sluiper

Dave just picked up the bike. Really nice young guy, gave me a nice bottle of red and some Lindt chocolates. Probably a bit much for the bike I gave him but glad he could finish his first CTCT and have a story to tell. He managed a time of just over 5 hours. Says he'll be back next year.

Nope, no race number. He took it off and put it on the bike I gave him. It's a very unfair trade. I gave him my son's Zwift bike, a Raleigh 3000 that I can't even remember buying with an ancient 9spd Campy groupset on. One of the shifters on the bike he left here is worth more than the bike I gave him.

Bit of a long shot, but don't really know how else to get hold of Dave. I was spectating this morning at the bottom of Edinburgh Drive when I saw a cyclist next to the side of the road. His rear derailleur had snapped in two and it didn't look like he was going to be able to continue. I live quite close by and have a bunch of bikes, so offered to lend him one to finish the race. I told him to remember where my house was so that he could come and pick up his bike after the race. He told me he drove past almost every day so wouldn't have a problem remembering. It was pretty stupid of me not to give him my phone number, literally all I got was his name. He was in one of the last groups (this must have been around 9:30) and he told me he'd decided to do the race on a whim the day before, so I assumed it would be a while before he made his way back. It's now more than 9 hours later, so I'm just a bit worried about him. I'm hoping someone here knows who he is and could let him know to contact me here. He was quite young and was on a bike he said he'd borrowed from a friend (who I'm guessing might be on here). It's a lesser known Italian brand, 11 spd Super Record and he was using MTB cleats, so pretty obvious it wasn't his. Anyways, if anyone knows who this is, please drop me a message so I can reunite him and his friend's bike.

Stolen: Mongoose Meteore 2010 When: 6 June 2020 Where: Cape Town, Western Cape My son's bike, stolen from Upper Liesbeek River Garden. He left it unattended for a minute, opportunistic person grabbed it and rode away in full view of multiple people in the park. Get further details about the incident in the Stolen Bikes section

Not sure if anyone else has this irritation but I thought I'd post it in case someone finds it helpful. I like trawling Gumtree for cycling ads, in the hope I might spot a bargain and add to my collection of (too many) bikes and/or components. Unfortunately some people are using Gumtree as their primary means of advertising, often re-posting hundreds of ads on a daily basis and cluttering up ads posted by people just selling one bike or a few components. That means that on every page of ads there might only be 3 or 4 "real" ads posted by people who aren't dealers. Just to be clear: I have nothing against these "dealers": good for them if they manage to make a living off of Gumtree, I'm just not interested in what they're selling. Gumtree doesn't have the functionality to exclude ads by specific advertisers, so I thought I'd fix this myself to improve my personal browsing experience. Another issue I have is that I often see an ad only to realise it's in George. George is technically in the Western Cape but it's so far away it's practically impossible to see whatever you want in person. Again, Gumtree doesn't allow you to filter out specific areas only so when I'm browsing Western Cape ads I always see ads in the George area. The solution I came up with to solve for the above problems is as follows: 1. Install AdBlock (https://www.getadblock.com/). Added bonus: no ads. Just remember to exclude https://bikehub.co.za/ 2. Open AdBlock settings, go to Customize and add the following filter manually to exclude a specific seller: www.gumtree.co.za##div[data-seller-name=NameOfSeller] 3. Add the following filter to exclude a specific area: www.gumtree.co.za#?#div.related-item:-abp-has(div.related-ad-content:-abp-has(div.location-date:-abp-has(span:-abp-contains(NameOfRegion)))) 4. Repeat 2 and 3 for as many sellers/regions as you need. Obviously, replace NameOfSeller/NameOfRegion with whatever the name of the seller/region is that you want to exclude. The name of the seller is visible on the page of the ad itself or, if you're a ninja, inspect the content of the page, select the data-seller-name element's value and copy from there. Unfortunately the above method doesn't work if the person posting hasn't updated their profile with a name. In those cases I just exclude the whole suburb the person is posting from. Sucks to not see the 1 or 2 real ads from that suburb but makes the browsing experience infinitely better.

I really don't care about e-bikes being allowed: it's a fun ride for most people and I can really see the utility of allowing people who, due to some physical disability or age, would not be able to complete the ride on a normal bike. I can even see myself doing the same in 20 or 30 years' time from now when I'm too old but still want to be part of the festivities. What does grind me, however, is people who use e-bikes to "race" (not even sure what or who they're racing). If it costs more to police e-bikes, the cost of e-bike entries should be increased to cover that cost. Again, if I was old/infirm enough to need an e-bike and wanted to participate, I wouldn't have a problem paying more to ensure the majority of people aren't inconvenienced by a very small minority of inconsiderate people. Somehow it also takes something away from the accomplishment of completing the ride when you know for R40K more you could train less and just buy yourself a time. I've seen the sense of accomplishment many recreational riders get from riding 109km and it's a bit sad that this is now diminished. E-bikes are here to stay, whether we like it or not, and people who ride them actually contribute to the sport of cycling. Hopefully we come up with better solutions in the future to ensure everyone can enjoy the most beautiful ride in the world.

LOL, looks like a guy from 6C managed to do a 2:39. E-bikes for the win!

Why would you move your cleat to the outside? Wouldn't that bring your shoe closer to the crank arm?

Yip, agree that taxis are predictably erratic (if that makes sense). I'm not really upset about the conditions I have to commute in as I've been doing it for years and know how to handle myself. What does irritate me is that the conditions mean that I can't in good conscience recommend to others that they should commute by bicycle. Without decent public transport and/or cycling being a decent alternative, people will continue to clog up roads and pollute the city. Another interesting (anecdotal) observation is that when people see a camera on your head, they actually drive better. The amount of close calls I have when I don't have a camera on my head has convinced me to _always_ cycle with a camera for additional protection.

