Lucky Fish

......and saw that on some of the very steep uphill sections some cyclists opted for pushing their bikes and others carried their bikes. Which is more energy efficient?

Sans wheels the price is R25k. With two sets of wheels (one shown in the pic) and the second set included I want R35k - Delivery to Durbanville included. Can I send you my banking details? LOL. Johan

Of course you may. This is how it works. You pay the full purchase price into my banking account then you arrange for transport down to your neck of the woods. You may then use the bike at your leisure. If, after test riding the bike, you decide to keep the bike then the deal is done. If you, however, decide that you want to return the bike the cost for the transport is again for your account. The bike will be inspected on arrival and if there is any damage to the bike the repair bill will come off the money deposited. A futher fee of R5000 would be made for the 'rental' of the bike. This is simple. I get these kind of requests frequently from potential buyers of my Porsche racing car - so I have become used to this kind of deal. Only there the 'rental' cost is R50 k for the day's enjoyment. Are you perhaps interested in taking the Porsche for a 'test ride' as well? Regards

You can save a futher 450g is you use a DT Swiss XTC 100 carbon front fork. Going to cost you R9k though. My Large framed bike (Scott Spark 30 2010) weighs in at exactly 11kg. Changed all the bolts to shorter versions, XT Tubeless wheels, got a carbon seat post, omitted the shock adjustment on the handlebars - (I ride only with full suspension), changed the handlebar grips to tape and put lightweight eggbeaters on. Some delicate machining of clamps and brackets also helps. Oh, and I weigh my bike on a Masskot Scale (Certified: "Legal for Trade").

I am 186 cm tall and I have this Focus Chrono for sale. (I used it once in the Masters tour and pulled back 1'03" in 10km on my minute man.) If you are interested let me know.

From this I deduce that you concur that weight does in fact make a difference. By changing to a lighter bike the difference would not be as much as with the removal of the 10 kg is your example but it does make you quicker - assuming, of course, that you have the talent to extract the maximum from your equipment. At the sharp end many races are won or lost by the witdth of a wheel!

I raced there too (BM Group) - and found that I caught and passed a number of riders that started early in AM group. I needlesly raced against them only to find the "winner" of BM group being disqualified for starting early. He and a friend sucked my wheel for the last 20 km without contributing anything, only to sprint past in the finish with his hands held high in a, now we know, fake victory. It was a short and intense training ride for me. Such blatancy is nevertheless annoying by cyclist with no integrity. Johan Vermeulen

I, like you, battle to get out of bed at 04h00 to go training. I think the only reason guys train early morning is because there is less traffic and hence safer. I generally train in the afternoon. During the week it is on a trainer or gym spinning. Weekends are reserved for the road. I have had too many near misses in afternoon traffic.

When it comes to shock setup remember that your tyre pressures also have an influence as to how the firmness of a shock is percieved. My 2c.

I may be wrong but I am not so sure. HGH "activators" are not the real thing! HGH is an extremely expensive medication.

With BMX racing you don't have to worry about traffic and turning points. (The Peter Principle - All employees rise to their level of incompetence.)

Not good. (It was the worst of times.)

Because, after the race, the one light will go on to my road bike and the other on my wife's bike.

Now that would be telling. Besides my wife could be reading this. It could mean that, as per agreement, I have to reciprocate and treat her to something of the same value!

Our team planning was that I was to do 6 laps in darkness at the recent Rietvlei 24 hour race. I visited a couple of stores and then, fortunately, I listened to Frans of Tour de Frans Cycles to fit an Exposure MaXx-D light. As it happened I decided to fit not only one but two of these lights as well as an Exposure Diablo helmet mounted light. Well I can vouch for riding in vitual brilliant daylight. When passing other riders I had the feeling that they 'made way' for me far to early - I was not yet ready to pass but I was given space. In a discussion with a rider that I passed, his comments were: "Your lights are so bright that they dim out my own lights. I could not see the route, only a vague haze and I needed to let you pass." These lights are by no means inexpensive and at full strength the lights only last for about 3 hours before going on to the 'medium' strength mode. My plan was to ride 4 laps (about 36 min each) with medium strength (which was more than adequate) and then switch to full strength for the last 2 laps. As it happened on the last lap the lights went into 'medium' mode. A bonus for me was that the lights and the battery pack come as a self contained unit with no additonal wires running to a battery pack. For night racing I think it is important not only to have lights on the handlebars but you also need a helmet mounted light. A helmet mounted light is also useful if you have to dismount and make repairs en-route.

