I FLY

This is from an email I got from a friend. "A young cyclist was killed yesterday on the Audax ride. It was in Devon, 8km into the ride and they were riding three abreast. A truck approached from behind and the cyclist tried to swerve in, but clipped his mate and then swerved back out into the path of the truck's wheels. The truck driver did not even know what had happened, but thought someone might have tried to hijack him, as it is a hotspot. Imagine his surprise when he returned to the scene with the police, to find a dead cyclist! We have our account from one of the Cycle Lab members, who was riding just behind these riders." My condolences to his family.

A group of us are leaving van Gaalens at 6h30 on Sunday 10 April and riding to Breedts Nek shebeen and back. Distance is about 110kms with about 1100m of ascent. Should take about 7hrs We will be in mixture of Ride and Birdlife kit.

We hired them at the end of 2010. Both are mediums. Not sure of the daily rental +- R400 each.

Not surprising as Adele has "fascination" for fixies and awe for their riders. Only her perceived lack of riding skill has stopped her trading in the ss commuter for a fixie.

Wilddog_a and I Fly Photo by Dangle.

We used to do an out of town race and a local race every month. Last year I needed to cut back as I work in the mining industry and bonuses were not going to happen. So we ended up doing three out of town events. This year we are doing two - Jhb2C and Kalahari Challenge. Last weekend's SS race was my 1st race of the year and apart from the XC series and 94.7 I will not do any other local races.

I had a mild attack of polio when I was a baby. As a result my one leg is 3cm shorter. My saddle is set to the correct height for my shorter leg. I have been cycling since 1998 without any issues. The body adapts.

It is now called Jhb2C

I am also commuting with this light. I use it in the flashing mode. Even fortuner drivers give me right of way. I have now bought the rear light from the same source and will try it out next week.

See my earlier post. I can only get to Rietvlei about 1h30 after Mike's Bike opens so this ride is not practical for me. Sunday 8am is better for me.

So is mine. SS, baggies, and seatpost luggage rack

My SS is having a new rear hub fitted by Mike's Bike and I can only collect it on Saturday once the shop is open. So an 8am start is not possible for me this weekend.

We went out yesterday again and did some really rocky singletrack climbs/descents on the other side of Krugersdorp hill ( Robertbroom side). 1st time that I have ridden in this area. In total we did 65kms from Volvo Dealership on HP and back.

We have time constraints on Sunday so a few of us are leaving from the volvo dealership at 7h00 going straight down Hendrick Potgieter , around the Cradle( past Teak Place) , up Cedar rd ( past Broadacres)and then up Christaan de Wet on mtbs. Distance is about 80kms, ascent about 1000m and time about 4 hours. Pace is LSD.( My partner likes to talk a lot when she rides )

Yes. It is just big enough for you, your mattress and your kitbag.

Maybe we can use this as a training ride for the 2nd April SS race if the route is marked/decided on by then.

I saw a motorist eating a plate of unshelled prawns in the traffic last night. This beats the make up, smsing, curling hair, scratching , adjusting breasts, coffee drinking, eating bowls of cereal , and KFC activities that I normally see. No wonder I have to think for some of them.

I am a numbers man and so every morning I made a point of remembering how many metres of climbing , the distances of each watering point and the start and end kms of each big climb. This gave me something to calculate and keep my mind busy. One day they understated the ascent by 600m. This stuffed me up because we had "finished" climbing with another 40kms to go.

You are right. Time flies when you are having fun

Accomodation booked and paid for. We went last year and were blown away by the skills of these top riders.

I am keen to do this.

My money will be on the skinny guy with tatoos.

Riding a mtb in the mud is when most of the damage happens. After 3 days in the mud at Sani2C last year I spent about R11k on new components.This did include R3k of new parts for the front fork.

No wonder "geared riders" think we are weird :

I fitted a Killer Bee 2.0 to my rear wheel a month ago and it is already badly worn. What tyre should I try next? I don't want a slick as this will limit my options for weekend riding. My wife is commuting with Cross marks and they seem to be wearing gradually. Any other (sensible) options?