Antoo

When I read some of the comments on the Hub and the nature of the engagement, I find it hard to be surprised at the rude response to landowners, as mentioned earlier. Society seems to battling with "engagement issues'...........and I find it very difficult to believe that it's a 'South African' issue, because human nature transcends borders. Starts with me/us - temper the manner in which we engage. Agree to disagree, without aggression entering the fray. Partially off topic, but......

Had ongoing issues with my 510 - first software, then started stopping/ switching off during outings. Opted to try Whahoo... My 230 has been going strong.

I reckon that Wakefield has offered up some very sound advice. Going to race in Europe as road kill is tantamount to asking fellow cyclists to fund a working holiday. Show your metal in the local events, so that when you get a GoFunMe going, we recognize the name.

I must admit that the response on the road was a bit over cooked, but must add that posts like these make me feel that the poster is looking for validation, when their behavior was not necessarily kosher. Like some folk find it alright to stand under your armpits in the ‘bank queue’, or to insist on a conversation(in the same bank queue)which assumes that you share the same political ideology. Personal space..... People cycling, whether mtb/road does not equal an homogeneous group. Unannounced, whether on road/mtb, I think that you disregarded another’s personal space......

I’m a shade of black myself, and while not offended by the description of the driver, I find that in many instances the colour of the offender/victim has no direct bearing on the incident/event. A cyclist was taken out on ‘Said str’ - cycling forum - relevant ‘cyclist’ - colour descriptor not relevant to the basic fact. A classmate of my kid was ill today - the colour descriptor has no bearing on the fact that a kid was ill. More often then not, when retelling a story, we feel the need to add a colour descriptor which, more often than not, has no bearing on the story. Whether racist/a poor habit, it’s not something my wife and I practice, nor would like our kids to learn. I have neighbors and they vary different shades of white/pink/brown/black, but they’re all pretty much neighbors, who we address by name, not colour. I cycle with other cyclists, not a colour group. I have some amazing friends - not black/white/brown/yellow friends - just friends. No need to be pc, just leave out unnecessary descriptors - it’s liberating

Sounds like a blast! Be safe and keep the updates coming

Generally rides Tues/Wed/Thurs/Sat mornings from Woodbury Garage(Google can help) - message Spoke. Vertical Spaces has the Boxing Day Short run on Boxing Day, in the Midlands(check event on Facebook) You’re welcome to message me when down here, if you’re up to some road riding in the Midlands.

Well put buddy - always enjoy well reasoned input, rather than the knee jerk stuff that social media is infamous for

‘Patch’ exposes some harsh realities.... I’ve seen pics of poor kids bumping sweets off cyclists traversing the Himalayas - looks more acceptable ‘cause they’re not ‘Black’.....sad, but speaks to our bias. A certain sector of our society is now promoting the American ‘trick or treat’ tradition in SA, which IMO is a more dignified way of begging, but begging nonetheless - I’ve yet to hear the moral out rage. I see the eager anticipation in my kids eyes when it comes to ‘treats’ and I’m left without a doubt that if circumstance was very different, they could easily have been those kids on the side of the road..... So while my initial response may be irritation, once my Oakley Prizm lenses of privilege have been safely tucked into my matching helmet, empathy becomes the reality. Cause poverty must fall

I could be wrong, but from the bulk of these comments, I gather that a good few of us assume that everyone rides to get 'fit and strong'. I have my reservations about that... I, for one, do not ride to get 'fit and strong'. I ride primarily because I enjoy getting being 'out there', and more so on my bike(or one of them, at any rate). I enjoy being 'out there', pushing my lawn mower as well - gives ME a similar sense of solitude/peace. Perhaps there's others that can identify, but if not, that's of no consequence to me. Not long ago, I read an interesting article on SS bikes and how they were the real deal - I don't own one, or have any desire to! EBike, I don't own one, or have any desire to, but that said, if that's how my neighbor would like to enjoy our back yard, I'm happy for him. Whether you'd like to hop on your 29er, 26er, hardtail, softail, steel, carbon, alloy, titanium, 9/10/11sp, mech/electronic, EBike, get out there and enjoy life. Fat free/low fat/ full cream/ sugar free........ you decide for you and let the EBikers be. As an after thought, if I were too tackle the Cols of leTour, I'd probably enjoy it more on an Ebike. Not interested in the purity of the climb, but the amazing vistas...... Happy to leave my Garmin/s at home for that outing

I'm trying to understand the reference that point you to the 'only in Africa' part of your post? My mother in lawoften sends parcels thru from Oz and gets frustrated if there is a Customs delay/ cost on our side - on probing, we find that the system is pretty much the same Down Under........ When we get out more, we find that 'only in Africa' is more often than not a vast exaggeration

