I FLY

50km three times a week on a heavy SS- Bike and carrybag weigh 19kgs. 700m of climbing a day. Laptop stays at work. I have another one (with internet) at home so if I need to work at home I carry files on a memory stick

At Joberg2C I was allowed to touch a Lynskey Pro 29er but only when my wife was supervising.

I thought they were fast, light and had reasonable grip. I stopped using them as I kept getting sidewall cuts.

I have fitted a X king 2.2 ust to my front wheel. (previously had a Mountain King). My 1st ride will be Sun City on Sunday so I will post my impressions next week. My back tyre is a Race King.

Update. I fitted a set on Conti commuter tyres to my ZTR rims on Sunday and managed to get them set up in tubeless mode. Did my 1st commute this morning without hassles.

Thanks for the reminder . Just booked for Saturday night. There are now 6 tickets left.

That bike is in a new bike shop in Morningside. I can't remember the name of the centre. It looks really good in the "flesh" They have a few Pinarello fixies.

I go and watch all these races as my wife is involved with the series. I think that the success of the series is due to the passion of the organisers and the extensive marketing . If the series was run by a committee put together by the controlling body(ies)then it will not be as big. In my opinion CSA santioning comes with petty officialdom. The kids want to race/ride, not be bogged down with red tape. I always walk/ride around the course so I can watch from many vantage points. I had a couple of feel-good moments at the top of the only steep rocky climb on the course. A youngest in the middle category was in about 6th place. He was trying to past the backmarkers who were walking all over the riding line. Instead of complaining and shouting for track he rode through the rut and rocks while encouraging the walkers to enjoy the race and to make sure they finished. Later a boy from the Potch school did the same thing when he past a team mate who was walking. Kevin from the epic should patent the rider identification stickers that are stuck on the bikes. They are indestructible. I saw an old hand me down yeti being ridden on Saturday. The bike was quite battered but the 3 epic stickers were in pristine condition.

+1. A bunch of cyclists riding at night with flashing lights could be a sinister sight for pedestrians. But the loud music was an ice-breaker and many people were dancing and laughing as we went past them. Our 1st CMR and we really enjoyed the vibe and the sights. Finished off with an awesome pizza. I selected the toppings based on what I could read off the chalkboard.

I have ceramic bearings in my road bike's BB. I know they are there but I cannot tell you if they make any difference at all. I did not buy the BB. It was there when I bought the bike.

Where do I park my car?

We have the following vacancy. Internal applicants have until Friday 22 July 2011 to submit their CVs. Thereafter we will look externally. Send me a PM with your email address and I will forward the advert(with contact details) once the internal application deadline has expired. VACANCY Internal applications are invited for the position of: ACCOUNTS ASSISTANT The position is based at Jet Park and reports to the Group Accountant. THE KEY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION WILL BE TO:  Prepare cashbook and creditor payments  Reconcile First Auto statements  Issue and order corporate clothing  Issue and manage petty cash  Breakdown cell phone and data card charges  Create purchase orders  Reconcile creditor accounts  Assist with ad-hoc financial projects The ideal incumbents for the positions will have the following profile:  Basic bookkeeping knowledge  Be enthusiastic to learn  Able to work in a team  Basic Excel knowledge

I went for the "buy a complete SS bike" route. My wife took her geared hardtail to Mike's Bike and told him to make her bike a SS. RodTi and others have gone for the "build it yourself" route. There is a website - Singlespeed.co.za that has all the components you need for a diy conversion.Planet X website also has SS componentry.

I have a road bike and a FS mtb. The SS was bought for use as a commuter bike. My reasons were:- 1. Cheap - R6k vs my R50k FS 2. Simple - less things can wear out/break during commute. Nothing like having to catch a train to add to the need for reliability. 3. Don't mind the damage that results from commuting frequently. I have had 4 dismounts so far this year. 4. It is awesome training - it formed the bulk of my Joberg2C mileage. 5. My gearing is optimized for a 5% drag (32-16). I spin when it is flat and stand when it is steeper. I have amazed myself by what I have been able to ride with only 1 gear.It's a cyclist's life changing revelation as I have always classified myself as a pure flat road rider. 1. Breedts Nek 2. Steep part of Northcliff - Senior/Cliffview/Hearn Drive 3. Nissan Hazeldean 70km 4. Logwood course for next week ( without too much standing) 5. Sandton Drive (up past Sandton City) 4 x a week

I think that one has to be a confident rider as opposed to being brave. I have seen some bike commuters who are nervous, timid and with newbie skills. They wobble, they don't observe the traffic, they hestitate when it is their turn to go,they don't signal, they ride too close to the guttter, they look like rabbits in the spotlight, they scare me. Don't know what they do to the motorists. I claim my space 1 metre from the gutter. I have all the bright lights and I use them to let motorists know that I am there. Nothing like a 900lumen flashing light in your left side mirror to get you to move to the right of the lane.

Bump

My commuter route contains very little sand/gravel. As I have gone through 3 back tyres this year I was thinking about changing to Conti Town & Country tyres. Has anyone successfully run these in tubeless mode?

I had the same grips on my commuter bike and replaced them with ESI Chunky grips this week. I prefer the thicker grips and the smoother surface less abrasive on my gloves.

My actual riding time was 3h46. Lost about 10 minutes because I started 2 batches later with my wife and another 10 minutes for punctures. I was okay on the climbs (luckily they were not too long and steep) but lost much time on the flats and downhill drags. For the 1st half of the race I was thinking that riding a HT was not too bad. But reality set in during the 2nd half and I decided that half marathons on a HT was a better idea. I had an brief moment of doubt going through the doorway of that broken down house with my 730mm riser bars. There was just enough clearance for me to get through without incident.

Same gear on smaller wheels for me. No wonder I am so useless.

If I pass you. No, my bike was at home sulking yesterday as I had to use the car.

I will be there in the last 70km batch on my black GT Peace SS. Wearing Ride/Joberg2C kit.

I did this race twice when it ran from Pmb to Dbn with my wife. What we liked:- 1. We have never been ridden through the area and it was a novel experience. 2. The paths/roads were not perfectly manicured as many of the KZN races seem to be. I heard a number of KZN riders complaining about the roughness of the surface and comparing it to other races they do. 3. The field was not huge and therefore no congestion on the single tracks 4. We rode/pushed bikes with some Duzi legends who kept us amused with war stories relevant to the section we were riding.Them paddlers can drink beer 5. Many paddlers were riding with their wives as a way of showing them the valley and the river and this added to the social nature of the "race". 6. The organisers - Ray and his team - were really excited about the event and what it meant to the riders and the locals Why we have not ridden again. 1. We don't like doing the same races year after year. There are so many excellent stage races on the calendar that we try to choose two different races each year 2. I don't think the new format has start and finish of each stage in the same place but the logistics of finding a non rider to fetch and carry us is impossible

I have always thought that I could cope with the various phases of weather in isolation ie wet, dark,cold and windy. But this morning I had all four on my commute. Plus I had a long day yesterday - left home at 4h30 to attend a funeral in Durban and only got home at 11pm- and I ate very little. Can I have worse days?

I heard that the prize money for Tour of South Africa has not been paid out yet. Good PR when they are try to get overseas teams to commit for next year's tour.