Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2018 i Bicycling South Africa

“Growing up, we lived in a small rural town; and riding my bike was usually the only available mode of transport, as my parents were both working during the day. When I was 15 my parents moved to the ‘big city’, and it was here that I read in the local newspaper about the provincial schools cycling team. I thought to myself, How cool is this! Why ride your bike if you can race it? One of my classmates told me about a teacher she knew from primary school who coached cycling. I wrote him a letter, to ask if he would be able to get me into cycling. His name is Alex Cooper, and, well... the rest is history!” – ANRIETTE SCHOEMAN, 40 / MULTIPLE SA CHAMPION AND OLYMPIAN…

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS They’re instrumental in nearly every function of your body, but are especially important for cyclists thanks to their inflammation-fighting properties, which help with recovery and support immunity. You already know that fish and seafood are the best sources for the 1 000mg you need per day. But how do your favourites stack up? Here’s your guide.* Farmed salmon.........................................................2 252 Anchovies.....................................................................1 800 Wild salmon.................................................................... 887 Tinned tuna..................................................................... 733 Crab.......................................................................................351 Scallops.............................................................................310 Shrimp................................................................................267 Lobster................................................................................... 71 *ALLUNITSAREMG/85GRAMS KETOSIS A state where your body switches from using carbohydrates to burning fat for energy. You need to be carb-starved, generally eating less than 50 grams each day, mostly through fruits and vegetables, to achieve it. People who follow a ketogenic diet get roughly 70 per cent of their kilojoules from fat, 25 per…

For the last 15 years, Biehler – straight out of Dresden, Germany – have produced high-end-design cycling apparel, suited to a range of cycling environments. Biehler’s Wechselhaft is a soft-shell stowaway jacket that fulfils three main functions: rain jacket, wind shell, and 360-degree reflector – well suited to South Africa’s mercurial weather conditions, from cold, dark winter mornings to rain-soaked dawn patrols. The Wechselhaft sizing curve is ergonomically suited to a riding stance; or as Biehler puts it, “constructed for a pro team race position”. The jacket also won a Eurobike award in 2017 for innovation and workmanship. Pretty cool palmarès for a textile product, ja? BIEHLER WECHSELHAFT JACKET PRICE: R2 700 PAVE-SPORTS.COM…

GERAINT THOMAS, 32, NO LONGER IN WAITING After almost every stage of the Tour de France that Thomas was interviewed in the yellow jersey, he uttered the word ‘insane’: “It’s just insane, man.” “That was insane.” “It’s just insane, really.” It was probably a fair description of his three-week ride to glory. It was insane that he took the yellow jersey. It was insane that a man known for his many crash compilations on YouTube could stay upright for three weeks while many others didn’t. It was insane, as he and teammate Chris Froome rode, that they were attacked, spat at, booed and even pepper-sprayed (opposite) by enthusiastic policemen trying to break up a farmers’ protest. It was insane that he won two Alpine stages in a row, including the…

SLEEP BETTER When you’re trying to get up for an early ride, good sleep the night before is a nonnegotiable; all the training in the world won’t help if you’re under-recovered. Clean up your sleep hygiene for an easier wake-up: avoid screen time before bed, sleep in a cool, dark room, and cut out that afternoon caffeine. MORNING MUSIC Set your alarm to blast a song instead of a foghorn for a more pleasant wake-up call. Hearing the right song in the morning can help boost our engines, and motivate us to tackle the challenges and make most of the opportunities that wait for us in the day ahead. GET YOUR MIND RIGHT If you go to bed thinking “Maybe I’ll ride”, you probably won’t. Set your intention before you…

HOW TO DO IT Look for packaged hyperhydration products including Osmo Preload Hydration (for men and women) and Skratch Labs Hyper Hydration. Or try Nuun Electrolytes Hydration Tablets (3 in 500ml water the night before; 6 in 500ml water the morning of). Be warned: hyperhydration is salty; the taste is strong. Hyponatremia Sometimes called ‘water intoxication’, this is a serious condition where blood sodium levels are dangerously low, which can cause nausea, cramping, confusion, slurred speech, and in extreme cases, seizures, coma, even death. It’s rare, but happens most often in long endurance events when competitors drink more fluid than they sweat or pee out. Aim for about 500 to 750ml fluid (about a large bike bottle’s worth) an hour, but no more than 800ml, says Sims. Electrolytes You’re a…

7 THINGS YOU DON’T ALREADY KNOW ABOUT GLYCOGEN Yeah, yeah, it’s stored glucose (sugar) and carbohydrate your muscles use to make energy. Here’s what you might not realise about this precious fuel resource, according to Iñigo San Millán, PhD, director of the Exercise Physiology and Human Performance Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. You burn at least 1 gram a minute while riding – at low intensities. At race pace, you’ll need to triple that. You’ve got 400 to 500 grams fully stocked. That’s about 8400 kilojoules’ worth. Eat 30 to 60 grams of carbs an hour – two PVM Energy Bars – on rides of more than three hours to stay fuelled. It stores with water. You stash 90ml water with every 30g glycogen, which is why you may gain 1…

