slowpoke

Peloton - the Hilux... the next Navara I see is toast I tell you, TOAST - they come with automatic blinkers to ensure that the blind spots are never checked. Saw one almost take out a Mazda sedan with mother and child on way home yesterday. Bugger didn't even apologise to the lady!

TNT, lemme guess - AMZ or Richardvz?

100% agree. I do 122.8km MINIMUM per weekday (just to get to work and back) and there are ampl guys on the highway with me that ride big bikes the way i do (reasonable speed) and then those that ride like fools. Same with the cars - the idiots who you see a few km later wrapped in the barricades (ps N14 has just had a whole lot of the metal barricades replaced following a few bad smashes the last 2 months). You also get the bad cyclists who cycle like tjops. The biggest problem is a non-biker views ALL bikers as if they are tjops, a non-driver (or anti-driver) sees ALL drivers as if they are tjops and a non-cyclist sees ALL cyclists as tjops. Classic case of "when I do right, no-one remembers, when I do wrong no-one forgets" As long as any "lack of sympathy" is reserved for those of ALL groups who deserve it then I grant you that viewpoint (and agree with you)

There were a number of factors involved in selecting this date. As to OFM, I don't think that that will affect the nmbers too drastically - anything more than the 16 who pitched (less than the number of marshals we had) last year will be worth it. As to training for 94.7, nothing is stopping anyone from cycling to and from the venue to get in the mileage. Anyway, that close to the race you're not gonna be able to make much difference to your fitness or power levels. The real aim is to show that cyclists also have hearts and also give back to the community. The original Toy Run started to (A) give something to the kids and (B) show that bikers aren't so bad. Why aren't cyclists jumping at the opportunity to do likewise, just without the legwork of organising it themselves? Cyclists do have a very bad reputation and at that time of year it gets so much worse - here is the chance to try change those views, just in time for the 94.7 Who from that side of town would like to help out in terms of finding a good route? We're thinking of using the short route from the Carnival race, or very similar - what do you guys think?

Provisional thoughts are 6 November (we need to do it before the motorbike run) and East Rand...

bump

RIP

GoG, i'm blaming both... the lack of communication would've reduced the problems, but not eliminated them. jhb does have the most aggressive folk and marshalling in jhb or jhb north to north-west is a horrid job due to the abusive and bad attitude of the other road useres - their church service/lunch/golf game are always worth driving over cyclists/runners/bikers, and they are more than happy to say so

gautrain or metrorail?

hit nail head

precisely. and no, it's not like this is the only time that marshals and officials have been abused by local jhb residents. it is just that this was an international event AND went through the most aggressive part of jhb (rivonia/sandton area) when it comes to the "i own the road" attitude. also, it was (from reports) one of the worst instances of this typical behaviour. i am embarassed to be south african (and from jhb specifically) due to the disgusting behaviour of its' motorists. it could, however, have been alleviated to an extent, had the effected self-entitled drivers had sufficient warning about the event by means of signage etc on the route for a few weeks preceding the event.

lol, but maybe you could've stepped a bit further back and got hte real action of the day in... frisbee on the corner of montecasino boulevard and witkoppen... the road closure was good for nothing other than that!

kranswurm, i thought you looked familiar *blush* just why oh why did we have so much food left over??? we were offering to EVEYONE who chatted to us and there were still bagloads left over!

let darwinism deal with them

Cycfan, as Joe Low said... it's MS your complaint is that the officials and marshals did not stop the bunch or separate them... as i have stated previously attempts to do this tried and failed due to C4 riders deliberately blocking hte marshals and comm vehicles getting past and REFUSING to back off OR stop despite instructions to do so. the AL tandem group had been behind "civilian" vehicles so they were only seen when they were a couple of hundred meters back. that is when an attempt was immediately made to get the C4s to hold back and let the passing bunch go... when a C4 rider having heard this slipstreamed me and swung out to my right into the AL tandem bunch. the rest of the C4 bunch took one look at him and did likewise, ingoring me completely. what should i have done - ride over the idiot and cause a crash? you'd have had a right to complain had i done that. when the C4 race was cancelled i and the other marshal again at the instruction of the comms moved up the entire length of the bunch to advise accordingly and to confirm to the comms in front that we had done so. this is when we were both sworn at. what should have happened then - should the front comms have slammed anchors and seen how many cyclists could fly over her bakkie????? the other marshal and i then dropped back (i did so by leaving the tar and i suspect this is when my bike got damaged) and we advised the rear comms of what had transpired. he then said to help get him to the front of the bunch. at this stage the riders refused to let us past - they were enjoying a photo moment (another issue - cyclists, be it on bicycles or not, don't seem to understand that constant hooting means "get out the way" - any thoughts on how to deal with this or should we just ride straight over them?). the comm was shouting out his car for the C4s to drop out of the bunch - he was also subjected to foul language by more than one rider. IE EVERY EFFORT SHORT OF DELIBERATELY CAUSEING PHYSICAL HARM WAS TAKEN TO FIRST GET THE C4S OUT OF THE BUNCH IN ORDER TO RESUME THEIR RACE AWAY FROM THE OTHES AND THEN WHEN THAT FAILED EVERY SAFE EFFORT WAS MADE TO GET TEHM TO STOP BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN DISQULIFIED. so criticism of the C4 officials is not warranted in any way shape or form. ps marshals do not make ANY race related decisions. the only decisions we may take are those directly related to road safety (ie to block vehicles at an intersection and then leap frog the bunch etc) decisions re holding a bunch back or disqualifying a bunch/rider are entirely the responsibility of the comms. the marshals merely convey this. in fact, 99% of anything we ever say to you is at direct request of the comms (ie comm will call us to window and say "get the cars past now" - then we get the cars past and tell you as we're doing so that cars are passing. SO this means that when you swear at us you are swearing at the comms... no wonder the comm got so annoyed, especially cos he heard you lot swearing at us.

