Talk 20 October 2022

14 Advertising & Newsdesk: (046) 624-4356 Find us on Facebook 20 October 2022 TALK OF THE TOW N
GREENIES & GARDENERS
Choosing the best bicycle rack
Riding your bicycle straight out
of your door, with quick access
to the best roads and trails your
area has to offer is what most
cyclists would like to do.
Alas, it is not always
possible. We often have to drive
out to a group ride meeting
point, race start line, trailhead or
some location not easily
accessible by pedal power
alone.
If your bike fits inside your
car, great. But most of us will
need to invest in a bicycle rack
to get to our cycling
destinations.
Bicycle racks come in a
dizzying array of options and
picking the one that best meets
your needs can be a daunting
task considering not only the
various fitment options to your
car, but also compatibility with
the type of bike(s) you wish to
c a r r y.
To assist, Barend Smit,
marketing director of Motor
Happy, a supplier of motor
management solutions and car
insurance options, provides a
short guide on how to pick the
best bike rack for your vehicle:
Boot racks
Boot racks are designed to
be fitted to your car using a
system of straps and hooks.
They often have rubberised
contact points that minimise
movement under the weight of
the bikes, once strapped to the
c a r.
P ro s :
● Usually the cheapest and
simplest option;
● Quick to attach and remove
from the car;
● Easy to load and unload
bikes;
● Doesn’t require additional
accessories to be fitted to most
cars.
Cons:
● Least secure in terms of bike
retention and risk of theft;
● May restrict rear-view mirror
visibility;
● Bikes with odd frame shapes
may be difficult to carry;
● The rubber “feet” may scratch
the car paint surface.
Roof racks
To use roof racks, you will
need crossbars. The type of
crossbars that fit your car will
depend on whether you already
have vertical roof rails. Most
rack accessory manufacturers
will have a handy fitment guide.
P ro s :
● Frees up access to the boot;
● Unrestricted rear visibility;
● Compatible with most
b i cy c l e s .
Cons:
● May increase car fuel
consumption due to increased
aerodynamic drag;
● Difficult to load and unload
bikes, especially if you are not
very tall;
● May need additional
accessories like crossbars if your
car isn’t already equipped with
them.
Hitch racks
As the name implies, hitch
racks attach to your car’s hitch
receiver. If your car doesn’t
already have one, you will first
need to have one fitted.
They come in various sizes.
P ro s :
● Easy to fit and remove;
● Easy to load and unload bikes
due to low position;
● Wide compatibility with
various types of bikes;
● No-contact mounting with
car body means no scratching
your paint.
Cons:
● The good ones are expensive;
● You will need to get a hitch
receiver for your car if you don’t
already have one;
● Risk of damage to bikes in
case of rear-end collision;
● Can obstruct view of vehicle
licence plate.
“Many cyclists will spare no
expense when it comes to their
bikes and cycling gear but
hesitate to invest in a highquality
bike rack,” s ay s Smit.
“Cheap racks may put your
bike at risk of damage and even
pose a safety hazard to you and
your car.
“Doing your research on the
best rack option for your car and
bicycle and buying a well-built
rack from a reputable brand will
ensure you have trouble-free
trips to your cycling
d e s t i n a t i o n s .”
Talk of The Stars
with Professor Don Kurtz
Jupiter the magnificent
The huge planet Jupiter is
closest to the Earth and
the brightest it has been
for 70 years. This is the chance
of a lifetime to see this giant of
the solar system at its best.
Jupiter rises at sunset and
sets at sunrise this month. Look
up to the East after dark. You
really can’t miss it.
Jupiter takes 12 years to orbit
the Sun. Since the Earth only
takes a year, we catch up with
Jupiter and pass between it and
the Sun every 13 months.
When this happens, we call
it an “opposition” because
Jupiter and the Sun are opposite
each other in the sky. Jupiter’s
orbit is also “eccentric”–that is,
not quite circular – and it will be
at its closest to the Sun in
January 2023. That is why it is
so close and bright right now.
Jupiter is more than 10 times
the diameter of the Earth, and
has more mass than all the other
planets in our solar system
combined. It is entirely gas and
fluid (mostly hydrogen and
helium) throughout with no
solid surface.
Our eyes see visible light.
The brilliance of Jupiter that you
can see comes from reflected
sunlight.
But Jupiter shines even more
brightly in infrared light that we
cannot see. It radiates 400
quadrillion Watts of its own
e n e r g y.
That is 8-billion times more
energy than Eskom could
produce if all its power plants
actually worked.
Jupiter creates that energy
from its gravity by shrinking by a
mere 1mm per year. This is
similar, but on a much grander
scale, to the energy released
when you drop a glass on the
ONCE IN A LIFETIME:
Jupiter as seen through the
James Webb Space
Telescope. It is the closest to
Earth in 70 years Picture: NASA
floor and it shatters from the
gravitational energy released.
The James Webb Space
Telescope observes infrared
light. This is light that is too long
in wavelength to see with our
eyes. But Webb was designed
so it can see infrared and it has
recently taken the spectacular
picture of Jupiter that you can
see here.
All that energy Jupiter makes
by shrinking has heated its core
to 24,000°C, driving
tremendous weather at the
surface. The bands in the
picture are caused by winds
blowing at 400km/h.
