steve

........... but this isn't this a cycling specific site?

I'm going there tomorrow for a press announcement and you can be assured that when I ask questions I will have cycling in the back of my mind!

About the 'I think I'm clever' person who insinuated that there would not have been that much damage had he been doing 120km/h. I suppose you know how big the tyre tread was and how much it weighed. In some cases the faster one goes, the less damage is incurred - just like mountainbiking where speed is often your friend.

Is there still cycling at Kyalami - I'll be there tomorrow and was wondering if I should take my bike? I see Wesbank Raceway has been sold and closes at the end of the year

In an age where bad news or news of bad service travels way faster than news of the good, I'd just like to compliment Polar on the service I had from them. My CS200 started giving dodgy readings, I mentioned I had a HRM made for chess players when I dropped it off at my LBS, and the Polar rep, I think it was Ziggy, collected it and it was returned to me all nice and clean in a ziplock plastic bag with a job card explaining what was tested, what was done to it, and best of all, they even supplied zip ties for putting everything back on the bike again. steve2007-05-16 16:01:13

Good ole V brakes are fine ........... rather look at things like better fork or bb.

where?

Rules are rules and anybody lighter than the minimum 6.8kg therefore is a cheat. Why should I race against someone who is dishonest. At the Dome mtb race two people ahead of me took a shortcut ........ I hate cheats!

I've got a Suntour fork on my Silverback Dakota and its way better than the Rockshox Judy J3 that came with the Silverback Sierra. I've got 3 Silverbacks, the first was an Oakland, but that was cheap and the Suntour on that was pretty useless although it felt fine at the time. As you invest in better equipment so you begin to think the original was ***. Now I've got a full susp GT with a Rockshox Pilot

TOO LATE ........ Chunky!! You are a complete idiot. steve2007-03-17 15:29:04

I was riding out near Linksfield about a year ago and saw a guy on a full susp bike (with a 4 bar rear) and a decent Rockshock on the front. It had disc brakes and was painted some weird light orange but had no stickers. He didn't know what kind of bike it was but told me he bought it from Game in Bruma about a year ago for R800. I was on a hardtail and even asked if he wanted to swap bikes and he was very eager to swap!

Look after him and don't get angry if he does something silly!!! I was in a car crash and bumped my head pretty hard and also bruised my brain (amongst other bits of me) and have only just started riding again. My biggest problrem was that after 3 weeks of hospital I found I couldn't balance so it was like learnining to ride all over again. My memory was (is) shot, but its all getting better. Other problems I had were that I couldn't remember passwords to switch on my computer and then logging was impossible so I had to re-register (even to the Hub), bank cards at ATMs were also a problem. Keep his mind active!!!!! steve2007-02-28 09:43:49

There's some good stuff near Heidelberg, the John Deer race on 1st April uses the area. Finish Line cycles have rides Wed, Sat & Sun and sometimes go out towards Sentrarand (train yard). Usualy fast, not technical rides. There's also some very technical riding out at Greenhills Golf Driving range, but development has taken away a lot of the 'easy riding' land but the hard, technical d/hill section is still there. There's some good technical stuff at Gilloolys, but you'll get mugged!!! There is also some good riding near Brakpan, but I've never been out that way.

I'm happy with my LBS. I think it helps a lot if the customer treats the shop staff like human beings. If you get to know them and there is a problem then it won't be a hassle sorting it out. Mechanical things are prone to coming loose etc and I think it is unfair to blame a mechanic for every thing, sometimes the bike owners are just too lazy to check things themselves and sometimes the component itself can be at fault. As humans, I think we are all capable of making a mistake and perhaps we should look at ourselves before blaming everyone else. I know some things should not happen, and the consequences can be serious if they do - look at aircraft mechanics - but being polite goes a long way in getting things done properly. If service is bad, mention it on this forum, but name the shop and give the shop a chance to respond.

Interesting! I wonder if Cycling SA has any guidelines or a list of standards or do they just grant a permit (or whatever they do for a race to be given CSA affiliation) without ensuring the race meets basic standards or requirements? I find it amazing how there's never any official comment from CSA about anything in these forums.

Since when does a spectator have the right to protest........surely its up to competitors. What do the rules say .......... was Anton breaking a rule?steve2007-02-13 01:05:51

I was at the finish and saw someone sprinting and barking orders to those in the race sprint and thought he was an idiot, but I didn't know who it was. Surely, if something like that happens then CSA/Commissaire has the power to disqualify the rider whi was associated with/or who benefitted from the unofficial rider. Makes you think .... doesn't it?

I met him once - in a cave known as Kempton Park - and he seemed like a guy who tells it exactly like it is, perhaps a bit abrasive, but okay!!

The best is sitting behind a couple of roadies and then listening to the excuses they come out with when they realise you're on an MTB ........ better still passing them on the dirt next to the road!!

My 2c worth. Protest rides etc are not the answer! Sure it will create awareness for cycling if it gets media coverage. But, think about this, the media coverage will be seen by the educated, income earning portion of the population. The people, drunks, uneducated, taxi drivers etc do not usually read magazines, newspapers or watch TV so the entire effort will be wasted. What someone needs to do is to get the Dept of Sport and Recreation, Drive Alive and Cycling SA involved where they could use all their persuasive powers to get top line cyclists, including previously disadvantaged sportsmen to take part in a huge awareness campaign. WE need something to be visible on free-to-air television. Also on posters in major centres, not just affluent areas, but at taxi ranks, in factories, offices, banks, at football, cricket and rugby stadiums. Whatever is decided upon, it must be interesting enough for people to talk about it and it MUST be at schools. Children must grow up with an awareness of cyclists otherwise the killing will continue as each batch of school leavers gets behind the wheel of a car.

If an age limit is set............why not accept it!!! It could be that the insurers will not give any public liability cover if riders are under a certain age, but there must be a reason for them changing the age limit. Find out why before you start trying to buck the system. Funny, but some people have to retire at 60 yrs even though their father worked until he was 79! ...... or do you just pedal through every red light you see because you were allowed to on the 94.7 last year!! People who have no respect for rules make life more difficult for everone else.

I found this on the www.arrivealive.co.za http://www.arrivealive.co.za/images/cyclistfatalities1.jpg

I think we should write to Lawrence Whittaker,President of Cycling SA, asking where CSA stands on this and what they are doing about it. However, I think it is important that any letters are well thought and carefully written otherwise we will just create a lot of confusion which will upset CSA. Whittaker's email is listed on the CSA website: www.cyclingsa.com then look under CSA Board Members in a box on the left of the screen. I think an organisation like Arrive Alive

Whoa!!! Without wanting to sound cold hearted.............why was he cycling in the emergency lane? I know we are all guilty of it (I used to do it, now I get hooted at and sworn at often), but this is where Cycling SA needs to get an organisation like Drive Alive or something involved in a big, and I mean very big, cycling awareness campaign.