pbp2007

I bought a couple of (cycling) items at Capestorm Wynberg today and noticed - besides the store looking a little, er, empty - that my till slip had "Sportsmans Warehouse" printed on the back. An online search revealed the story at http://www.holdsport...capestorm-brand And another thing I didn't notice earlier from my head-in-sand position is that First Ascent is also part of the Sportsmans/Outdoor Warehouse/group. I am probably the last person on earth to realise all this. Given that the other 500 lb gorilla is Cape Union Mart*, how long before we see K-Way cycling gear... or have I missed that, too? * After all, Capestorm founder Andrew Baxter moved to C.U.M. to take charge of their tech clothing.

I'm kind of with Joe Low on this. i was a vegan when I started riding casually again in 1998. That period was the healthiest I can ever remember having been. When riding became serious I took to adding dairy products and eggs, and these days I also eat fish occasionally. Having taken up running as well, and at my age, I think it's wise not to skimp on the protein. Most people think of me as vegetarian because the vast majority of what I eat doesn't have a face. Our favourite cookbooks include the ones by Alison and Simon Holst (Meals Without Meat and Very Easy Vegetarian Cookbook).

Johan built my front wheel around a SON 28 in 2007 on a DRC rim. I was able to collect the wheel from him to bring back to Cape Town. Apart from a minor tweak early on, the wheel has been bombproof. This includes travelling through a crater that trashed my rear (non-Bornman) wheel. For what it's worth, at the time Schmidt said I was their first customer in Africa; I bought direct from the factory, but with hindsight I think a dealer might be a better option. They can build you a wheel, by the way. The newer SONs seem to be available with a smaller flange; my one has quite a big flange, which I gather complicated the build a bit.

Audax riders in the Western Cape kicked around this idea a couple of years ago, but we couldn't get it off the ground. Combining some of the existing approved Audax routes in the Western Cape provided some interesting results when I was trying to plot a 1 000 km road ride. I like the idea of building the ride around a drawcard. In the Western Cape it could be the Peninsula, Cape Point, or Africa's southernmost tip, Agulhas. Or all of them. Our most recent 600 was Rondebosch - Stellenbosch - Elands Bay - return. A previous 600 incorporated Agulhas. Most of the time these were run on trunk and secondary roads, which are actually pretty good for long-distance riding, in my opinion. It's the long uninhabited stretches that could be tricky. Going further afield to, say, Knysna, would involve organised groups of riders on more heavily trafficked roads, some of them N roads, which I think the authorities would be reluctant to allow.

I hate to be a nitpicker, but the poll question asks, "Is gammar...?"

He's talking about a different ride; ours is Journey4SightnService (don't ask) in the Western Cape.

After our Journey 4 Sight ride this past January, a local laid a complaint with the council about litter dumping. She provided pictures to back up her complaint. She also somehow joined the dots to imply a connection with the start/finish venue (Cape Academy) and our Pedal Power ride. From there, things moved rapidly upstream through the council's investigative procedures, including involvement of the local councillor. This took place even though: * The rubbish was situated around the corner and some way up the road from the venue. * A cursory examination of the evidence suggested that the rubbish was more likely from very uncivic-minded residents or party organisers than from cyclists. * To the convener's knowledge, there have been no littering complaints of note in the more than two decades we've run our event. Yet we got dragged in to this mess and temperatures were raised all round. The fools who force us to put up with their discarded filth clearly couldn't care less about the environment in general, never mind caring about organised events. The point is, organised rides are under scrutiny as never before. It doesn't take much for an official to stamp "permission declined". It's too late then to start pointing fingers. On a recent Argus I (puff, pant) pedalled my way up to a GU litterer on Chappies to tell him he was an idiot and didn't he hear the specific startline request about not littering. In response, he called me a racist. I took that as a compliment, because I didn't consider myself as anything more than a funrider.

Stick a toothpick or similar in the hole. Pull it out when you're ready to put on the patch (obviously).

