firewolf

If any one out there is "Jack" who shared so much of the road with me on a 26"mtb and you read this please msg me.

My experience of the race. On Sat we battled to find Cycle Lab Paarl as the map on the site directed us to 9th avenue off Pine St. The shop said that would be the finish - When we found the shop. Which would have been made so much freaking easier for a southern burbs boy like me if they had just put a sign up - like turn right here for race registration. At Cycle Lab. PAARL! The route was awesome Tough and so much better than just the usual "around the point an back". Northern roads make for tougher roadies!! Here is my $^$&$&^$#& PROBLEM. CYCLE LAB!!!! After 107k.. the marshell that should have directed me up to the monument was no where! IE I did not even get to the finish. When I reached the road leading back to your shop, in the main road, I realized what had transpired. And then looking up at the cars parked along side the actual road that I should have actually been on i just though **** it and **** the stupid medal and that was the end of my "race". Great to feel cool by starting with the real racers though.

Just entered. Only thing is.. there is a cycle lab about 10 minutes from me. Do I really have to drive to Paarl to pick up a race pack?

Classic! I have had Frogskins. Blades. Razor Blades. Oil Drums. And now have a pair of Red Iridium Jawbones and a pair of white Fast Jacket transition lens. Wish I had kept all the older pairs. Also shoulda kept the blue/yellow Briko Stingers! The ones that looked like the fly eyes.

I think its a great idea!

Man i thought the same thing!

great vid Zilla! proper footage of just how dangerous some drivers make it for us out there can go along way to improving safety.

You think its funny to be hit by a car?

Was watching "Dissorder in the Court" today. Basically shows people catching on all kindsa *** after getting into confrontations with other people also looking for ***; and it really shows that no violance, just a calm and measured approach is the best when responding to a stressfull event. Like being knocked off your bike buy an errant driver. Hard I know; but there are so many cameras out there just waiting to record your every wrong move - which can then be used against you in court.

Hellocolour wrote Jeez, Really?!? I was planning on 3/4s, winter jersey, shoes, helmet and lights. I'm keen for a couple of morning rides. Am doing the Knysna roadie in July and have slacked off heaps recently. I'll PM some deets. I've been doing the easy loop of driving to camps, 'dudno, chappies and back as traffic into town is light both ways and not much on the (wide) roads when riding either. Easy anywhere tho. ___________________________________________________ Its nice to be warm. Any motivation to get outta bed at 5am helps. The rides are about two hours long so the sun is not a warming factor. The shoe covers are great for keeping my feet warm and my shoes clean in it rains. And the reason for two prs gloves is so I can take the long finger gloves off if I get too hot. But hey this is just me... I see other riders in shorts and a top with arm warmers. Nothing else. Hardcore! Have my eyes on a sweeeeeeeet Castelli winter jersey at Olympic cycles.

I ride 5:30 am from Kirstenhof to Town along the main road (for the street lights) then through the W/front and out towards Camps Bay. Its difficlut to ride past Bakoven as no lights. Sun up is appx. 7:45 ish. Its dark. Its cold. Coldest so far was 8 deg C. And the taxis and busses from Moybray onwards are a real rush! My kit: Shoes and neoroprene overshoes. Knee warmers. Bib shorts. Thermo vest. Top. Arm warmers. Gillet, Short finger gloves and long finger glovers over that. Ear warmers which I take off when I get to town. Helmet. News paper under my top for the first ten kays. Three lights. Oakly Jawbones with a yellow lens set. God I miss summer!

Now the questions are; Who is Bergie Sean? And why does he hate bike riders enough to actually consider hitting one, with a car no less, to get the rider out of his way. Pretty dangerous mentality don't you think? Big to Bergie Sean, and and even bigger to the editor of News 24 for making this article the editors choice.

