Wannabe

I did not even have a traumatic injury, and I can also see the difference in my legs, especially the left calf. Complete inactivity (stretches / physio excluded) eats away at your muscles in a hurry. I mowed my lawn yesterday (and it's a small patch of grass) and I could feel the fatigue in my legs afterwards. First time I got on the spinning bike, the 10-minute session felt like a lap around the Peninsula. Strongs with your recovery G.

John, my perception is that some of the newer "experts" on lehub do not know who or what you are, therefore they are under the fallible impression that they know more about our beloved sport than you. (top tip, if you do not know who John Wakefield is, consult Dr Google) Matt again said in the interview today that Howie put him in the hurt box and that all he could do was to hang on. (I dunno if that was tongue in cheek/an inside joke) What I saw was that Matt was on the front most of the time, only on the more technical climbs did Howie go to the front. On the long gradual climbs Matt could throw his watt bombs down. Howie won both his Epics with partners physically way stronger than him (Koolharvy and Matt) but he survived both with relative ease. But hey, what do I know about Mtb riding, I'm just a armchair critic that only rides in good weather.

Seemingly not.... Shall we inform him that Grotts is a former Epic winner from 2018, when the real hard men and true legends raced? (not dissing the current crop of riders, they are obviously the cream of the current crop)

I'm staying not too far from Dale, will you drop some off here as well? Don't tell me you'll leave it with him, I'll never see it then.

Hopefully we get to see some of it. The highlight reel of the Ladies race they ran just now, was about all of the footage we got to see this morning. 😖 Sorry, just a bit grumpy as I'm confined to my house following a back operation and was looking forward to at least watch people riding their bikes while I'm not allowed to.

Let's hope tomorrow's is better, as they are doing the Imbuko trails.

Free or not, coverage is really poor, especially todays. Really spotty with lots of fillers. Ladies race seems like they are not riding today, as all the focus (the little bit there was) is on the men. The ladies are nearing the finish, but they go to highlights of the men and interviews. Surely this can be done once the racing is done. I cannot recall it being this bad previous years.

Candice did have an issue with her front wheel again over the last Km or so, that's why they did not / could not contest the sprint.

Hypothetically, will they gel and be a good team, or not. Everything else notwithstanding.

Just a random thought that popped into my head. Matt and Koolharvy as partners!? (Sponsors, etc excluded) Think that will be a really powerful team, or is Koolharvy past his prime, or is their riding styles and strengths and weakness much the same, and that will hinder them more than anyhing? Keen to hear the thoughts of those more in the know. (John..)

And I claimed for my R1 bicycle when I was bikejacked a few years back. They paid the insured amount into my account within three days, and I could go and buy the bike I wanted. A few weeks later someone rode into the back of my new bike, breaking the rear derailer. Again got paid out in cash after giving them a replacement quote from my LBS.

My pet hate also. Jogger running on the "wrong side" of the road. He/she has a direct line of view of vehicles approaching from behind the cyclist, but refusing to give a bit of leeway, forcing me (the cyclist) into the roadway. And most of the time there is a sidewalk / pavement they can run on safely but insist to run in the roadway. (Sidewalk/pavement, not cycle lane)

I had a White Scoria with 11spd 105 groupo (upgrade I did). Best bike I ever owned (and best looking too)

Strongs with the recovery Dale. I've hit a bit of an emotional wall on Sunday past, when things caught up with me and got a bit too much. So those days do happen, but they too will pass.

Once when going up Suikerbossie, found a guy standing broadside IN THE DRIVING LANE at the top where cyclist normally stop to catch their breath, or wait for their slower riding partners. When I politely asked him to move into the yellow lane, where it is safer, I got sworn at and told to f-off and mind my own business. I just smiled at him and said sure, obviously your wish is to become roadkill. He then flew into a rage, but I just cycled on. Worse of all, he was no youngster, he'd done a few decades of living already. Now just imagine what would have happened if a motorist / motor biker came flying over that fairly blind curve and took him out, who would have been blamed? So yes, there is some Darwin Award candidates out there that stuffs it up for the majority of law-abiding cyclists with a sense of responsibility and self-preservation.

Yeah, I'm always sweating bullets till you crest the rise after Hospital bend, and only start relaxing a bit after turning off the Blue Route. Madness up to there, with the "Passing Right" guys barging their way to the front, putting everybody else at risk.

Had a convo with Dale today. He's "OK", no broken bones, spinal or head injuries. Only a lot of soft tissue damage. He hopes to be discharged from hospital either today or tomorrow. Then it's a few weeks of intensive rehab. Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery, Mate.

How did the op/procedure affect your cycling? Less pain in the legs/cramps, or still much the same? I also really hope this numbness/dead feeling goes away, as I already can see how it affects my walking. As soon as I start to tire, I tend to "drift" to the left like a crab.

Mine was L5/S1, pinched the sciatic nerve good and proper. Also had to go emergency op after it got so bad I could not stand, sit or lay down without this searing pain down the back of my leg. Strange, had no issues with dead/numb foot, but after the op the outer part and sole of my left foot (the affected side) is numb, at certain stages more than other. Found that doing my stretch exercises actually helps with it for a few moments. I trust this will heal properly and go away. To the OP, go see your Dr, my symptoms was the same, lower back pain that came and went, normally more aware of pain after a hard session of Mtb, but then it was fine again for a period.

Just warn the rider you are passing on the left before you take the gap. I've found that during the Argust, everybody and his dog is hugging the right hand side of the road on Smitswinkel, leaving a lot of passing space on the left, which I then use to my advantage with a friendly and loud "Passing Left" whilst making my way up Smits, avoiding the guys trying to force their way past on the edge of the road on the right hand side. Found it to be a lot less stressful.

Advice from someone who very recently paid the school fees, suffering from your described symptoms for a year or so, and of similar age: Go and see your Dr, you may have a herniated or bulging disc that is putting pressure or your nerves. Mine got progressively worse to the point I could not move without a searing pain. Long story short, back operation (laminectomy) to relieve the pressure on the nerve, and I'm off the bike for at least Six weeks.

Also used to do the "double" with my training buddies. Never took it too seriously and just went out to enjoy it. Routes got a bit congested at places, but then we just slowed down and enjoyed the time spent together on our bikes, as we started and finished together, always with the lowest (slowest) seeded rider. As a result, I have a few of those little trophy's floating around.

There is eye witnesses who saw the biker overtake a beige Toyota Landcruiser on a sold white line at the time of the accident, so it seems the biker was at fault here, not the poor cyclist currently in ICU and with his bicycle hanging halfway up the cliff face against the retention fence.

Where do you find 50mm wide Gravel tires? I found that the 38-40mm wide tires on my hybrid bike (hardtail Mtb converted to gravel bike) is just too narrow for use on anything but hard hardpack/tarmac. I rummaged through my stash of used Mtb tires, and found one Spez Renegade 29x1.95 which I fitted to the rear (measured with vernier, it is just on 50mm on my old narrow width Mtb rims I'm currently using) and it fills the rear out nicely and looks a lot more "correct" I've been scouring all the sites, and it seems 1.95 tires are impossible to find in SA, as the latest trend on Mtb tires is, the wider the better. And I'm not keen on importing tires myself.

Did anyone successfully do a sub for the CTCT and in time? I released my entry and gave all my details to the person wanting to do the sub. He said he later gave up in frustration, as he could not succeed. Hopefully they will extend the sub period or open another window. Or just allow subs to be done at the expo, as in all the previous years.