I took the train in to town yesterday to fetch my car (is this a cycling forum or what?) and I did the obvious thing, namely asked the woman at the ticket counter. Her initial blank look was replaced by an even blanker one, but eventually she seemed to grasp what I was asking and intimated that I could take a bike on a train, but it would cost me R10. Having looked at the Rules, this suggests that she might have deemed a bike "a large or inconvenient parcel". At certain points in long rides, I am inclined to agree. YMMV.

The first Cape Town rider to finish is Chris van Zyl, who rolled in just after midnight in 55.57. Emmerentia Jacobs was last clocked at Carhaix (703 km) about 8 o'clock, running well ahead of schedule at 39.07. Unfortunately it seems Andrew Wheeldon has withdrawn as a result of a bad crash early on the first stage.

The 90-hour riders seem to be clustered around the halfway mark. When I last checked, nearly 50 riders (start: Sunday between 4 and 5 pm) had finished. Chris van Zyl has passed 1 000 km, as has another SA-registered rider, Hugo Gevers. It looks like the online tracking is struggling to cope with the "bulge" as the bulk of the riders start clumping together from about 450 km. I have seen reports of rain... mud ... although by all reports it's warmer than 2007 at least.

A US rider has been killed on PBP in a collision with a truck, news services are reporting. Details are sketchy. As for our Cape Town riders, Andrew Wheeldon was involved in a big crash about 60 km from the start and although he managed to get going again, he sent an SMS at Loudeac (450 km) last night to say he hadn't recovered. Chris van Zyl has slowed drastically, but about 20 minutes ago clocked in at Fougeres (921 km), on a total time of just 40h44. There's been nothing from Emmerentia Jacobs since she reached Tinteniac (364 km) at 8.43 last night. The overall statistics show that 20 riders have already passed through Mortagne-au-Perche (about 140 km to the finish). They will likely finish the 1 230 km in about 45 hours.

I've been checking on the progress of the 3 Cape Town riders online. One of them in particular seems to be really motoring - halfway in 23:19. Yes, folks, that's 600 and a bit km. And yes, I know it's not a race... For those who are interested, the link to the rider tracking page is http://www.paris-brest-paris.org/pbp2011/index2.php?lang=en&cat=randonnee&page=suivi_participants and the frame numbers for the Cape Town riders are: Andrew Wheeldon 1737 Chris van Zyl 1738 Emmerentia Jacobs 8435

Just reminiscing about 4 years ago today... on the way back from Charles de Gaulle airport to base camp, having collected the other two Cape Town riding companions... Good luck to those who line up in 2 days' time. The hard work is behind you. Now it's time for the fun part. Roll on 2015 - I'm already in training.

I have ridden over Houw Hoek outbound without a hassle. On audax rides we've ridden both ways on the stretch of 7 km or so from Bot River to the R43 turnoff to Villiersdorp. So, I can't imagine that riding all the way to Caledon on the N2 would be a problem. It's not a freeway after all, but I can't remember offhand if the dual carriageway past Bot River is a freeway. Nobody challenged me about riding on that stretch, though. As an aside, the R43 from the N2 to Villiersdorp is about 35 km and quite nice in a Honda S2000 or similar, but can be pretty draining on a bicycle on a hot day. I once referred to it as the worst 30-odd km of my life. On reflection, it's actually not that bad and the surface is OK. But there's no hard shoulder, traffic tends to be light but fast, and the hills are big and mostly upwards.

I got 3M tape from Glowgear in Stellenbosch (that industrial area next to the railway line). They do all the colours you need and more, as well as lots of high-viz and reflective gear. If you talk nicely, they’ll even custom-make. Besides plastering the stays and forks, I also put some suitably coloured narrow strips on the edges of the crankarms, visible from front and rear, and some red on the back of my helmet. When I was still using Looks, I put a few blobs on the trailing edges of the pedals. That’s not really an option with SPDs. When you’re out there at 2 in the morning, there’s no such thing as too much reflective stuff.

