jeremyd

On Saturday at about 8:15 a cyclist collapsed near Valverde in the Cradle. Numerous people stopped to help the guy until the ambulance arrived. He was transported to hospital where by the time we got there, he had made a full recovery. He'd very much like to get in touch with the people who helped him, especially the 2 gentlemen who sat with him as well as the Lavazza guy who phoned the ambulance. Please PM so that I can put you in touch with him. Now this isn't a punt for tracker, however, when the ambulance was phoned, they had no idea where Valverde was and we were battling to direct them. As happens, they in fact got lost as they had been dispatched in the wrong direction. The cyclelab groups have been carrying an experimental tracking unit where if something goes wrong, they can activate it and an emergency vehicle is dispatched. It was in fact from that activation that the Netcare 911 car arrived at the scene. Just a heads up, we had to search for the any information and emergency contact details for the guy. He was fortunate that he had an iphone that one of the guys was able to open using his thumb, but had it been a Samsung with a password we wouldn't have had a way to contact his family. Please either get an ICE ID or carry some form of emergency information with you when you ride. You never know when it may be needed. Charl he has your number already.

OK so you're assuming that what was reported by the OP is the truth and nothing but the truth? Remember there are always at least 3 sides to any story

Awesome, glad I don't have to figure out the scoring

Storms are are double edged sword. Help with fire control but tend to lead to mudslides as the ground no longer has the vegetation to hold the water.

Herein lies the problem. If there is a blantant disregard for the rules and (this is the kicker) we are able to identify the person, the club will investigate. If the person is deemed to have brought the club into disrepute, they will be removed from the club. Yeah before you lambast me, this is all theory. Works fantastically in a perfect world. Personally, if someone is riding like a tosser on my marshalled ride, I will chat "politely" to them and after that tell them to remove themselves from our ride. (I then do report it to the club). (We have requested paintball guns for marshals to take on rides and name and shame with a bright yellow "dot" but it was deemed dangerous and counter productive. Not sure why?) I think the point of my rant is not so much to say "hey we're angels and it doesn't happen to us" The issue is I'm tired of ALWAYS taking the hits. CL is probably the biggest club in the Cradle and is the most visible. Is everyone in the Cradle wearing CL kit on the club ride(or even a member for that matter)? Hell no! Are they the only transgressors? Hell no! Are they the only ones who "give" abuse? Hell no and I can personally attest to this. An idiot on a bike will always be an idiot on a bike not matter what club they ride for, but to brand CL as the Prime Evil is like saying (and get the popcorn) all BMW/Merc/Audi (pick one) drivers are jerks.

whew that was cathartic! now I can get on with some workl.

Oh please do! and make sure you don't edit out the all the other cyclists who jump robots, ride 4 abreast, pass when it isn't safe to do so, don't wear helmets, stop in the middle of the yellow lane to ensure that no-one can get round, drop gu/goo/whatever packets on the the road, ride the wrong way up the mountain bike path, shout abuse at other riders passing because they feel they have the right to own the road etc etc etc!. Hell I'm sick to death of people constantly lambasting Cyclelab! yes I do ride with them, Yes I do marshal for them, yes I do my damndest to keep people in line, yes I take it as a personal affront when people keep knocking the club because they saw someone doing something wrong. Why don't we open a thread where we can post every single jersey that we see that does something wrong road. There isn't a single club or group that hasn't at one stage or another broken cycling rules. No-one is that good! The difference is, I try, we try, the club really does try to get people to ride safely and as correctly as possible. No I don't work for them, I just try enjoy my rides on a weekend! And yes, I do shout out when other riders go through the red robot, cause sure as your grandma sucks eggs, someone will blame cyclelab on Monday.

would love to know what group it was because as a rule (RULE not a suggestion) we stop at red robots. I will often get abused by non cycle lab riders who are pissed we've stopped. Pity you didn't have video because that would enable the club to get rid of the "inertia" riders. Having said that, It sounds like one of the faster groups which would only have 1 group leader. He rides at the front and there is NO excuse for going through red. He unfortunately wont have any control of those behind him shooting through a red.

For those that say they have control over their circumstances when they ride around their neighbourhoods - if my wife hadn't been wearing her helmet in our estate, chances are I'd be feeding her and wiping the spit from her mouth. She came round a corner very slowly, but there was a bit of moss growing in the road. She hit the pavement on the corner and did her helmet in. No helmet, no wife. simple. Your arguments about just going out for a ride around the block are the same as those who used to say I don't need a seatbelt, I'm just going to the shops. If you don't want to wear a helmet, that's your choice but just keep a note on you for the paramedic to say DO NOT RESUSITATE. and save them the time and anguish.

anybody spot the fact that the dude on the left hasn't got a helmet on?

