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12 hours ago, wolver said:Any mention of a plan to render the existing infrastructure (ie Marine dr/N1 cycle lane) useable before spending on new projects? 🙄
Sadly, it's just another "election-coming-up" exercise, methinks. There is much more political will to make crime-fighting appear in the news, in press releases, in plans, than in reality on the ground with trained, willing, equipped officers in the right place, at the right time. ready to do the right thing. Very sadly!
Sooooooo great to hear how much people enjoyed my part of the world! A few years ago while I was riding Eroica wearing a Prince Albert cycling shirt, someone commented that it is such a great little town, they should re-name it! I said "HELL NO", and he said "rename it KING ALBERT"! I said" hell yes, let's call it EMPEROR ALBERT"!
Just in case anyone still wonder whether they should do the next Eroica SA, look at the above couple of posts:
Where else on earth will you find two riders from opposite sides of the world sharing toothpaste and saying thank you on a cycling forum?
But if you know the cameraderie that is totally normal at Eroica, it should not come as a surprize.
Hairy, your post above reminded me that I have recently done a few stencils for a guerilla art project (a-la Banksy inspired), all related to pangolin. This small one is even somewhat cycling related. I'm trying to say that the pangolin is waaaaaay to fast on its way to extinction and that we better take its' bike away to slow it down......
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On 4/11/2024 at 11:59 AM, carlheinz said:A commute with a bit of a ....
VERYcool angle of view, you obviously THOUGHT about it!
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The Facebook pictures of the Harvard made me look up from my desk at the aviation inspired Orange Explosion sitting high above the other old bikes on my study wall and hope that D will be home soon to go for a ride with me.......
https://forum.bikehub.co.za/topic/46935-retro-bicycle-thread/page/320/#comment-3291997
Soory, wrong thread
16 hours ago, Mamil said:
We should all do black & white photography a bit more often.
15 hours ago, Frosty said:Spent 4 days in China, last week, only to be reminded again how fubar this country of ours has become. So sad. At least we have lots of open space to ride our bikes.
I have that feeling every time I travel to places where "things just work". But every once in a while I am reminded that I tend to wear glasses that give me a limited view of my own world, despite thinking that I see it exactly like it is. Last week we had a young visitor from Spain and it was her first time to Cape Town (yes, I know it isn't the whole country). She is of Argintian and Colombian ancestry, grew up in both countries, studied in Sweden and Italy and lived in the Netherland sbefore moving to Spain, first to Madrid and now lives in Majorca.
She was simply blown away by Cape Town and the winelands, the mountain, the food, the beaches, friendly people, the art galleries, weather, the waterfront, Kirstenbosch, Boulders, even Uber, shops. She did not quite expect lion and wild animals in the streets, but said she certainly did not anticipate such first world beauty. Yes, I know she visited while there were no power cuts, demonstrations and the weather was perfect, but it mademe look at my own surroundings again.
Sometimes it is good to see through an outsiders eyes!
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9 hours ago, IceCreamMan said:Carl Niehaus on the EFF electoral list.
crazy innit.
Ai tog, IceCreamMan, why do you keep posting these things that make it even more difficult to forget that we are living in (almost) as crazy a Cuckoos' zoo as the Americans?
17 hours ago, Max Headroom said:.....Biggest problem is the Police......
I had to report the theft of a brass water meter at my local cop shop yesterday. The only reason I still bother is to get a case number so thet the City will install a new plastic one for free. The way the cops handled this was saddening:
There were 6 of them in the change office. 5 were busy writing in slow motion to fill in papers at the speed of sloths. One was sitting back leisurely playing something on his phone. My case, which was all knew was not going anywhere, took 30 minutes to record. Four A4 sheets of paper including a full page written statement that the copper basically wrote for me by asking me 2 questions. When was it stolen? Was it inside or outside? What he wrote cannot bear any resemblance to what happened. Then my 4 pages went into a brown folder, on which were a multitude of things to fill in as well. During the night their computer generated a case number and sent me an SMS and I'm sure the paperwork that cost half a tree, is now safely filed in drawer 13 never to be seen by a living soul again.
It always seems to me that they are very keen to spend their time on work that they know will not lead anywhere or make more real work for them. As soon as they see that it means they would have to leave the safety of that office and go confront a real criminal, their enthusiasm seems to hit a gale force headwind.
Ok, I feel better now that I could flush the toilet again......
16 hours ago, Hairy said:A couple weeks swinging yourself around on those crutches you will be ripped, gone would be the roadie upper body build and in comes Mr Dale who looks like a trail rider
Ha ha, you can be my spin doctor any day.
18 hours ago, 'Dale said:Lots of tears of gratitude and relief today, Peoples. So many achievements unlocked on my pathway to recovery after my visit to my orthopaedic surgeon this morning.
Spoon cast, bandaging and stitches removed from my ankle and it is looking good after two weeks of post-op recovery. Stitches on my soft tissue wound around the right calf removed as well; about 40 - 50 of them, excluding about a dozen of internal stitches that will remain and eventually dissolve.
