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I agree Porky, its nothing but a charade and no need to keep it up any longer. Us regular cyclists will never see any benefit for our money, so just cut the c**p, ask for the R70.00 as a donation, you can still get all our details etc, and send us a nice pre printed, generic thank you which we can use as a license, its greener as we use less plastic and most of us dont even need or use it anyway. I lost my card last year, and I will probably loose this one as well, shows how many times I needed it.!

Fit can be an issue, but lower back pain can have very serious underlying issues like mechanical damage, spinal misalignment etc. Before fiddleinig on fit etc visit a doc and ask him to check for mechanical issues which may need to be addressed. If all is well, MOST back pain is not fitment issues (this is commonly thrown around for every bicycle problem) but mostly caused by pushing too big a gear for too long for your current lower back strength level. Runners get exactly the same problem when running too far and overworking the lower back which is a stabilising muscle and easily overworked. ..............and runners have no fitment issues.! Anyway, its basically just overworked muscles like any other. Except the lower back gos easily into spasm takes much longer to recover from the inflamatory process than other muscles and when you continue working it hard it just gets worse. The only remedy is rest and anti inflamatory medication, and building up the strength level of these muscles.

There is NO other reason Slowbee, believe me, I am in the import and distribution business myself, not cycling but we hold the distributorship for a number of international brands which we either manufacture and / or distribute under license to most of the major retailers and hundreds of independants. We have a concept store where the customer can walk in, see the entire range, and buy what he wants at retail. NO MANUFACTURER cares two hoots, they want numbers and how you get it is up to you, and believe me we represent manufacturers 10 x the size of the cycling industry. Anyway, as an aside I have sold the company which has been in my family for over 50 years to a mulitnational distributor, and, as of 30 Jan I am semi retired, at the ripe old age of 50.!! So lets get involved with this discussion, I am not someone guessing here I know what I am talking about, and furthermore - "I have all day to beat THIS drum".! widget2009-01-17 02:32:41

Isnt there another Harrys Pancakes in Sabie? Pretty sure I went to one there last year, but never go to Dullstroom, for me, its just a tourist mecca of cheap knock off animal curios and an odd assortment of retailers selling overpriced food and silk bedding. Anyway, I dont think there was anything initially wrong with the motivation behind the Hello Peter site, it had good merit and helped a lot of people who were fairly powerless before. However, over time it has been abused and now the motivation behind the site is financial from both sides. Unfortunately without some mechanism to verify complaints posted and ensure they are factual and not padded with emotion, the site has degenerated into a "gripe fest" with few people paying any attention. Also remember when the site came into use, the idea of a customer care centre was foreign to most SA businesses and "Hello Peter" filled that gap nicely, however, nowadays, most major businesses have there own in house complaint resolution centre and deal with customer issues there, so they seldom even bother to respond to these posts.

This scenario is been played out all over the world. Worldwide (and dont let anybody tell you differant) manufacturers are trying to get CLOSER to their customer base, many open concept stores (similar to Adidas, Nike etc here) so that they have their finger on the pulse of whats happening and can showcase all the latest products. SA appears to be moving in totally the opposite direction with distributors doing their level best to not deal with clients ( I crashed and broke an STI some time back, took it to the shop and was told the Shimano distributors only sell pairs not singles) so I phoned coolheat, they treated me like a pariah - so I spent 10 minutes and bought on-line ex USA. Sorry, Steve, but those are the facts - anyway, water under the bridge, the fact is it wont be long before distributors will be forced to sell to clients direct through channels like concept stores or on-line, the local market is in recession and as prices climb customers will look for cheaper alternatives, the attrition in the Cycle business will start comes winter, only the strong businesses like Cajees, Solomans and the like will weather it with a smile, but I predict few other boutique stores will survive. I spend 5 months a year travelling internationally, SA is still clinging to the old supply chain of manufacturer / wholesaler - distributor - retailer, this is as old as the dinosaur, today distributors / wholesalers all over the world are selling direct - I see it happening here sooner rather than later.

For a company thats been pushing franchise stores, to now alledgedly be selling (or already sold) their flagship store,.......................... is not a good omen to me.!

