slowpoke

don't tempt me... the mood i'm in today my camera's timer function might just get used... the photo will haunt and torture you all for the rest of your lives.... a good number of kg overweight, currently zero tan, ancient (read pre-historic) idt (hope the meteore fits). i'd just have to fashion mud guards out of an old ice cream container!

you can keep the streamers if you put a hardley dangerous logo on your bike somewhere!

Oiy! some of us wear them to try avoid the infamous tan lines (ok, so some of us girls are materialistic and image-conscious.... ;P )

purdy!!!

saturday 27 november - the saturday after the 94.7

darkhorse, i'm an "ou vrou" compared to the racing ladies, but due to a really sily thing i did (aka get licenced to pilot a blind lady at disablility champs) i was dumped in the fearful situation of either having to pay for a reseed or start with the racing girls back at the 2005 94.7 cycle challenge. i was totally and utterly freaked and made up my mind to start at the very back of the start box AND to wait until they had pulled off and then just "toddle along" on my own. the attitude of the WHOLE LOT of them had me move those few meters forward and start at the back of the bunch WITH the bunch and i was encouraged to hang on as long as i could. i then "suckered" into licensing the next year to continue starting with them. with very few exceptions (and certainly not entire teams) they are a great crowd who always greeting me at the start even though they knew i couldn't hang on to the main bunch for long - they just pointed out that i'd get stronger and learn to hang on. only encouragement and good stuff.

bump

now THAT is what we love to hear/read

Indigo - if there are momento's they would be for sale and the profits will go to help out various kids' homes for groceries etc (and no, it's never a cash donation - the organisers of this event get a shopping list and go do the shopping and deliver)

NB the goal of the organisers is to make a difference in as many kids' lives as they can so if they see that us cyclists like to do that too then we'll get more and more fun ways of doing so

laparos, help to make this inaugural event work and we'll see what we can do in the future

Yep - road event, gauteng, jhb south (sorry, the venue is a fixed location pre-determined by the charity concerned). not Jakaranda Childrens's home but kids and kids and more kids from all over - main goal being toys but please remember not all kids want soft toys, and these days the organisers like educational and sports stuff (ok, so that's a bit of a give away) due to the location there are certain constraints relating to catering so we are busy looking into that to see what we can do the discatnce will not be very far - it is the saturday after 94.7 so there will be a lot of stiff and sore legs so we're going to focus the route and distance on the social riders

1 our and no-one's even READ this????

OK, I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place - it kinda belongs in more than one spot... I'll start by asking who remembers a couple of years back when a whole lot of us gautengers got together and took stuff to Jakaranda Children's home? Man what a ride and man what a feeling. Who wants to do something similar again? I have a date (27 November - the Saturday after the 94.7), I have a VERY established charity (all will be revealed in due course) and I have commitment of non-cyclists to make this happen... so now it's up to cyclists. What I need to know from you lot is: - what makes you WANT to do charity stuff (eg give toys / clothes / stationery / etc) to those who need it? - do you want a momento? (nb being a charity thing you'd have to pay for said momento) - do you want a "larney" post ride venue and refreshments or just somehwere to at least get a cooldrink? - would you be willing to do an "online registration" in advance to help give an indication of number of marshals etc required to support you? any other ideas or suggestions? (and no, the date and venue are not negotiable, but the venue is big, trust me on this)

always use spell check before posting do not use cough syrup

i only carry plugs and bombs... motorbike and mountainbike... "if it can't be plugged it can't be ridden" is my motto ;-)

as mtbBarbie says, a lot of damage can be done by giving the wrong help... eg moving a rider. for those who do believe in stopping and assisting a fallen rider: - if there is a 1st aider follow their instructions - if rider is down/out do not move them - direct the traffic around them - if rider is up-and-about get them and their bike out the way - if rider has taken a knock to the head but wants to ride on, don't let them (even if they are "up and about" but especially if they keep passing out each time they try to get up) - if rider is badly injured check for their emergency info (911 band or whatever) so that it's handy when the medics get there - check that rider's cell phone is working and if battery is low copy off the ICE number or if they are able to tell you who to call that person's number - if there is any chance that the rider has serious injuries, broken anything badly or might need an op do not in any circumstances allow food/drink - if rider has fallen due to dehydration get them to lie down (in shade) with feet up and give them rehydrat, water or energy drink (in that order of preference) that's just a starter list i've done first aid level 1 and 2 courses, customised for extreme sport and for motorbiking so i always stop. cycling, mountainbiking, motorbiking or simply a stock standard mva (motor vehicle accident). my bestest "feel good" moments in life are when badly injured people let me know they are fine a while later (eg a girl whose hand got almost-ripped-off in a truck accident, bones snapped and hanging by about 3cm of skin) called me about 3 months later and let me know that her hand was saved, and the docs said it was due to the correct 1st aid at the scene. So if you don't know what to do and other people have stopped to assist, unless they call out for help (eg traffic control) you should rather stay out the way. but yes, a witness to the actual event is always helpful

wanna-b, i can relate to how you feel. if it hadn't been for the spectators at the 'shova back in 2006 when i came down i'd also have no clue as to what had happened as not a single rider stopped (yet according to 2 of them the woman who "took me out" definitely did look back and saw that i'd hit the deck and looked pretty lifeless to everyone from the moment i hit the tar). that is why i will NEVER do any mass participation event - i am too aware of the callousness of other riders. at most i'll do interclubs one day when i'm fit again - they year i went down during that one of the Club100 girls deliberately turned around to take care of me even though i wasn't with their club. i truly hope you heal up soon and with no complications or permanent damage.

this is bad news. hope he heals up soon.

i broke a spoke on one of my wheels a couple of years back... and the end bit is somewhere in the rim... you eventually don't even notice it

if the for sale and wanted items were excluded from the latest topics that would be a HUGE step in the right direction. then the next URGENT thing would be the "hover over" javascript to include the first sentance/whatever of the topic.

+1

i agree 100%

covie, surely then for safety sake it makes sense if you are in a car to always (even at a green light, stop street, etc) yeild to the potentially gun-wielding taxi/bus/whatever. also then for safety's sake you should also not defend yourself or your property if attacked/mugged/etc? yours is one view on the matter. another view is: the rider going up will have more difficulty to get going again. hence logic would say that they should be left to retain what little momentum they might have. yet another view is: you have greater control of your bike going downhill so it is easier to take evasive action. and another: if you aren't a good rider and you're belting downhill you are likely to endo if you try stop so you should have right of way. i personally do move aside whichever way i'm going - i am capable of doing so if i'm riding uphill - if it's too steep i get off and carry / push so i'll be off the track anyway. if i'm the stronger rider i feel that that means i'm capable of doing so better than the other rider and i don't care to be rude and discourage weaker/beginner riders. if i'm the weaker rider then i feel like i don't want to block the other rider. either way i do it cos i can, even if it's my ROW. but if you can't ride well enough to abide by the mtb code and generally accepted rules so be it. as you say the person with ROW will usually end up yielding anyway.

as madaboutmerida has said - internationally riders going up have ROW. but then again, internationally there is greater respect for fellow people in general. based on the argument presented by covie and company i take it they stop at green lights etc to make sure no busses or taxis etc are coming because according to them larger/faster/more aggressive entitles one to ROW? i know SA is slipping into a state of anarchy, but i always thought mtb'ers claimed to be the "friendly and polite" side of cycling - clearly that is no longer the case.