I am welcoming in the rehabilitation phase with physiotherapy starting on Friday. It is also time to ask my wife to lift me to the gym with my moon boot and crutches for next 3 weeks so I can go pomp my mossels.
I can feel my life force is slowly returning, like a tide coming back in, and I begin to look forward to the horizon. Grateful in ways that typed words cannot express.
Good to hear Dale. Vasbyt.
50 minutes ago, Shebeen said:They were going to do 20, but didn't like the original design of the shirt. It needed to be iconic, and timeless.
So they commissioned Jenni Button to design it, and it took much longer so the extra year.
That's a name I haven't heard for a long time.........the younsters will have to Google.......and I'm not so sure Google will know🤪
4 hours ago, DieselnDust said:@Tim Brink will know ALL THE answerS
Fixed!
On 3/11/2024 at 7:42 AM, W3_Fabrizio said:..........Looking forward to riding in South Africa!
Eroica SA is a very special ride. Tough, long, rough, hot, but with beautiful surroundings and VERY friendly people......exactly what it should be like. (I have not done the Nova, but I did most of the classics.)
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On 3/11/2024 at 9:19 PM, Shebeen said:I'm in danger of letting a good story get ruined by facts, but this is how it was relayed to me (thumbsucking circa 2010):
"group of UCT cycling club dudes wanted to get a jump track going, they identified the portion on middle campus and laid out potential lines. Getting green light through sports admin was taking forever, as potential issues kept on cropping up. Tertiary sports admin is like that, things moving quicker than glacial pace are viewed with suspicion and will either be stopped or slowed down. Plus they need to play windows Solitaire for the first and last hour of the morning and afternoon work shifts. Final sticking point was insurance; the admins got poepscared when they looked on youtube and saw danny macaskill backflipping off a parkbench onto an old shed roof or sumfink.
- how would they control who was riding and what was stopping someone from suing UCT if/when people got properly injured?
So the project stalled, until one of the students was chatting to his Archeology prof, and they uncovered the obvious solution staring at them. UCT insurance covered any accidents at archeology sites, so the plan was to declare the jump track an " archeological dig" and all students who wanted to jump signed up for the Archeological society at R200/year.
This got the ball rolling, and after a year or two when it was functioning like they said it would, uct sports took it over as an actual facility and the admins went back to Solitaire."
Ha ha, yes, I can see that as a totally probable story, having had to deal with large institutions, including UCT, myself. But is IS apretty good story!
47 minutes ago, timdklein98 said:As the former Chairperson of the UCT Cycling Club (during the time of the fires), I can weigh in on what happened...
Obviously, the fires destroyed the track and the surrounding area (especially the trees). After, there were some discussions around how to rehabilitate the area. UCT were advised to remove the trees which further damaged the track (heavy machinery and debris everywhere). We, as the club, were told that UCT had a plan to rehabilitate and rebuild the area and that we could submit our plans as part of that discussion. But that never really happened. We were met with a wall of poor communication and haven't really been able to have proper discussions around it with UCT since. We had potential investors and builders already lined up and all we needed was the green light - which annoying hasn't come.
Although I'm no longer on the committee, I'm sure this challenge still remains on the annual agenda.
It is very sad to see the state of the area now. Especially having seen what the track was and the efforts that were put in by previous committee members to bring it to life.
It really was a lovely track.
4 hours ago, DieselnDust said:Great to see Luke Moir in 5th after breaking a leg in January!
I thought Luke was 3rd
37 minutes ago, Hairy said:
That sign is so old it looks like the Archaeology uncovered it after being underground for 150 years
After the 2021 fires, UCT used the site to dump the wood chips and debris from the trees they cut and removed. A big par of it is now just a huge compost pile. The sign has mostly been a joke and relates to the area between the jumps and the historic old Welgelegen homestead which belongs to UCT and which they have neglected so badly that it a terrible shame.
18 hours ago, lee pastor said:Hi everyone,
Is the track above UCT tennis courts still there?
I found the other one close to the windmill but it needs to be resurrected, anyone able to point me in the direction to get it cleared, or can we just go in and start pulling weeds and clearing the track? It's not fenced off or anything but the land is owned by UCT and the sign states that UCT cycling club maintains but I've reached out to them and haven't gotten a response.
I'm by no means a trail builder and I'm actually quite new to the sport, but I'm keen to get my hands dirty and the tracks back up and ridable.
Both have been in disrepair since the Covid pandemic and the big fires.
I suggest talking to the UCT Sports Admin people, but remember that they will likely be a burocratic bunch and you are not likely to get much in terms of agreement or support. But really, all you want is to not get any explicit prohibition from them.
