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.

DVS Milan CTC Cadence – Cape Town launch

Having received favourable reviews from the fixed gear heavyweights, the extravagantly-named DVS Milan CTC Cadence shoes are finally launching THIS FRIDAY in Cape Town.

In addition to the launch, there will be a photography exhibition by Michael Tymbios, an exhibition of customised fixed gear bikes by Tobie Groenewald, a screening of the Fast Friday documentary, a bike race (with prizes) AND food and drinks.

See you there!

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.

Stadium Showdown TONIGHT!

If you own a track bike and live in Cape Town, then you should know about tonight’s Stadium Showdown.

We meet at the subterranean circle in front of the stadium at 19h30. Then we’ll hold a series of races (keirin, elimination, match sprints) until someone pukes. After that we’ll go grab something to drink.

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 TURNS TWO!

Yep, that’s right. The Cape Town chapter of Critical Mass celebrates its 2nd birthday tomorrow and I’ve decided to use this opportunity to post a bunch of random tandems.

You know the drill: We meet at the Baxter Theatre at 06h40, hit the cycle paths through to the River Club, then negotiate Albert Road into town. Once we get to town, we’ll hook up with City Bowl contingent at the CTICC at 07h20, then head through to Greenpoint Stadium before finishing at Deluxe Coffeeworks at 08h00.

So bring a bike and a friend. And if you arrive on a tandem I’ll buy you both breakfast!

Paper Girl ride

Rob Nicholls put together this nice edit of the Paper Girl ride which took place at the end of June. Nice work! I’m gutted I missed it. Looked like fun, despite the Southeaster!

Via 10and5

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.

Critical Mass this Friday!

You know the drill…

Awesome flyer design courtesy of highartlowlife!

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–