Informative and useful articles, for sure! #homegrown

I have to admit that my family has benefitted greatly from The Vitality/Discovery gym benefit. Signed up 8yrs ago and have averaged 120 visits a year(besides my wife and others), without a single swipe and go. This besides the fact that I cannot get to gym over Nov/Dec every year. The introduction of Wattbikes, into the gyms, has added even more value to my membership! Now meet my personal cycling minimums in winter, without having to face the midlands early morning temperatures - what a bonus! Trumping gym, is getting out on the road, so I get out there. My personal fitness goals trump Vitalities, which I easily make weekly. Easily make their target off a single midweek jaunt, in the Midlands, so coffee/smoothie/cappuccino sorted(if that's the point). Apple watches aside, perhaps some of us need to take the hint from Vitality, up our personal ante and get out there! set your own targets and please, not as 'unchallenging' as Vitalities. This is a cycling forum, or am I on the Midlands security group????????????????????????????????????????????????????

talk about the saints flogging a dead horse......

I converted from 10 sp to 11sp SRAM Force, last year. Upgraded shifters, cassette, chain and front derailleur. The only reason that I changed the front derailleur was because I wanted the YAW technology, which is brilliant. My existing rear derailleur works perfectly, as does my existing crankset. My understanding of exact actuation is that the degree of pull from the shifter, is answered by the exact same degree of movement by the derailleur, so 10sp or 11sp shifter will get the required shift as long as the correct cassette is used.

I know of 2 bike shops that were run and owned by 'cyclophiles', in the greater Pmb area, that have had to shut their doors and their owners were/are pretty good guys. Then there's the booming bike shop in Pmb, where the owners make it clear that they sell bikes, not ride them. This after more than 25years in business and they're still going strong. It would appear to me that the average cyclist is looking for good prices and availability of gear, rather than agony aunt relationships with their lbs. But I must admit that there are those that enjoy the conversation with the 'family barber', every time they check in, but then there are others, like myself, who'd like a 'cut&go', without the random chatter.

And can you believe how happy those Thai cyclists look? Probably no Hubbers out there looking for a 'near miss' opportunity to report to the 'Hubberhood', so they get to concentrate on enjoying the ride. I just can't imagine myself stopping random strangers, to give them a road safety lesson, when they're probably more concerned about their own well being then I am.

What's the relevance of the statement 'So I pass this lot with relative ease', except to make known that you were riding harder than the bunch? I would imagine that your questions would be better answered by the management of the club in question, who are reachable by phone/email. The growing culture of growing 'mob support',on social forums, rather than taking up concerns with relevant parties is becoming tiresome

I reckon that there has too be a certain amount of idiocy in one to take to cycling... and I confess that I'm an idiot. Gee, I just felt a rush of relief wash over me. It's out there, I'm and idiot! I love cycling

I find it very difficult to believe that the 30k cyclists doing the Argus will be 'gunning' for cyclists in MCC colours on the road. It fascinates me that our moral outrage, at the incident in question, would cause some of us to threaten equally poor behaviour and we feel justified at that. We shall rally the masses to meter out mob justice........... Enjoy the race guys and stand tall in your colours.

Not everyone that buys an all wheel drive vehicle likes going off road with it, nor does everyone that buys a super bike enjoy excessive speed. They buy it because that can and that's what they'd like. I imagine the same with a bicycle. I bought my full carbon bicycle because I wanted to, the same as my alloy one. They both have very different geometries and ride differently, and you only get what you put in, out of both....

My heart is warmed by the fact that many of our stemmed 'Hubbers' have sprouted winglets and halo's of late, because there have been too many expressions of how "they would', if faced with a given situation. Then again, given the responses of many, I doubt very much that their behaviour would have been any different to the said parties involved. I do not know the extent of the provocation that led to the attack, but the lack of restraint thereafter is disturbing. The subsequent lack of restraint by many of the hubbers, when commenting, is equally disturbing. Were these not the same folk who were at the fore front of the mob that gathered after Burry's incident?

I'm certain that there aren't any cyclists 'down', who come back and look for sympathy on The hub. I imagine that they're coasting wherever they're enjoying the next life. I'm sure that those riding without lights have weighed up the risks and made their call, so why would I want to spoil my day, by taking exception to their choice.

I'm not so sure who the bigger ...... is, because gathering from the above post, you seem to have cut your own nose off to spite the race organisers.

Second last stop, to sort out my squeaking BB, was copper paste in an aerosol can. It most definitely stopped the squeaking(as will all the products noted above), though it did not resolve the cause of the squeak, which was movement of drive side cup. In fact. my drive side cup, which was the squeaker, started to slowly easy out of the BB and after every couple 100km's I'd have to pull out my crank and repress the cup in. Have since fixed my drive side cup into the BB with Loctite and no more squeaks and no movement in the cups.