idrive

Cruzer "When you are well enough look into the workman's compensation fund." .......... er, 'scuse the pun. Is it possible to make a donation at Cycle Lab on Monday or during the week? idrive2008-10-16 15:51:04

Part of it was used for the SA GP as far back as the 1930's then it was re-opened as a permannt track in JULY 1959 and hosted the SA Grand Prix until Kyalami got in in 1967. It is an important piece of motorsport history and is perhaps the only track that the layout has not been altered in almost 40 years. It certainly is the obly Grand Prix circuit from the '60s that is in its original form. It also brings significant revenue to the impoverished Border region as it hosts two national championship events per season plus the historic Border 100 event in December. It also happens to be the most challenging track I've raced on ..... even more so than Bulawayo's Everard Breedon Circuit out on the Falls road. When not used for motorsport it becomes public roads, but think what a good cycling venue it is .... SA Champs were held there this year. http://www.petitiononline.com/ELGP2008/petition.htmlidrive2008-10-16 11:07:55

The real message I'm trying to get across, that no-one sees, is that if mtbiking was safe (everywhere, not just the Spruit) there would be no need for bike parks ........ or am I missing something obvious. But because cycling is fraught with danger, bike parks are becoming the big thing. I also have no issue with anyone doing anything for profit ...... the world works that way. But, by highlighting danger. the secure bike parks everywhere will benefit from the publicity. There are none so blind as those who will not see!! Come to think of it. Won't this Bike Park make the Spruit even more dangerous. There's safety in numbers and if the numbers drop, well ........idrive2008-10-16 00:12:26

Oh ...... I get it. So did someone wake up one day and said "hey lets give cyclists a safe place to ride," or did he say, "hey!, if I develop a safe bike park here I can make huge bucks if people use it rather than the dangerous spruit." Tow truck drivers have been known to cause accidents, change robot settings etc just to create business. I'm not for a minute suggesting that anything like that is happening, but what if the dangers of riding the spruit were not given so much publicity. Then surely lots of riders would not be tempted to support the bike park. I respect A McLean for what he's done for the sport, how he runs his business and as a rider, but if safety was the primary concern, lets see how much entry fees are. If I lived closer I would use it, and yes I will make an effort of sampling it and I also worry about my safety when out riding.

All I'm saying is that the bike-jacking incidents along the spruit have been here for a long time ..... at least 2003 that I know of. I once came upon an elderly couple who had been mugged near Parkhurst while walking their dog which had been kicked and could hardly breathe. That was June or July 2003 very soon after I started riding. I was also warned by Fritz Pienaar staff not to ride the spruit on my own. I never had a problem but now I've moved I haven't been there since 2004. I do have great sympathy for victims of crime but why is it only now that there is suddenly an emphasis on safety at the spruit. So ..... am I sick or just a realist?idrive2008-10-15 04:30:12

I've got the packaging from my replacement front pads right here ... it says: Made by Magura Germany - 1 Stuck/piece - 0721304 - R220. Part number for the rears is the same. I ride in mainly sand/farm roads seldom mud and average around 400km per month. Now my point is these pads don't last me a year. So far the rears have lasted 2-months longer than the front (1 year) but Magura Julie pads are scarce and at R220 I think very expensive. As I'm not hard on brakes so I'm prepared to try an aftermarket/pirate product and see what transpires ..... but I can't find any. I get told 'we'll get them in a week," but I always think I'll walk into a shop and find them. If I'm paying that kind of money then they should be available. If not it'll be worth changing my calipers to something else. The cost of having Magura brake pads works out to R40 per month.

Why not open a Forum called 'danger zones' or something to warn riders where danger lurks and establish some sort of profile. One more thing, nah, can't be, but let me mention something about scare tactics to ensure the new bike park is proffitable from the moment it opens its gates .........!!

sounds great .... but seeing as though it took me 2-hrs to get to cycle lab for crater cruise numbers I can't see myself making it there more than once. Oh, I live in Edenvale!!

Finish Line in Kemptune Pork is also a Fox agent

I'm in the commodities trading enviroment. Each month I take varying amounts of money and buy aluminium, plastics or rubber ..... mainly at Finish Line Cycles

I will try any pad and then stick with what works best for me and the conditions I ride in mostly.

November 2007 I went to UAE & bought US$ at R6.90 ............ today (a few min after 8:00am) it is already R9.12. Take cover, here comes the storm!!

I've got Magura Julie and brake pads are over R240 per set. I now need to replace the rears but I just can't find any in JHB area. Any ideas ...........?

The old mtb trial at Greenhills Golf place is still sort of there, but it isn't maintained at all and half the area has been turned into an office park. There is quite a technical rocky descent at the start but the rest is easy. My opinion ... not worth the schlepp!! Heading out to Pomona area there are many routes to Bapsfontein which gives a 80km distance from Karaglen.

....... silly, it's airpogo. Don't you follow sport, huh?

Every Sat morning Edenglen Cycling has a ride that goes into the Sizwe Infectious Disease Reservation ...... quite nice. Then there's also a lot out near Pomona, speak to Finish Line Cycles 'bout that one. I used to ride in the Greenstone area, but them damn developers built houses, shops, offices, roads, huts 'n just about everything one can think of and in so doing destroyed a Cycling Sensiteve Area (CSA) with no objections from any of the tyre huggers!!

I would rather buy a personalised SS number board than have to try remember what number I might've been ......... any chance of this becoming reality?

I did the Johnson Cycle race at Northern Farm today. Great race and to find a 35km lap in there and it was a brilliant route - well done to the organising team. Spectrum Sport did the timing and their service easily puts other timing companies to shame. I don't know what time the results were available, but they are up already!!

I do wish organisers would state what timing system is being used. Do I take my W/Time or C/Chip to the Northern Farm MTB race next week? I looked the entrytime site, but couldn't find any reference to timing.

....... and sponsors are seldom able to simply withdraw. Usually there are performance clauses and seeing as though I've never heard of the race's sponsor I suspect not much marketing has been done. There are two sides to every story ...... idrive2008-09-19 07:28:16

In the last 4 months I've had two tubless punctured. One was by a piece of steel that ripped the tyre. The other was a nail, bold or something that made a hole that was too big to repair. Tubless tyres are much more expensive than normal tyres!!!!

I once met someone involved at Glendower and suggested we have an MTB track around the course that way we could inspect the fence continually etc. He didn't think it was worthwhile, but if anyone knows anyone there it might be an idea. There was an MTB route at Greenhills .... can't remember the price, but it was an absolute bargain!

Sort of, that's more Huddle Park, Sizwe is the area next to the N3 between Linksfield rd and Edenvale Hospital. Can easily do a 20km loop without riding the same piece of track twice and there's some very technical stuff if you want it. If you fall in a river you might come out as a babbling little green man with one eye in the middle of your forehead and antennae instead of ears ..... we see a lot of them in Edenvale. One even goes to school with mashed potato in its pocket!idrive2008-09-11 13:56:36

Glad you took my comment like a mature human. I also think because you have accepted it it will make you more aware of how easy it is to not look properly. I must admit after I'd hit the 'submit button I felt a bit bad as you'd admitted fault. Do I need to say 'sorry?' if so, I'll mutter it under my breath ..... er ...... so do you call that 'hitting on her?'