Who says you can't have both? After we got our medals for finishing the Seerundlauf Hallstattersee in Austria a month ago, we were offered a couple of bananas, energy drink... and beer on tap. Oh, and the London Marathon goody bag (the super-duper one before the race, as opposed to the super-duper one after the race) contained a couple of cans of a quite palatable brew. Before anyone asks, no, we're not copying this at Journey For Sight next year - not without a significant increase in entry fee, anyway... P.S. I kind of like medals, but that's probably because I haven't got many of them.

In case this hasn't been posted anywhere else: http://www.capeargus.co.za/motorist-punched-me-says-cyclist-1.1048841 Andrew Wheeldon, director of the Bicycle Empowerment Network, says a motorist assaulted him while he was cycling near Claremont on Sunday.

This isn't exactly blingy, but it does draw the occasional look of amazement and the occasional slipped disc when people try to pick the thing up. What we have here is Steady Eddy in commuter trim (well, to be honest, it doesn't vary). 1. B&M Cyo IQ headlight. Note patriotic Buff for Friday use. 2. My ding-a-ling. 3. The fing wot keeps my feet and legs from getting splashed. Note liberal use of 3M reflective tape and cunningly colour-co-ordinated bottle cages. If you look carefully, you can see the two rear lights (one battery, one dynamo with integrated reflector). 4. The Hub: SON 28 dynamo hub (thanks, JB). Note liberal use of high-tech zip ties because of lack of mounting eyes for mudguards. 5. Carradice Barley, hanging from Bagman Sport rack. 6. Road Morph attached to top tube.

I have been using SPDs on my Dominators from Day 1 - five years ago. No problem with screws not fitting.

Sigh.... Our fees are in line with PPA recommendations - similar to other rides. This year, pre-entry was R75/R85 for PPA/non-PPA. Late entry was R105/R125.

I haven't got the numbers handy, but it's about R10 a medal. Undated: we haven't got the luxury, like the Argus, of knowing beforehand how many riders to expect, so we did a thumbsuck. Our usual turnout fluctuates between 800 and 1100 riders. Because of smaller numbers this year, as a result of only having the long ride, and some medals left over from last year, we were able to economise on medals this year. I hear what you say about the worth of medals. We often kick around ideas of alternatives that are both meaningful and useful. But many of our riders do like the medals: the first-timers trying out their Christmas gift bikes, the easy riders using occasional summer rides as prep for the Argus, etc.

It was the 25th running of this event and the convener deemed it appropriate (sorry, awfully posh sounding) to strike commemorative medals. A bit of an indulgence, I know. But we got a sponsor. In any case, many riders complain when they don't get a medal. You guys up at the head of the pack just don't hear all the muttering at the back. P.S. I like a medal. Guess that tells you where I end up.

As I said in my original post, my list excludes sundry smaller items. The TOTALS include these items. I'll take your comment about profit margin as a compliment to our business acumen. Or to our foolishness in not claiming for the scores of man-hours, out-of-pocket expenses, donations, etc accumulated by the Kirstenbosch club members. And to the generosity of our sponsors. As I said in an earlier post, organisers could use the profit for themselves, to offset fees, or - as the Lions Club does - for charity. We make no apologies for this. Fantastic. I wish there were more people like you. Our fees are in line with PPA recommendations - similar to other rides. This year, pre-entry was R75/R85 for PPA/non-PPA. Late entry was R105/R125. Riders are free to vote with their wallets; there are alternatives. One alternative is to support other events - many of which are more expensive. Another is for riders to organise alternative events themselves. See my original post to find out what you're in for.

Take away the sponsorships and then see if it still makes a good business plan At a race organisers' meeting a few years back I was shocked to find that most were either breaking even or making a loss - service organisations like Kirstenbosch Lions. We're just lucky to have a couple of cycling nuts to keep things going, a bunch of people who give up their time and money for no reward other than a job done well, and of course generous sponsors. But it's getting harder and harder for us little guys. The red tape is busy choking us. From City Events Office to PPA, local councillors to traffic police... one day when we've got nothing left to choose from but a few big rah-rah events costing a fortune to enter, we might just look back with regret, and wonder how we could have allowed those irritating little rides to get squeezed out.