Revolution Store Opening Recap

The Revolution store opening in Long Street last Friday can be summed up in three words: Bikes, Booze and Bros.

I was hoping to see more riders out, but people mostly came for the free beer.

I’d had a murderous day at the office, so I wasn’t feeling particularly social. Winning a pair of DVS/Cadence shoes in the lucky draw (all totally above board, I swear) cheered me up though!

Most of the night was spent deciding on a route for the alleycat. After much deliberation we decided on do a route on and around Long Street. It was pretty sketchy, with obstacles including schizophrenic Long Street drivers, traffic lights, drug dealers, cobblestones and oncoming traffic. Gavin and Cammo Dave took first and second place respectively. I took DFL, but it was all good.

And that’s it. Check out more pics here.

Stadium Showdown recap

By Cape Town standards, we had a decent turn out for the first Stadium Showdown of the season. The evening started with the usual pre-race banter and bike checks, and by 8pm we got down to business.

Predictably, Gav led the 5-minute sprint from start to finish to claim the winner’s prize (an off-white “vintage” Rolls saddle).

The team pursuit was a half-hearted affair, with most riders having popped their corks in the previous race. Tobie still found the energy to get his upps though. Nice one!

There was talk of a slalom, but by 9pm the Jack Blacks were calling. So we headed over to Doppio Zero, agreeing we should allow Gavin to thrash us again soon.

And that’s it. Thanks to @CafeRacer for the photos.

Critical Mass recap

Whether it was the freakishly mild winter morning or the knowledge that Critical Mass Cape Town was celebrating its second birthday, there was a solid turnout on Friday. In spite of the early start, I arrived to see a swarm of LED lights floating in the shadows of the Baxter’s forecourt.

The usual suspects were all in attendance, and although I say it every time, it was great to see a bunch of people I’d never seen before. Same time next month, yeah?

In the past six months, the route has experienced a couple of minor variations. This month we decided to take the path of least resistance and stick to the cycle tracks where possible. This was particularly useful when negotiating the multiple lane madness that is Liebeek Parkway. Seriously, I’ve never seen motorists so eager to get to work.

For me, the part of the ride with the most local flavour is the stretch between Salt River and Woodstock. It’s not everywhere that you can zip between cars and pedestrians, and get a salutation as you pass. Love you Woodstock.

By the time we arrived at the CTICC, the original group of 12 had more than doubled in size. We took advantage of the footbridge (thanks, Sepp Blatter) and then headed on to Green Point, doing the customary laps of the traffic circles as we passed through the V&A.

At the stadium, we took a breather furiously raced around subterranean walkway before heading towards Deluxe Coffeeworks – our final stop. Unfortunately, this always involves negotiating the CBD’s traffic light hell (aka the first circle of suffering).

It was worth the wait. Deluxe Coffeeworks make the best (and cheapest) cup of coffee in town. And they’re repping FGCT. What more could you ask for?

And that’s it. Thanks to @caferacer and @highartlowlife for the photos

Critical Mass photos, June 2010

I missed last month’s Critical Mass ride due to work obligations (a bit of a theme of late) but from what I heard there were a bunch of riders out. Mike (aka highartlowlife) was there with his camera and took these shots outside Deluxe Coffeeworks, the final stop on the Critical Mass route.

This month’s Critical Mass is on the Friday 30th. I’ll be there. Hopefully.

Breakers to Boulders: A day in pictures

In spite of some decent pre-ride hype, the combination of schedule clashes, component failures and notorious Capetonian fickleness meant that only three riders showed up at the Muizenberg Pavilion on Saturday morning.

With its glory days long past, the Muizenberg beachfront has a vaguely depressing air about it. Kind of like a mothball-infused relative who forces a tin of stuck-together sweets upon you every time you visit.

Like the buildings that they occupy, the faces of the locals display a corrosion that comes from a lifetime’s exposure to the sun, wind and sea. Needless to say, I was glad to get on my bike and head in the direction of Simon’s Town.

Having negotiated the St James road works (and psychotic truck drivers) on foot, we rolled through to Kalk Bay.

As we passed through Fish Hoek, I remember thinking, “Wow, we’ll be in Simon’s Town in no time.” Two minutes later, we turned the corner into Glencairn and the south-easter hit us head-on.

The flags don’t lie.

From there, it was like trying to cycle through a puddle of glue. I quickly assumed the appearance of a middle-aged nodder. If they were struggling, Mike and Emil hid it pretty well.

The sand-blasting we received as we rode past Clovelly beach was pretty harsh, but on the approach to Simon’s Town the wind died down enough for us to sit up and enjoy the ride.

We stopped briefly in Simon’s Town to re-up on camera supplies and flush the sand out of our ears and noses. Then we headed on through to Boulders.

(Everyone knows fixies r gay.)

We locked up our bikes and went to check out the carbon-fibre penguins.

Having ticked the tourist box, we headed back into Simon’s Town to refuel.

Our original plan was to catch the train back to Muizenberg, but the prospect of having the south easter on our backs for the return journey was too good to pass up.

The ride back was so good. We took it slow; taking in the scenery we’d missed on the way out.

We arrived back at the Pavilion four hours after we set off. We all agreed it was great to ride somewhere other than town/southern suburbs. Hopefully we can get more riders together next time.

–The End–

Bike Check – Mike

Cape Town harbour set

Last month, Mike and I decided to capitalise on the great weather and organise a group ride. Predictably, only Mike and I showed up. After riding through town, we tried sneak past security at Cape Town harbour but got busted at every gate.

Undeterred, we scouted out the Customs Building on the Foreshore. It’s a post-modern beauty/monster (depending on your POV) and a serious relic of the old South Africa. It also happens to be a great spot to session. Mike took a few nice shots of me fooling around on a roof overlooking the car park.

Sea Point Days

Uncle Mettie jumping around the Promenade earlier sometime earlier this year. Excuse the massively wonky horizon. See a bigger version of the picture over here

Spotted: Albert Road

Coming down Albert Road into town the other day, and ending up riding behind this guy. Only had one shot left in my camera, but none the less.

He had attached a shopping trolley to his bike and was also making his way into town with his things. 

Pretty inspiring stuff, making a plan and getting the job done.

Misty Mountain 2

Here are a few more pics from the ride up Table Mountain a few weeks back. These were shot on 35mm black and white film.

The road, which has been closed off to cars because of rockfalls and collapses. Perfect for going super fast.

Tobie, doing just that on his single-speed.

Going, going,  gone…

Ian, wowing one of the early morning geezers with a one handed wheelie

The mountain is super rad, hard to believe that there is an entire city below you when you’re up there

Ian and Georgie, from the UK, who got hold of us from through the site and joined in, riding the biggest gear of all! Yeah!

Just hanging around. All in all it was super good and really beautiful up there. Ian, Tobie, Georgie and Dave, big ups for going up! Hopefully next time we’ll get some more people to ride with!