90 mins. on a bike in Gauteng

[Thyolo]

Went out on Sat (Lido route) with recent hub threads on my mind. Was late - 8 am, as the missus is a morning person, so I was by myself and not in a rush.  I saw:

 

Joggers coming at me 2-a-breast (they were women so 4-a-breast?) on Van Buurren, site of last week's photo, as I drove out to the N3.

 

Rain

 

Dead body on Swartkoppies

 

Kibler Park Sea Scouts hut - wtf? The tide's gonna have to come in a long way to make their day.

 

An ostrich farm of 200+ birds I'd never seen before in a year of riding past.

 

Driver's mate gesticulate to me to get onto the gravel as they'd had to slow down behind me with lorries coming the other way.

 

ShaunH's signs, nice but need some more.

 

The dead dog at the bottom of the steps, decomposing since August - pretty powerful preservtives they put in dog food.

 

Car stop in front of me in yellow lane and throw open both driver's side doors.

 

Rain and spray.

 

Special K bar is rubbish - wish I'd had a boost.

 

Pedestrian groups who said hi and those that didn't.

 

Cyclists (MTB and road) who said hi and those that didn't.

 

So I thought it was a huge mix of experiences for a short time on the bike and to focus on one thing rather than another distorts the picture.  At different times I was happy, scared, fed-up, unfocused, content, angry, thoughtful and mostly wet.

 

Next week same time, same place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Evan Andreou]

Sounds very similar to our 2+ hour club ride in Pta on Sat.

 

ride scheduled for 6h30 (due to light)

got going at 6h40 ish

Swoop down through Waterkloof to R21, saw couple of drivers that didn't wave (neither did we, truth be told)

R21 always fun in the morning, not too many cars, just a couple of speeding trucks

Dead dog (seems to have been there forever - must be those preservatives Thyolo was talking about in his post)

Cervelo soloist does seem to be pretty fast on a long downhill round Fountains to Botha ave, couldn't catch the dude, did I really try?

 

Pass a bunch of serious fun riders on Botha ave, past Fountains, we greet, they don't. Carl punctures at Kloofsig, Lulu, Sean, Attie jr, Alan and self wait (how many cyclists does it take to change a light bulb?)

 

Speed to Irene turnoff (waiting point for stragglers) join up with others, dodgy taxis don't wave either.

 

Scenic cruise through Irene, Carl flats again.

Sean seems to have the hang of the tyre changing thing now, Lulu, Alan and self provide moral support.

 

Hit Cornwall Hill and curse body weight, Lulu spins up like there is no hill, same for Alan and Sean. I have my revenge on the downhill.

 

Meet up with rest at Irene Farm's entrance. Attie jr has punctured. Cruise through Pierre v Ryneveld, Attie jr and Peet flat after about 5km

 

(Are we going to run out of tubes?)

 

We cruise past AFB and into Kloofsig suburb, charge up Hans Strydom (not much wind for a change) and sweep through Monument Park to the R21.

Guys with lots of spare tubes decide on another lap.

 

Joss, Lulu and myself decide on 2 laps of Klapperkop as an alternative.

Lulu moans about the speed we(guys) hit on the downhill but has revenge on the uphill.

 

Stop at club and park bikes after a great 68km

We're boycotting Mugg & Bean due to non existent service and go to the Dros instead, service even worse. Steers is starting to look appealing.

 

 

 

Same time next week, hopefully fewer punctures

 

Actually the week after next as the club is doing Vasbyt

wolverine2007-03-26 05:16:49

[1hill@aTime]

Thyolo sounds like an eventful 90mins... now who said cycling is boring!

 

[Frosty]

 

Kibler Park Sea Scouts hut - wtf? The tide's gonna have to come in a long way to make their day.

 

 

aka, "Puddle Pirates" - therefore no need for the high tide - even though it tried last week.

[scotty]

Carl 2 flats  that will teach him to laugh when i get one.

Intending to only do a 2 road hr ride I also started my Sat ride quite late (8.30) on MTB (too much glass and K*K  to risk skinny tyres). On the road to Bapsfontein i hooked up with some guy visiting from Ellisras visiting family and decided to join him for a bit of off road, BIG MISTAKE, turns out the guy is a seasoned MTB'er having done 2 Cape Epics  and a 6th place in the Mazda MTB series a few years back, and was taking his frustration at not doing the Epic this year out with this ride. As i did not know where the hell i was i had to stick with him and 3 hrs later i limped home.