BGS

On Saturday morning, at around 8am I was driving along the road by Avianto. A huge bunch of cyclist came out from under the bridge and proceeded up that road taking over the entire lane and even crossing over the line into the lame of on coming traffic. Being only a single lane road, i find this beyond a joke. They were all in yellow, no idea where from, i didnt look.

That is true... with my Ovation i am not bothered about selling it because it is hardly worth selling it for the money i will get for it. I may turn it into my project bike and turn it into a commuter and take it to the UK to dump at my mums place (will make walking to the shops a heap easier when i visit mum). Also by keeping it, should someone wish to borrow a bike, they can borrow that one as i am terribly territorial about my stuff and i wont let anyone on my new bike If you think she may get into it and really enjoy it, spend a bit more to avoid upgrading after only four months like i did.

I just started about four months ago on a Giant Ovation which i brought brand new. Trying to sell it actually as it is 'as new' having done less than 80km before i upgraded. Nothing wrong with the bike, i loved it but now that i want to do the odd race here and there i decided to upgrade (well, my other half insisted on it actually but i aint complaining).

I fancy the Pink Drive as i have lost people to cancer, animals to cancer and know survivors too so i guess in a way its close to me. My aunt, who i love to bits, has recently just finished her chemo so im keen to tell her about this

:clap: I am thinking about which charity to ride my first ever 94.7 for next year. Seems pointless to me to "just go ride it" as i sure as heck am not bothered about my time, and doing the charity thing makes it all the more worthwhile. So far i am considering the Pink Drive or CLAW. Or both if that is allowed.

Is it possible to ride the 94 for two charities? eg, The Pink Drive, and one of your own choosing where you put the fund raiser together yourself.

If i was any further over to the left i would have been off the trail. I was by no means in the centre or on the right. I stayed as far left as i could possibly get for the entire ride.

Being new to cycling, i still wonder at it when people cut across the road KNOWING there are goodness knows how many other riders behind them. Heck i even saw this on the 94.7 TV coverage. Someone just pulled out to the left with about 20 odd riders behind him/her. Even me being new to this, i have the savvy to know this is just dangerous and stupid. Even at the 10km MTB ride, some beast kid came past me on my right so close that he almost clipped me. Wait, in fact that happened a number of times, but this kid in particular had the nerve to blame me when in fact he gave no indication he was coming up past my right only to cut straight across to the left in front of me. :angry:

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I have just started the sport, i dont have the best gear and i do my own thing. If you worry about others all the time it will get you down. I took it up to get outdoors more, lose weight, get fit and to enjoy life instead of sitting in front of a tv or pc. Enjoy the sport!

Thanks! Yip, doing another one next weekend which is really small and from January i plan to do one or two small races per month. But getting longer and longer as i get fitter.

Thanks Yeah, i will continue to enter small races... i think in hindsight that entering such a huge event on my first time ever was perhaps not the brightest of sparks i have had. Only been on a bike for four months so im really new... Edit: When you say there is better riding to be had, what do you mean? How would you compare? This being my first time in a race, and being brand new to the sport, im curious to know what i should look for etc? Bearing in mind that i dont want to go jumping off cliftops, i like the trails.

Thanks PG

I was there doing the 10km. Being my first ever official race, i have nothing to compare it to I do think the massive piece of hidden wire in the bush on the way out should be sorted out as i almost broke my toe on it and the guy behind me also got his foot caught and could have had a nasty fall. Overall it was a good day out for me except for the kids doing the gung ho thing.

Also saw this on the way out. What. A. Load. Of. Crap. I am constantly amazed by how easily people let go of their dosh, in a recession hit world, for the sake of the latest fad. Want health? Eat well. Want fitness? Go and exercise. Want balance? Ride a bike. Or a horse Want oxygen? Flipping breathe.

The point for me is: where can i go ride that is safe? Is that top road at NF safe? The road to the left as you come out from under the tunnel from the carpark, and down to the fork at the end. Its nice and flat and i would be willing to ride that up and down endlessly if it is safe, but is it?

