tombeej

In terms of my last post, ja I know, I just couldn't help myself posting that pic. But your post is really what it's all about. :thumbup:

Set the pump to 'backwash'...

Apologies in advance for writing a novel.... Problem is that there is no justice for joe citizen in SA anymore. There's zero enforcement of the laws in this country. It's like the wild west - kill or be killed. Vigilante justice rules (or private security, because the cops are nowhere). As an example, I read an article on research conducted by the School of Criminal Justice at UNISA that the average house robber commits 103 robberies over 7 years before being caught. Total impunity. This reflects in all aspects of our lives, including the I-dont-give-a-sh!t-because-who's-going-to-stop-me attitude on our roads. And this attitude is not the sole preserve of taxi drivers, no matter how much you try and make it out to be. The extreme, raging, red faced, spittle flying aggression of drivers on our roads is just as likely to be coming from your local soccer mom, business owner or banking exec on their way to work. Sure there are many monster taxi drivers out there, but not more than the general populace. Why have these extreme responses become the norm? Something I've thought about is that maybe it's because we suffer from some sort of collective post traumatic stress disorder? All the signs are there. I mean, if a community feels constantly under attack from all corners, that sense that you and your family could be hurt or killed at any moment, and that there's no-one there to protect you, it's like being in a war situation. People become trigger happy and over time, are so on edge that they react in an extreme manner to something they don't like the look of. And this perhaps suggests why you see all types exhibiting such incredible intolerance and anger on our roads. Again, I find my local taxi drivers to be the most accommodating and pleasant to me on the roads. If I'm ever targeted by a car, most of the time it's your local middle-class car owner. The only explanation I can offer is that taxis are more accepting of people who have to walk or cycle. They don't have a snotty superior attitude to a guy on a bike. City folk believe the roads belong to them and look down on cyclists. Their general arrogance is incredible.

Ja I agree totally TNT1. Taxi drivers the worst? Well, not in my experience. On my long weekend rides here on the n.coast of KZN, I ride the regional roads that connect the country towns, often passing through rural townships and villages. A lot of taxis pass me, and for most of the ride I get a hoot from the driver to say hello, and a wave as they pass. At the pick up spots where the taxis collect people I often get shouts of greeting, whistles and laughter as I go by, and I enjoy the friendly banter and chirps. It makes these long rides such a pleasure. Then there are the tiny minority that are speeding, give me zero room and show no consideration. But let's be clear, there are just as many whities, indians, etc., farmers, rich gautengers in their million rand SUVs, all behaving the same way on my route. So, in my personal experience, the bad ones are an even mix of all types. It's not possible for me to say which group is substantively worse than the others. But certainly the most festive, friendly and fun drivers on my local country roads are taxi drivers. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Agreed. Heard more than once from riding buddies - after a little endo or a slow motion sideways stack into a tree because of not clipping out in time - "ag man, I don't see any damage, just a few scratches, still hundreds!". Nope. Toss it.

One other thing to add: As I've always understood it, if you spill and end up smacking your helmet in the process, and if there's even the slightest damage to it, you toss it and get a new one immediately. In other words, helmets are designed for one impact only, no matter how small it is. Confirm? Edit: I'm talking about lightweight XC/roadie helmets here, not DH (which I don't have any experience in).

If you are sure it's not from over training, then there are many possibilities, from chronic fatigue syndrome to parasitic infection (e.g. billharzia), anaemia, etc. For anaemia, have a look in the mirror and see what colour your gums are. If they're nice and pink then you're fine. If they're almost white, then you're very probably iron-deficient. http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/anemia/anm_symptoms.html Again, too many possibilities. If I was in your position, I'd just go see my GP and get some blood tests done.

My first thought would be that it's throat cancer or the start of congo fever. But that's just my non medical diagnosis - maybe go see your GP for proper medical advice and some antibiotics to klap the goggas on the head. My own belief (shoot me down if you will) is not to play around with herbal remedies before a big race - bring out a sledgehammer and bliksem the thing.

Anyone seen those Vooma's in the toothpaste tube in Dischem? Best dispensary format I've yet seen. So I bought one to see what it's like (chose the 'neutral' taste option). Wow, works like a charm. Since you don't have to gulp all of it down, you can choose to take in much smaller doses at a time and 1 toothpaste tube can last a long time.

Went past a guy early last Friday in the dark with no lights. So I said to him as I went past, "No lights? You got a death wish?" No response, because he had music blearing through his iPod and didn't hear a thing I said :o

Testing.. testing... 1 2 3... Ok the mic is on. MDW the floor is yours... I wait expectantly...

