MaxUmis

What rim are you running?

I had the same address issue. I emailed them and they assured me all is well. After 3 weeks I still had no package and I emailed again. They re-sent the package no quibbles. 5 days later I had my package. A month after that, the first package rocks up at the local post office... So my experience with Royal mail wasn't great. Evens really did try to sort out the issue.

If it's a Black and yellow Pedro's multitool with chain breaker then it's mine. I lost it about 18months ago at GK

Yes it does work. You can even upload your file straight from the Garmin. Now, faff less, ride more!

swerve - an erratic deflection from an intended course Question: Why would a person ever need to swerve to avoid a collision? Answer: Because they are surprised by an object on their intended course. You'd think that would be the correct answer, but the actual answer is closer to: Because they have run out of time to react to the object on their intended course safely and predictably. Observing everyday motorists, it would appear as if as person should follow the following steps to avoid a possible dangerous situation: 1. Flash your headlights. 2. Honk your horn. 3. Tell the person you are talking to on the cellphone to please hold. 4. Brace for impact. 5. If no impact, use offensive language and gestures. It's chaos out there.

I only have a couple of unconfirmed details so far: Date: 3 March 2012 Start time: 14:00 Format: Race will entail lap racing around a 12 km track. Entrants will participate in team of 4 or as individuals and the teams and individuals completing the most number of laps within 6 hours, starting at 14h00, will be crowned winners. Does anyone have more info on this race? Is it on? Where can we enter?

Why must I stay in the office all day long!

Cycling SA Calendar See a link to a .csv (like an excel file) file just above the calendar. PM me to send me my bottle of whiskey

Bar-ends on a riser bar fail.

How about riding to Voortrekker Monument and do 2 long loops there (28km), then cruise down to Groenkloof and start with 2 laps at Fountains (15km), then hit 2 long loops at Groenkloof (37km). That's 80km of bliss. Add your commute and you're at your target distance.

It gets COLD while you wait to do your graveyard session... So cold...

I was right behind the crash too. Those okes skid along the road for quite a bit! Hope you guys weren't hurt to bad. I was very happy that I could hold on until we got to Hekpoort. Then I was very happy that I somehow had some legs left after Hekpoort. Also VERY happy to be in that group of about 12 riders going towards the satellite station. We were SHUNTING! but then "PFFFT-PFFFT-PFFFT-PFFFT-PFFFT-PFFFT-PFFFT" NOOOOoooo! PUNCTURE!!!! eish. Limped in for a 2h44.

Off NECSA's website: Gate 1: S25º47’32.1” E027º54’32.1” Gate 2: S25º47’22.9” E027º55’07.1” Gate 3: S25º47’03.0” E027º56’38.8” Thanks for reminding me to program my GPS

I have a similar shoulder issue since falling myself into a different gender group in June. After about 3 weeks of the sore shoulder, I went for a couple of sessions at the physio. To be honest, only the first session helped a little. So I got fed up paying for sessions that didn't help and left the shoulder again to "rest". 3 months after the fall, I go to a sports chiropractor because the sore shoulder isn't getting better and is very uncomfortable. 4 sessions later and the shoulder is much better. However it still isn't 100%. The chiropractor says that I should have had the shoulder looked at sooner, because my body has now "adapted to working around the pain"... So I'm also keen to see if there is an answer here that doesn't involve rest, physio or extended use of anti-inflammatories.

Never underestimate the importance of being well hydrated when you go for a long ride. Lately I've started to make sure I take in plenty of fluids a day or 2 before a long ride and its made a big difference. Also, I have found that the half juice, half water mix I buy at the Engen garage (3 hours into a 4 hour ride) gives me a welcome lift. But I agree with the previous posts about doing longer distances when you train, than you intend to race, but at a slow pace. And as a last note, maybe you're starting out to hard. Take it easier in the first 2 thirds of the race and you'll have legs left for the last third. "Take it easy" pace is almost always faster than "surviving" pace.

So we're going camping near Brits this weekend and I'm pretty desperate to get my MTB fix on Saturday. So, is there anything worth riding closer to Brits or am I riding Van Gaalens this weekend?

What an absolute little gem of a race! x 100 The track was difficult enough to test you here and there and short enough to keep you interested. I loved the tv's they set up for the rugby! what an awesome touch This one is definitely on my 2012 "must do" list.

Has anyone been to Klapperkop more recently? How's the riding? and is it safe enough to do some solo exploration?

I had a set of RS20's. I really enjoyed them, however you might want to have a look at a second hand set of Mavic Ksyrium Elites. I know there is a silver set of Ksyriums hanging around in the classifieds at the moment. The pre 2007 Ksyrium elites (silver ones in the clasifieds look like pre 2007) come in at about 1.7kg and the newer ones at 1.55kg I think. If I had to choose between a new set of RS20s and a good condition second hand set of Ksyrium elites, I'd go for the Mavics. If you HAVE to buy new, then the RS Shimano range give great value for money. (I'm at 81kg now, up from 77kg Argus weight and use a pre 2007 set of Elites as training wheels and a 2009 set as racers.)

Dude, massive respect if you had the legs and juice to climb the whole of that last "Vodacom hill" without taking a little breather. However, if that is the case then maybe you didn't ride the rest of the race hard enough Also I doubt you can call yourself "Hefty" if you're sub 90kg

Does anyone know who were the official photo snappers of the event?

This was my 1st Lion man. I went into the race with comments like "it's not a hard race" and "it's nothing like the Monster". So there I was at the 44km mark, riding my 3rd MTB race of my 2 years of cycling and I couldn't help but think "No way. If this isn't hard and not even close to as grueling as the Monster then maybe I'll stick to the shorter distances." Personally I am very happy with the race. It was tough. It was grueling. It tested endurance and technical ability. It was a Marathon. As for portage; there wasn't much that couldn't be ridden. I did dismount by choice where water was involved to spare the lube on my drive chain. I did dismount on the "climb to hell" because I was under the impression that my HR max is 182, so reading 190bpm made me rather get off and push. I did dismount twice going down after the "climb to hell" because I ran out of bravery. I did dismount because the riders ahead of me were pushing and left no ridable space. But I'm hard pressed to think of an "unridable" section in the race. Even the oh so horrid climb to hell is actually ridable for most part. The sections that I did push was because my hart wanted to climb out of my chest and run back down that mountain. The views from those climbs were amazing... Top marks from me for the event as a whole. Oh and remember: "Please do not feed, eat or play with the animals"

BigVan is no flabby fatty... he's just a big lad. Since everyone seems to be adding their 2cents, here's mine: 4 rides a week burning 500 - 700 kCal per session is a good base. However I would recommend building ONE of those sessions up to burn at least 2000kCal. That will almost double your calories burnt per week and should get you through the plateau you seem to have reached. Also, I'd loose all the supplements except for the whey, but only use the whey after the BIG session. A very valid point coming through in some of the replies is that we are all unique individuals. So it makes sense that if your are serious about losing 10 or 15 more kilograms, seeing a dietitian and getting a personalized training program will speed up your progress. BUT... if you do loose 10 or 15 more kilograms we can't call you BigVan no more...

Moenie jy worry oor hoe ek vir Van ken nie. Just remember, I'm watching you

Jis, maar jy's besig bra You can get a fair idea of what upcoming events there are on the CycleLab and Entry Time websites. However the events on there aren't the only ones though... You can also find a good list of races in the back of the latest Bicycling mag. I think you, me and BigVan should do the 30km Vori-Berg race on the 4th of June. That should be a very nice little intro into racing for you 2 noobs and it'll give you JUST enough time to get used to that saddle of yours.