BigBlade001

So sad to hear the news of Christo's passing - RIP. I was fortunate enough to spend a night with Christo, Minky their daughter and family in 2010. He will be missed on the trail

There is a dedicated cycle lane all the way from Blouberg to Cape Town. I also work on Woodstock and have never had any issues. The section from Paarden Eiland to Woodstock goes behind all the factories and is a dedicated bus and seperate bicycle lane. Enjoy the commute

There are some significant portage sections on the RASA race route and my view is that panniers would make it more difficult for you to carry your bike. I do not know of anyone who has used panniers in the race before but in 2010, two Aussies had some great frame bags which they used to carry their gear and rode with small camelbacks. These frame bags fitted very nicely into the front triangle and also behind the seatpost. If you doing the touring route then panniers could work - you can do the touring route anytime of the year.

Graham "tweet" Bird finished RASA2012 in 13 days 9hrs and 5 minutes - 3rd place for him. With Martin and Alex duelling it out up front very little mention was made of tweet but he deserves credit too just like all other finishers of this gruelling race. He actually beat Tim James 2009 record - he now has the 4th best time in the history of the race - Well done tweet. 4th place finisher Trevor Ball also had a great ride finishing in 15 days 9hrs 5 minutes. If you want the full scoop visit Glenn Harrison's blog: http://www.glennharrisonsa.blogspot.com/ he gives a daily account of the race

for anyone wanting to follow the race this year subscribe to the Twitter feed @freedom_trail. 2012 is one of the most exciting and closest races to date. After 7 days of racing, Martin Dreyer (Dusi King) is about 4 hours ahead of Alex Harris (defending champion). Both are cycling up the Baviaans today from Cambria all the way up to Willowmore. Anyone think of doing the race, consider doing the Ride to Rhodes first - basically the first 6 days but with support.

Anyone doing this race - Starts and finishes in Mossel Bay 490kms Check it out - http://www.caveman-events.co.za/

Anyone else arriving at King Shaka after 4pm please let us know. Steven has said that he will arrange a smaller shuttle so please post a reply on this forum or contact Steven directly. thanks

Thanks. We are travelling from Cape Town and our flight only lands at 17h00. Anyone else also arriving at King Shaka at around that time? Could you please extend the time of the last shuttle to 17h00 to accommodate us - please!!! many thanks

I bought all 3 models two years ago for the Epic. 1 - FI.13 1 - Mille 3 - Uno's All of them are great and well worth the cost - Im still using them today. All three have very different chamois. The uno is wider at the rear and thinner in front. The Mille is longer and narrower. My personal preference is the Mille for longer rides 4h+ and I use the Uno's for shorter rides.

I will be in Durban from 18 December to 23 December and I need to get some training in. Any advice on where to ride - routes or group rides. Many thanks

Race Kings should be fine if it stays dry. Last year it rained heavily in the week preceding the race and Lourensford was muddy. If the same thing happens this year you should change those Race Kings to something with more knobblies.

great looking ride.