Please accept our wishes for a great festive season and safe riding during the holiday. We hope that you receive presents that will enhance your cycling experience. Make sure that you eat and drink in moderation or you may end up like this! Get out on your bike during the holiday but take a brief rest from that insane training schedule!.
Most of our readers live within cycling distance of a really steep hill, usually not more than a few hundred metres long. We are not talking here about the awesome climbs in the Alps, the Pyrenees or the Rockies, that drag on for many kilometres at average grades of seven to n9ne percent or the short killers in Belgium that kick up to twenty percent plus, or even local hills in Nanaimo (Calder Road has a maximum gradient of twenty-six percent ) or the English Lake District Passes (Hardknott Pass has a short section of thirty percent on Honister Pass , with a similar maximum gradient had Tour of Britain riders actually walking the steepest section). What we ARE talking about is the steepest paved road in the world in New Zealand. Check it out here. We are quite sure that some sadistic antipodean race organiser is planning a hill climb on this sufferfest-type slope in the near future, where all participants will be issued with a barf bag at the start. Come to think of it, MIVA should include a Calder Road hill climb in next year's time trial series - just for fun of course!
For those hardy souls who are still training hard during the Christmas season, there will be a Thursday "Sufferfest session in Peter McCaffery's garage, 7.30pm-8.30pm. Big screen, lots of great music and a FAN. Limited room so email first: pakamac@gmail.com, or call 250 244 1779
Most readers will have noticed the increasing presence of electric scooters, on our roads, bike paths and sidewalks too! Many of you may have had an unpleasant encounter with one of these vehicles, usually ridden by people who haven't been on a two wheeled vehicle of any sort in years.
When buying one of these scooters, consumers are given a brief demonstration in how to use the
brake, accelerator and alarm system, they hand over their money and they are free to take to the roads – at speeds of up to 32kph, and more if they have been able to access one of the web-enabled methods of overriding the built-in governor. No instruction is given, no driving license test is handed out, that’s it, go learn by trial by error. In our experience, the majority of electric scooter riders rarely stick to the rules that encourage them to use the bike lanes or even attempt to signal before attempting life risking manoeuvers, putting electric scooters alongside traditional slower moving pedal-powered bicycles is a recipe for disaster. Crash safety is the biggest concern; in a 
runoff with an automobile the electric scooter rider is likely to be worse position than the car driver. Worse still, on rainy nights when it is difficult to see what is around you when driving or riding a normal bike, E-scooter riders will often silently come up behind you and pass within inches without warning.
We are in dire need of legislation and traffic act enforcement to get E-scooter users to ride safely and within the law.Any suggestions about getting them to obey the traffic regulations will be welcomed. Any of you who have had a nasty experience with an E-scooter, please post a comment.
The club has a few items of 2011 clothing left. As 2012 will see new sponsors and a new design for the jerseys, the 2011 remaining stock is being offered to club members at a considerable discount. Jerseys - 2XL, 2L,3S, 2XS $30.00
Bibs - 2XS $35.00
Jackets - 1XXL, 2XL, $50.00
Shorts - 1S $30.00
Winter vest - 1XL $40.00
The regular club price for clothing was already a real bargain but these close-out prices are an absolute steal!