The key difference between SRAM and Shimano groupsets is the shifting actuation – the distance between shifts relative to the lever index. Shimano’s 1:1 ratio means the cable and derailleur move further during each shift. For many riders this leads to a crisper shift, translating into better feel and all-round robustness on muddy terrain and under load. SRAM works on the tighter tolerance of a 2:1 ratio. Ideally, this means smoother shifts with less effort – although the downside is difficulty in gauging shifting feedback while riding, which can lead to unintended force under load.…

I HOOVERED DOWN THE TWO LARGE CHELSEA BUNS AND THE 500ML COKE as if they were my first meal in a week. I was trying to recover from my bonk. // IT HAPPENED OVER A DECADE AGO; BUT I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT RIDE WHEN I TOTALLY, ABSOLUTELY, BONKED. // I had taken on an ambitious long ride, with a group slighter faster than my own comfort pace (apparently, my comfort pace is slower than anyone else’s). I’d pushed hard, and forgot to drink and eat as I focused on the wheels and the cassettes ahead of me. // I CAN’T EVEN REMEMBER HOW FAR I RODE THAT DAY. But it all caught up with me on a…

OSMOLALITY The concentration of dissolved particles (such as sugar and salt) in liquid. Osmolality is measured in milliosmoles per kilogram of liquid. Human cells and body fluids have 275 to 295 mOsm/kg. Fluids with the same concentration are isotonic. Anything less concentrated is hypotonic; more concentrated is hypertonic. WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU Drinks with 8 per cent or less carbohydrate (which rank in the isotonic or hypotonic portion of the scale, depending on the concentration) move out of the gut and into your cells quickly for the fastest hydration. Those with more than 8 per cent (or hypertonic) move more slowly into the bloodstream, and you have to chase them with lots of water to get them into your system. Athletes will often use hypertonic drinks as liquid fuel,…

“ENDURO IS THE EVOLUTION OF THE TYPICAL MOUNTAIN-BIKE RIDE WITH FRIENDS...” AFTER YEARS OF TIMING WOES... ...and fading interest in enduro races in the Western Cape, things have been turned around – thanks to the crew behind the newly-formed EWC (Enduro Western Cape) committee. So far, an unprecedented number of entrants have supported the 2018 season, consisting of a three-event series of races hosted at Hoogekraal, Contermanskloof and Jonkershoek respectively. For the first time ever, entries had to be capped (at 200), indicating a positive turnaround and signs that the sport is back on track and growing. Enduro is the evolution of the typical mountain-bike ride with friends; just with official timing on designated technical sections (‘stages’), and bragging rights for whoever is fastest on the day. Riding buddies group…

The many forms and subcultures that cycling splits into can be astounding – and sometimes confounding. One of the least known is the Japanese style of keirin, which has been around since 1948. Racers live in seclusion when not competing, and are bet on by spectators as if they were horses, complete with odds for payouts. Keirin is run at 47 velodromes around Japan, and it’s estimated that each year as much as $14 billion in yen (R194 billion) can pass through the wagering system. Photographer Narayan Mahon became intrigued by keirin when he was a teenager, a young cycling fanatic leafing through old issues of VeloNews, where he came across photos of the sport. Some 20 years later, he developed the idea for a shoot as he planned a…

Day One “Totally Bogan.” – Everyone “We’re in Ceres, it’s under 10°, it’s pissing with rain.” – Pinner “Wait! We need to document this.” – Pinner “Five minutes in, and we’re lost already.” – Marc “Charlie wanted me to wee on his hands at some point.” – James “Spirits are high... weather is shit.” – J-rad “White rolls and Bogan Broth.” – Charlie Day Two “I made the smart move, and didn’t ride this morning.” – Sanchez “6:30, and already one fence in.” – Bernie “Mentally, I'm super-strong.” – Sanchez (after skipping the fiirst half of Day 2) “102km – okes, we're almost halfway!” – Charlie “We’ve been here for 10 minutes and they haven’t come past and we’ve only done…

Ultimately, the battle for market share in bicycle components realises more innovation and better products generally. Both Shimano and SRAM offer similar ranges, and usable tech. SRAM are the cool kids on the block, and are often first to market – the big gold Eagle cassette launched in 2016, for example, that’s already trickling down to cheaper groupsets. Shimano are more conservative. They often take a while to deliver new technology; but when they do, you can bank on their craftsmanship. Sometimes, choosing the right groupset comes down simply to looks. And there’s nothing more subjective than that.…