I FLY

Maybe. But always good to get input from local knowledge base.

I know. I am an experienced bike pusher from my EPIC days.

Interestingly the steel SS bikes are the bikes we ride the most. Road and Tallboys are normally ridden twice a month on alternate weekends

Riding all the dirt stuff in the Cape while I am still able to was one of the primary reasons for buying this apartment.

We are on the same page for when my head agrees with my body that I am old.

We bought an apartment in a Somerset West Estate with the intention of using it for a weekend getaway in the short term and a retirement place in the longer term. I want to take two of our bikes down there permanently so when we fly down we have bikes to ride. We currently have: 2 x SC Tallboys 2 x steel single speeds 2 x road bikes. Ideally I would buy extra bikes 2 x FS bikes 2 x road bikes for the Cape but this seems frivolous So my current thinking is 2 x SC Tallboys to Cape Town and Convert SS bikes to 1x12 for use in JHB Or Convert SS bikes to 1x12 and they go to Cape Town. We would prefer to ride the bike parks with a little road riding thrown in so option 1 of SC Tallboys to Cape Town makes the most sense to me.

"hold my beer" would be my two Labradors reply to your comment

Luckily for me I was so fit from my sports training that I was able to cruise through all the PTI sessions when I went for my basics Never be first or last in any activity was my motto for my two years.

Managed 4 rides this month - total of 82 kms - of which 55kms would be regarded as commutes. Slow comeback after been hit by a car on 21 May.

I learnt this lesson 6 weeks ago I also did not take down details of the motorist that hit me. So far I am out pocket to the tune of R6k for medical and bike repairs. I was in a lot pain and shock but I still had the opportunity to get her details. Whether she would have paid anything to me is a moot point now.

We broke the window next to my bed one weekend. So I removed all the broken glass and went through the rest of basics without anyone of rank noticing. I even got a weekend pass because my window was so clean.

after being hit from behind by a car last month , despite wearing a hi-vis vest and having two red flashing lights on my helmet, I am considering sewing a photo of an iphone on my hi-vis vest. Maybe this will get the motorist's attention.

They all know how to swear in english

My wife gets grumpy if she does not accompany me on my commutes to work. Then she rides home by herself. I am more nervous about her riding by herself then I am about my solo ride home

Shelton Avenue going under the R24 . Motorist was behind me at the traffic light then went blind when she tried to pass me

Yesterday was my turn to be clipped by a motorist on my way to work. 1st time in 20 years of cycling Hip, ribs and both hands badly bruised. Bike seems to have minor damage. Interesting that I lost no skin. Tuck and roll paid off. Despite two red rear flashing lights and a hi-vis vest driver says she did not see me

I did the 72km race last year thinking that I would be ahead of the masses. Instead , as you pointed out, I was even further behind the masses. So I will do the 50km as my wife missed out last year because of an injury and she wants to ride this year

One of my rides was 25kms , ascent 40m, altitude -7m

I have a daughter and son in-law who have now been in Rotterdam for 3 years. My daughter has not driven a car in that time and has become a commuter cyclist throughout the year. Her RSA cycling experience was a 9 month period on a tandem with me when she was 14 years old. My son in-law was a cyclist and still commutes by bike on the days when he has no client visits. The dimensions of the equipment he needs when he visits clients is too much for to carry on a bike As a RSA commuter cyclist I am treated as a little odd by my colleagues and family. And we treat every ride as either a race or hardcore training session. But when we spent 2 weeks with my daughter in August last year and did a bit of cycling on Dutch bikes I found myself as the odd one out because I got frustrated by the multitude of slow moving commuters. It took a few days to adjust and if I had a magic genie I would want to have the Dutch cycling infrastructure and culture here. In a couple years time I retire and plan to spend several months a year in Holland - a big portion of which will be on touring bikes.

I had my little downhill dash home from Greenstone Hill in the rain. Luckily lightening had moved away. Only issue was crossing the Modderfontein Road (R25) as the traffic lights were out.

I could only do one ride last week - Monday- then life caught up with me Tuesday - early morning annual performance review Wednesday - site visit near Carolina Thursday and Friday - drive to Oudtshoorn - my daughter is doing a 6 month field study at Cango Wildlife Ranch Sunday - drive back from Oudtshoorn Today - rode my bike

I read that this will only happen every quarter not every month. I was surprised at the turn out for the 1st one. I expected about 50 riders instead there were a few hundred.

I live 3kms from my office but depending on my time contraints my commute to the office varies from between 35kms to 3 kms

My route takes in part of the Thembisa and Alexander commuter routes. Frequently I stop to help fellow commuters fix punctures, replace tubes and other road side repairs. When I see the state of repair that these bikes are in , I am gratefully that I have the means to buy decent equipment and maintain it properly. I also have "the call a wife" option if I have a catastrophic failure and can't fix my bike. Yesterday I spent 45 minutes trying to fix a 6 speed derailer that started falling into pieces as we worked on it. Eventually I converted bike to a singlespeed. I do wish these commuters did not use ship's grease on their chains. It takes forever to clean my hands when I get home.

There are a few small 26ers for sale in the classifieds. I am prepared to contribute towards buying one for your guy.