porky

To say that the expo and goody bags are not important because the race is the main event, is like saying its okay to have a paint can as a seat in your car cos you can still drive and thats the main thing.! It is important. The expo, the goody bag, the ease of parking, access etc is all part of the overall experience. Nothing exists in isolation. For me, the experience wasnt that great and I left in a bit of a bad mood, maybe my sugar was low or something, cos I felt better after I chomped all the jelly babies.! porky2009-11-13 00:48:25

This is strange. I have on a couple of occasions taken 25 litre drums of old oil to the local pikitup depot and it was fine. They put the drums to one side - for collection. I told them what was in it. There was no mention of not taking it. Here in Bedfordview the muncipality contracts refuse collections, landfills etc to Enviro-waste as far as I can see. Nobody mentioned Pikitup and to be honest I never thought of them. I hope I dont have to get rid of oil again but if I do I'll remember, thanks.

I agree. I recently inherited 25 litres of old motor oil (dont ask) and been responsible I wanted to get it recycled. Well to cut a long story short I estimate I spent 5 hours over three days on the phone trying to find someone who would accept it. I phoned the muncipality, who refered me to Enviro-waste, who refered me to the Rose Foundation, who refered me to three oil recyclers who said the quantity was too small and refered me to 4 agents who over a three day period never answered their phones once. I called at least 10 motor workshops in the area, who all told me either they used a vacuum system and couldnt suck up the oil because they didnt know what was in it and it may block their system, or that they wouldnt take it because their own drums were almost full, collection was haphazard and they didnt want to chance filling it up with my oil. Eventually, I drove past a small private workshop in someones house, and after bribing the two mechanics with a Kentucky meal a few cokes they took it off me.! Its very irritating, Mondi and Consol have really done well and made paper and glass recycling points easily accessable to the public and people use them the drums are often full and I sometimes have to drive to two or three to find an empty one - but as for oil, plastic, computer parts, liquids like paraffin, paint etc, its almost impossible.

Hmmm, I never referred to any club. Nobody did, the club the good lady joined is an unknown to the best of my knowledge. I think you may be reading a little into thats not there.

? . Oh, okay,...... I see where you are coming from. However, you misinterpreted my post, re-reading it maybe that could have been an inevitability and perhaps I should have made it more clear. My Referance to SC was not referancing the club or Cyclelab at all - the referance SC was to the TV show Supercycling. Actually I did say "she may have "watched" SC - "watched", been the operative word. My intention was to say "she watched the show, heard that joining a club was a good idea, actually recommended, and did so, not realising all clubs are suitable for beginners." Which she found out later to her detriment. Thats all, there was no malice to the Supercycling club or Cyclab intended although I can understand how you interpreted it now, that was not the intention with which I wrote it. porky2009-11-03 03:32:56

Why is that Bruce.? I guess its because you thought I took velo to task for congratulating Cyclelab .? Thats not the case at all. I meant, nobody jumped to any conclusions, the good lady got left behind by her club, thats all the facts we needed to know.! The fact Ali invited her to join their club was a by product of the discussion. I actually have nothing against any club, some people swear by them, I was not fond of the ones I have joined. Maybe its just me, I am open to that opinion, we cant all be hamsters and like the same thing. porky2009-11-02 14:43:42

Pity you only tell me now' date=' I was looking for someone to "do coffee" with in Rosebank. [/quote'] Well, had I known I would have jumped at the opportunity.

Puncture girl, most clubs dont give a c**p. They want the numbers and the bragging rights. They want fast competitive young pricks who still live at home and mom makes them dinner, cos they are the ones who may win races and get their names into the media. They dont want fun riders, they are a hassle and usually out for a day of sun and friendship. They forget however that the fun riders has not only the money to buy goods they so blatently push at overpriced margins but is still the largest part of the market. I used to be competitive, but I am past that now, I am probably considered old, I see cycling as a time of relaxation, I dont want a mission to get to the next pole in 20 secs and I dont care that some 18 year old pimply youngster is going to beat me, however, I have a successfull business, free cash in abundance, lots of time on my hands and guess what, I dont spend it in cycling for this reason. Leaving a woman alone on the road is just plain ignorant, but typical of the testosterone fueled clubby atmosphere. There probably are clubs that will cater to her, but they are few and far between and I dont know them. Sorry for my aggressive tone but this attitude is prevalent in most clubs and just ticks me off immensely,........anyway thats my experience, nobody has yet proved me wrong. I am off for some coffee and cake at Fournos. porky2009-10-31 01:08:28

Its easy to make comments with years of experience behind you.! She should have done this, she should have done that...........yah, right, easy in hindsight.! The fact is she was new to the sport, she joined a club because she probably watched SC and thought they would look after her. She was probably hoping to learn something and get better in a safe group enviroment. Well she did. She learnt that most cyclists in that club are elitest tossers with an ego problem.! Great way to grow the sport buddies.! porky2009-10-30 12:44:13

Go Lefty, I am with you on points 1 + 3 however point 2 is a bit beyond me.? Actually, point three makes most sense to me, as the tread is worn away, the supporting structure weakens and becomes more pliable.? However, for the sake of been mischievious, I could then argue, "why buy an expensive tyre"? If the structure weakens as the tread wears (cut resistance aside) the technology in an expensive tyre is never fully utilised (or amortised) because you will toss the tyre when its still got 50% or more "tread" lifespan. So, would it not make sense to just buy three cheap 150 buck tyres and get a longer "ride" duration by tossing them at say 1000km intervals (3000kms total) than buying one 500 buck expensive tyre and tossing it at the same 1000km point due to the weakening structure which happens in ALL tyres unavoidably? The milages again are just for example, not factual.

I dont see anywhere a statement that says she rode with the A /B group.? I am pretty sure she didnt, and even if she did the vehicle passing her should have stopped and asked if all was okay.! I'll tell you what I think.............I think its crap.! Had the lady been my wife, girlfriend,sister, mother whatever, I would be at the club now and pointing a finger under someones nose............or worse.! My wife had a similar experience many years ago, I was on a business trip overseas and the club invited her to a ride, she said she wont come cos she cant keep up,............No,No, they said, we wont leave you behind.........................well they did, because egos came into play, and off they went, and she was left alone on some lonley road...........thank the good lord a guy out for a ride found her and rode with her back to the main road and the start point. Needless to say when I returned and found out what had happened I was livid, I approached the club chairman personally and demanded an explanation, he couldnt give one really, but apologised,........ however we left the club. I dont know who the club is, but my advice to the lady, "leave the club", make your situation known and leave, why do you need to belong to a club like this.? porky2009-10-30 06:41:13