+1

We were in Dischem this past weekend and saw them hanging by the tills... I never even knew about them until i saw them hanging there and the first thing i blurted out was "its amazing what crap people fall for" only to turn around and find the woman behind me in the queue wearing one. It was almost R400!!! Then again i am anti everything and i think i am a sales mans worst nightmare as i am impossible to sell stuff to. I just dont fall for anything, not even supplements as half of that is crap too! But these bands take the cake! The only key to good health/balance/whatever else is to eat well, exercise well, indulge a bit and get on a bike for balance. Nuff said.

I find it appalling that NF have tried to palm this off as a bunch of poachers. Fact is, they tried to murder a cyclist - i don't give a rats whether they were poachers, bike jackers, or the gardeners. The fact remains that an attempt was made on the life of a cyclist. I was there on Sunday at around 1pm and to think that it could have been me is very frightening indeed. Or even to think that it was happening whilst i was elsewhere on the farm. I will not be going back. Yet in the same breath how is it even possible to hold the NFRUG responsible? It is impossible to police a farm of that size. It is impossible to guarantee safety and security in SA, let alone at the farm. I dont believe we can hold them to task for this. They are able to put in more security, but even with that there is no guarantee. The bikejackers know that NF is an easy bike grabbing place and they are now using it more and more, and with deadly force. If they were poachers they would not have been bothered with taking a pot shot at a cyclist. They have nothing to lose, they dont care a rats about life. The risk has become too great to cycle there now. This just sucks balls. I took up cycling four months ago for the first time ever and now im hitting brick walls on where to go ride. Thank you for posting this on the hub. Had the NF problems not been posted here, i would not have a clue and would be risking my hide unknowingly. Please keep these updates coming. Not only on NF though, but all places as i need to find somewhere else to ride

I need some advice regarding CSA licensing and clubs etc. Being new to cycling, i am now at the point where i wish to enter a few races on a casual basis. But to do so, i still need a license in order to enter. I do not wish to join a club as at this point i am not interested in fancy cycling kit, discounts, magazines or whatever else is offered. I really just need a club to join for the sole purpose of getting a CSA license. I ride MTB and am based in JHB. Any advice / ideas? I dont know where to start.

I suffered with this for YEARS. At first it was exercise induced asthma - except that i did not know it at the time. I thought it was a result of me being overweight and unfit etc etc. It just kept getting worse and worse to the point where at night whilst sleeping, the wheezing in my chest due to mucus would wake me and the household up. It was like i had continual bronchitis yet i was not sick and had not been ill in months. So after suffering for about two years with the continual hacking up of muck and the years prior with the exercise induced, i finally dragged myself off to the doctor. He promptly put me on an 8 week testing program which involved lung function tests. At the end of this i was diagnosed with chronic asthma and am now on a twice daily cortizone inhaler. It has totally changed my life! This all happened in April of this year. I wish i had looked further into it about 6 years ago! I dont get asthma attacks as such, but i carry a reliever inhaler especially whilst out riding, just in case my chest decides to clamp up. But if i miss just one day of my twice daily cortizone inhaler, i start coughing muck again. I say go see a doctor who will listen and not fob it off as allergies. Being diagnosed properly has literally changed the way i do things, and how i go about daily life as i am now able to breathe and no longer hack up muck for days on end.

Thank you GuyP, I will go check it out.

Being a newbie to cycling, and female, as i said in my post above, this is a huge worry for me. I have been to NF about 4 times so far and am not yet fit enough to do more than 10km (im working on it), but now i am worried about going there for even 10km now! I usually go in the late afternoon around 3/4pm but after reading this i am totally put off. I just dont know what to do now. Where else can i go? Anyonw know?

This is VERY worrying at NF. I thought things were ok there again... I usually go in the afternoons around 3pm as well. Being a female rider this is a major concern for me. Thanks for posting this, else i would not be aware of the situation.

An3 - Thank you, i have seen the site but just wanted to see the article as well Thank you, i will PM you now.