WorcesterWheelers

Hey Mdk555, how did you manage to post the x-rays here? Want to show you the latest x-rays of my neck & elbow. (Especially the piece of bone not attached to vertebra.....). So spent the entire afternoon with radiologist & orthopedic surgeon. Surgeon removed my Philadelphia collar (similar to Sophiso's last night on Supercycling)and replaced with soft collar. Also allowed from remove collar from time to time to start getting neck muscles back into shape. Dr. quite happy with progress, but there is still a piece bone not attached to the vertebra but apparently not crucial / critical. Only need to see him again for follow up in 6months time. Now its up to the physio & occupational therapist to get me back into shape...... My "house of pain" session with these two was postponed to tomorrow, where they will give me a new brace for the arm to start stretching it back into full extention little by little. I KNOW this is going to hurt...... The movement in left arm/elbow is still limited, but getting better every day. Making it worse, I'm left handed and my left arm is the injured one. Made my 1st visit to the shop (MANIC CYCLES) on Monday afternoon, and it actually felt like I was walking into another LBS, since its been such a long time away from not being there on a dayly basis. I'm very proud of my staff and they have done a great job to keep the business going in my absense. Thanks Marshall & Christopher, you guys are SUPERSTARS!! Spent a few hours in the shop yesterday in the morning, to help with a bit on the admin and was also there to help a few customers who were quite surprised to see me back. Once again thanks for all the support from so many people, you are all appreciatted. Now I just need to convince my wife to allow me onto the indoortrainer.....

FUEL were braught in by Western Flyer, I dont know why they stopped bringing them in. FUEL became TITAN, via different distributor, but unfortunately the numbers (i.e. demand) for tandems, is not enough to get them to bring in another container of tandems..

So how long you still be out of action?

I'm pretty sure most of us have stories from both sides of the fence.... (Taking and handing out abuse) In the heat of the moment one sometimes gets carried away, but most of the time a friendly / patient attitude will get you much better results than shouting abuse. Fortunately for me, most of the time my wife is just behind me on the tandem to keep me calm when somebody does / says something wrong. One thing race organisers should also try and avoid unless there is no alternative, is for long/medium & or short routes not to join up close to the finish. By that stage the front guys are racing for results, and the social riders are tired and battling to survive. Thats when tempers flare, riders loose concentration and cause accidents or people shout stupid comments. But yes guys & girls, unless you are racing for HUGE prize money or for a BIG title, take a deap breath, and rather try shouting something encouraging to the slower riders. You'll win many more fan's that way.

Hi Mike. Eish, sorry to hear about your mishap? What happened? Ja, also had those two races on my TO DO list for '09, but We will be back (me and my wonderfully supportive wife) in 2010, with many rides on both the tandems.

Hi BMC Fan. Thanks, I'm doing ok. Been confined to lazy boy chair & bedroom for three weeks. with the odd adventure out to the back yard to sit outside in the sun. Have not been outside my front gate for three weeks. So I cant wait for this afternoon. All of these visits to dr etc etc, are all later this afternoon. 1st question I have for dr. is when & how often can I start removing my "flea collar" 2nd Question: When can I start riding on my indoor trainer... Fortunately the most important question has already been answered. After asking the dr. about full recovery and anything I wont be able to do post my accident. He said that I'd be able to do everything I was allowed to do prior to the crash. Only slight worry is whether or not I'll regain full extention in left elbow. (Might not be able to fully extend or "lock" the left elbow) But I'm quite confident of a full recovery

Just remembered, WESTERN FLYER used to be SA distributor for FUEL tandems. Any relation?

Unfortunately its as your final remark says. Simple economics of supply and demand. And the market is actually not growing..... FUEL tandems no longer available, TITAN tandems no longer available, TREK stopped their manufacture of tandems, Also bear in mind, you are shopping in effect for two bikes, so if your budget is between R3-4k, then you can expect similar value as for a R1500 - R2000 (half-a-bike - As Mdk555 likes to call a std bike). R1.5-2k dont buy you much bike, road not mtb.

Ahhhh- OK. I was at a Durban LSB yesterday and pone of the guys told me that they would be fitting a lot more SRAm, but he also said that they were cheaper, including the X0. I seem to recall reading somewhere that Lance Armstrong also baught a share in SRAM?? (Noted this year that it was 1st time ever LA rode TdF on something other than Shimano).

