Slave

HR, slowing down is maybe not so important as keeping the rubber side down. I have been told this and I now believe. Physios are not to be taken "lightly." I recall opening my eyes at around 9 the day after my little crash. There was this dolly standing there looking at me. "Oh no, I groaned." Do you know who I am?" she asked with a shocked look on her face. "Yeah!" I replied, "you're the tart who has come to inflict more pain on me. You are the physio lady and you have come to pound my ribs which are a tad sensitive." Later on I had the nurse move me to another location so I could mindlessly watch the cricket through my morphine induced haze. Next morning there she was again. "Ah, so you thought if you move, I wouldn't find you!" "Nothing of the sort darlin'" I quiped. "You have one of those looks that tell me the world is not large enough for me to hide away in, let alone try and hide awy in an ICU." I think she accepted the humour since she actually did work very gently with me. I told her I could take a bit more pounding on the back and would lash out if it hurt too much. Think she took that warning to heart since she continued to be gentle. Obviously, she doesn't work Saturdays becuase there was another Physio lady there to torment me on Saturday. I looked at her and said, "Ahhh, so you are the new physioterrorist." The whole ward laughed.

So you have a physioterrorist as a friend. Dude, you are more warped than I thought. Take it easy Holy, I am told that the injuries will come back and bite you more as you get older. Especially joint injuries.

Doc says 6 to 8 weeks Holy. That finger injury looked damn sore. And then you still rode to the end of the course. That's just certifiable man. I wanted to know if you are crazy but like that would just be a rheorical question. I think if there was a prize for the person who crashed the most, you would be among the top contenders for the "prize." Some day, a doc is going to ban you from riding again. What is your penance this time? How long have you been told to stay off?

So officialy the injures from my crash are: Fractured ribs 2 through 7 (6 of them with one fracrured in two places.) Pneumothorax (Puntured Lung) Fractured colar bone. (Now sporting titanium plate with 9 screws to hold it all together.) Severley bruised ego. It only hurts when I laugh. (Seriously) or when I cough and I dread the day I have to sneeze.

Without having read the whole thread Oxman, I take it this is one of those p!ssing contests where we brag about our injuries. Dude, I hurt myself pretty badly but I am not proud of my achievement since it took pretty much gross frigging stupidity to accomplish. Suffice to say, I got pretty beaten up by the pavement, spent some time in Solitary for my efforts and the less said the better.

I agree with a lot said here but mainly I agree with this whole idea of "rights" and ME, ME, ME. "I have somewhere to go and it's more important than you and what you're doing." What is it with the modern mentality? Are we really that stoopid? Both motorists and cyclists alike. You can add the pedetrians and runnersinto this as well (generally speaking of course.) Not one of us can claim exclusive use and ownership of the road. I recently read a daft article in the FHM about runners and how they should pay licence fees to use the road to run on. Problem is, we already do. Most runners are motorists and many cyclists are motorists too. So I do pay license fees. When it comes to road safety, we each are responsible for our own saety. This means being aware of where we are on the road at all times and being aware of other road users. Either pedestrians, runners, cyclists, motor cyclists motorists, taxi, truck or bus drivers. It is time for us all to learn to accomodate one another and to begin to show mutual respect and understanding. Tolerance and forebearance will also go a long way to alleviating the current road problems. What is so difficult with this? Is it really that difficult? As a motorist and cyclist, I am acutely aware of other cyclists and otor cyclists on the road and try as far as possible to give them as much room as possible. This is a two way street though and I'm very much afraid that some cyclists also have the wrong attitude. Until attitudes are adjusted, nothing will be resolved. This applies to all road users. Just one thing I would like to know: Often I get overtaken by someone who could have maybe waited 10 or 15 seconds for a safer time to do this, instead of putting his / her own life and the lives of itheres at risk. One day I would like to know what that person did with those very imprtant seconds. More likely to be seconds from disaster one day if you aks me. And why do I have to be sucked into that sort of stupidity? I could care less of you drive like a hooglian. Please, be so kind as to go and do it somewhere I am not.

Ricky, get well soon mate. Hope you recover fully and fast. Don't do anything silly until you are well enough to ride again.

Only two downhills for FO. Down the lido hill which I have prarticed to my hearts delight and the steps which I also have a fair bit of practice on. Hard-sell all you like tiny bird, SBR this weekend is not happening for me. The closest I will get is going along the western boundary fence as I pass en route towards Henley and Meyerton.

The hills are mega climbs and the decents are like mine shafts. Remeber to pack a parachute.

Hummingbird: stop letting out state kept secrets like my inability to climb. It does not fit well with my new image for the year. (Ah well at least I look good going uphill nowadays. Reason for my not doing this ride is simple. training on hills for a fast "flat" race is daft. (Accordong to GO and I think he knows a bit more tha me.) I also need to do a few distance rides on the new bike since I haven't done any yet. Fast one is about 105 km and I need to do at least 3 120 km rides before then. I also need to do some speed work (not that I can ride fast anyway, but I need to do the drills anyway and try to sustain speed for a longer period of time if I am to go sub 3 at the fast one. Ok, ok, I know, it's the fast one for everyone else. For me it's the slow one. Oxman. There are some awesome downhills in the reserve. I got just shy of 80 on one of them last time around. Thing is we all know that to get to the point of going downhill, we have to get to the top. That last long downhill section in the cheetah loop is AMA-ZZZZZZZZZZZing. Once you get there, you know you have done a small amount of climbing and you derserve the joy of doing some low flying down that section. Just be wary of the first long twisty downhill section towards the dam closer to the beginning of the ride though. Some of the road cambers are adverse and if the wind is blowing as it usually does, it makes for some very "interesting riding".