Then, when the first winter rains started and the earth there is soft enough to work with (at the moment it is rock hard clay), start clearing and fixing up the jump track near the mill. One line at a time. But it will be a good idea to get someone who knows about jumping to give advice. Some of the jump lines are good for bmx and others for dirt jump bikes. One of two lines work for any MTB. But unfortunately there are several that were built and are totally crazy and impossible / dangerous. At one stage I think a total madman constructed stuff there that never worked and was probably built in a drug fueled craze. It is important to know what to restore and what to demolish or you will waste time and energy. Ignore the UCT signs.
The XC track abouve Upper Campus I think is gone forever or at least until the UCT Cycling club revives itself and get trail builders and funds to rebuild it.
(I live close by, used to jump there, but no longer do.)
All the VERY best wishes for all the Hubbers riding tomorrow. There will most certainly be something for everybody. Here is my advice to get what you want:
I'll be cheering you somewhere on the M3, sitting on my MTB
On 3/3/2024 at 8:25 AM, 'Dale said:Me.
I was warming up to meet my training group this morning and was inside the yellow shoulder on the way to Cape Town stadium. Then the TV channel switched and I was flung somewhere and, getting up, I couldn’t see the car. The rear view mirror and fender guard left behind on the scene was off a Renault Kwid, not many of them around.
I am privileged to have an excellent health care network around me and hope to fully recover - very eina right leg, fractured ribs and scrapes and bruises, fortunately my spine and brain intact.
I am a lucky man. Please send healing vibes, Peoples.💛
Eina Dale! Sorry to hear, I missed this earlier. You have had some bad luck with crashes the last few years - and some great luck to make it out alive and recover. (Been there, done that.) So, I wish you all the best with the recovery and the rehab, may it be a smoother ride than my Eddy Merxkx on 28mm Gatorskins!
Cape Town danger areas
in Cycling Safety
Posted · Edited by DJR
I appreciate Alan Windes' efforts to improve cycling infrastructure and respect him as a fellow cyclist. But a lot of the good work put in by him (provincial government) and the City of Cape Town, has gone to waste over the past decade (or more) because of LACK OF LONG TERM COMMITMENT to make it work! There are 3 shortcomings that I see as the main reasons for cycling paths (like the brilliant West Coast one, which is a good example to use) failing:
1. Lack of security!
Policing, I understand, is NOT a provincial function. SAPolice Service is run atrociously and corruptly by the national central government. To help mitigate the total disaster that SAPS has become, the City of Cape Town has established its' own Metro Police, which helps a lot keeping Cape Town away from a Mad Max apocalyptic scenario. But if there are still near daily muggings and robberies on the cycling route, then cyclists (recreational and commuter) will stop using it and your multi million Rand investment in infrastructure will be lost, totally useless, money down the drain. It does not help to have a bit of a show on TV and in the papers after a particularly gruesome attack, to show that you (police or politicians) are doing something about it. You need to be there EVERY DAY, CATCH and incarcerate the criminals until there are ZERO attacks. THEN your project will work, cyclists will use the route, reduce traffic, pollution and your infrastructure investment will pay dividents!
2. Failure to deal with illegal squatters
Much of the criminality happening along the West Coast cycle route stems from the homeless encampments on mostly PRASA owned land in Woodstock. It offers criminals a place to stay and hide. It is all too easy to disappear into that nest after an attack on a cyclist on the cycling path and police are not willing or able to enter there and find the culprits. The solution is not so straight forward, because the land is basically owned by the state (central government) or PRASA (also state owned) and they don't have the political will to act against the illegal occupiers ( I suspect they don't want to be seen evicting people because it will cost them at election time, reeking of forced removals?). The City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Provincial government cannot do anything much about this, because they do not own the occupied land and cannot evict and clear it out. Besides, the legal process of doing that is a long and difficult one. But, if the illegal occupiers and criminal elements are not removed and prevented from returning, the cycle lane will NOT ever be fully functional and a waste of money.
3. Lack of ongoing maintenance of infrastructure
Allowing fences to be broken down and to remain so for years, allow criminals easy access to the cycle lane as well as an easy escape. Allowing manhole covers to be stolen and for holes to remain open bicycle traps, endangers cyclists. Allowing it to become neglected, overgrown, covered with rubbish, human pee and excrement, makes it an unattractive environment for law abiding cyclists, and they will stay away..........again, the cycle path will fail and all your infrastructure investment will go to waste.
If you want to see where the West Coast Cycle Lane works, then simply go further up from Milnerton to Melkbos. You will see that people are using it! If you want to see where it is NOT working, go look at the stretch from Paarden Eiland to the City Centre. The difference is stark and striking and it is caused by crime and neglect of dealing with it definitively.That blockage in the cycle path is a bit like the one artery that gets clogged up, causing a heart attack and the patients' death, while the rest of him was perfectly fit and healthy!
P.s. Someone with better IT skills, you are most welcome to send this to same politicians.
P.p.s' Sorry, I know this is a post too long for most Hubbers, but hey, I have to try and fix your attention deficit issue, not so? (Just kidding)