Things I've learnt from commuting

[ChrisF]

Summer she is coming back SOON .... 

 

Last week it was still PITCH DARK during my commute

 

 

 

Lesson for the day ..... TOO EARLY to leave the gloves at home ... 

[arandre]

Things i've learnt from commuting for 12 years (i rode to school and rode to work and then rode to the shops and everywhere else)

 

Positive:

Find the joy of riding up a long hill that you know you will ride down later.

Life is like an uphill climb on your bicycle

No matter how many times you pedal, if you in a very low gear by accident you not going to go anywhere very fast

There's nothing quite like riding down a long downhill with the wind in your hair and knowing you just hit 81km/hr

Changing from a mountain bike to a road bike increases your speed immensely.

There are some people who will pay you to repair the bike when they drive into you and bend your back wheel

 

Not so positive

Drivers in cars don't care about you and will drive as close as they can to you

Always carry a spare tube with pump and tyre levers, also carry a puncture kit.

Pedestrians will walk into you and still blame you even though they in the wrong

Cars hoot at you just for fun, they also hoot to see you get a huge fright.

You need to carry basic tools with you incase you need to adjust a cable or a brake pad

You will need to fix the bike quite often and you'll realize it is cheaper just to walk

[Bateleur1]

Well it seems that I might start commuting soon again.  After working as a contractor from home for over two years, I will start a permanent position again in October ... in Austria, about 90 km from here.  I will still work majority of the time homeoffice but the first couple of months I will be working in the office to get to learn the ropes but thereafter I will only go in the office once every week or two.  The most likely scenario will be that I will commute there by train on a Monday and take my mtb with.  The offices are in the town of Kufstein.  So i will commute in Kufstein between accomodation and office with the MTB for the week and then return home on a Friday.  I do see the possibility in the summer when I only go in for a day to take my road bike with me and then commute the 90 km through the Alps back home in the afternoon.

[ChrisF]

So nice to see the sun rise during the commute ....

 

[RustyHWR]

On 7/16/2021 at 6:28 PM, Bernard Horn said:

Never trust cars to stop at traffic lights.Just saw a commuter that had been knocked down at cnr Racecourse  & R27 in Milnerton in busy traffic.Hope he is ok

Just saw this post now. There was a motorbike (delivery bike) that hit a car with a trailer. I was commuting home and was first on the accident scene and my bicycle i put down in the middle of the inter section next to the motorbike lying on top of the bike rider while i was attending to him. Did not want to leave my bicycle on the cycle lane or pavement. Hope the motorbike rider recovered, because he was in a bad state.

[Bernard Horn]

On 9/15/2021 at 10:05 AM, RustyHWR said:

Just saw this post now. There was a motorbike (delivery bike) that hit a car with a trailer. I was commuting home and was first on the accident scene and my bicycle i put down in the middle of the inter section next to the motorbike lying on top of the bike rider while i was attending to him. Did not want to leave my bicycle on the cycle lane or pavement. Hope the motorbike rider recovered, because he was in a bad state.

Well done Sir!!

 

[cfcjim]

A question:

I'm going to be back in Cape Town in October for a few months, travelling from Blouberg to CT central. What's the preferred route once you hit Paarden Eiland? I'll be on the bike from 0545 and returning around 1600.

[RustyHWR]

#hairy will be the one to help you here. I commute to Paarden Eiland from Bloubergrant and luckily don't have to go from P/Eiland to CT (DANGER AREA).

[Hairy]

2 hours ago, cfcjim said:

A question:

I'm going to be back in Cape Town in October for a few months, travelling from Blouberg to CT central. What's the preferred route once you hit Paarden Eiland? I'll be on the bike from 0545 and returning around 1600.

At the moment, if you are alone, I understand it to be on the N1 or on the side of the N1 if you have a MTB setup tubeless.

I have been working from home since Covid, so not even sure if the wheels on my commuter will even turn anymore.

If you want me to put you on our commuter WA group, then drop me a PM and hopefully you can hook up with someone there. If not in the mornings, maybe the evenings coming home.

[cfcjim]

Thanks chaps,

I used to commute most days before I was uprooted and never had a problem using the cycle lane, even the dodgy bit, but it's obviously (from the experiences I've read) a lot more dangerous than a few years ago.

I'll be renewing my membership at RCYC so I guess the dock road could be an option. But the trucks can be a bit scary.

I'm not sure I'd be comfortable on the N1 especially going over the bridge.

[cfcjim]

2 hours ago, RustyHWR said:

#hairy will be the one to help you here. I commute to Paarden Eiland from Bloubergrant and luckily don't have to go from P/Eiland to CT (DANGER AREA).

Lucky you, those last 5km are the dodgiest.

[cfcjim]

1 hour ago, Hairy said:

At the moment, if you are alone, I understand it to be on the N1 or on the side of the N1 if you have a MTB setup tubeless.

I have been working from home since Covid, so not even sure if the wheels on my commuter will even turn anymore.

If you want me to put you on our commuter WA group, then drop me a PM and hopefully you can hook up with someone there. If not in the mornings, maybe the evenings coming home.

Cheers H, I'll be in touch when I'm about to launch.

[RustyHWR]

1 hour ago, cfcjim said:

Thanks chaps,

I used to commute most days before I was uprooted and never had a problem using the cycle lane, even the dodgy bit, but it's obviously (from the experiences I've read) a lot more dangerous than a few years ago.

I'll be renewing my membership at RCYC so I guess the dock road could be an option. But the trucks can be a bit scary.

I'm not sure I'd be comfortable on the N1 especially going over the bridge.

Transnet got a new system for getting a harbor entry permit. It is a pain in the r's. All online, needing unnecessary info. After 5 to 7 working days, if you get accepted, you have to go and stand in a queue for hours to get your photo taken. Good luck. Hope your RCYC membership makes it easier?

We cycle through the harbor often and never had problems with the trucks. We got harbor access cards.

[cfcjim]

21 minutes ago, RustyHWR said:

Transnet got a new system for getting a harbor entry permit. It is a pain in the r's. All online, needing unnecessary info. After 5 to 7 working days, if you get accepted, you have to go and stand in a queue for hours to get your photo taken. Good luck. Hope your RCYC membership makes it easier?

We cycle through the harbor often and never had problems with the trucks. We got harbor access cards.

That's interesting, thanks for the info.

I think with the trucks I've been a bit unlucky cycling through at home/arrival time for some of the maddest muthas.

[Hairy]

58 minutes ago, RustyHWR said:

Transnet got a new system for getting a harbor entry permit. It is a pain in the r's. All online, needing unnecessary info. After 5 to 7 working days, if you get accepted, you have to go and stand in a queue for hours to get your photo taken. Good luck. Hope your RCYC membership makes it easier?

We cycle through the harbor often and never had problems with the trucks. We got harbor access cards.

Pre harbour lock down we always used to cycle through the harbour and never had an issue with trucks.

I even cycled through a protest march the one day, people were cool and just parted for me to pass through.

[Zebra]

I cycle thru the Harbour 1x weekly (with a Harbour Pass) and find the big trucks actually courteous towards riders (passing wide, etc), so I often give them a thumbs-up, never had a problem…