Where are you from,what do you do?

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So thats the answer to a sub3 ? lose a few kgs to make the hills easier!!

I am a Vet, working for Hill's pet nutrition. Living in Midrand,GP (Gauteng) South Africa . (Yes very close to the new gravy train!!) Got into cycling as a silly bet with a client who challenged me to do the 94.7 (2000) because I had got a bit podgy working for a corporate. Droped from 100 kg to 92, but still need to lose a few.

My company sponsors shirts to all Vets (Thats Veterinarians, no older cyclists !) and we do the after party thing at the argus. So if you see someone with a dog and cat on their shirt DON'T ask for a free consult. ;D  

The bug bit hard and I now own a racer as well as my original MTB.

Did 3hr for 94.7 and am hoping for a 3h15 argus with luck and good weather.

Welcome to the forum, cycleguy!

Greetings all.

I live on the Gold Coast if anybody cares.  I just started a new job with an accounting firm that gives me a 48km (round trip) commute on the bike every day.  I also like doing longer rides on weekends (most of which are solo because instead of trying to avoid hills, I go looking for them).

I've also done some cycle touring around South East Queensland and am hoping to ride around Tasmania later this year.

Welcome Chris_L.  Good to see a Gold Coast cyclist up and about. ;D

Welcome Chris_L.  Good to see a Gold Coast cyclist up and about. ;D

Yeah, we've had a few incidents around here recently, but nobody really seems to have stopped riding.  In any case, I never seriously believed the motoring primate was human anyway.  ;D

I am from Manchester, MD an hour north east of Washington DC.  I am getting my degree in Physical Education and hopefully teaching by August.

Gday all
I'm from Brisbane Australia.

I ride MTB mainly but I'm getting a roadie for the K's.
I ride 3-4 times a week in the mountains.

Road riding in queensland is life threatening!!
(you can die trying!)

Happy days are on a bike!

roKeMS

Hi I'm from Pretoria, South Africa - ex Durbanite but still a strong Sharks supporter.
I've been cycling since Jan '02 after my twin brother entered me for the Argus 'cause he wanted a new bike. His wife wouldn't let him get a new bike so he entered me and told her that I want to buy his old bike if he gets a new bike.
We started training together averaging about 200 k's per week, and we did 3 races before the "Argus" (Hyper to Hyper; 94.2 and Ride for Sight)
I'm hooked and we want to enter the "Vasbyt cycle chalange"
I did my first Argus and suffered like hell -WHY didn't antbody warn me against the bloody heat??? I finished in 4:52 but was aiming for something closer to 4 but I will be back!!!
I realy enjoy this sight -keep up the great work!

Been here for a few days and never let anyone know about myself. So let me wipe the chain lube off the face and give the low down.

I live in Nuke @$$hole (Newcastle) South Africa. Been riding since who knows when. Was when I was still in school. Then it was BMX that was the craze and I was heavily undergeared when I entered my first race. I was 4th in every heat that I rode. Sounds good until you realise I was the last one on each heat. I rode in denims, flannel shirt and a MX helmet and died in the heat. That was not for me, so I went into trick riding. I eventually went on to become known as the guy on the back wheel. I did the longest Wheelies in town.

Anyway I went to do my national service and left the bike for a while till I started studying in Durban. I got back on the BMX to ride to studies but it took too log so I borrowed a cruiser to get around. Cool I had gears to change. Then I got a job in Newcastle in '89. Bought a cheap racer to get to work. Was expensive at the time as I had to pay it off over a few months but I enjoyed it anyway. R900 I think it was.

Time went on and I joined the local club. I enjoyed the monthly Kermesse and a weekly time-trial but lacked any race experience except for the mad rush round the local Midas Block for the Kermesse. I ended the year in second place on the senior kermesse series. The guy who beat me had ridden the Rapport Tour 3 times..... ;D But was close to retirement from the sport anyway.

Then came my first big race. The Jock Tour in Eastern Transvaal. Whoo did I suffer!!! But I had basically given it my all in training and did quite well considering. My position 94th. PMB to Durban was next and I rode in 92nd place. This was fun I thought.

For the next few years I did some good races in Natal. Never really in the top finishers but mostly among the top 30 to 60. On one occasion on a very hilly ride I managed to get a 4th place but it was a small race. I liked them better. Then came the great day that I broke a long standing time trial record set by non other than our Rapport Tour Rider. I was happier than a pig in s***. The next week I won another hilly race in the last 200 meters after a rider broke away 5 kilos in to the race. I caught him after an attack I put in at the turnaround when they told me the other guy had gained a lot of time on us. I then went on the next weekend to win a kermesse by two laps after a break from the start.

My best performances on the longer races had to in the 180km Tour de Merino which I rode 3 times having a 44th the first time, 27th the second and 19th place the last time I rode. I also won (Lucky draw) a bicycle in the last one. Rode that bike up and down the passage and sold it cause it was too heavy. The same year (94) I was invited to ride in the Netherlands with 3 other guys in our club. One of them a Natal Junior champ.

I rode two big tours over there mainly in the area that the Tour of Holland is ridden and can say that this was a highlight of my time on the bike. South Africans had a lot to learn as far as riding was concerned. I was given a wakeup call to my level of fitness there. The first tour I was involved in a crash in a hairpin bend after going down a mountain pass at 110 kph. I crashed at round 60kph after drifting into a barrier.

