Hackster

Anyone else tried Not safe for work?

Makes me proud to be a saffer.

Reading about this somewhere else, some foreign bloke asked why on earth we didn't put the cycle lane between the parking bays and the pavement? I can't see the flaw in this, seems entirely logical. The parked cars will protect you from the moving cars. And parking/stopping violations are much less likely as the transgressors will be inconveniencing other vehicles which is likely to lead to corrective behaivour by those inconvenienced. And you could line the lane with curbstones/poles to prevent people from parking too deeply and intruding into the bike lane. Sure, only works where there are parking bays on the side of the road, but besides that, are there any holes in this theory? Or has the city of cape town missed a giant, simple trick?

So here's the thing... you're riding up or down a nice bit of single track when you hear someone behind you. They ask for track so you find an opportunity and let them pass. When they pass you see that they're on an e-bike. How are you going to feel? Me, I'm going to feel kuk about that. I have no problem yielding to people of superior skills/fitness/courage levels, but not to the oke who's faster than me simply because he bought an e-bike. I don't have anything against e-bikes. I've long been toying with buying one for my commute, but the thought of sharing the mountain with them makes me queasy. Sure, some e-bikes will be purchased by folk who're physically disabled in some way (I promise not to harp on too much about an acquaintance who rode the epic... with one leg) but I can pretty much guarantee you that if e-bikes take off they're largely going to be bought by guys who like the speed but don't have the appetite for all that fitness malarky. And I have to say that, in my opinion, those kind of guys aren't really mountain bikers. And I'd really rather not be sharing trails with them. Or your girlfriend who struggles to keep up on a normal bike.

I have a problem with the 'there was no sign telling me I couldn't ride there' defence. It's faulty logic. It implies that every single path* across the whole of Table Mountain National Park must be marked with a 'no riding here' sign. *Besides the ones that you are allowed to ride, those don't need to have a sign. UYCS Unless a path/area within Table Mountain National Park is marked MTB-friendly, you must assume you're not allowed to ride it. What I do find interesting within this whole debate is that MTBers are getting close to being the largest user group on some parts of the mountain these days, if they aren't already.

Bought and sold stuff here with no troubles. When selling: First guy to arrive with the money, gets the deal. Dibs se m**r. I won't negotiate on price until we're face to face, and you can make a call on the item's condition. I describe my goods very conservatively. When buying: When can I come see? If you tell me someone has dibs I lose interest. If I arrive and someone beat me by a couple of minutes. That's how it goes. I also don't waste my time coming to see if I think the item is way overpriced. All this said, I've also bought and sold sight unseen, even paying in advance. There I rely on gut instinct and so far I have been lucky. But I like to think the best of people.

How large are the digits on the digital display? Some of us older okes struggled to read the numbers on the dials, when the dial is mounted at foot level...

Yum.

So now that I've watched most of the movies in current and circulation, I'm starting the mine the movies from my childhood. It's an interesting experience. Sometimes they really don't measure up... Watching 'Breaking Away' right now, a cycling movie (well, loosely), and it's turning out to be quite good. Anyone else got recommendations from the 70s and 80s?

Has anyone thought about what Edinburgh Drive descent - direction Cape Town - is going to be like? That's a mean gradient with no curves to slow you down, and a nice little S-bend at the bottom. All in all, a challenging bit of road that 99% of us have absolutely no experience riding. I know where I'd park the ambulances...

What's going to cause trouble on the day is that riders are going to look at conditions on Sunday and say 'looks fine to me, no fires'. An accurate forecast of fire conditions couldn't be made early in the week. Lets not forget that right up to Wednesday, the fire was looking like it was out of control.

There's also a consideration about the smoke. If there's still a lot of smoke around, it's a very clear health risk to be exerting yourself under those conditions. Don't have a good feeling about this one....

That is one of the most moving pieces I've ever read here on the hub, or anywhere else for that matter. Well written my man, and well ridden too!

Only criticism I have is that the markings on the dial are difficult to read - unless you're under 40 and have great eyesight.

Done it. For most people it's a big saving over DStv because they're already paying for ADSL. In your case the saving is less because you're incurring the cost of ADSL but I think you'll still come out ahead financially. And you'll definitely watch better stuff. I download more than I stream, and yes, the downloading is often throttled so I often let it run through the night. You'll quickly build up a bank of material, more than you can watch. We've also trying the apple TV / netflix route but this one is proving a little more tricky to get working.

No man, now you're ruined my morning. I've had bad dreams about that turn. My fear of heights combined with my regular inability to ride switchbacks makes this one an angst fest of note. Don't even like walking it.

On Saturday we learnt that the level crossing on Kenilworth road, Cape Town has some nice little slots between the concrete blocks that frame the railway tracks. These slots have been designed with the sole intent of stopping a road wheel from turning. Level crossing 2*. Roadies 0. *Guy behind got such a fright he kapped om as well.

Dunno about the latest issue, but if you compare Ride today with the magazine it used to be, I think it's a much improved product. Almost a different mag. Ride and Tread are on my monthly buy list, given that there's content that appeals to me.

Awesomeness abounds. Thanks Robert. Can't wait to ride it. Minor point of correction, I'm not sure its placement is accurately described - "bottom of Plum Pudding Hill... ." My understanding is that Plum Pudding is the obscenely steep climb on the Cape Town side of that loop. That said, the climb to the top after this new section is pretty daunting and probably deserves a name, if it hasn't got one already. How about 'Muffin Top'.

Do you still add lube after that? And if you are lubing afterwards, do you first dry off the chain with a rag or let it drip dry?

Maybe another way to look at it is to imagine you're the guy wanting to pass. The rider in front of you is on the smooth ridable line, there's little to no room on his right to pass, what do you do? My view is that he should have said, 'passing left', and taken the clearer gap on the left even if that was a rougher line. I'm not about to give up the smoother line if there's a ridable way past for the guy behind. But if I'm off the bike and pushing, I'll climb trees to get out of the way of those still strong/skilled enough to be pedalling...

I picked up a pair of sunglasses on Fairy, Saturday morning. If they're yours, send me a description.

Flashing front light is the business. Riding along that avenue of trees towards Cape Point doing a reverse Argus we had a bunch coming towards us a good kilometre away. The flashing light in the group was more 'visible' than the 'constant' light. I guess that's why emergency vehicles have flashing lights. So I'd guess that a flashing light on the rear would work equally well. Will be looking out for the lights mentioned here. Great thread, thanks OP.

It's all very well talking about your bokkie who'll finally be able to keep pace with you going up hills, or your oupa who's only got one leg and wants to share in the fun at mtb races, but it won't be these people who cause the k*K. It'll be the oke with more kilowatts than common sense, who thinks that trail etiquette is a french rock band, who wipes out your laaitie while doing 50 km/h on the flat. If you want a taste of what it'll be like mixing powered and non-powered two wheelers, take your mtb to an MX track this weekend, put some earplugs in (e-bikes don't make a noise) and then go do some laps. Okay, don't actually do this, it's a really bad idea, either someone will crash into you or klap you. Or both.

Please read the article quoted above, the writer really nails this issue....