RIP Graham. you will be missed.

THE RACE COMMISSAIRES TRIED TO GET YOU BUNCH TO BEHAVE 1N THE FOLLOWING BUNCH APPEARED IN OUR MIRRORS 9YES, BIKES AND CARS HAVE MIRRORS) CALLS WERE MADE AND DUE TO SITUTATION MARSHAL (READ "ME") RODE FORWARD AND SCREAMED (WHO IS GONNA SAY I'M QUIET????) TO KEEP LEFT THE NEXT BUNCH IS PASSING. ODD THAT SOME (INCLUDING THOSE AT THE FRONT) HEARD AND THE REST OF THE C4 PEOPLE DIDN'T??????????????????? WTF??????????????? YOU CHOSE TO IGNORE AND SWEAR AT ME!!!!!!!!!! YOU THEN CHOSE AGAINST INSTRUCTION TO JUMP IN WITH THE TANDEMS AND ALS AND F-UP THEIR RACE YOU IGNORED BEING TOLD TO DROP BACK - MY BIKE IS ************ AND I AM COMMUTING TO WORK IN FEAR OF HAVING TO DO AN EMERGENCY BRAKE BECAUSE OF YOU BUNCH OF TWATS UNTIL I CAN FIX IT I DIDN'T GO VISIT AN OLD FAMILY FRIEND WHO HAS NOW DIED OF CANCER - I AS ASKED TO MARSHAL 1 WEEK AGO... SECOND TIME I PUT KEEPING YOU BUNCH OF INGRATES AHEAD OF VIRPI... NOW SHE IS DEAD AND ALL I READ IS "MARSHALS DIDN'T..." WHEN WE DID AND "COMMS DIDN'T" WHEN THEY DID YOU CHOSE TO IGNORE IT YOUR CHOICE YOU ALS HEARD THE INSTRUCTIONS TANDEMS HEARD THE INSTRUCTIONS YOU HEARD BUT CHOSE TO IGNORE THE INSTRUCTIONS WHY SHOULD ANYONE MARSHAL FOR YOU?????

does Kurt know?

trubie, if you point said rider out to me next time i'll klap him hard enough to sort him out before the race event starts - any legal defence will be 100% honest that i would prefer not to spend 80km putting my life and bike in danger because of him

both the C4 comms said that C4 is to be DQd in it's entirety. sorry to the FEW who did pull over at first request but seriously... to the C3 and C4 guys concerned... 1 - if you get dropped by C3 do NOT jump in to the C4 bunch 2 - if the next bunch catches you and the marshal (at request of comm) rides up saying "get left please and let the next bunch go" it does NOT mean "ooh, your d$%^ is small, speed up and mess up their race" 3 - when the marshals then come up and instruct that the tandems be allowed to go and the C4 to drop back (ie C4 to the back, then the rest, then the tandems can be on their way" do NOT come with shitty attitudes 4 - when the marshal then comes and says "C4s, the comm says your race is over, please pull out now" do NOT continue with **** attitude. if you are NOT C4 then let the marshal past to advise all. when the marshals and the comms are hooting to get past and yelling for ALL C4s to pull over DO SO. bunch of pathetic twits and the C3s who were in that bunch were also disgusting. the whole damn lot deserve the DQ that both comms said they were gonna get. it is just a pity that the few guys who DID behave must now also suffer a DQ. you lot always bitch and moan that the safety etc is not up to scratch - but ffs, if you deliberately disregard the rules AND ignore instructions then what the heck do you expect??? i need to take my SV to be fixed (having just spent over R2k oon a service i seriously can't afford this) because of damage sustained by "offroading" etc while playing "chicken" with 18 wheelers and luxury 4x4s in order to get you safely to the finish line. at this stage the ONLY reason i've not stopped marshalling is that i have friends who are cyclists. and in this instance a whole lot who have been negatively affected - someone who DID pull over when asked to do so, tandem riders and A bunch riders. all of whom did NOT have a good day because of the idiots in the C4 bunch and the C3 dropouts who contributed to the mayhem

RIP Carla :-(

ag noooo :-( heal up soon

(ps, i'm on leave till the 10th...)

RIP cyclist or motorcyclist - still a person (and a person on 2 wheels)

RIP :-(