EigerSA

There's a critical mass ride this Friday (27th). Starts at 5pm for 5:30pm, meeting at Moses Mabhida Stadium. Last ride lasted about an hour and a half and we went though the city center to Wilson's Wharf, easy riding for any level. Hop to see you there.

if you know how to spray and have the equipment then head out to your local industrial paint supplier, very often they'll give you a sample of paint - you'll have to pay for it, but I get 250ml testers from my guys. A fork wont take much more than 150ml, even with multiple coats. To prevent peeling, make sure the fork is 100% degreased and you must use a primer (well depending on the paint system anyway). You can use rattle can laquers, plenty guys do all over the place. But same rules apply, degrease properly, use a primer and spray away. With rattle cans, less is more, so rather put on lots of thin coats as opposed to fewer heavy coats - only because the pressure wont remain the same throughout the entire spray time. I think you'll also probably go through a bit more paint. For a nice shiny and slightly more protective finish, make your final coat a clear one. **didn't realise this thread was so old lol

I'm not suggesting no cyclists do this, but knowing the section of road where they rode, and knowing the habits of cyclists in general, I personally do find that this part of his statement is questionable - please note I'm not laying the blame for the accident at their feet!!. I commuted by bike for nearly 2 years 3 times a week, a round trip of about 38km, and there have been more occasions than I care to count when cars have crept up on my out of the blue, especially on parts where I'm focusing on pushing up a hill or something, it happens.

This is what the ride was about... this is the Malvern kids getting their Christmas Shoeboxes (not sure but I'm guessing the hubbers boxes were among them).

I wasn't there, but I don't believe any of that for a second. I've ridden up Field's Hill before, it's long and steep (well for me anyway). First off, nobody slows down on a hill like that, to slow down would be to almost come to a complete stop and people riding the hill tend to put their heads down and concentrate on pushing up it, and since these were cyclists on a training ride, I doubt slowing down was in their minds at all. The other thing is that the Hill is 3 lanes wide, most people drive up in the middle lane or fast lane, how could they have seen the car coming, the area in which they were hit is a blind corner, generally you don't hear or see a car there until it's almost on top of you - unless I got the info wrong and they were actually facing the traffic!? As for lighting, I'd like to know what exactly he was "lit" up with. At the time of morning, wear a reflective vest or something. As for being seen 200/300m away, it depends on the section of the road they were on as well as the weather. His whole statement sounds like a case of "but it wasn't my fault" guilt after the fact. The driver of the vehicle is still at fault, and should be charged with attempted murder at the very least. But honestly the cyclist should have kept quiet, to me it sounds like he's covering his butt.

everyone gets to have their own opinion and you didn't say anything I thought was inappropriate - dingle and u got your own thing going on a separate thread. nothing to be apologise for.

I'm just saying that cyclists need to be a aware of where they ride and how they're seen by drivers... how is that hogwash? I'm saying to perhaps ride on roads that aren't as busy as Fields Hill is (a route that's regularly used by truckers and cars to avoid the toll at Marianhill) because I believe that the safety of cyclists is paramount.. how is that hogwash? I'm saying to cyclists to cyclists to take responsibility for their actions like we as cyclists expect drivers to take responsibility for their actions... how is that hogwash? As for getting political, I'm all for that. And the very first thing motorists are going to say is cycle in a responsible way, light yourself up so that we can see you especially in the early mornings and late evenings, stay off roads that are major motorways because it's dangerous, ride in single file as much as you can, and wear fluorescent jackets once again so we can see you! Cyclists are in the minority here, you want to be accepted then you have to treat other road users with respect.

I don't agree with everything in Drongo's post, but there are a few things he's correct about. One of them is Field's Hill at that time of the morning. The area where the cyclists were hit (the spot was explained to me so I could be wrong) is an extremely dangerous spot to be in. There is almost no shoulder what so ever, and the corner is blind. On top of that there's a rain gutter/channel that forces you away from the small shoulder as well. That particular section is dangerous, more so if you're on a bike at 04h30 in the morning when it's easy to not be seen. And to make matters worse, there's a turnoff not far from there that forces you to move over on the blind corner... quite frankly I'm actually surprised there hasn't been more fatalities there. As much as the driver is at fault, the cyclists also need to step up here. If you're going to ride in these spots, then expect the worst and light yourself up like a Christmas tree - or better yet, find a safer route rather than the busy unsafe one. You want drivers to be more responsible on the road, then we as cyclists must be more responsible as well. I just drove past 3 mountain bikers on the road with no lights (today in Hillcrest it's overcast and rainy) that I only noticed at all because the cyclist at the back was riding so slowly he was wobbling. If the guy lost his balance and fell into the road, well the "honey sucker" in front of me would've killed him. Not excusing the driver in this accident at all, he needs to be arrested and imprisoned for a very long time, but cyclists also got to start acting with a bit of common sense here as well.

taken with a Nokia e5 at a place called Emdoneni Also a E5 looking out over the valley of 1000Hills during a bike ride.