I didn't ride so wont comment about the race, but some of the comments before already gave an indication that there was going to be plenty of walking for technical and bottleneck reasons. OP, it sucks! I fell off my bike 1 week before sani. Just hit a rutt and it was all over. I feel for you. The issue I have is the medical timing. 2 years ago a friends fell in the 94.7 mtb race. I arrived literally seconds after it happened. We could see the start but it took 1 1/2 hours to get him out of there and we eventually loaded him into a bakkie to get him out. Speaking to the radiographer afterwards, he told me that the first medic on the scene should have called in immediately with "patial amputation" which would have meant helicopter evacuation. he nearly lost the use of his hand. The medic on the scene had no authority to administer pain medication. Needless to say his wife gave hime the choice, her or the mtb. (yeah yeah he made his decision:) The issue is, there don't appear to be enough medics and enough trained medics to handle races of these sizes.

Just as many of you do, I am also riding this years 94.7 "For a Purpose". However, the charity I am riding for needs some NON-FINANCIAL assistance from a fellow hubber. They are called Jessica's Friends (https://www.facebook...friends?fref=ts) and they raise funds to assist parents of children who have rare chromosome disorders. All they are looking for at the moment is for somebody to lend them a child bike trailer so that they can train with their daughter and then take her with them to experience the 94.7 as we all do - from a bike! Thanks

Get better. I fell off my bike at sugar rush on Thursday. Bust my hand and had surgery today. Sani over for another year!

I think you may be missing the point. My wife was not humiliated nor embarrassed (there were only 4 people in the restaurant). I also don't believe "The Hub has become a gathering place for children". The Hub is a network. One of many different ones I belong to. I don't want a "protest" ride, or to phone and make a large booking and to cancel or not pitch (that's just bad manners). I am (now) fully aware of their dress code and that is their CHOICE. I've made a choice that I will not support them. This is my choice. However, when I find something good, I tell my network. When I find something bad or distasteful, I tell my network. If someone gives me great service, I tell my network. If someone gives me bad service, I will tell my network. It's what a network is for. The Hub is part of my cycling network and here is a restaurant that will not serve us. I simply then tell my network. If they choose to go there afterwards, that is their CHOICE. I did pose the question "am I being too sensitive" and perhaps I am, but I felt that to have a restaurant "in a cycling area" (we're not talking Sandton City here) and be turned away because of my cycling kit (my wife's actually), warranted letting my network know.

Have every intention of. Just thought I'd let others know.

Looked on their website. They do have a dress code, smart casual, so I suppose our bad for not checking up first. I suppose they have the right to turn anyone away. No vest or peaks after 6pm as well. I wonder if short pants constitutes smart casual or must one wear longs to a Sunday breakfast. Guess I'm not going to bother to find out.

Waterfall Estate pushes the fact that it has 37km of mtb trails. A new shopping centre has opened up next to the estate. On Sunday morning at 9am, my wife and daughter rode to the shopping centre for breakfast. They stopped at a new restaurant there called Remo's. As they were about to sit down, a lady who worked there politely told them that they do not serve people dressed in cycling kit. At first my wife thought she was kidding, however, they were in fact deadly serious. There were only 3 or 4 people sitting there. My take is, if that's the way you want to roll, I'm going to tell everyone I know not to go there. If you open up next to an estate with mtb trails, surely you encourage the clientele or am I being overly sensitive?

This guy was actually both patient and relaxed and was quite happy to wait until it was safe to pass

sunday costs R20, you just pitch. send a mail to Reception@universalproperty.co.za they add you onto the mailing list and you get the times sent every week

Agreed, sorry the thought process was more a case of the time available immediately as people finished and not the waiting period and errors we sometimes see with championschip and raetec. Having said all this though, as I dont run, I don't know how many mistakes and none finish results come from the comrades.

don't know if anyone followed runners on the Comrades Marathon, but you were able to follow up to 6 runners online all the time. It actually showed exactly on a map where they were and their finishing time immediatey. Perhaps some of our bigger race organisers should use these guys for the timing.

There are 2 things we take when we go on holiday, our bikes and my delonghi ecam 23.450 machine. Life is waayyyyy to short for bad coffee. The ease of use (cuppucino in seconds and cleaned just as fast). I haven't had 1 bad cup of coffee. We use Illy beans. It was the first machine that gave me a trully hot cup. You can set heat of your water and the size of the cup. Rand for Rand it is the most cost effective machine and compares really well to the more expensivemachines. The guy who said he had a weak cup of coffee..who did the demo. You can set your strength from weak to very strong with the push of a button. (so the wife can have a weaker cup followed by you with a much stronger brew.) We don't go anywhere with dragging our whole machine with us. Best investment we made.

We accomodation at Cloud's End if anyone is interested. We are unable to go.

http://www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11376416&emssrcid=GoogleBase:PS11376416 not cheap but worth every cent (american that is) and definitely wierd to ride with in the beginning

accomodation booked! bring it on!