Thanks slowpoke. Log in again on Monday. Got appointments to see radiologist, orthopedic surgeon, occupational therapist and then physio therapist on Monday. So will have much better idea of progress after all those visits.

As for the lightest brakes..... A good old fashioned set of V-brakes Custom built my Merida to come in over just above 9.5kg And for racing on hardpack with lightweight tyres .... its about 8.5kg AND, I weigh around 85kg (well before my crash any way) so no stupid "Weigth weenie" parts only allowed for riders below 70kg's.... This is the bike I had my terrible crash with, and amazingly the bike has not even a scratch. (My helmet and left elbow are both write-off's though)

Wanna play around with upgrades and comparingvarious weigths, here are my favourite two websites..... http://www.competitivecyclist.com/ http://www.wrenchscience.com/ Go play around with various bike builds and compare various components. Wont give you any reviews, but nice info on comparing various weight options.

They guy on the left looks more like one of the Schleck brothers......

I'm not 100% sure why, but I'll ask my mechanic and get him to explain it to me, all I know is that quite often when we get customers in with cheaper bikes that have been using permatubes the rear der. is badly bent. Most probably because of the extra strain to rotate the extra weight of the much heavier wheel. May JB can help here?

It's a DEFINATE NO NO!!! Permatubes are fine for little kiddies bikes, but in general they have several negatives: 1. Very heavier than tyre liners & sealant 2. They stuff up your tyres much faster, i.e. the tread does not last 3. They mess up your rear derrailleur (jockey) 4. Due to the fact that they are very difficult to fit or remove, you run the risk of damaging your rims. So tyre liners & sealant (various products available) are a MUCH better AND cheaper option. Of course the ultimate is doing a tubeless conversion, It might be a large innitial $$$$ outlay, but in the long run by far the least effrot / problems / punctures WorcesterWheelers2009-07-22 03:30:06

You forgot DMT and the very BLING new MAVIC's?

Hi Spokes. (Nats se stem is beter, maar tydens haar dienste as "nurse" het sy nou 'n tussenribspier beseer om my loggeliggaam te moet orals help) Once again a HUGE thanks to everybody who contributed to my fund. Without this there would have been absolutely NO way that I would have managed to come home early. I was torn between to comfort of being cared for in hospital, with free nursing, med's, physio, and occupational therapist (to help fix elbow), and the comfort and warmth of my own home with my family. Would have been a better financial decision to stay in hospital for a few days longer and try and stay there as long as possible trying to milk the hospital plan....., BUT no money in the world could buy the expression of joy and relief on my wife and kids once I came home. So to each & every one of you that have made a contribution, you have helped make my decision that much easier and have braught me and my family some joy through these tough times. It's certainly no picknick at home..... I'll spare you all the details, but suffice to say that I am really blessed with a wonderfully supportive wife, who is currently caring for three kids. A 8yr old daughter, a 10yr old son, AND a 88kg baby...... At least I know she'll be ready for another one Hope you all enjoy the weekend and all the action in the Alps at the Tour de France. Cheers and thanks again for all the support, sms's e-mail's, visit's & phone calls.

Great news!! The Dr just came to confirm that he's happy with the progress of my neck & arm, so I'm going HOME today!!! Three weeks rest & recovery at home till my next visit to go see the Dr. In the meantime physio will now begin in earnest on arm to help it straighten completely. Special thanks to my sister & brother in law, they organised me a "lazyboy" chair that will make life easier at home. So to all of you that still wanted to come visit me, you can now visit me at home!!

Hi Gash. Did the Merida guys mention the new dual suspention bike they will be bringing in for 2010 range? (Sorry cant remember the name) But from what I can recall from a recent chat, they are bringing in something below the very popular 96'er, and more affordable.

Interesting picture below...... (taken during yesterday's rest day) 1. Astana teaming up with Colombia to help them on the flats 2. They got lost.... maybe cause they went riding without race radio's 3. To Lance for setting the good example and wearing a helmet on a training ride.

Thanks Pedals, They say "Time flies when you're having fun" Well I can definately confirm that it flies even faster when you are surrounded by supportive family & friends. Thanks to ALL of you!!!!!