kandui

Thanks for your reply. It is indeed a tough issue to tackle. I carry a cheap, R185 Nokia with a Pay as you Go number when I cycle. Starting a group and sending a message with your route when you enter the mountain is a good idea and may work. In our Neighbourhood Watch we have radios and announce when we go on patrol so that others members can monitor.Riding in a group is an obvious solution, but not always practical with everyone having different riding preferences. I am going to speak to SAPS and SAN Parks about this and keep you posted via this forum. If anyone wants to get in touch with me directly, my email address is : zulurob@iafrica.com

I am sure a lot of the CPT based Members read about the cyclist stabbed on Table Mountain yesterday morning. Coincidentally i spoke to a rider at Tokai on Saturday morning who told me he was mugged a week ago by a Bravo male with a long knife as he was going up the long, straight bit of tar road to Rhodes Memorial. The guy jumped him from behind a tree and pulled him off his bike. I am aware of at least 6 incidents which occurred in the area between Rohodes Mem and the Blockhouse over the last 6-8 months . I am sure there are more of you out there who have either been attacked or know of someone who has. I ride on the mountain at least 4 times a week and no longer take the route down to Rhodes Memorial, but now I am also starting to worry about the area around the Blockhouse. SAPS have 1 vehicle to patrol both Table Mountain and Lions Head / Signal Hill , but the vehicle is hardly ever present on the dirt tracks below Tafelberg Road. I have seen 4 SAPS motorbikes doing a patrol near the blockhouse a few weeks back, but not again since. Why all 4 need to ride together I don't understand. SAN Parks say they have 2 members strategically placed on the mountain with binoculars (1 of them supposedly sits in the little fire hut above the Blockhouse). SAN Parks knocks off at 5pm, so there are no members patrolling on the mountain after 5. We all know where the hot spots are on the mountain, yet the authorities say that crime on the mountain is within tolerances. Controlling access to the mountain is virtually impossible, as you could theoretically walk up from Constantia Nek and commit your crime at Platteklip Gorge. I know of crimes happening in the Southern Suburbs where the suspects have been tracked on foot over the mountain to Hout Bay. I am getting more and pissed off at the situation and the apparent lack of will shown by the authorities to get their hands dirty and fight the crime on the mountain. Carrying Pepper spray or a tazer gives you some sort of protection, but it means you have to get to within a meter or two of an attacker (most likely armed with a knife) to retaliate,assuming you are free to move and get to your spray. Not the ideal solution in my mind. Next thing someone is going to ride on the mountain armed with a gun and decide that a walker , who just popped behind a bush to have a pee, is a mugger and shoot. I am part of the Neighbourhood Watch where I live in the City Bowl. Has the time to set up an entity to try and sort out the crime on the mountain? I have given it some thought and it is not easy to organise, but we need to do something. Anyone out there got some ideas, I would be keen to hear them.

Thanks. I did the ride from the Beaverlac campsite to the Groot Winterhoek Gate. Nice climb out of the valley. Had a blow out on the way back and ran next to my bike for the last 4km. My thighs are killing me today!

Anybody out there know of any rides around the Beaverlac campsite? There is a dirt road leading to the Groot Winterhoek Reserve, but is there anything beyond?

Jeroen Swart is great, just difficult to get an appointment with I found last year when I went for a VO2max. For Bike Setup I highly recommend Erica Green out in Somerset West. Her company is called Daisyway and she set me up brilliantly. My first ride with the new setup was excellent ( and i have lower back issues) and I got through the CPT without a complaint. I went again in early December to check the settings and her husband Spook was there as well and together they really made sure all the settings were spot on. Can't remember the cost, the first one was free because of an appointment mix up and the second one we did a barter deal on. Don't quote me , but around R500? Worth every penny.

To the Sandbaai intersection is 50km, 3 hours.Took the Karwyderskraal Road until I hit the Hemel-en-Aarde Rd. Little bit of single track towards the end (Jan se Pad). Rode a bit more to the Fernkloof Nature Reserve and back to Sandbaai to make the ride 75km. I guess to Bot River Village was about 15-18km. Riding back up the hill is not tough, easy gradient. Actually drove back home up the dirt road to show my wife.

Hi. Did the ride from Oak Lane Cottages to Hermanus this morning. Getting to the top of the pass down to Bot River is a bit tricky, but you can basically follow the remains of the old N2 in places. Stick on the right hand side of the N2 until you get the turn off to the Quad Biking. Cross there and you will find the old road again. I was told to head up to the Moto Cross track here, but chose not to. The tricky part is to get to the dirt road leading down the pass after Houw Hoek Inn. There is no path past the Inn so i rode on the railway tracks. Not ideal, but perhaps there is a path higher up from the MC track. Let me know when you attempt this.