I used to commute by bike regularly, it was about 18km one way, mostly flat with just 2 short but steep hills. I found my mtb was far more enjoyable to ride because I could 'hop' on and of curbs or take short cuts through construction sites etc. also I used a back pack with my laptop in and spare clothes, far more comfortable on a mtb.

nice read, this is what cycling is all about in my opinion!

It wont get swept under the carpet. A case has been opened and will get investigated. But remember cops aren't superhuman, just having a number plate isn't enough; the driver could (and would) just say it dropped off at some other time, how would you prove otherwise? If the vehicle has some damage that is consistent with the accident, then all you can say for sure is that the vehicle was involved, then you got to get a driver. How do you prove someone was behind the wheel of a car at a specific time? Hopefully there'll be some witnesses or the guy will be wracked with guilt and just hand himself over. The best way to help is to keep it alive, as in constantly phone the newspapers for progress results and hopefully the press will pester the cops to keep momentum going. One good thing is the detectives in Pinetown have always been pretty damn good, with a good relationship with the taxi associations (if it was a taxi involved) and will put their all into getting a result.

It's a starting point, but not in itself enough. Once you got the vehicle, then it's a case of checking for damage to the vehicle; damage to vehicle + number plate = arrest and with arrest comes bail (and the inevitable backlash of "why is he getting bail?") since bail itself cannot be used as a form of punishment and if the driver has a fixed abode with a job, he'll not be considered a flight risk (taking into account of course overcrowded jails) and will get bail - no point in getting upset about it. I spoke to someone a few minutes ago and it seems there's already progress been made.

eat garlic, lots of garlic (brought my personal recovery time down to 3 days). as for recovery, it's important you rest as much as you can and drink loads of fluids. I've had it myself where I've felt a dodgy one day at work, the next day almost ending up in hospital with pneumonia - seriously, follow your doc's advice to the letter.

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lx09mgUzTh1qgyq12o1_500.jpg In my humble opinion, a design triumph!

huh, disrespectful!? not quite sure how to take that planning on coming down yes, it'll be my first argus - though I may have to borrow/find a geared bike.

It's one thing too jot down some notes and then later order on line - it's an entirely different thing to be able to stand in someone else's showroom and order from a competitor. Nothing wrong with shopping around, but too me it's disrespectful at the very least to order whilst in the shop - and let's face it, this is exactly what amazon intends here. Again, I'm not against competition at all, I think it's healthy, I just think the way they going about it sucks. If the amazon app becomes widespread, I personally would think shop owners totally justified in banning people from using their cellphones or taking pictures of products while in store. And if I remember correctly, a South African court upheld a warranty on a grey product because the product didn't work as intended/was broken. The outcome was though that the local supplier/agent was under no obligation to repair/replace and that the product had to go back to the manufacturer who had to then honor the warranty. Basically as I understand it, it's the way things function no anyway with regards grey imports.

perhaps a brick and mortar store in SA should consider ordering from CRC or Amazon on your behalf, add a 10% handling fee and charge normal labor prices to fit the items.

and did you let him?

I'm all for amazon selling cycling stuff, it's healthy competition. My only complaint is the way they doing it. if i owned a shop and a customer scanned one of my bar codes and ordered from within my store, i'd be pretty pissed off.

Not sure if this has been posted before, but it could be an interesting turn of events... It seems that with a new phone app from Amazon, you can go into your bike store, scan the bar code with your phone, which then orders direct from Amazon! To me that's pretty low. If a guy goes into a store, writes down the details then sits in front of his computer later that evening and orders... well that's just tough luck fro the bike shop. But too be able to do essentially the same thing but from inside the bike shop I think is really insulting! I'm all for Amazon getting into cycling, it can only encourage healthy (for my pocket at least) competition, but not with these sought of underhanded tactics. Link to article here

I think having a facebook page just for the sake of having one is not really a clever idea. Regardless of what the consultants say, someone has to constantly maintain that facebook page and keep it up to date otherwise what's the point? As for complaints, is yours the type of company to receive a lot of customer feedback? If it is, do you really want a facebook page that is open to abuse? Just remember that most people out there will complain to friends and family (and even strangers) far quicker than they'll complain to the company; having a facebook page means having a place to bitch/complain without having to go to the company first, and publicly. If your company isn't the type to have public/customer interaction then what's the point?

yup not a great turn out at all. To those that did manage, great to meet you and we definitely will have to start a monthly social ride. To those that couldn't be there, next time right?

Don't worry about it, you can always sort it out later. Just come and enjoy the ride.

so bummed, wont make it, have to work Hope you get a great turnout.