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Posted

The wife and all three my kids have got that horrible thing. My glands started swelling up yesterday, throat sore and phlegm on the chest. So busy dosing ACC200 and some Anti-inflammatories at the moment.

Might I suggest that you buy yourself the Salex SSR sinus rinse kit. Worked like a bomb for me. I sommer rinsed 3 times a day. I also used Sinutab nasal spray (White & Green label) with it. Clears up the congestion quickly. The rinse is a bit gross at first but it really worked for me.

 

http://www.reitzer.co.za/salex/salexsalinesinusrinsekit 

Posted

Can I give a small piece of advise here....

 

Stop overthinking it. Just ride your bicycle as fast as you can and enjoy the day.

Agree with this... and do not forget we have a race pace to maintain and get to Witkoppen by 2hrs or 2:10??  Cannot remember what it was.

Posted

OK then, here are my thoughts on the downhills...

 

Since we’re not racing uphill (which is where time is always made up in racing) we are going to have to get back that lost time elsewhere. And that means on the flats and downhills (except the super-fast ones like Jan Smuts past the animal prison and from Hyde Park to the bottom).

 

On those long super fast downhills we just give each other lots of space, keep to the right of slow riders, but keep your hands off the brakes (I’m guessing the ones on the front will probably have to spend quite a bit of time yelling at slower people to move to the left as we bomb past).

 

But on all the other more gentle downhills we continue as if it’s flat: we keep it tight, don’t let gaps form, and again stay off the brakes. We’re really going to have to fly if we want to wait on the climbs but still beat our goals. If you’re not used to being in a bunch at high speeds then time to grow a pair (ladies exempted, of course!): pick out a pair of your favourite big boy pants for race day and come ready to ride.

 

For people who aren't used to going high speeds in bunch, a tip is to sit just off to the right of the line of the person in front of you, about a shoulder width or so. This gives you the ability to look past the person in front just enough to see what's happening while still benefiting from the slipstream. It also means that if the person in front suddenly brakes or has an emergency, you won't go flying into them and you always have that little bit of room to quickly exit to the right of them.

 

Using the wind to brake:

 

Sitting slightly off to the right also allows you to 'brake' using the wind if you need to (no, I didn’t say break wind!). In bunch racing, brakes are bad. You learn to try and stay away from them as much as possible. That's because braking causes sudden little speed differentials in the group, and that causes crashes. It stops the group going along at the same pace (and also starts the concertina effect that splits bunches).

 

If you're in the middle of the bunch, braking is unavoidable in the slipstream of others, you just feather your brakes as smoothly as possible without any grabbing. But when you're in the pace line or on a gentle downhill following people, don't brake but rather move out into the wind, sit up and open your chest to catch as much wind as possible and you'll be amazed how effective this is in slowing down.

 

If you're trying not to lose the wheel in front of you on a long gradual downhill and the person in front is pulling, it becomes a little dance of tucking behind them for the draft, then as you get to close you drift out into the wind to slow down. And then as they're starting to pull away again, drift back in behind and tuck into the draft. If you get it right you can go down a long hill like this without ever having to pedal and barely touch your brakes, while remaining safely in a pace line.

 

The only thing here is that others mustn’t think they can just fly up to close the gap you’ve supposedly opened in the line. You haven’t – you’ve just drifted slightly to the right to catch a bit of wind – and you’ll soon be drifting back in once you’ve scrubbed off a bit of speed.

 

Last thing: you’ll have some very experienced racers in the team. Watch what they do and try to emulate the way they ride. It’s amazing how fast these guys go while still making you feel completely at ease, touching elbows at 50+ kph.

 

We’re asking them to wait on the hills, but I won’t be asking them to wait on the rest of the course simply because we're afraid of going fast. They will be going for it on those sections. All you have to do is make sure you don’t lose your nerve and lose the wheel in front of you.

 

Simple :)

Posted

Agree with this... and do not forget we have a race pace to maintain and get to Witkoppen by 2hrs or 2:10??  Cannot remember what it was.

It might be a good idea for the guys in front to get a time guideline.... something to aim for. Do they still make those time marker jobbies that one can stick to the frame?

Posted

You only have a 28 minute head start. I reckon start looking for us just before the M1 onramp... :w00t:

 

 

As you approach us can the team leader please shout "ROAD" or "Get out the way you bunch of slow ............(Nah, this sentence will be to long for the speed you will be going) " then we can make some space for the I Train coming past.  :clap:

Posted

32 riders in a batch each with one black arm sleeve on ......might serve some purpose in creating some awareness......

 

#BECYCLISTAWARE

 

(No hijack intended, just a thought for an already amazing group effort.....considering weather conditions)

Posted

Yes, I made one with more points on compared to the one issued by the organisers.

attachicon.gifSplit point.PNG

 

Excel file also attached

attachicon.gifSplitTimeCalc_947_2015.zip

Everyone should print this and stick it to their top tubes.

If you're slipping off the back and don't think you can hold on or bridge and stay there once you're back on, in order to comfortably make each point, then you know it's best to bow out and let the rest keep going...

Posted

 

doeffels, eddyr and Ryan's dad added to the team  :thumbup:
 
32 in the I-Team now. Hell bells.

 

 With that amount of people I reckon we will end up with 3.00 , 3.15 , and 3.30 groups which is all good!

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