt intake the night before and also carry Rennies with you on race day - when you feel the legs starting to stiffen up suck on a Rennies they tend to have some good properties for relieving cramp.

It's called "Hitting the wall". Your body can only take so much abuse for so long before it shuts down. That is a natural instinct called "Self Preservation"

Daloco - Two weeks should be spent in your peak phase and one week in taper phase. Peak phase should be upping the time in the saddle as well as the intensity. Taper phase should be low intensity just turning the legs over ie. doing the 40k rides. Right so you will see that I have indicated your normal training in the taper phase. One of the biggest mistakes made is that people don't train the distance. If you are going to ride a 110km race you need to train your body to be able to take the stresses that go along with that and you need to do training rides of at least 110km's. Essentially you are upping your distance on race day by 170% and you can never expect to do or feel well when making such a large jump in what your body is adapted to. I would suggest that in the next 2 weeks try to get in at least some 70k rides in order to try to get your body in tune with what you are going to put it through - it is a little late but I think it may help you a bit on race day. The up percentage wise in training distance is also a little extreme but hey you don't have much time left. Your increase in training distance should normally be about 10k per week or every 2 weeks in order to get your body to adapt properly. Hope this helps

Supervan - on the question of max heart rate looking at your graph you can see that in some instances you have spiked over the top of your red zone - this could be an indication that you may have a higher max heart rate than expected or it may also simply be that you passed under a power line at that time. Personally I find the 220 less age formula to be a general indication which for us mere mortals is sufficient to work with. No need for a 43 year old recreational cyclist to go to the extent of having to throw up all over the place only to find out that you are 190 and not 188. However at this stage of your cycling your max heart rate is not really a major concern. You should rather be more concerned at your recovery. Recovery is an indication of fitness. Fitness comes from rest not from hammering it all day long in a training session. Your training should consist of a base phase, a build phase, peak phase and a taper phase. You should in short plan your races well ahead of time and like anything in life prepare for it and not just arrive and expect to do well. Once again you would need to look at your training and how you are doing that training - one visit to Suikerbos per week is not really going to help. Yuo should be doing at least 5 days per week with 2 days rest, much like your normal work week - Suikerbos is also a different type of terrain as opposed to a fast leg speed race like the Ride for Sight, so you need to train differently for different races - once again good preparation.

3292 points - is that any good for the first tour only?

A really quick assessment from my side looking at your graphs is that you are not all that fit - sorry Your recovery is not really a recovery which is why you have been redlining for such a long period of time. The quicker you can recover the better you will perform. Your graph only starts from 30 mins in so I can't see in which zone you started at but from 30 mins you never got better than zone 4. You should be aiming to average in zone 4 with recovery in zone 3 and when you are sprinting to the line or going up a hard climb to only then enter into zone 5. Re-look at your train regime or program, you are doing something wrong - sometimes you need to go slower to go faster.

Was this done at Dischem Ride For Sight? How often do you train? What is your level of training just an indication - Weak, Moderate, High etc?

No you must have felt half dead by the end. Dude unless you make a living out of it being on the limit for that long is just not healthy - unless of course you are just on the verge of zone 5 and not well within the zone.

Right coming from someone whose only tri has been Half Iron Man here goes. Swimming is the easy bit you will pick it up pretty quick with only one or two lessons you will be doing a lot farther than 800 meters within a few weeks. Up your riding a bit to 100K rides and include a brick run after at least one of the rides. Running is the key to a good tri. If you can't run you are stuffed and this you will learn very quickly after your first tri. Running should form as much as two thirds of your training program. Brick runs are also key to getting your body used to running after the cycle. Take a few swims in a lake or river to get used to orienteering yourself. As for equipment, do one or two triathlons first if you enjoy it then start looking at dropping some cash, until then just do each discipline in whatever kit you have. Hope this helps

Sweet will give that a try on my next long ride - thanks for the tips

Yup I think continue to follow the guy and place a call through to our esteemed police force. They will hopefully respond to the call before the bike either goes out of fashion or the alleged thief dies of old age.

Sounds like a description of some of my friends

Camelbag??? When did this conversation become about Waterbottles wife?

Scuse my ignorance here but do you have to make the coke flat first or just a straight forward mix with water?

Short end of the story is that mixing the 2 will make you feel sick - sorry not only Whasp but all Gels.