Hey Thug. Good to see ya again mate. Sounds like a fair plan bit it too has it's problems and limitations. Long ride Saturday, Long ride Sunday. Same again for me next weekend. Don't get me wrong, I love the sugarbush place. Really awesome. I just have a bit of a mental block and I need to test the new bike there, but for now, I just want to do some speed drills. I do enough of the hills and things during the week. Hopefully this storm that is brewing will be over soon so I can go for a late arvie ride.

Ox, SBR is an awesome ride. It really is. Not many places I would rather ride but I need time, speed and distance rather than hellish climbs. AS I live n the doorstep of SBR, I can ride there any time I want. Just not into doing it this weekend. SBR is great for almost any training except for speed. And one lap is only 57 km (of mega climbs) Besides, I did it a few weeks ago. For the next few weekends, I will be opting for speed and distance.

Also rode yesterday. No, not the reserve. That wind was cruel. Added to which, the bunch dropped my slowpoke lazy ass and I had to battle it out solo. I need to do some long fast stuff in prep for the fast one. No SBR rides for me for the foreseeable future. I should be riding somewhere close to SBR on Saturday (weather permitting). Hey GO. Maybe we should do that loop we did the other day and go past SBR on the way. Like go out and do the cheese factory loop, go past SBR a la Fast one, up to Meyerton nd then home via Henley. Should be a good 120 km of fast flats.

I know hills make you strong but for the fast one you need to be focussing on speed. SBR is great for 94.7. Not so good for Fast one.

WTF ??? My mther told me never to talk to strangers. Trust me, when the old bat talks, you listen cause she can beat the crap out of me more than you can, so I'll stay safe and listen to her.

affirmative shoppers. the baskets. This happened to our good friend Trubie while he was on Holiday with his bikes.

Baught new bar tape for my new ride a couple weeks ago. ZAR 85. Parra, you obviously shop at the wrong LBS.

To greet or not to greet? Let's see. I like to be one of the friendlies on the road and try to greet most other cyclists regardless of roadie or MTB rider. That "appartheid thing" just confuses me. There are time however, when it is just not possible to greet first or return the greeting from another kindred spirit. 1. I did not see you. (Sometimes I am just so "Zenned" The only thing I see is the road just ahead of me, my front wheel and partly, in the peripheral vision, maybe my speedo. (I am also old and partly short sighted but don'ttell anyone. They will take away my wheels.) 2. I was hanging onto the handle bars so hard that removing a hand to return a freindly greeting might result in me crashing. 3. I was so focussed on the traffic, that it was not possoble for me to see you as in 1 above, or I was crap scared of prising my hand from the baras in 2 above. 4. The lights were on but no-one was home. (In truth I recently landed here from another planet and I was doing the zen thing as in 1 above. 5. My Mrs. shouted abuse at me about my riding habits and the dog bit me so I was having a bout of PMS or FSFMS (Feeling sorry for myself syndrome) and was completely distracted and oblivious to your franticllay waving arm. 6. I was just too out of breath to manage dragging my hand off the bars or even rasing my voice above a whsiper. Last year this time, we arranged a ride to the circus farm and a fellow hubber passed me while I was agonising my way up the dreaded steps. He said a loud hello as he went past me. The net result was that I got such a fright, I almost jumped off the bike from terror. Fortunately I was nearing the end of my ride so a shower and change of clothes was the happening thing anyway. It was cleaning all that brown stuff out of the cysling kit and washing the bike that got me. (Hello again IanJ) So greeting fellow sufferers is cool, but please do so carefully and without feeling bad when some crochety old fart has an instant bad reaction from the embarrassment of losing body control when you sneak up from behing and loudly hail you r greetings. Similarly, if you are in your car, don't hoot and wave when you see me. I have the same reaction. My friends all know never to greet me too loudly from their bikes and never from their cars. Since I hardly ever notice them not greeting me (failing eyesight) they know I never hold it against them. Being partly deaf, you really have to shout and that just makes my day. (NOT) I think it is time to look seriously at wearing diapers while cycling, to save the kit.

I know there are many reasons why this is not funny, but I just can't help myself. I have never thought a plane would fall out of the sky, or overshoot a runway and crash into my car. The odds are just too small to imagine. When I began cycling, I never thought this was even a possibility. But the past few weeks, first in Durban, then PE, George and now Germiston, I am beginning to wonder. Damn, imagine getting taken out by a plane while you are cycling? Gives new definition to low flying.

Thanks for the offer but the frame will be a bit small and the setup all wrong. I'll stick with my roadie.

Cat, you have it all wrong there girl. I have played with the idea of riding an MTB, but I have found out I'm just too soft. Closet MTB "person" in me has long since escaped. Must say yhough, you do a very convincing hard sell job. Not quite convncng enough though. Are you and Nancy Drew in cahoots here to try and convert the likes of Greyowl and mois to become MTB nut?

Rather a roadie than a Capie.

One of the first positive things I have heard about racetec in a while. Last year Idid the fast one on a sub. The sub fee was almost the same as the entry fee but I did the sub. Race day, I arriveat the start and ride my legs off. Fininsh the race and go to look at my official time. It is nowhere to be found. I e-mail them and they tell me my chip was fine and it did register start and finish times. Cool. So I go back and check. Nada. I get hold of the chap I did the sub with and he checks. My time was allocated to him. So we sent a few e-mails up and down and a year later, the time is still credited to my mate. What I find really funny (Well it would be if it wasn't so bizare) is how did they allocate my timing chip time to the other party? If the paperwork for the sub wasn' t done, they would never have known I rode the race for someone else and since no fee was paid, no result? But y race time stands for someone else. Go fgure. Stoopid bunch of choppers.

Words fail me. All I can say is deepest sympathy to the family and friends.