If you paid R100.00 you showed commitment, there is nothing they can do to you legally at the present. Obviously it cannot continue indefinately, but no creditor will get judgement against you for at least 6 months if you continue to pay something every month. Chin up, it will get better.

You have notified them of your predicament, but they can still proceed legally against you if you do not pay something, you need to show some commitment as well, make an effort to pay anything, even if its only R50.00 - as long as you pay something, theres nothing they can do.

I actually like to buy in a shop like that.! It shows me they are prosperous and moving stock which means generally they are busy. The best dive shop I have ever been into was in Marseille in France, it had a similar system, boxes everywhere, bits all over the place, stuff stuck in the ceiling etc, compressors roaring in the back, empty cylinders all over.......... if you wanted something you called the assistant (he never came to you) who looked like a hobo in short pants and a scruffy shirt, asked him what you needed, he scratched his head, dived under a few boxes and comes out with your requirements!!. As for pricing it was a similar affair, he would scratch his chin mumble something, you tell him its too expensive, he rolls his eyes and gives you a better price, you haul out your card and pay. Great fun, and the shop is ALWAYS packed full with stock and customers. You can keep your glitzy half baked shops, give me a real experience anytime.!

I think Mr Els and Pro -Bike are running for cover, 70% increase is plain unheard of. As someone else said, Pro-Bike is a big supplier to the chains, like me, Mr Els will deal with these buyers and I can assure you they will NOT tolerate a 70% increase, he will be laughed out the door. So watch carefully, Pro-Bike products at these stores will go up by about 15% if he is a top negotiater, they really like him and he gives them a nice 2009 calender, the losses he makes there will be passed onto the high end bikes sold in the glitzy chrome and glass shops. Pro-bike can never afford to loose the chain stores, they move big numbers, payment is guaranteed and they keep Pro-bikes volume up at the manufacturers - these products will not be moving much, price wise.!!

Be like me, - I dont have any tools. ..................Sorry, I do, a bent screwdriver I use to open paint cans, an old claw hammer I use to close paint cans and a pair of pliers, I use that to straighten the screwdriver occassionally.! I also have a paint brush, I think, I may have lost it in the paint can.

Its all been gone over before and of course we can be pleased injuries are minimal, but we should never compare a slow moving truck and trailor with a slow moving bunch of cyclists.The implication is always that a motorist waits behind a truck, but wont wait behind a bunch of cyclists so the motorist is impatient and inconsiderate to the cyclists. However we must remember a truck and trailor has nowhere to go, its using up the lane because of its size, not because the driver is inconsiderate, motorists know this and accept it. Cyclists using up a lane ARE been inconsiderate, because they can minimise their profile on the road by riding single file or at most two abreast - motorists know this as well and expect cyclists to do so - so when we dont, we have issues.!

I concur slowpoke - there is a real lack of compassion in this country in all walks of life. I have been disturbed about this incident since my wife who witnessed it told me, I have prayed hard for all concerned, but still, I have a nagging concern that this will just get swept away like so many other incidents and nobody will learn from it.

I am not sure I agree with that comment slowpoke, I am fully aware SOME cyclists have no interest in their fellow man, but that runs through the entire population be they runners, cyclists or couch potatoes, I do believe most cyclists out there on the day are rational people doing the best they can at the time. One death is too many, and one AVOIDABLE death is tragic, it seems to me there were compounded elements which lead to the fatality, we cant just lay the blame entirely at the cyclists door.

I dont get this " died doing something they loved bit" - what is your field of comparison here? Personally I am disturbed at the lack of compassion by some posters here, I understand a medic cleared him to continue, if they were not trained for the position, thats negligence, they should not have passed a medical opinion, if they were unsure, they should have suggested he stop there and then and seek further advise from a qualified person. My brother is a doctor of 30 years experience, I ran the scenario by him, his first comment was - were the people who checked him initially at the stand qualified advanced medical personall? - it seems not. His second comment was, In a race or an event of this nature one places their life in the hands of the medical personal, if it took 30 / 40 minutes to reach him as has been suggested, thats unacceptable, in a critical heart attack one has a small window of opportunity, 30 minutes is outside that window. His third comment was, Most people accept a medical opinion at face value, there is a huge responsibility on the medical person to err on the side of been conservative. This is an awefull situation for the family and even I feel somewhat disturbed by it, and I have no connection whatsoever, its not good enough to just say, we had "X" medics on duty, "Y" ambulance services on standby etc, response needs to be 5 minutes no more in a critical situation and rather than just having "bodies" on duty, have trained people able to make responsible decisions. widget2008-11-18 01:42:28

