I have been recently criticized for taking a cyclist motor pacing along a freeway (m3 north i.e. heading towards Cape Town between the end of the freeway and ladies Mile turn off). Now before anything is said - in the country we live in: 1. People walk along freeways i.e. N2 and N1 before Somerset west and Paarl on a daily basis - they even have soccer / boxing train on the side of the road. People run across these road all day and every day and yes they get killed - I know 1st hand as close family member hit a road crosser accidentally back in the early 90ies dead. 2. As already mentioned by the starter of this tread it may be safer to ride on the freeway than back road as their is a nice wide shoulder etc, so the problem he is concerned with is the fact it is illegal and put cycling in negative lite. This point is taken and normally for this reason we do not use the freeway to train on. 3. BYE the BYE The protest ride - yes that is what it was intended to be - the 2nd weekend of March in Cape Town - also used the M3 freeway yes it is now closed to traffic while 35 000 cyclist make their way along it but this is only in the past approximately 15 years, I think, and certainly was not the case when I rode it for the 1st time 26 years back. So why do I choose to use the freeway for motor pacing - only half the circuit the other half is through Tokai forest. Once again as the started of this thread has mentioned their are long stretched on road inside yellow lines without traffic hazards so it is ideal for this form of training. But these are the other precautions I have taken into consideration as safety must be No.1: 1. I had a driver in a car drive behind (me on a scooter) - to create as much as a controlled environment as possible. 2. We have chosen a time to use the public road when they are least busy and traffic is a minimal I.e. after 6 closer to 6:30 in the evening as most people are home from work and we are heading in the opposite direction of the traffic - believe it or not the roads are quite, quite. In Cape Town it is still light till 8 so it gave us an 1 hour 15min of hard training 3. Once again for reasons of traffic it is best to use roads where their are emergency lanes - not that common in the Southern Suburbs - Cape Town, so yes for half the circuit we are on a road that has this feature and it is the safest part of the circuit. I certainly am not using this road as it is illegal - if it was not a freeway I would still choose this circuit, but unfortunately it is - so as a self employed person who weight up risk versa reward everyday - I feel the risks are worth it and legally what would the outcome be? A slap on the wrist and asked to get off the freeway as soon as possible or a traffic fine - no different to the fines we get when speed in our motors cars! Fines which we are now been urged to be paid to do pothole work since the rains came in JHB. Is a fine an offense or a necessary revenue collection norm (in this country accepted revenue collection) for road maintenance? Am I doing my best to be considerate to fellow road users YES reasons above. Have I had to slow down quite quickly on the forest road in the past almost causing an accident as a motorist pulls out a side street giving zero consideration to fellow road users - yes but thankfully only once and many years back, has this ever happened / or can it even happen while on the M3 no! Safety 1st and then there's that saying: Rules are for the guidance of wise men and for fools to follow! So yup it may be illegal but it is the safest place to do this form of high end training which is required for a top athlete to hit peak performance for World / SA champs. Would I suggest a Funrider to train in the manor most definitely not! Is it necessary for normal training to be on a freeway - in CT their are many other nicer / scenic roads to train on - I much prefer Chapman's peak drive for normal train compared to the M3 freeway. I must admit what I have an issue is Why fellow cyclist are the 1st to pull cyclist up! Trying to act as judge jury and executioner is not our place as mere citizen of the country! In a perfect world (less than perfect RSA government as revenue collection from fines would be zero) nobody would ever get a fine / do illegal things, be it speeding, talking on a cell ph while driving, in the right lane when not overtaking - Keep Left (so people can) Pass right - 1st rule of the road, Jwalking etc - these thing happen on a daily basis in RSA with little said. Maybe if you the car behind the driver who has just answered his cell in the fast lane of a freeway at 120km/h who now slows to 80km/h you have every right to get annoyed as the driver of the 1st car has been completely inconsiderate for not moving to the left lane and thus deserves a piece of your mind, but normally in this country if you are not adversely affecting other people nothing is said UNLESS IT'S A CYCLIST! How often when somebody is Jwalking do you a motorist slow down and show with the hand to pass as apposed to accelerate to kill - as its illegal to Jwalk? Well I hope its the former as apposed to the latter! A Radio add on drinking and driving currently on 5FM suggest it legal for kids to play in the streets - my feeling is that is untrue but that is currently been put out on the airwaves! In closing, in the law their is back and white but in real life situations for RSA their are a lot of grey areas and what is illegal has become the norm and accepted by authorities! My personnel sentiment to this is if you are not causing injury to anyone else or in-convincing other members of the public and not putting your own life under abnormal risk but possibly for your own self creating a safer situation the problem is to small to be made an issue off!
