slowpoke

joaquin, please say hello to your mrs :-) perhaps a copy of the road traffic regulations should be "tabled" - to clarify salient points such as what actually constitutes "keeping left" (ie not crossing the middle line) as well as the fact that "persons operating pedal cycles and motorcycles may treat each lane as a roadway" - ie they may pass each other within the same lane where 4-or-more wheeled vehicles need to wait for a gap in another lane and change lanes to pass.

for some of us we need it every year! (touch wood - haven't needed it since 2007....)

be thankful it was just a guinea fowl and you were on a mtb... try picking bits of pigeon out a v-twin engine!

Bell / Giro - excellent crash replacement policy... glad that you're ok

leet22, what amazes me is that just over a year ago i had a "go to" with one of them after a bike accident - he was calling me all sorts of shyte for saying it's a public road so they can't ban bikers while i was standing there in my lycra. he seemed to think that because i'm a cyclist i should not be in support of bikers using the road and i must be insane for saying that while there are bikers who abuse it the majority don't and you can't judge them all by the actions of the few. he stated then that the majority of locals wanted the bikers banned but still allow cyclists. now the apparent view seems to be they want cyclists banned as they "block the road" - so an implicit allowal/approval of the "they are noisy and upset livestock" and "they always speed" bikers. obviously their moods rock as a cradle rocks - one day one thing another the next but all the time being as babies are - self centred and not able to see the bigger picture of community

well i got my mtb fixed yesterday, came home, picked up Khaled Hosseini's second novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and started reading... until i finished the darned thing. Must've got to bed well after midnight and I don't remember my alarm going off - woke up just after 8am :-(

mudda, please extend my sincere condolences to your family and to George's friends. 2010 has not started well :-(

nope ewep - by now you should know, i stick to the speed limits. you can still have fun sticking to the limits there. done it often enough.

you get teh bunch together and let me know and i'll be there. in the meantime if hubbers want an escort to ride there, as long as i'm not out cycling myself, i'll do my damndest to try assist

ewep, looks like some of the guys here don't want ot be intimidated and want to go riding there - so i'm keen to go to keep an eye that they are safe whenever they plan to go pedalling. and anytime in between - just say when

danger dassie, didn't mrples say that cyclists arent welcome in the cradle? isn't teak place in the cradle? you sure it's safe to go there???

Owen, i'd rather not hear that anything has happened to you - so rather be safe. their behaviour, comments and approach will be their own undoing and we'll then be able to cycle there safely after that.

velo, let's rather keep the cyclists away and safe. that mrples and "mr x" and cradleresident dudes seem very weird. kinda bad news for malema and the anc crowd - it appears that neanderthals were in fact whities, not blacks...........

oiy! pantani, answer my question - you gonna join for a cradle run? we'll skip thabazimbi this time, just do a lekker chilled out cruise...

Pantani, when did you get a bike, and what??? when are you joining me on a brekkies run????? i'm really keen to head out to thabazimbi again sometime, via the cradle route of course

ples and cradleresident and "mrx" - the point here is: a - go and read the National Road Traffic Regulation Act, 1996, as amended in 1998. If there is anything you do not understand \I am sure your local school teachers will be able to assist. b - "mr x" ADMITTED on the phone to the victims that it was him and that he deliberately drove recklessly and negligently. (and now it transpires that his kids were in the car with him) c - you did not buy the roads when you bought your cars, contrary to common gauteng belief - the biggest/most expensive motorised vehicle does not own the road. d - if "mr x" (and now due to ples and cr's comments them too) EVER cause any harm or injury to a cyclist or other road user this thread can quite easily be used to support charges of murder/attempted murder as you have all made it abundantly clear that you are aware that your actions could cause serious bodily harm or even death. Have any of you 3 spoken to the actual livestock farmers out there??? If it wasn't for the presence of cyclists there will be many many many more bikers out riding on the "cradle track"/"kromdraai track". Yes, that is what the bikers call the area. The camber of the road only has one or two spots that aren't condusive to getting a knee down and man-oh-man it's fun to get your knee down on your boney without having to pay the high MSA fees... Being the proud owner of 3 bikes, 2 of which are utterly perfect for knee-down I should know. So what say you - stick by the law and the 80kmph limit and wait till it's safe and legal to pass without attempting to commit murder, or let the area become a "free-Zwartkops"? (p.s. what will the impact of that be to the Rhino and Lion park?) Also, I trust you've spoken to Teak Place etc to rather change their atmosphere to one more conducive to your new road users? (you know, naked woman posters, pubs/beer halls instead of tea gardens, etc)

hmmmm.... here's an idea - what about a weekend where ALL cyclists are forewarned to stay away from the cradle route so that the bikers can go play??? surely there are enough of us cyclists who also have nice (read loud) bikes to go play at, oh say, 5am??????? it is a public road after all. and that way we'll just be doing the locals a favour by scaring off the cyclists?

i'll have to call the shop and find out when thye can look at it

i haven't taken my bike to be fixed yet :-(

hope the rider is ok

thanks slowbee and virgo. i know that i will do everything i can to avoid needing someone to tend to me hand and foot. i'm positive that wearing my helmet saved me from putting my family through this sh*t for me. wearing a helmet on the bike is the same as wearing a seatbelt when in a car or proper bike gear on the motorbike - something that people really should just do.

the first time i ever did the 'shova i have no clue how i finished... had a saddle sore and stopping meant relieving the pressure which made getting going again worse... so i didn't stop for water... was not very fit so was kinda slow... and it was hot... and i ran out of water wayyyy before reaching durbs and just kept pedalling trying to convince myself i was not in agony... i certainly wasn't by the time i finished - i was beyond agony. i also got grabbed by a couple of guys as i toppled over after finishing and getting my medal - i'd managed to get as far as some grass but couldn't unclip. they lay me down and poured coke down my throat and it took about 30-45 minutes before i could actually move or speak. i swore i'd never push that hard without sufficient fuel and water again....