Windbreaker

For the record he also happened to be SA Champ (25-29, I believe) on more than 1 occasion.

Depends, Cyclelab=1, Bikemax, Swift etc = 6 or more.

I really think that racing in the Cape would really benefit if there were more teams. At the moment the individuals are completely reactive unless they are strong enough to break and TT for the duration which is not exactly likely. Even if the teams are weaker they would still have some impact on the racing. For one, the guttering would also be different. If you get guttered as an individual you try like hell to find some shade. If you get guttered as a group then you form your own paceline (or at least that is an option that you don't have as an individual, in theory anyway)

been there, done that (twice), service my bikes myself now.

Does it creak on the downhills? Guess you've realised you're not going to get much help here on this one. Windbreaker2007-10-29 04:00:14

... and it also works the other way. Yesterday D group caught a couple of vets & ladies who had dropped off. It was just as we turned into the wind and suddenly all the earlier gusto evaporated. I found it quite ironic that the well built guys that were clocking 50kmh plus with the wind suddenly were happy to let a 50kg chick drive into the wind at 27kmh. I think that she was dropped on another 50kmh section with the wind.

The excerpt of the mail posted by Karin gave me the impression that she and the unnamed marshal who were chatting to KT instructed her to join her group even though the next group were loading. At the very least KP was aware of the situation. Not sure KT should be taking flak for that issue. The barking orders as a wheelsucker - well that's a different thing but again I can promise you she is not the only one. In more than one VT league race I have seen some of the ladies sitting comfortable in the middle of the bunch get really pissed off and vocal when a gap opens and the men don't close it leaving them separated from ladies in the front group.

then make the racing positive..... And what is this?

An' you won't go wrong. Great shoes. Used to have all sorts of numbness, ankle pains, sore sole etc etc. Though it was my setup initially and since I got the Specialized Carbon - never a day's discomfort - except when I overtighten.

and kudos to everyone that rode in that weather!

I have unpleasant memories of that bridge/causeway which I got to know quite intimately for 6 hours one evening on the way to the airport. Cycle it? No thanks but I'll help them blow it up!

It's been a while since our last doping discussion. http://www.cyclingnews.com/letters.php?id=letters/2007/10-26letters#2 Mayo tests positive at "The Lab". Two separate labs test the B sample and don't concur with the positive result of the French Lab. Now the UCI sends the B sample back to the French lab. Is the French lab full of sh*t? Are the other two accredited labs not worthy of the accreditation suddenly? Is the UCI trying to get Mayo - no matter what? What about WADA procedures which state that if the B sample doesn't produce the same results then the first is thrown out? Remember that the French lab is the one which leaks info to the media WEEKS before the cyclist even gets a chance to see the results. So what gives?

They should use Ou Kaapse, Spaanschemaat road & Constantia Nek - that would be fun. Lots of spectator value too.

Please post a summary of results some time.

Anything to do with the French lab stinks! Wonder how many B sample results would have come back negative from the other labs.

If you have a cyclosport license you can ride in your underwear if you like. At the end of the day this is about "the unification process" which started all those years ago. If you want leagues & proper racing then you need to make sure that it is run formally. If all you want is organised funrides then who cares. But at the end of the day if you want cycling to grow as a SPORT in this country then all cyclists have to come under the same umbrella. The PPA and WPCA have to become a single entity with separate sub organisations as needed - development, fun-rides, Cycletour (yes Cycletour), leagues etc. By the way if the unification process started all those years ago why is it not yet a fait accompli?

Hitch hiking goat??

Don't expect service on the power sensors. The local Polar people had me running in circles for weeks. I think I knew more about the product than they did at the end of it. Neither Polar Europe nor USA ever even bothered to respond to my mails when all the time they knew they had vibration problems from trainers. I finally found a statement from one of the developers on a forum somewhere.

Having owned a Polar power sensor, being fully aware of all it's setup issues as well as the problems with indoor trainers I would probably still buy this again before I bought an iBike simply because there are less variables to deal with. The polar tries to deal with chain tension (vibration) and chain speed. The iBike tries to deal with wind, gravity, vibration, etc etc. Too many variables! When I look back at the data from the Polar (on the road) it was at least quite consistent and not all that bad when comparing the before and after (Polar vs PT) at the time of switch over. Again hardly scientific but I got quite close results on average & normalised power from intervals.