Maybe they are tired of cycling. Have you not heard of boxers 'hanging up their gloves'?

I trust the professional opinion of my GP. If she says "Bend over for a B12 injection", I do. If she says "Your Testosterone levels are in the normal range and I do not recommend supplementation", I listen. As a vegetarian I have to be careful not be become iron deficient and I supplement my iron intake. I also supplement with a low dosage of creatine because I do not get it from red meat.

Many factors affect performance. A bad TT does not mean much in itself. You could just have had a 'bad day'. Analize your training log to see if anything glaring show up. Then, at an appropriate time, redo the TT. Regards

You know them all? (Your moniker is quite appopriate.)

Sanet. You got a raw deal. I hate bullies and their arrogance. I feel like blikseming the wall in my office in 'sympathy frustration'. Social rides and riders are one thing but when you are racing I would like to see 'rolling' road closures. Not to say that what happened in our race is commendable but, in the VC race, at one stage, we were so far to the right that our Commisaire passed us on the left hand side. In the last 20 km riding against the wind I was dropped from the bunch and a 20 metre gap opened. Thereafter you time trial home alone. When racing against strong opposition, who work together in a group, you very seldom get a second chance once you get dropped. It is no wonder that racers are prepared to risk it across the line. (Only serious racers that have never crossed the white line have permission to 'flame' me.)

..... must take him to New York. Will make a fortune!

Post Race Blues is a common phenomenon. Here is some material I copied from active.com/running. "You did it. You ran the race you always dreamed about, setting an incredible personal record. You'd set this goal almost a year before. So you should be feeling terrific, on top of the world. Maybe you felt some brief elation, but then in a few days there is a feeling of emptiness, apathy, perhaps even mild depression. What went wrong? Letdown Not Limited to Athletes Many runners and other athletes have been puzzled by this common experience that often follows a major event, independent of whether they have performed well or poorly. Athletes are not unique in this post event letdown. The feelings are reported by politicians after a major election-win or lose; by students after earning a hard-won degree; by mountain climbers after climbing the highest peak. Although the experience seems to contradict common sense, it is common among achievement oriented people. We have been taught that the attainment of the goal is the reward. Now the goal is attained and you are puzzled by your unanticipated unhappiness. The goal has turned out to be an illusion. The joy was in the dream and the process of moving towards your goal, in mobilizing your physical and mental potentials to their fullest. Once the goal was accomplished, the dream died. The joy ended. And now it's time to regroup and start over again. Be Prepared Some of the disappointment of the post-event letdown can be alleviated by knowing that it's normal and to expect it. For months, your life has been organized around this singular goal. Now, suddenly it's over and the disciplined, intensive efforts are no longer required. This is the time to pause, reflect, and enjoy other aspects of life that may have been neglected during intensive training. Sleep late; spend more time with family and friends. Do things you wanted to do but sacrificed for your training. Plan ahead so that when the big event is over, you don't face a vacuum of too much time. After this pause and re-balancing, carefully select a new, realistic challenge, a new long-term goal. This may be in running, another sport, or something altogether different. You need a new dream to fill with passion and energy and get your juices flowing again.

Where are you based? Sterkfontein Hospital or Hill.

Nature gave me a 48 (road bike). Not to carry extra weight, but when us okes with big feet kick ass, the 'kickee' stays kicked. In shoe stores I generally ask: "Do you have men's size here or only children and cripples?" Invariably their sizes stop at a very narrow 10 UK.

This afternoon, as promised by Gert from the Complete Cyclist honoured their promise to have the bike setup done at our house and at their costs. Hanco Kachelhoffer arrived promply at 12h00 and from the word go it was clear that he was a man that new his business. I am very happy that Complete Cyclist recommended him for the setup. From this I can say that I will most certainly in future make use of the services of Complete Cyclist as they are a company with integrity and that honours their promised.