Here is what he wrote... Pesky Cyclists 17 May 2012, 07:13 It is time to tax cycling. And I don’t mean some small disk that gets strapped to the handlebars, I am talking full on vehicle number plates, front and back. That way we can police these road criminals in a way that adds to the national fiscus. Surely, if you want to use our tax-funded roads, then you should pay for them like everybody else? The rot, of course, started with Lance Armstrong. Suddenly everyone thought they could become a testosterone-fueled cannon ball in a yellow jersey. Pre-Armstrong, cyclists were a simple but friendly folk, few and far between. They were amiable Sunday riders who knew their place, and it wasn’t three abreast down Lakeside Main Road. Post-Armstrong their psyche changed overnight. God, how they make my blood boil! How many times have I been tempted to nudge one of them off his silly little spinning machine and into a bush? Goodness knows how many cyclists have had their lives spared thanks to my magnanimous restraint. Quite frankly, I don’t know how far my benevolence can be stretched. . . Of course those peninsula cycling races only make things worse by encouraging the scourge. Try driving down the M3 freeway two weeks before a race and spot the crazies riding alongside motor vehicles traveling at 120 km. Are you now Evel Knievel? I am not saying bicycles don’t have their place, its just that the best place for them is the playground. I can safely assume that most cyclists suffer from a stunted childhood because I’ve spotted them riding 120km long races on one of those funny clown bikes. Or pedaling strange machines with their arms. Or wearing a Barney suit and ringing a bell. I suppose its cute to play in the traffic? And I don’t buy that mountain bike ruse. Soil erosion in Tokai Forest is now reaching epidemic proportions thanks to the cycle tracks carved into our national parks. And if you are wondering why troops of baboons are desperately roaming the suburbs its because they have been scared out of their natural habitat by those two wheeled fiends. But its air pollution I am truly worried about. It takes just two cyclists riding abreast to hold up a whole snake of cars, forcing them to burn more fuel while driving in a lower gear. It is this type of thoughtless, selfish behaviour that leads me to think that cyclists need have their wings clipped.

Sucks that you were "attacked" by an errant drver! Has anybody read the Bergiesean post on news 24? In this he actively promotes using a vehicle to knock cyclists off the road; he disguises and softens his comment with a nice passive/aggressive proviso, yet the seed may well remain planted in th emind of the readers. This guy is encouraging vehicular assault. He is promoting hatred of bike riders. It is tantamount to Hate Speach.

Gotta brag just a little bit here - one advantage of being a Cape Town City Firefighter is that that I can use my fire house as a base for the pre race preperations and for car parking. However sad to report that a friend of mine's car was broken into somewhere in the vicinity of The Helenic Club. .

Agreed. Send us down the other side of the road. Glow cones on the left of the otherside to gradualy guide the riders into a single lane will be dangerous; if the wind blows imposssible. I live like a min away - if thay fix that sucker by Sunday road works must be the best in the world!

One the road you gotta have eyes on the back of your eyes, ears on the back of your ears, think for the driver, think like the driver, cause 50% of drivers will say they did not see/hear/ think you were there.

Wobbles.. I work for an Emergency Service (cannot mention names) and see first hand the injuries caused by bad driving practices. And I am a Roadie and so experiance the other side of that evil coin. I have, however, not suffered a misfortune like yours; I am so sorry to hear you will miss the Argus as a result. And I can empathise with your emotional response to the incident. I am sure you will heal and ride well agian. Stay strong Dude!

Sad news.

Can you imagine being a PPA marshel at the start line of an event? They seem to take such joy in actively searching for people peeing. Mmmmmm? Glad thats not my job hey.

I might be "under investigation" as I am a "Known Offender" due to incorrest start procedures at the Medalion, and as such need to be carefull of the "Defender of Public Interests" also known as MTB/ROADIE. Let it be known, however, that at the Bay City, I took great pains to cross and start with the correst group, lest I again be "Named and Shamed" by the aforementioned "Defender of Public Interests" aka MTB/ROADIE.

Right onThor! 1 guy one 1 bunch in each bunch and 1 guy got the fastest time. The rest is, as they say, details.

Agreed! I am not a MTB'r but def suggest Ceres, Bains Kloof area. So many beut mountains (again not sure of MTB routes but camping is amazing!) Can use Tweede Tol as a base, or also Pinetree in Ceres.

Then feel free to send a msg directly to the person you feel has transgressed. Or take a more diplomatic approach. Lest you end up with foot in mouth. Mmmmmm? To all * riders - My most sincere apologies for this ****up; we were waved though by the race tec officials. We have emailed them. They will rectify the result. Respect to you all and your efforts on the bike, and to your results. And really, check my final result. Check My results for the last few races. Five min more or less wont change anything - I will still be the Kakkest rider on the hub.

Entered and this time I will be sure to cross the mats with the right group!