The next tour was very hard. We had around 125 - 130 starters and only 52 finished. I think it was 65 riders that were dropped on the last day. I was one of the ones that missed the gap along with one of my team mates but we made a last ditch attack and grabbed back onto the front group. The rest resigned. I was last on GC but at least I finished. I was impressed with my form on the mountains though cause I was always amongst the first 5 - 10 over the top. Not easy with an average of around 40 at the end of the tour. Time trialing was also great with me making the first 30 and that in slippery as snot rain conditions. I left there with a lot of regret as I felt I could really do well if I had stayed and got better training. I picked up hayfever while I was there and even rode like that. I was sneezing throughout the stage but I was adament to finish. I went to England and did a race there but punctured on a very hilly but fast course so I retired from that as I had no backup. Then I came back to SA and ended up taking a bit of a rest. Something that I never should have done as I ended up resting till the next year. I rode a short local race which I won. The shorter of two been the one I rode. The other longer race was taken by some Robert Hunter guy... :-/ Whoever he was?

Since then I got hitched and got two sons to keep me away from my bike for a few years. Still pulled it out for our local races a week before they happened just to do some training, race and then let it gather dust again.

Then came last years Argus. About 20 years of riding and I had yet to try out this race. So I dusted the bike took a substitution and off I went. Did a bit of light training doing about 3 or 4 long distance rides and tackled the Argus. I didn't know the route so I didn't know what to expect. I struggled a little on Smitswinkel and Ou Kaapse Weg but from the top of Ou Kaapse Weg I let rip and that was it TT to the end with riders stringing out behind me. What fun to watch bunches wittle down as I went. Flew up the hill at Hospital Bend and cruised to the finish. 3:19. Not too bad for the first outing I thought. I wish I had known the course a bit better. Time would have been much closer to 3:10 if I had ridden hills a little harder.

This year was different. Same distance training but only in 2 weeks but the heat got me quite bad. But happy to say I have sent the kids to school the wife is working and I have my bike to keep me company. Looking forward to getting back up to a high level of fitness again. Maybe give the pro's some competition. ;D

Oh did I mention I work in IT?  ;D

Mmmm I should have set up a website just for that.... ::)

That's quite a story there :)

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Hello to everyone!

I've just discovered this forum. It took me some two hours of reading to decide to register, 'cause I'm impressed by what i've managed to read here. It's good to know that there is quite a number of people out there, who are really interested in cycling... Please, do not shoot me ... I mean - people for whom cycling is the greatest passion of all.

A few words about myself then..

I live in Poland ( pretty exotic, isn't it ?  ;) ) a country where cycling is moderately popular, because of the lack of good results by 'our' pros - i believe. I am 24 and getting more and more keen on cycling each year. I am mostly a cycling spectator (cycling is pretty badly covered in Poland, so I have to use a sat dish to get myself exposed to events happening in the pro cycling), due to a fact that i injured my knee pretty badly last year ( while playing basketball  :'(). My doctor said that I should not overdo with riding, so I let myself do not more than 150 miles a week( if the doctor only knew....).
As I mentioned I love spending hours in front of a tv watching top riders compete. My favourite classic race is Fleche Wallone, taking place in Belgium in mid-april ( i wonder why it is not a world cup race with whole bunch of top riders taking part ? ).
All right, i'd better cut that hopeless flood of words. Anyway I am glad to have foud the forum and wish all the best to all the members and just-readers - enjoy 2002 season both in the saddle and in front of tv.URL

 

sorry for the image....I forgot it was so large.... ;D

Hi Mirun, welcome to the board!
If I'm not mistaken, you are our first Polish member! 8)

ps: Unfortunately you cannot link to a picture on your own computer. Upload your pic to something like www.lycos.com, and then post a link to the pic.

Vo2:Thanks for both the warm welcome and the tip.

  Cycling is very popular in my country but, i suppose, language is the main problem for my compatriots, which halts them from becoming members of a international forum.
 
  Polish cycling scene on the web is pretty modest, that is why I have to look for a foreign alternative. But I am glad to be a part of THIS ever-growing cycling society, though. ;)

Welcome Mirun! Post a pic of your bike pal! ;D

             Hi Altwegg!

 I'd better not. It would win me a contest for the worst piece of junk ever ridden.  ;D ;D ;D
 
 I'm kidding. It is quite old machinery, but it is reliable and I like it. Still it would make you face go -> ;D ... big time.  

It's ok, no one should be ashamed of their bike as long as they ride it HARD!  8)

I'll post pics of my baby as soon as I get the pics develped and scanned.

MR ed the riding horse that was 3 months ago when I was around 95 to 97kg had to get fit took up riding.
I live in sydney Australia, and ride to work and after work am now 82kg and riding 60 to 70kms a day six days a week I ride alone which I dont mind My avg is 29 to 32kms which is very   slow compared to the pro's but I enjoy my self
That's all for now MR ed ;)            

i'm from Zimbabwe but am studying Information Systems at Rhodes University in grahamstown.
with the work load the bike has been neglected but the hills in this area will soon sort out any lack of fitness!! no matter what route you take here their are hills a plenty and as usual for this area of South Africa the wind is a motivation killer. not enough cyclists either... in fact only 1 other i know of in gtown :P

hmmm, Grahamstown becomes seriously cold during winter, but methinks I'd rather be in Grahamstown during the winter than in Zim right now. :o