The Great Red Spot (which
looks white in this infrared
picture) is a hurricane bigger
than the Earth, which has been
blowing at 600km/h for
centuries. The other tiny bright
spots you can see are the tops of
giant thunderstorms 50km
high.
Then look at the north and
south poles. Coloured red in
this picture, those are gigantic
aurorae far bigger than the
Earth. We astronomers have
found more than 5,000 planets
orbiting other stars and some of
those planets have two suns.
We call those planets
“Ta t o o i n e s ” after the fictional
home planet of Luke Skywalker
in Star Wars. In the first film in
that series there is a scene of
Luke watching a double sunset.
When the solar system
formed 4.6 billion years ago, the
Sun spun off a disk from which
the planets formed. Jupiter now
has only a thousandth the mass
of the Sun. But if it had been 80
thousandths the mass of the
Sun, its core would have heated
enough from the gravity to
ignite hydrogen fusion – the
power of the stars – and Jupiter
would have been a faint red
dwarf star. That second star in
the solar system would have
been a ten thousandth as bright
as the Sun, so it would have
been spectacular to see, but
would not have heated the Earth
significantly. We would then
have had two suns. We, too,
could have been a Tatooine.
Imagine that.
— Donald Kurtz,
Extraordinary Professor at
North-West University in
Mahikeng, has an A-1 rating
from the South African National
Research Foundation. He is also
Emeritus Professor at the
University of Central Lancashire
and Visiting Professor of
Astrophysics at the University of
Lincoln and was Professor of
Astronomy at the University of
Cape Town. Don has over 500
professional publications and
was awarded the 2022 Service
Award of the Royal
Astronomical Society for a
lifetime of public outreach and
for his service on many
international committees. He
and his wife live in Port Alfred.
How to get from G to C
Graph: Min. Avg. Max Elevation: 4. 338. 757 m
Range Totals: Distance: 62.0 km Elev Gain/Loss: 681 m. -1321 m Max Slope: 10.0%. -19.0% Avg Slope 2.6%. -3.0%
757 m
500 m
250 m
4 m
7.5 km 15 km 22.5 km 30 km 37.5 km 45 km 52.5 km
Graph: Min. Avg. Max Elevation: 5. 302. 757 m
Range Totals: Distance: 74.2 km Elev Gain/Loss: 848 m. -1488 m Max Slope: 9.6%. -15.5% Avg Slope 2.6%. -2.9%
757 m
500 m
250 m
5 m
7.5 km 15 km 22.5 km 30 km 37.5 km 45 km 52.5 km 60 km 67.5 km 74.2km
TOTT REPORTER
The first few kilometres take you
from Makhanda’s industrial area
(Rautenbach Road) up a climb
to the top of Mountain Drive.
There are around 10m of rocky
single track down from the
Toposcope which is quite
technical. If you live in the area,
get some practice riding this
section (Some tips at the end of
this!).
There is no shame in
dismounting and walking this
section if you’re not confident
riding it, but please make sure
you don’t inconvenience (or
endanger) cyclists behind or
around you.
First check that there is noone
about to pass you, or close
behind you; then steer your
bike as far off that section as you
can before stopping and
dismounting.
Be aware of the “line” that
cyclists are taking through the
technical section and stay well
clear of it when you remount
your bike. Rejoin the “p a ck ”
with care and consideration.
The descent down the valley
on the Southwell Road is steep
but it is tarred. It is important to
keep left and keep a slow pace
on the blind corners. The rest of
the route is on country gravel
road with some smooth
downhills and a couple of
uphills to keep you honest.
The 75km race adds a 17km
stretch through jeep track and
single track in the Albany Trails
past Sibuya Game Reserve,
where there is a chance of
seeing any of the Big Five. Both
58km and 75km events finish
with a steep decent through the
River Club and conclude at Port
Alfred Country Club, French
Street (not the PA Golf Club).
This is the first year g rave l
bikes have been allowed to
enter. Last year the G2C piloted
ebikes. Both are only allowed to
do the 58km and they will start
last, as they are a bit faster.
For spectators please note
there is only one entrance to the
Port Alfred Country Club for
parking: please enter through
Atherstone Road.
Both races start at BUCO
Warehouse, 9 Strowan Road,
Makhanda and finish at Port
Alfred Country Club, French
Street (New finish area).
TECHNIQUES FOR A STEEP,
ROCKY DOWNHILL
Generally: Your bike feels
like it is jumping around and
your job is to let it, by being as
relaxed as possible while gently
controlling your speed and
direction.
Position: Get your weight
further back by sliding your
bottom further back on the
saddle, even slightly off the
back. That means your arms are
stretched a little longer in front
of you, elbows slightly out, and
(above all) relaxed.
Line: That’s the exact route
you choose through a technical
section. If there’s someone
experienced riding in front of
you, follow their line.
Speed: Feather your brakes
to stay within a speed you’re
comfortable with, but do your
(very gentle!) braking before
you reach that bumpy section or
sharp turn. Once you’re actually
on a tricky section (rocks, mud,
sand or a sharp turn) keep your
momentum.
Talk of the Town has
partnered with The Cycle
Asylum to offer the six-week
Zero to G2C Hero training
programme. For week 6, your
last week of training (October
24-30) turn to page 16.