sierrrd

Am I wrong to imagine a truckload of devil thorns on the route?

Respect.

Shot guys. Keen to see Dexter rocking his road bike as well.

Is Suikerbosrand still open? Am seeing the Missus' family in Alberton for a long weekend and thought this patch of reserve might be good enough to bring my Cyclocross bike. Or are the trails / tracks quite gnarly? Dankie.

I started working from home on the 1st of July and my road bike was just standing there. After all, I prefer mountain running over riding and I basically only used the bike for commuting. So I thought I would swap the workhorse for something that could make me ride (some) of the trails I like so much. My commute never involved any trails, but in hindsight, I wish that it had. This is so much fun.

I go out there to get away from screens. Never Swift.

Changing jobs 1st of July. And so my daily commute Glencairn-Muizenberg is almost coming to an end. The past few weeks I have been working early and late to transition into the new job. Interestingly, I noticed quite a few commuters heading for Simon's Town. SA Navy okes, I reckon. So, no more daily riding to supplement my running. Which is a pity, because it is such a good foundation for your training time. Next, I will be doing home office. Should I ride from my bedroom to office room? Ride around Glencairn with a backpack? Or perhaps just do a coffee session at Cape Point.

Classic. I like slipstreaming time trial bikes on my commute from Glencairn to Muizenberg. Preferably while wearing jeans shorts, takkies, shirtless and a backpack. Okes don't say a word when you pass them with a "Good morning." Why so serious?

Was loving the tailwind and the water ballet on the way home yesterday. Being a kid riding on a typical Dutch day again. I could actually notice drivers be a bit more considerate in the weather.

Classic. Something you also might have noticed, that there is generally not too much respect for road racers. Riding 40km/h, ignoring traffic rules and pretending to be doing an étappe of the Tour de France is not encouraged. Basically, don't be like riders in Cape Town, using MyCiti lane instead of cycle path.

Yep. That's where I got my driver's license. About 30'000 ZAR, but it went far. From the driver's point of view it also makes a lot of sense. You don't want your door to hang loose and replace that. But I don't understand that people don't just even check their mirror. Oblivion. What must be said that there are also twats behind the wheel in The Netherlands...

Last Thursday a driver complimented me on my reflexes as I just escaped riding into an opening car door, at 35-40kmh. Those people that live in absolute oblivion and think the entire world should know that they are getting out of the car. Oke must have stood there for a while, as I usually look at least 500m ahead to see who is parking. This is Main Road, Muizenberg - Kalk Bay. So, the compliment came from a car that was behind me, from which the driver witness the spectacle. He opened the passenger's door window and said: "Awesome reflexes dude!"

Beterschap kerel.

I'd love to do the Double Century this year, sub 6 or sub 6.30. Where would I start looking for teams? Here? I primarily do mountain running - This road racing thing is a fairly unexplored area for me..

Commando today. Happens every now and then. Today I'm happy to have used Strava Fly-by to pay my respect to another cyclist skipping a red robot. The twat.

I'm so done with my Maxxis Detonators. I need to get something else that is not going to cost me more than 300 Rand. The other day I smashed my hand pump to pieces because there was another piece of debris stuck in the rubber and this morning I was whipping the wall with a tube. Not the most constructive bike rage, I know. Any tips? I feel that I have to get Gatorskins again, but that's over 1K for a pair. Bit much.

Fortunately, I work in Muizenberg. If I'd be wearing a cycling bib as a hat, people would still not look up. It is exactly what you think of Muizenberg: Surfing boards in the rack and a barefoot stroll to the coffee machine. I was going for some repeats on the beach for lunch, so I brought running shorts. Forrest Gump represent.

***. Forgot my jeans.

Bit lit. But when I was living on the West Coast and would do regular commutes Melkbos - Century City, the sight of these okes would give me road rage. It also gives such a *** signal to other road users.

10k here. When I feel like it, I do Oukaapseweg on the back or the forth. In an ideal week I leave my bike at work on Wednesday, run home via road (10k), so I can run trail (15k+) on Thursday morning. I've been doing Glencairn - Muizenberg for little over a year now. Privileged as ***.

The more you commute, the more efficient you become in packing, changing, showering - whatever is in your routine. Same as when you would drive to work like any other maniac out there. Routine. I get to work at 8.53. I shower and sit with a cup coffee ready for my daily meeting at 9.00 - okay, hair sometimes still dripping. I alternate running and riding - The other day I sprained my ankle on the mountain, not far from the office. Got fashionably late, but your colleagues also get used to you stumbling in covered in sweat.

Did you come right? I used to have a bicycle in Leeuwarden, Groningen and Amsterdam, when I was still studying and used to see friends and join parties in those cities. In The Netherlands we are all part of the stolen bike problem, because we buy a stolen bike behind the train station for 10-20 euros when our own bikes gets stolen. There is also a chance that the City confiscates your bicycle when you leave it parked for too long at the train station, for example. They put a coloured ribbon around your wheel and if it doesn't break within 14 days or so, it means you're overstaying. Cycling is a breeze, you have a right of your share on the read and drivers should be mindful of you. We pay a rough 2000 euros for our driver's license, get 30-40 driving lessons for that and a significant part of theory and practice is bicycle awareness. This is because you would, as a driver, almost always lose a court case in the event of an accident. Have fun.

ii. the roadway is of sufficient width for two or more lines of moving vehicles; In this case it should be fine then right? It is safer for me and anyone else to overtake still standing traffic on the left than on the right. In The Netherlands, where I learned my bit of traffic regulations, this wouldn't happen any other way. Then again, the rules there are always in the rider's favour.

There isn't a cycle lane. It's just that meter of space that there is between the pavement and traffic. I just called it that way to give it a name.

I'm sure that anyone who has some Cape Town classic routes, or the Argus, knows the part between Clovelly and the Kalk Bay robots. It was there, where I this morning overtook a car on the left, on the 'invisible' cycle lane as I always like to think it. There was plenty of space. The guy that I overtake starts hooting at me, I turn around to ask what's up and he starts gesturing things. So I slow down, so we can chat, he pulls up and shakes his head. I always lose it in those instances, and I start showing a finger. I've had more bits of road rage on this part, and what I like about the route, is that I always catch up, because of the traffic being slow - or because of robots. He stops at Olympia, right behind the robots. He opens the window and tells me that I shouldn't get so aggressive, this and that, lalala, and tells me that he hooted because he wants to let me know that the was there and that it was narrow. I knew that, I was there too. I ask him where his left mirror is. Surely, he would be less surprised if he saw me coming. He said a cyclist rid it off. He draws the I'm-a-cyclist-as-well-card and goes on saying that it is illegal for me to overtake on my 'invisible' cycle lane. Is this true?