In theory all distributors should have updated their pricelists for 2011 and if you apply their tired old excuse of the "strong Dollar,Pound and Euro", prices should be coming down this year. Or am I being naive! The Rand has been strong for at least 2 years now, so when do we get to see some of that reflected in the prices we pay here? Bought a Rotwild RGT2 Trail MTB online in Germany middle of last year. Carbon frame, XT throughout,Fox fork, DT Swiss Carbon Shock,Formula Disc brakes,Fizik Tundra saddle. Marked down from €4500 to €2400. On exportation I got back the 19% VAT due in Germany as well. Total cost at the rate of exchange at the time, just under R20000. Brought back the 2011 S-Works shoes from Germany in November. Off the shelf, not online. Cost me R2000 after the Vat refund. Economies of scale don't justify South African distributors charging high prices. The bulk of bikes are made in Taiwan and shipped to their respective markets directly, not via the Giant or Specialized Head Office. Hence logistics may even cost less to SA than to Europe.If all distributors have the same mark ups , where does the difference come from? Fact is that the exclusivity agreements signed with the mother companies and us being so far south of where it's all happening allows the distributors to behave the way they do and treat the customer like a piece of crap. Why is it that we can bring back goods to the value of R3500 on the plane, but only R300 worth through the post?

Hi Guys. I need a new XT 9 speed cluster.

Sorry, i don't have a Garmin.I got myself a map from the Land Surveyors Office (really detailed with every little track and hiking trail marked,cost R11 for 1:50000) and marked out a route. I spoke to the guys from Hermanus Cylces earlier and got another suggestion which will work for you too. I may ride from Grabouw to Hermanus tomorrow and he described a gravel road parallel to the N2 for most of the way to Houw Hoek Inn. Once there you enter the Railway reserve and get on to the track which follows the course of the railway down into Bot River. I will most likely take this route and then head across to the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley.It will probably be a bit of trial and error, but why not take the Hermanus Cycles number along and give them a call if you need directions. 028 3132052.

Rather start from Oak Lane Cottages. From Oak Valley you would need to cross Paul Cluver which you need permission for. Ride the Lebanon (from Oak Lane Cottages) route and when you get to the section running on the old tar road adjacent to the N2, don't turn left back into the forest, but keep going straight and turn right to get to the N2. Cross over and go about 200m up the hill and turn right into Thandi. Pass the front of the farm stall ,keeping it on your right and then take a right up the dirt road through the orchards. Right at the end you reach a T-junction at the railway line. Turn left , pass through the worker's village and turn right up a slight hill. Here you join a short stretch of tar road (farm,not public) and at the cemetery go right (away from the farm house. Keep the dam on your left and follow this dirt road all the way to Lebanon Village. I did not carry on towards Houw Hoek from here, but went up the Groenlandberg. I am sure you will get to Houw Hoek and on to Bot River from here. Ask a resident in the village for directions to be sure, they see mountain bikers all the time. Anybody out there got a decent route from Oak Lane to Hermanus?

I am in Brenton and looking to do some riding. Anyone out there who has some tips? Would like to get from Brenton to Harkerville without riding the N2. Anyone know the route?

will do. thanks.

Hi Capricorn. I need to do long rides as well as speed work over the next couple of months. The bulk of the mid-week riding will be on Table Moutain and the long rides out in Grabouw, Tokai (riding there from Town and then back) and any other interesting places. I am mainly looking for guys who need to do similar sort of training, hence my question about the Epic, but if there are regular rides out there, i would like to join.

Is this an exclusive little club where you only get a response if you are an Ultimate Hubber?

I live and ride from Gardens and am looking for a regular training ride. My partner lives is EL and I am keen to hook up with a group or individuals training for the Epic.

Your comments don't surprise me. They are a badly run business. Each Moyo is part owned by the guy who started the restaurant and other investors, so although they trade as Moyo, they are all separate. The Groenkloof one in particular is in the dwang and they can't pay suppliers. I know, i was one of them. They grew too fast and banked on the World Cup bringing a huge cash injection to clean up their debts and capital investments. That idea backfired (not just for them) , so now they are really battling.

Ride was great, weather perfect.Fantastic views. 93km starting from Oak Lane Cottages. Lots of water on the mountain to refill your bottles 3 or 4 times. Wild Card gives you free access to the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve.

Just got off the blower with Management at Oak Valley to confirm and have consent from all landowners to access the mountain (Thandi,Paul Cluver) . Permit for Cape Nature property access can be bought retroactively when you reach their office, coming down from the mast. Did that last weekend.

Went through Thandi and spoke to some workers at Lebanon village who told me the trail is used quite often by mtb's. Passed some trail arrows close to the foot of the mountain. Saw a lot of cylce tracks further up on the mountain.

If anyone is keen to join. I am starting at Oak Lane Cottages around 8:30am tomorrow morning and taking a ride up and over the Groenlandberg .Along the other side facing Theewaterskloof Dam and then up to the Vodacom tower. Down towards Grabouw trail area and then back to Oak Lane. Got lost a bit last week getting to the mountain, but once there the route is easy to find.Long climbs and part of the route up to the tower was ridden in a previous Epic. Expect 6-8 hours on the trail. Did it on my own last week,some company would be nice, but not essential. Awesome views, saw some leopard tracks high up on the mountain.

I turn 41 on the 31st of this month and did the 2010 Argus in 4:26 on my Mountain Bike. Available from 6 November. Currently training 8-14 hours/week. would be interested.

I'm giving it a miss this year. Preparing for the Pioneer Trek.

The race is advertised on the PPA website,saw it there again last week. You're right, it was a good race. If the rain stays away this time it will be even better.

Hi. Are you doing any rides this weekend?