kandui

bridge cycles

Good idea , will look into it

3 surveillance cameras arrived from China yesterday and I am picking them up today. Locations will be kept confidential, but the cameras will be moved around regularly. These 3 cameras belong to Table Mountain Bikers and the information is shared with San Parks. We have an equal say in where the cameras are to be set up. What I would like to ask every mountain biker, hiker, walker and runner: If you happen to find one of these cameras, please , leave them alone!! They are there for your protection and serve no purpose if you steal or vandalise them. If you do happen to find one, pat yourself on the back, and move on. They are motion activated, so if you are the p..ck who decides to beak or steal it, we will have a photo of you. And we will find you!

I think you might be stuck with it like that What would you achieve by cutting it? The remaining piece inside the frame won't allow you to put in another post. From similar cases I have heard of, the outcome has not been positive.

Well done Jorrie. Nice to see you guys take full advantage of your entry. I am glad you guys won the Mixed category. Had you not been there my Epic Mixed partner from this year would have won Day 1 & 2 which she doesn't deserve, the cow! Glad I had a hand in blocking her!

Move your saddle forward by a few mm.

Table Mountain Bikers today Hansgrohe tomorrow and TMB again on Sunday. going to get wet on Sunday in Harkerville. Good Luck

can't you take out the valve core?

As you can see, the Mountain Goat is live on Strava. May winners are getting their Powerbar hampers . No.1 on the ranking is not a member of the club, so he missed out. The hampers are worth over R500. See rules on the TMB website.

Take it to Garmin. I couldn't get the problem solved, so they are giving me a new one

I was having a crap day, until I went to the Garmin office earlier. My Edge 500 unit got wet internally after I gave it a bit of a wipe over the weekend. While sorting this out with the counter guy, I mentioned that my device was still not able to do an automatic upload, I had to upload every activity manually. This started some time at the end of last year and neiher the local not international tech support have been able to sort out the issue. Then I spoke to Louise at Garmin (she was sitting at her desk, 2m away) and sent her the email I sent to her colleague February where I explained the problem. Just got an email back from Garmin saying they will give me a new Edge 500! Great news and great customer service.

Today is the last day to enter. If any of you are considering entering, would you mind sending a separate email to the organisers (louise@gardenrouteevents.co.za), quoting "Table Mountain Bikers". I would appreciate it.

You can bomb down any ST to your heart's content ,if it's designated "Downhill Only". If not, I think you should consider other cyclists coming towards you, if, as you say yourself, "you generally cannot hear or see or sometimes even stop in time". I for one prefer to ride up a ST (if it's open for up and down use) and test my stamina as well as my technical skills. Why should I stop and break my forward momentum when climbing? My enjoyment is impeded just as much as yours. In this case, the rule is on my side. When the trail is for DH only, it's on yours. That's how it is.

Red Sabre. Small canister (about the diameter and length of a lipstick). Potent stuff. Tested it on a vagrant who kept messing around near my house. DON'T use it on a motorist!!!! The guy was blinded and stumbled about for half an hour, trying to get out of my road. It might be worth spraying a bit on the car's door handle. I am sure that will have some effect later.

IMBA rules: Yield Appropriately: Do your utmost to let your fellow trail users know you’re coming — a friendly greeting or bell ring are good methods. Try to anticipate other trail users as you ride around corners. Bicyclists should yield to other non-motorized trail users, unless the trail is clearly signed for bike-only travel. Bicyclists traveling downhill should yield to ones headed uphill, unless the trail is clearly signed for one-way or downhill-only traffic. In general, strive to make each pass a safe and courteous one. That should clear it up for you.

I also have a tazer, but have never carried it on my rides. You have to get into a close combat situation with the attacker and he will be prepared and most likely already have a weapon at the ready. Can you respond within seconds after being ambushed and pull the tazer from your back pocket, or elsewhere? You'd still have to switch it on (a small sliding switch in most cases), but by now you're being pulled off your bike and your hands are all over the place. I would guess that only one or two people would be able to make a go of getting a couple of zaps in, but not the rest of us. These guys won't give you prior warning that they are going to attack you, so it's all about reaction time while falling to the ground,having a bike stuck between your legs and someone tackling you. I have thought about buying a hand gun which shoots those lead pellets we remember from air rifles when we were kids. They look pretty authentic and you could strap it to the handlebar in a holster. They can inflict some serious pain, but you've got to be a good shot and again, you've got to have the time to get it into your hands, ready to fire. Whatever you choose to carry on your person, have it at the ready when you get into the danger area. That would be my advice. Ride through the area as if something is going to happen and keep your eyes wide open and ride in such a way that you are prepared for a guy jumping you from behind a bush. If you have ridden the mountain enough times, you will know where the potential hiding places are and where there is less likelihood of an ambush-style attack. Please note that there is also the scenario of a guy walking past you and then turning and grabbing you from behind. There are areas on the mountain which I have no concern about riding on my own and there have been no attacks since I started getting involved with the TM Safety Forum and then established TMB. I don't ride with a weapon, because I don't want to have to arm myself to go for a ride. Rather stick in a group or join up with other riders before crossing the affected area.