I understand where you are coming from in terms of the inappropriateness of the lynch mob reaction of "hang him in the town square". Fair enough. However, why is that our first instinct as South Africans is to always try see where the victim might be at fault and at the same time, try to 'understand' the perpetrator. This is something I cannot understand. The victim always has to prove their innocence, while there's a whole list of mitigating circumstances for the perp. In other words poor victim, but of course they must have done something to deserve it - the real victim is actually the person who committed the crime. What?!

Supersix 3 says, "What the hell is wrong with hit and run? You people are pathetic!" Edit: I meant to add my condolences to the poor person who was knocked down. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones. For those of us who have lost friends and family on our roads, every time we read about another one, the old wounds start to hurt again.

For me, you've nicely summarised how this is playing out...

Eish, a lot of angry people in this world :P :P

I live 2km from the trail head, and besides long weekend rides, sometimes hit the trails before work too. There's so much variety - from easy flat rides for noobies, to small kiddie trails, to the big 85km route that the Golovan X-Plore race uses (http://www.golovane.co.za). It really is a special place for mtb. The routes all start out from Collisheen Estate, just outside Ballito. Here are the co-ordinates for Collisheen: 29° 29.501'S 31° 10.903'E

Now this has to be the thread winner!

I live 60km from work and been toying with the idea of commuting, at least just once a week to start with. With a 120-130km round trip, I've been thinking about driving in to the office, leaving the car there, cycling home in the evening and then return on my bike the next morning. Depending how it goes, I can up the weekly frequency. After reading this thread, I am now determined to stop the procrastinating and take the plunge. Weather permitting, Monday is the day! Love this thread!

Now why did you have to go and insult my family like that. I come from long line of clown warriors and I’m proud of it. Like that fellow clown Big Guy, I’m also interested to hear about the science around radial & cross on the same wheel. Edit: that bike really does look like perfection tho

Agree with SwissVan, unless you are chronically deficient in magnesium, this might be an expensive and unnecessary supplement to take. I also haven't read any research that say it has a major role to play in terms of muscle recovery. As I understand it, the main electrolytes that need replacing are sodium, potassium and calcium. Magnesium is sometimes referred to as 'the forgotten electrolyte'. Sure, if you are deficient then a full course of slow-mag (i.e. until you finish the bottle) should set you right. I'm also a swimmer. For a while last year I was cramping badly in the pool, especially once I went past 50 or 60 laps. Had a thought I may be magnesium deficient, so I went onto slow-mag for a while. By the time I finished the course, I was 100% again. I'm not taking any magnesium supplements now because I don't feel it's necessary. Again, for muscle recovery, I'd say the glycogen window, plus the proper protein (whey) & general electrolyte replenishment would be the best things to focus on. Here's a nice article I found on the subject: http://hammernutrition.co.za/knowledge/recover-well

Sure, magnesium and calcium are two important electrolytes that need to be replenished after exercise (the other main ones being sodium and potassium), and chronically low levels in the body will lead to increased chance of cramping during high intensity exercise (although some say Mag phos is better for that). However, as I understand it, that's just one small aspect of your recovery regimen. I would guess the most important things to deal with after a long session or race are: 1. Taking full advantage of the 'glycogen window' right after the session 2. Correct protein intake (esp. whey) for muscle repair

Wasn't a key objective of this tour to help put SA on the world cycling map? Also, I'm sure there are some barely healed wounds from SA's in PE, and now this palava. Fair enough, we should wait to hear from the tour organisers what forced them to stop the stage... now three times. In the mean time, Phil's question still needs to be answered: "How could the organisers not have managed to keep the roads open through Sandton - after all, they do it perfectly every year with the 94.7?"

And now a second stop, just 1:30 after the first one! Hear Phil Liggett trying to say, in that very professional and politically correct manner of his, how he's never seen this before in an international bike tour, and basically how disappointing (unprofessional) it is for the tour. Will be interesting if cyclejourno can get some first-hand comments from the riders about this - that second stop they looked really p1ssed.

X-7 for the Comp. Frame is the same for the Comp, Elite and Team as far as I'm aware. Road the Elite for over a year, really enjoyed it and had no problems at all. Typical steep steerer tube angle makes for twitchy handling (std for a hardtail), and great climber. Not going to win any prizes for DH or technical riding, but that's not what it's meant for. From my perspective a very nice entry level racing hardtail.

Apologies, I just assumed the hanger and derailleur are one unit. Still, guy did say it was brand new... I now retire with tail between legs.