Rapunzel

Got to love kids spelling - my 7 year old daughter did this one

on a more serious note, have twice had people try to pull me off my bike outside stellies over the last few months (admittedly riding on my own which I don't do anymore), both attempts were by what looked like regular pedestrians who launched themselves at me as I rode past them. With hindsight, I would have had to have my mace in my hand if I had any intention of defending myself with it. Before choosing to ride with a gun, please consider - would it enable you to prevent an attack? - would you be tempted to shoot the attacker as he rides away on your bike? (tempting but you could end up being charged with murder) - what could your gun be used for if it had to be stolen from you in an attack?

Right of way is effectively to get from A to B. What we have here is free loaders that are wanting to ride trails that cost our club members anywhere between R20 000 and R60 000 per km to build. The farmers generally do allow runners to access the jeep tracks across the farms so many do appear to consider their land as also belonging to the community.

I'm first going to check with our membership administrator and make sure none of the "offenders" have taken membership in the last 72 hours. One rogue rider seen on the trail today had his PPA bike board on and details have been requested from the PPA offices. If anybody is in doubt when riding Tygerberg trails: Hooggekraal, Contermanskloof and Meerendal sell day permits. All trails marked as "Members Only" are for the privilege of those whose memberships funded the building of the trails.

I have an interesting spin to this - we have a new trail that has opened in the Tygerberg hills. It is clearly marked as a members only section yet there are lots of names on the strava segment for this trail who are not club members (have compared to latest club database). I know that legally there isn't much I can do but I'd love to give these guys the bad publicity they deserve. What say you hubbers?

So other than Rudy Project, what compares to radar's? (style and fit but better durability)

I carry mace in a readily accessible spot and having had pedestrians try to pull me off my bike twice in the last 6 months, the part you cannot practice for is how to function properly with a surge of adrenalin in the system. Come to the crunch, I find that flight over fight is my natural instinct (despite rehersing what I'd do in the situation numerous times).

eish - is it going to go down the tail end of the black route after 3+ days of rain? Going to have to grow myself some ....

and he had a little bit of drag to deal with (not the wind variety lol!!)

Wind was hectic! I really felt for the marshals and people manning the water tables in that weather.

Awesome vibe and we were even treated to some views at the top (albeit chilly at 5 degrees). Thanks energyevents :-)

Distance: For non-members, the Tygerberg trails tend to be shorter (they are linked by green corridors for members only) whereas Bottelary's full network can be accessed with a day permit Surfaces: Bottelary is a mix of farm road and jeep track with singletrack sections on gravelly sand (be careful for loose gravel on hard pack on some sections). Tygerberg trails are predominantly singletrack on a mix of clay and rock (some dusty patches in dry weather) Technicality: Bottelary has some mean climbs and flowing singletrack but on the whole, not technical. Tygerberg trails vary with novice (most of meerendal) to seriously technical (parts of contermanskloof and hooggekraal). Best bet is to try them all when you get a chance :-)

I like the velcro on the top tube - it's also a lot less cumbersome than this setup

meeting was adjourned so that advice could be sought for voting (more people were nominated for the committee than positions were available and there were some queries regarding proxy forms). Comms will probably be sent during the course of tomorrow.

Twice I've had pedestrians try to pull me off my bike and it happens so quickly that having mace in a back pocket is pretty useless. Has anybody got a nifty way to keep it in a more accessible spot?

The green route doesn't go through the vineyards so you're absolutely fine there.

The land owner on occassion does police the trails and the route to the top of the hill involves a very illegal fence hop. That said, riding on trails illegally just isn't the right thing to do so please can we help you ride them legally. Contermanskloof trail and Hooggekraal are both some of the best riding in the northern suburbs and for only R30 you can get a day permit. Meerendal also offers day permit but this trail does tend to be busier and isn't technical. pm me if you're keen on being shown the way

What about t-shirt hill between wilderness and sedgefield - Only 1.4km but 13%

Sorry to resuscitate the old thread. Do any of the smaller and lighter lights work (eg LED Lenser) as a secondary source of light on a helmet? I currently have a bar mounted magic light but need something to "see around corners" on the trail.

and some broken bones. But in the days before meerendal, how many of us got hooked onto mountain biking after descending through majik forest!

The bridge is at the bottom of the jeep track before you enter the first singletrack and is sturdy and about 1.5m wide. There is a right turn off the jeep track to the bridge so if you hit the bridge with enough speed to get airborne, you'll probably drift left and miss the downhill part of the bridge altogether which is what I suspect may have happened.As a regular rider on these trails, I'm really concerned that this may be yet another nail in the coffin of land access.

http://www.tygerburger.co.za/135166/news-details/bergfietsroetes-lewensgevaarlik I'd first like to say that it is extremely distressing to have lost a fellow mountain biker and many of us have received a loud wake up call following Lee's death. Our sport is an extreme sport and obstacles which are normally easy enough for most can become lethal with a bit of rain or too much speed. The bridge in question is wide, well built and is visible from a fair distance. The trail has many other bridges and obstacles which could potentially be dangerous and I fear that we risk losing the trails or having them dumbed down if cycling clubs and land owners are at risk of being sued. Would a trail grading system be sufficient to protect both cyclists and land owners? Should signage be placed before each obstacle? Would either of these measures have prevented the accidents which have taken place on the trails?

it would be nice if they could do the same as Bottelary Hills: day permit comes with a "disposable" bike board which would alleviate the land owner challenges

Some of those photographers looked like they were in the perfect landing strip for anybody crashing on the bridges - they must have had some amazing action pics!

You can also use zinc supplement (zinplex or similar) - helps body to heal cuts, scratches, saddle sores and acne.