Thanks. I had the wrong cable ties with me (too short) and had to make a triple loop to get around the pole. When I ride this week I'll try to remember to carry longer ones and tighten the boards up. The next batch of 5000 trail maps go to print this week and will indicate the danger area. This bit of jeep track is the only off-road connection between the CIty and the Southern Suburbs and, in my opinion, a crucial link to be kept safe. I have already got a quote for whistles and if anyone would like to sponsor those (by paying for them and getting your company name printed on the whistle), let me know. It would cost around R 3000 for 500 whistles. Plain whistles cost half that (without print).

Signs still up ?

Good point. I sit on the PPA Executive and have put forward , discussing a budget for patrol staff (insert Spotter, if you like). Next meeting is on the 21st and will provide updates as and when there is anything notable to report.

The rangers do sit up at the Blockhouse from time to time. The response to a call from them though, is not always close by. I'll chat with San Parks , hopefully next week, about manpower, deployment , etc and give feedback when I get decent intel.

Quick escape route is the main reason and it's an easy location to get to. The King's Blockhouse , for instance, is a dead end track, so escape with a bike is going to be tricky. Also, it's a longer escape in terms of distance. Stealing a bike means less mobility,so the quicker they get to a tar road the better. At the next PPA Executive meeting in 2 weeks time , I will propose funding for patrollers along that stretch for a limited period of time. Or at least a budget to be set aside to pay for such an initiative. I wonder whether a permanent post down there might not make sense? Put a little Wendy House up for San Parks. Will think about that. Could be an Info Centre too.

If your current bike is good enough for a Day race, why is it not good enough for the Epic? Sounds to me like you're doubting your fitness and want to compensate by getting a plush bike. Your arse is going to get hammered on either bike. Train more and get through the Stages quicker.

I understand and share the concerns raised about safety on the mountain. We have to be realistic about our expectations from the authorities (and I am the last one who will protect them). The mountain is not fenced in with access control points. The fence at the top of Hospital Bend is either broken or , further along the road, old and easy to jump over or crawl under. Putting up a 2,5m fence with spikes on the top won't happen. There is no budget for it and the fence would need to close off somewhere, meaning about 100+km of fence. Never going to happen. Opportunistic crime, and that's what this is, will not be eradicated. To at least ensure the crimes do not escalate into an organised type, we have to do the only thing we can do: Keep on riding, running and walking on Table Mountain. Like I said yesterday, "Occupy Table Mountain". Fill the spaces with honest, well meaning people to squeeze out the scum. Make it hard for them to hide anywhere. The crimes on Table Mountain, including Monday's incident, happened in and close to the area shown on the map I attached. The rest of the mountain,I exclude the tar road, is fine. It's this little space which creates the problem. I am printing more Table Mountain maps and will highlight the Hotspot area on the next batch. I also ride on my own a lot, so I can't preach to you about riding in groups. If you are on your own and are hesitant to run the gauntlet, wait until you see other cyclists or runners on the trail and form a group or at least stay within sight and/ or earshot of each other. What do you think of handing out whistles? When you get to the hotspot area, blow on your whistle to let the slime know you know they are there. More whistles in response mean more people around. Could be worth a try?

I put up some warning signs where Monday's attack took place. Signage starts well away from the area,so you are per-warned to be vigilant. While up there I must have come across about 20 people, riders, walkers and runners. Great to see that you are not going to be intimidated. Occupy Table Mountain!

I have put a rectangle around the hot spot area. The attack on Monday would have happened somewhere between the orange and red arrow, either at the clump of trees (11) or just before that , where the hollow bush is. The area from Point 10-12 in the area you need to be most aware of. I will head up on to the mountain later today and hammer in some warning sings in the immediate area.