Sunday, August 1, 2010

THE VELOCAST & THE SCOTT


John & Scott over at the Velocast promised a quality cycling jersey and they certainly delivered. For the uninformed, the Velocast is the best cycling podcast out there. Cycling news and a host of other providers publish Podcasts on Itunes, but, these two Scotsmen are a cut above everyone else. There's a wry sense of humor which combined with their cycling knowledge, makes for very good listening, especially when doing the Coega Daily Commute.

Compared to the regular South African jersey, this is a heavier jersey and is really nice and warm. I used the jersey and my new Scott Spark RC at the Ridge Mania 60km marathon on Sunday 01 August. I had some misgivings about the jersey perhaps being too warm, but it was absolutely perfect, providing a great feel in contrasting temperatures from cold mountain wind to hot sticky valleys. There are definitely advantages to the Sport wool fabric used in this jersey made by Shutt Velo Rapide in the UK.

The Scott also performed flawlessly and made me realize what I missed on the Epic. I eventually got a 5th place overall after competing for some time with Andrew on an aluminium hardtail (similar to my old Specialized S-Works). As the race progressed
I just saw Andrew getting beaten up by his bike. In contrast, the Spark just chewed up the very bumpy grass surfaces and made all the difference. Andrew is a young strong rider and when I finally got away from him, it was a clear case of the technological superiority of full suspension over young legs. Mike, my Epic partner came in 4th in a strong showing. I am going to have to do some serious catching up and it is going to take about 6 weeks before I have sorted out the Winter layoff.

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