Musashi

I have the Wacky Wine weekend as 9 June. That leaves 2 June available. But I guess it's one of those things, I cannot actually do every nice race there is. Great problem to have though!

Yes, it is on the same day as the 100 Miler. Did it two years ago and it really is a nice race. There is one part where you cycle through the old train tunnel by candle light. It's very cold early in the morning, but worth it! I'm sorry I'm missing it again this year. If they could just move it one week either way...

WW, I think there is a way. If you scroll through the pages while riding a course, you get to a map page. This is the one where you want to zoom. Press the power/light switch and then up and down. I came across this accidentally but it might help you.

I don't know whether there is a single continuous gravel road of 80km's, but you can link a few together: Spes Bona, Malanshoogte (useful if you stay in the Plattekloof area and surrounds), Occultdale, Slent. And quite a bit of the tar road has a nice gravel shoulder.

Gifberg (if anyone knows where that is! Hint: Western Cape)

SeaBee, I'm in pretty much the same boat as you. Let me know where you have your fit done and what you think. I'm also due for a fine-tune.

Map most of your route and then as you get close to the start/finish point, click "loop". The lollipop is nearly the same, but will find the closest point along the mapped route and then track from there back to the startpoint. If you are mapping off road, you can get your route more accurate by clicking more points along the route but other than that it doesn't make that big a difference.

Take whichever you can get an entry for. There is already a waiting list for both for 2012.

I've used mapmyride to map off-road routes quite succesfully, but you need to know what you are looking for. A single track is very difficult to identify in the Google Earth interface (gravel roads are easier). Basically you turn off "Follow Roads" and then simply place a whole lot of markers on the route you want to take. Straight lines are drawn between the markers, but you can adjust that by dragging the marker it creates halfway between your markers. I used do download the courses (*.crs) on the classic website, but it seems that is no longer possible. Thanks Tankman for the alternative method. I will give it a try!

Oh, I thought it was called Moordenaarskop. If it is the same one, here are some photos.

Which one is Hanse Kop? The zigzag tar road to the top of the mountain, directly north of Sir Lowry's pass?

Almost exact same story here. 1.5 km's from the start a ripple goes through the bunch, guy next to me swerves my way (not really his fault) and somehow bumps into my rear wheel. Broken spoke, bent rim and derailleur. Waved the B group bye bye as I try to bend things back in shape. With a hectic wobble and gears all over the place I finished in 3:12. Visited the bike shop yesterday and the rear wheel is FUBAR. ("Ek kan nie glo jy het aan gery nie!"). Oh, what could have been...

Number 4 on the map, yes. It's a fairly relaxed ride, a few (really) short kickers with loose rocks, but not very technical. At the turning point there is a nice rock pool for a swim. Most people will do it under 4 hours.

Conditions and riders change. There is no average speed/ time for a group. In my opinion, try to hang on, but if you find yourself on your own, relax and wait for the next group to catch you. You might need the rest in order to hook up.

I bought the Scott Spark Expert a few weeks ago and I am very happy. Overall Giant is a very popular bike and more shops stock them that's why you'll see more of them around, not necessarily because it is a better bike. That said, it is a very good bike and no-one I know have ever complained about it. As far as I know, parts (pivots for example) are cheaper for the Giant as well. I decided on the Scott for two reasons: 1. The rear suspension is great. I hate the bobbing of the Fox shock (had it on a previous bike) and prefer the full lock-out of the DT Swiss shock, especially on a 29'r where you can ride with full lock more of the time. And the remote lever is very useful as you can't always take your hand off the bar to lock/unlock the suspension. 2. There are more Giant bikes around so I prefer something different. Not that it was really that important. Tough decision so good luck!

Does one need split times? I mean, for a sub-3, average 37km/h. Adjust for a different target time.

How did it go, malcolmt? I bet Groenlandberg was a bit longer away than expected, given all the climbing to get there!

I had exactly the same thing after a 17 hour Desert Dash and it took a week to go away. Luckily no permanent damage. It is some or other kind of tunnel syndrome. If you google it, you'll get a lot of info. Bar ends and an expert bike set-up solved my problem. I'm not talking about a R100 bike shop bike set-up. I spent the money on an ErgoFit set-up (it solved my knee problems as well).

Thanks, Tiny. It will be interesting.

Definitely take the chip off otherwise you will be disqualified. But as far as I know you need an entry card to get into the chutes, which you won't have second time around.

Yip MTB season. Imagine, no cars, taxis or punctures and some awesome routes and views. There are some great MTB rides on during the winter season, especially around Cape Town. It will also make him a strong climber by the time the roady season opens again.

Yip, the organisers frown on riders doing 2 laps and you can be disqualified, even if you take the timing chip off. But still some people did it last year and I'm interested in how they managed to get in the start chutes again. I'm also staring in B and considering it.

Is anybody doing 2 laps this year?

I do at most 2 road events a year and so can't justify buying a road bike. So I'm looking for advice on tyres on my 29" MTB for road events. I heard that one can fit road tyres (as you would on a road bike) on a MTB rim, but my gut tells me it is a recipe for disaster as the tyre won't stick to the wider rim, especially through corners. Has anyone tried this and how successful was it? If not, which slicks would you recommend for a 29" MTB?

Small differences in weight is overrated (although less overrated when the weight is on the wheels). The lower rolling resistance of the slicks will make a much bigger difference. Go with the slicks. That's what I'll be doing.