johannrissik Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 I suspect there is no such thing as a Kulubuse bicycle.I'm certainly not volunteering to go looking for it.
chris_w_65 Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 I'm certainly not volunteering to go looking for it. Google Kulubuse (Zuma) - He is a bit large for a bicycle
kosmonooit Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 On a side note...I was told that a tandem bike <6 rider version> from the Second Boere Oorlog is on display at the military museum in JHB...anyone care to go take a picture for us? Sure, will go check it out this weekend. Interesting comment about the Vietnam war, considering the Americans literally threw everything they had at closing down the supply routes on the Ho Chi Ming Trail, and I mean everything: bombs galore, Agent Orange, high tech listening gizmos you name, it they tried it, but the low tech and entirely appropriate transport solution of the humble bicycle kept rolling. Of course, human will played a big part as well.
TALUS Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 The best thread of the year!!! Please keep it going
HeyYou Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 The first known use of the bicycle in combat occurred during the Jameson Raid, in which cyclists carried messages. In the Second Boer War, military cyclists were used primarily as scouts and messengers. One unit patrolled railroad lines on specially constructed tandem bicycles that were fixed to the rails. Several raids were conducted by cycle-mounted infantry on both sides; the most famous unit was the Theron se Verkenningskorps (Theron Reconnaissance Corps) or TVK, a Boer unit led by the scout Daniel Theron, whom British commander Lord Roberts described as "the hardest thorn in the flesh of the British advance." Roberts placed a reward of £1,000 on Theron's head—dead or alive—and dispatched 4,000 soldiers to find and eliminate the TVK.[4] Another South African first that I didn't know about! Cool thread! But, the Jameson Raid was a Rhodesian thing, not a South African thing. Epic failure mind you, but just for the history.
kosmonooit Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 But, the Jameson Raid was a Rhodesian thing, not a South African thing. Epic failure mind you, but just for the history. I have just been watching the BBC series "Rhodes" on DVD which I finally managed to locate: eish not easy watching ... The whole Jameson Raid saga was the nail in his coffin and one of the final chapters of Rhodes life. although he had a hand in engineering it (he was Prime Minister of the Cape Colony at the time) the rouge Jameson ultimately acted by himself, and ignored orders to stop en-route. Jameson and his band were relatively fresh from the great Rhodesian land grab.
pista Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 Buffalo Soldiers Well first off, the title of this post has nothing to do with soldiers in the city where I was born and live, Buffalo, NY. It's referring to the Twenty-fifth United States Infantry Regiment, also known as Buffalo Soldiers, which was at the time a racially segregated regiment. I've posted the above picture before and enjoy it so much that I use it as the background image on my computer at work (click it for a larger view). Sometimes while I'm eating lunch I sit and look at it, and that's just what I was doing today (I love how proud they look). It's an image captured in 1896 by Frank Jay Haynes in Yellowstone Park. That summer they rode those heavy bikes nearly 2000 miles/3218 kilometers, while carrying all their gear and wearing heavy wool clothing...impressive by any means. And I can't imagine the hardships they likely endured...not just physical but also emotional and racial (this was 1896 after all). I was thinking this as I looked at the photo today, and found it so inspiring (and also remembered that it is Black History Month) so I thought I'd re-post the photo with a couple additional photos and a few new words. Here's some stats (borrowed from The Historical Museum of Fort Missoula. Duration of trip: June 14 - July 24, 1897, 41 days.Distance traveled: 1900.2 miles in 34 days of actual travel. An average of 55.9 miles per day and 6.3 miles per hour.Delays: the command was delayed a total of seven days for the following reasons:13 hours repairing bicycles4 7/60 hours fixing tires117 hours for lunch71 1/3 hours for other causes.The heaviest soldier, stripped, weighed 177 pounds; and the lightest 125 ½ pounds; the average weight being 148 ½ pounds.The oldest man was 39 years old, the youngest 24 years; the average age was 27. What I find fascinating about these guys--besides their heavy clothing and gear--is that the bikes themselves were likely heavy and they were fixed gear. And most incredible, I think, is that the roads were not paved. The last time I posted the top picture, a follower of this blog, alerted me to a book he had written about these soldiers titled, Rescue at Pine Ridge. To read more about their fascinating history click here or here. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XpPiFuse1II/TzxereBBVCI/AAAAAAAAGJI/vpwLCkvaYNU/s1600/Buffalo+Soldiers2.jpg http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FhmpVkNi7UU/TzxfTozDPoI/AAAAAAAAGJQ/j9SAy62PfoA/s1600/Buffalo+Soldiers3.jpg http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zw0pkR5Kf-E/Tzxb8XVYNcI/AAAAAAAAGJA/qADH-tgxERI/s1600/Buffalo+Soldiers+1896.jpg
DJR Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 The bikes of the 3 main participants in the WW2 Germans first
Blackbeard Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 See "the Military" album under facebook.com/old.bicycles
johannrissik Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 Google Kulubuse (Zuma) - He is a bit large for a bicycle ..hence my comment
Tractor Posted January 4, 2014 Author Posted January 4, 2014 The most common bikes in Vietnam at the time were French made Peugeot's and Czech built Favorit's.
Tractor Posted January 4, 2014 Author Posted January 4, 2014 Some photos of the BSA Paratrooper - have a look at the pedals in the first photo
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