Its the oddest thing, I always liked the top of the range ASCIS running shoes when I ran Comrades, etc the same ones Bruce and Nick wore actually, I can also quite often remember trudging up Pollys shorts in my latter races while folks in those friggin "other" sport shoes trotted past, until I read Capris post I was oblivious to the fact they might have been "sickened" by the fact I had these nice shoes, they didnt, and my ability was somewhat less than theirs. I guess the fact I still like wearing them casually will also have to stop now, and I will today go and buy a R60.00 pair of white takkies, because I know there is no way I can run Comrades again and I might just sicken a few folk with these really nice shoes in the mall.

Absolute waste of time and the worst possible venue for number collection. Never, ever,ever,ever,ever,ever again. It took me 45 minutes to get to the SCC yesterday evening after work, so got there at 6.30pm, and they wouldnt let me in. I mean, for heavens sake, they closed at 18.00 hours, at least stay open till 8pm and give people an opportunity to get there after work, or must we all just disappear during office hours so they can go home early.?? Disgracefull, for a Johannesburg based operation, where its known there is heavy traffic and people work till 5pm, its just a show of incompetance and "couldnt give a d**n attitude." This morning I asked my wife to go fetch the numbers as "Yes, I work on Saturdays as well" and she spent the best part of an hour in the Sandton city area in traffic getting into the centre, and getting out again. I told her to just leave it and we will forget riding, I need this aggro like I need a second head.! Anyway, she persevered and collected the numbers, but she is better than me, I would have just gone home.! Said, she didnt really stop anywhere to look, but thought the expo was small and nothing caught her eye. Anyway, rant over, but thats me and the 94.7 - I have other things to do than sit around in traffic and be inconvenienced by a bunch of goons who want my money but make it difficult for me to support.!

- Good one.! I personally think most sellers have an overinflated opinion of the value of their goods anyway, just because you paid XYZ for it, is not a mechanism to conclude you can ask ABC price for it. Maybe you overpaid initially.! Some products do come down in price, Garmin is a good example, its cheaper today than two years ago even though the rand has depreciated and freight costs are higher, competition in the market saw to that. In the USA they work on a simple formula, when you buy it and take it out of the shop, you loose 50% of the value immediately. You then deduct a further 10 - 15% for every year you use it, so an item two years old is only worth approx. 30% of its original cost,(less any taxes etc) and thats assuming its in good workable condition - or else its worth much less. Personally I think comments on the product are fine, not everyone is in the loop on present prices, sustainable condition etc so I cant see any problem. widget2008-11-11 05:42:55

Its pretty much the same as hiding behind a bush and jumping into a race 3kms down the road to avoid paying for an entry. ...............but I know of quite a few cyclists who think thats quite acceptable, usually they will justify it by saying its public roads, they dont partake of the drinks, they dont take a medal etc, but again, it boils down to morals - some have them some dont.!

I assume you are talking about "The fast one"?? Hotels and guest houses are limited in the Vereeniging / Vanderbijlpark area, the Riviera Hotel in Vereeniging is one or the Holiday Inns in Vanderbijlpark is another, both within easy cycling distance of the finish. There is also FORMULA 1 hotel in Vereeniging, I often drive past it and rates are quite reasonable, but I cant comment on the accomodation standard. There is a very nice guest house "Weavers nest" in Vereeniging, quite upmarket so probably the same price as the hotels, but I personally wouldnt stay at any of the other guest houses I have seen. Remember, driving from anywhere in the Vaal Triangle is at least 70 kms to the start, and if you dont know the area, be sure to have a Garmin, it can get quite complicated. Riding back......................hmmmm, not ever going to be an option for me!