Paul

and the FACT is also that many drivers take risks to get past lone cyclists who's only "crime" was daring to ride on the road. If you are cycling next to someone, you will have drivers squeeze past you because "well f*** them they think they own the road". If you are cycling by yourself and staying as far left as possible, you will have drivers squeeze past you because "oh well there's a gap and I'm taking it." It doesn't matter. The attitude is I'm going to get from point A to point B as quickly as I can and I don't give a flying f*** who's in my way. That is the driving culture here. You can do all your riding by yourself and obey all the road rules and it will not change that. I realized that after a few thousand kilometers bike touring in Europe. After cycling in some of the busiest city's like Paris and Berlin, then riding over the narrow mountain passes in the French Alps and Spanish Basque country. Drivers respect cyclists. They will sit behind you until it is safe to pass, no matter how long it takes. It took me a while to get used to this. The first few days I was extremely self conscious and it felt as though I was impeding the drivers stuck behind me in traffic, but after a while you get used to the fact that someone is not going to risk your life to save on a few seconds of drive time. In the mountains it is common courtesy to wave the drivers behind you through if you can see it is safe for them to pass and there are no oncoming cars around the corner. I am SURE there are exceptions to what I have just said and of course bad drivers are not something that is unique to South Africa, but once you have cycled in a few different places you are able get the full picture. We can theorize for ages about why these things are the way they are, but I will say that the behavior of cyclists here is a small and insignificant part of it and it does not even come close to justifying the amount of abuse we are subjected to on our roads. PS: Take it easy on Mr. Pure Savage, I reckon you would feel the same if you were recently run over and left in a ditch on the side of the road.

For interest sake, where are you riding or driving that you are encountering cyclists who are 4-6 abreast? It is just too much for me to even imagine. Man, the verbal and sometimes physical abuse you will receive just riding 2 abreast here is enough to take the fun out of any ride. My girlfriend came to visit me from New Zealand a while ago and we were on our way back from riding in Stellenbosch... just before getting onto the R44 (with Rhenish Primary on the right) she came up next to me and said "Can we ride next to each other here?" at that exact moment someone from behind sat on their hooter and then came past, with hands waving all over the place gesturing for us to move over. For some context there was no other traffic and the opposite lane was completely open and safe for him to pass. I looked at my girlfriend and said "Not unless you want to keep dealing with that" lol.

But I think we can all agree that you can obey every written and unwritten road rule there may be and you will still encounter the type of prick that @DieseInDust is describing.

It's unfortunate, but the comment section on this posts tells you all you need to know about the attitude towards cyclists in South Africa. Here you have a driver who ploughed head first into a group of cyclists and took a young life, but half the comments still go "Well the cyclists must have been riding two abreast" or "They shouldn't even have been on the road in the first place."

First time hearing about it. Looks great! I will make a trip out there in the next few weeks. I am always looking for new climbs to ride.

My hope is that the climbs profile will scare the plebs away!

I am resurrecting an old thread here, but if anyone is interested in doing this climb I wrote about my experience here: https://ridersreel.com/2021/01/25/cycling-up-jonaskop-mountain-in-south-africa/

Thanks guys, lots of good options! I went ahead and ordered this one: https://lizzardonline.com/collections/bike-bags/products/thorung-la-bicycle-saddle-bag Will let you know how it holds up!

That looks really good, thanks!

Hi, could you recommend some different options to buy bikepacking bags locally. I’m actually just looking for a saddle bag to use on mini 1-2 week bike tours. Thanks!

The only crime hotspot in that area is the section between Strand and Gordons Bay. A lot of cyclist have been attacked on that section of road over the past few years. If you are in a big group or if you are starting in Gordons Bay (like you said) then it will be fine.

It is reasonably safe on the weekend, especially if you are riding with a big group.

I really like this guys videos. It is refreshing to hear someone talk about bikes and it’s completely unfiltered with no corporate bs. He is definitely on the spectrum. I reckon he would probably battle in a normal work setting 9-5 vibe because of this, but hey it’s only youtube and if you don’t like him you can just watch someone else

Yeah this pretty much sums up my thoughts as well at the moment