madcyclist

The following was forwarded to me by a friend in SA. I hope he does not mind me posting it here, but I think it is important that riders stay informed: Hello I have a story to tell .... On Sunday morning at 7:30am I was riding my mountain bike, alone, down Rietvallei Road in Farmall towards Malibongwe. Approximately 500m from Malibongwe I noticed three men jogging down the hill towards the road. Rather than wait to greet them I accelerated in an attempt to avoid these chaps. A shot rang out and I stopped suddenly [over the handlebars onto my shoulder + face, lots of blood !!] - the adrenaline was pumping ... to the extent I did not realise that I had been SHOT in the leg !!! The 'gentlemen' concerned helped themselves to my bike, my helmet, my watch, my phone etc. -- all the while waving a gun in my face .... a neighbour arrived on the sceme and the perpetrators ambled off. I spent two days in hospital and am now recuperating at home ... by all accounts I was exceedingly lucky - the bullet lodged in the muscle tissue and there is no damage to the bones, internal organs or major blood vessels. My conundrum is what to do now :- 1. It is unacceptable that I should not be able to ride my damn bike down my own bloody street ! 2. It is unacceptable that there are folks out there who value a life in hundreds of rands ! 3. It is unacceptable that my family and friends be subjected to the emotional trauma of near loss ! So what do I do ... I could pack up, move to Australia and be 'safe' ... or perhaps buy into a secure estate and be 'safe' or hide under a damn rock and be 'safe' .... I can hide OR I can try to make a difference ... I choose the latter :- The police have been slow to respond thus far -- it sounds as if it is a lack of resources ... I can help ... and so can you !! If it turns out it is apathy and incompetence - well then we can ensure that those concerned are afforded their 15 minutes of infamy ! I will be offering a large financial reward for the recovery of the bike and the successful apprehension of the three 'gentlemen' concerned -- not because I so desperately want the bike back BUT I do so desperately want this group removed from society -- how could these beasts ever be 'rehabilitated' and 'integrated' .... oh --- and a special note to whoever may be 'buying' my stuff .... I hold YOU responsible .. EVERY stolen item comes with a STORY .... YOU buy IT - YOU pulled the TRIGGER !! So .. be warned ... the 'animals' are out there .... BUT so I am I - and I will be pushing all of you to GET INVOLVED - to PUT your own PRICE on your LIFE .... Money, Time and Commitment .... and above COLD, SEETHING, CALCULATING DESIRE ! Leon Sanderson Chairman : Farmall Landowners + Residents Association

Photoshop guys, photoshop. (the rat - not the piglets)

Yak? I thought it was a Honda.

Is it a Huffy?

And we think that cyclists have a bad time in SA. Man o man, I would hate to be a cyclist in NY. Have a look at this thread to get an idea of the attitude of some of the cops there! http://theerant.yuku.com/topic/7789/t/Video-shows-NYPD-cop-assaulting-cyclist.html

712 Kj = 170Kcal, so energy = 2.4 times more.

This must be an attempt to get into the Darwin awards! http://www.darwinawards.com/

If you don't have brains to protect you don't need a helmet.

Parastatal spending spree Shaun Benton 6 February 2006 State-owned enterprises Eskom and Transnet are to get the lion?s share of the more than R370 billion set aside by government for infrastructure development, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said on Monday. Briefing the media in Cape Town on Government?s Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative (ASGISA), Mlambo-Ngcuka said 40 percent of the R372 billion in state investment announced by President Thabo Mbeki on Friday in his State of the Nation Address would go to public enterprises. Infrastructure upgrade Eskom will be spending R84 billion, she said, mostly on energy generation, transmission and distribution. Transnet would be spending R47 billion, with R40 billion of this going to harbours, ports, railways and a petroleum pipeline. This announcement was made nearly two years ago, and the situation has worsened markedly. What was the R84,000,000,000.00 spent on????????

How much do they pay?

On the 24th Nov - Bird Life's Birding day spotted the following at NF: Pied Crow Pied Starling Greater Striped Swallow White-throated Swallow African Stonechat Great Egret Helmeted Guineafowl African Black Duck Red-knobbed Coot African Darter Yellow-billed Duck Steppe Buzzard Wood Sandpiper Long-crested Eagle Amethyst Sunbird Swainson's Spurfowl Reed Cormorant Red-collared Widowbird Blacksmith Lapwing African Wattled Lapwing Southern Red Bishop Three-banded Plover Little Grebe Southern Masked-Weaver Great Crested Grebe White-winged Widowbird Little Egret Black-headed Heron White-breasted Cormorant Southern Pochard Common Moorhen Red-crested Pochard African Fish Eagle Gabar Goshawk Spur-winged Goose Pin-tailed Whydah Pink-billed Lark Speckled Pigeon Black Sparrowhawk Red-breasted Swallow Cape Turtle-Dove Crested Barbet Red-faced Mousebird Yellow-fronted Canary Cattle Egret Green-backed Heron Pied Kingfisher Pale Flycatcher Grey Go-away-bird

Riding the epic without taking a tube or bomb with you!!!?? ja right. Can believe that. Some people drive without seatbelts, cycle without helmets, have sex without condoms. Same mentality.

Is this going anywhere???

Johan, you are playing with semantics. Try the following for yourself. 1) Find a patch of soft sand 2) Approach it at a given speed (constant momentum) with tyres pumped hard. 3) Measure the distance you coast into the sand before you bog down. 4) Do the same thing with tyres at a reduced pressure. I will bet my titanium Merlin XLM against your grandfather's penny farthing that as pressure reduces (up to a point - probably at around 0.8bar) you will coast further and further into the sand. Same energy - more distance. This will apply the same to a 4x4 in soft sand, and the only reason for this (nevermind hysteresis or constantly climbing uphill) is that the actual resistance to moving forward is reduced by floating OVER the obstacle (the sand) instead of fighting it. The same will apply on soft grass (to a lesser degree)

Johan, if you have ever driven a 4x4 in deep sand you will know that reducing the pressure will reduce rolling resistance AND increase traction. The Scwalbe study therefore makes perfect sense to me - specially if you read the reasoning behind it.

Robbie McIntosh in Randburg 0824449918

Geoff respond? Don't hold your breath.

What happens to road cyclists when they grow up and get some sense? They become mountain bikers!forum_images/post_button_smiley.gif

If a 20" will fit you, Westrand Cycles (011-955-4342) have one Diamond Back with Manitou Axel, Avid Mech Disc, WTB Wheels & tyres, Deore Fr & R Der, SRAM X7 shifters, Ritchey Post & Stem, Truvativ Crank @ R3500. Sounds like damn good value to me.

The sh1te is that if some idiot without enough brains to protect splats whatever is left on the tar and kills/maims himself, we may just lose the place as a venue to ride.