Thanks, glad you like it and can relate. I love commuting by bike but I'm kind of torn between the danger each day and the benefits. The video is made up from the rides on my last 4 commutes (which kind of highlights how crazy it is that it doesn't take long to capture the amount of incidents in the video).

Made a video of what it's like to commute in Cape Town, let me know what you guys think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVOEO5VMdlM

Just a smile, I guess I was laughing at the time at how ridiculous the dog looked. I have closer calls on a daily basis but never considered it might actually just have been dogs trying to learn how to drive. I actually think the vast majority of drivers are quite polite and give cyclists enough room (YMMV). It's a small minority that gives everyone else a bad name.

On my way home this afternoon and I get buzzed by a car. Pretty irritating, but I've had worse, car probably came within half a meter of me. At the next traffic light I catch up to the car and glance over. The driver has a dog sitting behind the steering wheel. As we pull away, I look again. The dog seems to have taken over the driving as the driver is now speaking on the phone and changing gears with the other hand .

Jeez, I'm actually kind of stunned by some of the comments here re hating people that suck wheel. I've always been slightly chuffed if someone decides to draft me and I actually try to keep an even pace so that they can hang on for as long as they're able. I thought it was a kind of unspoken favour to others and wasn't even aware there was some sort of greeting/turn taking decorum. One of the nicest things about cycling (to me, in any case) is that there's a camaraderie amongst cyclists. I've lost count of the amount of times another cyclist has offered to help when I'm next to the road fixing a flat. I've donated dozens of tubes and bombs to others in return. 90% of the time when I pass someone they'll nod their head or even sometimes give a wave. Maybe it's just me but drafting is such a natural, friendly way of cycling that I can't imagine feeling irritated by someone sitting on my wheel or vice versa. On the other hand, it seems there might be a market for small signs on the back of your saddle saying "No wheel sucking".

I think someone once said it's not about the bike?

Probably guilty as charged, but as far as I remember the track was a very wide, level track (not even a jeep track) which is why I thought of it when OP asked for gravel track recommendations. Look at the satellite image here: https://www.google.com/maps/@-34.0074259,18.3964771,572m/data=!3m1!1e3 and you'll see it's quite a big road. I can't imagine that specific stretch would be much fun to hike. Anyways, I still think the Nek to Newlands forest track would be good for a gravel bike (seeing as that's what OP was asking for ). To be honest (as Jewbacca mentioned), most of the "mountain bike" tracks around Table Mountain have very few technical sections and could quite easily be done with a gravel bike with wide-ish tyres. I also think most of the Tokai main routes are pretty doable with a gravel bike, including the Mast and Silvermine. I've ridden all of the above on a hybrid with no suspension, so can vouch for the fact that it can be done.

OK, my bad, no idea how I got there then.

I don't remember it being restricted but this was almost 5 years ago so things might have changed. Also possible that I just found an open gate while exploring the area.

Had to go back a bit in Strava to find this. For some reason only got part of the ride but should give you an idea of where to go if you want to do Orange Kloof. This was in 2014 but from what I remember this route is definitely gravel friendly. I'm also pretty sure you could do the Constantia Nek to Newlands forest track on a gravel bike. Very few technical/rocky sections.

No, I don't think companies care at all. I've reported bad driving multiple times before and never heard back: Golden Arrow, cab companies, etc. (which is why I contacted the MEC this time). After seeing this thread I feel kind of bad that I didn't make a case at the time. As someone said earlier in the thread: perhaps some examples need to be made so that people take notice. That being said, I cycle/commute almost every day and the vast majority of people give you a lot of space and are reasonably patient. In my sample of one (me) I think drivers have become more courteous/aware than 10 years ago.

Here's another image after the first one. Not sure PPA would do anything? I don't know if you have to open a case personally.

Going up Constantia Neck from the M3 side and was brushed by a delivery truck. Had video running at the time. I contacted Donald Grant and was told to contact SAPS and lay a charge. I never did it but assume that's the way to go. Image shows how close the truck was. Anyone who has gone up that road knows how terrifying it is.

I've been commuting for quite a few years and got tired of always fixing punctures. I researched as much as I could and based on reviews Schwalbe Marathon Touring Tyre seemed to come out tops most times (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/schwalbe-marathon-touring-tyre-greenguard/rp-prod69133) Never had a puncture with them in more than 2000km despite all the usual garbage on the Cape Town roads. They're also capable of 6-7 bar inflation which is nice if you're on the heavier side or need to cart a desk with you. An added bonus: the rolling resistance is the lowest of all touring tyres, about equivalent to Gatorskins (https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews/schwalbe-marathon-2015).

I was doing the route from Rhodes Memorial to the Blockhouse a few weeks ago with my son. About halfway up the track that joins the 2 jeep tracks I stopped to wait for my son. As I stopped, I saw 4 guys' heads pop up from behind a rock about 50 meters ahead on the left hand side. They had been sitting out of view which made me suspicious so I decided to rather turn around and head back down. Also, it's a pretty steep, technical section so most people would be going very slowly up here. I had video running but didn't get their faces. Image is from the video and the flat rock almost in the middle of the image is where they were sitting. Be careful out there.

Lost my beloved Oakley Racing Jacket sunglasses somewhere between the top of Constantia Neck and Newlands (the track through Kirstenbosch). Reward of 6 bottles of Jack Black Lager for their safe return. Similar to the image posted