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Cycling to work


Madmen

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Bought a nice little bell and new-gen Cateye LED front lamp plus some very kif Goretex trouser and camo jacket from Evans Cycles on-line last night. Just was looking for the bell, but you know how it goes lol.

 

Really need that bell if you ride the pavements and share it with pedestrians, just a gentle 'ding' to let them know you are behind and approaching. Also some pavement sections are narrow and hectic traffic on the road, so you really don't want a collision with a pedestrian if they move in front of you and then you end up getting squished by a Putco bus.

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Its all good but I cant seem to get over the fumes and the taste it leaves.

 

 

Yup, that is the worst. I've just learn't to avoid certain road. I'm lucky in that I can avoid all major roads to the office. Lots of bicycle paths (I pass 3 schools) and side streets.

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RE The fumes ...thankfully traveling from Table View to CT you have either the SE blowing the fumes out to sea or you have a NW wind brining in a nice sea breeze .... very rarely do we have heavy car fumes on our route.

 

H

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  • 2 weeks later...

Been commuting for about a year now as well.

Do it as often as I can.

Road bike mostly, but I do venture out on the MTB sometimes.

20 km each way.

 

If you have two motor cars, leave the one at work if it is safe there.

Then leave whatever you may need in the boot.

Week supply of clothes, towel etc etc.

You also have a car on standby then if you need to go somewhere.

 

Also cutting a few kg off your pack really saves your lower back.

 

Cut open a old water bottle and put all your heavy tools in there. You may need chain breakers, multitools etc etc if you are riding everyday.

So rule of thumb for me is get everything that I can that is heavy and bike related onto the bike and it saves your back big time.

 

Also lights, lights, lights.

The more the better.

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I commuted in London for about 5 years total and here for a few years. In London the round trip was only ever around 15k's, here it varies from 70 to 95 depending on whether I go Kalk Bay -> Atlantic Seaboard -> Town or Kalk Bay -> Constantia -> Town. At the moment I work from home so no need for any commuting apart from dragging my ass from bed to the coalface next door every morning.

 

All of my accidents were in London and nearly all of them with pedestrians not looking or looking the wrong way (euro-tourists). Mostly no-one got hurt except the one guy who I landed on top and hospitalised (was a bit chunkier in those days). Only one car related accident I can recall, that was with a parked cab. Doored me square on at about 35km/h - that one really hurt.

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once a week, 39Km from Murrayfield,Pta to Midrand, and back again 39km, only use my road mike cause its faster getting there and back, when i still lived in Centurion the 22km was done on the MTB

good times!

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I still want to get that air-horn someone was selling here a year ago. Vuvu se moer with that thing :)

I think you're referring to the Samui Air Zound Cycling Horn - the one with the bottle that you can pump with your bike pump! I bought one from Mountain Equipment Co-op when I was in Canada, check out

 

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441777409&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302693017&bmUID=1278585731145

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Flip, those are seriously expensive.

 

Why dont we just build one ourselves.

Still use the compressed bottle thing, but then run the air hose up to a cheap whistle or something.

With a bit of air pressure even a normal whistle would hit some serious db's.

 

How would we control the air flow though?

 

Does anyone know of a nice air valve type thing that we can use to invoke the noise?

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How would we control the air flow though?

 

Does anyone know of a nice air valve type thing that we can use to invoke the noise?

 

A fold in the tube? Something from a gas supply store? A welding bottle tap? Except for option 1, you'd probably pay ZAR 180 anyway though. Why not just buy an air horn like they use at soccer tournaments? I think you'd get them at security stores. There's even one that works with a plunger - like a pump - so you don't need compressed air. Mount it on your bars somehow.

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CRC sells them too - tad pricey though for what it is... 180 ZAR's

 

R180 randts to scare the bejesus out of the tekkie brigade and other j-walkers is worth it :) ... can only image the fun my little hubber will have in the flat with this :) x 100

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