Things I've learnt from commuting

[Bateleur1]

Wouldn't know. I go UP Bill B in the afternoons.

 

And here I thought it was my awesome fitness kicking in....

 

It was fitness kicking in ... just not yours 

[bj horn]

For the riders coming into Cape Town using Marine Dr onramp onto FW De Klerk.Broken glass on the lefthand side of the onramp.Bottles moved to the gutter but glass all over the road.Guys coming through there in the dark are going to have a problem

Be careful out there

[EddieV]

At a 4-way-stop this morning waiting for a vehicle to cross straight over so I can go (he got there first) .... meanwhile he is signaling behind very dark tinted windows for me to go first ... ???? .... maybe he thought I’m psychic ????

 

Happening more frequently these days .... not being able to see the driver of the vehicle signaling behind their dark windows.

[ChrisF]

Does it count if I was in the car ....    

 

 

"driving" into Cape Town on the N1 ... if you can call it driving when it takes more than an hour to cover 23km in a four wheeled cage ..... I get into the right lane, and keep my following distance, staying out of harms way, and trying to ignore the blithering idiots ..... one guy was so busy texting in the middle lane that he did not even realise his lane started moving again .... I eventually blipped my hooter to wake him from his cellphone-induced-comatosed state .... It seemed as if 1 in 5 drivers spent more time looking at their cell phones than the road ahead, causing the very concertina that was holding up the traffic .....

 

Out of boredom I started playing with my watch ... checking my heart rate .... dammit !!     I have done relaxed routes at Meerendal en Bloemendal with Maritz where my heart rate never went as high as driving on the N1       

 

 

To rub salt in my wounds .... Along the 80km/h zone one of the Milnerton commuters on what appeared to be a gravel-grind bike came wizzing past the slow moving traffic    

 

 

I could not help but wonder .... SURE his heart rate was lower than many a driver !!  And surely his elevated heart rate was a HEALTHY one. 

 

 

 

 

[sluiper]

Made a video of what it's like to commute in Cape Town, let me know what you guys think:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVOEO5VMdlM

[DJR]

Made a video of what it's like to commute in Cape Town, let me know what you guys think:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVOEO5VMdlM

I LIKE what you did a MILLION TIMES over!     (Love the music too)

 

We seem to cover the exact same ground and I know every inch of your route like the back of my hand, just like I know and experienced every incident you filmed as well! We must have passed each other many a time.

 

Please, can someone send this to our Mayor and every city official! They are in vote begging mood which seem to open their ears a little bit!  Who is our chief of traffic police? How can we get him to sit and watch this over and over until it sticks in his brain?

[sluiper]

I LIKE what you did a MILLION TIMES over!     (Love the music too)

 

We seem to cover the exact same ground and I know every inch of your route like the back of my hand, just like I know and experienced every incident you filmed as well! We must have passed each other many a time.

 

Please, can someone send this to our Mayor and every city official! They are in vote begging mood which seem to open their ears a little bit!  Who is our chief of traffic police? How can we get him to sit and watch this over and over until it sticks in his brain?

 

Thanks, glad you like it and can relate. I love commuting by bike but I'm kind of torn between the danger each day and the benefits.

 

The video is made up from the rides on my last 4 commutes (which kind of highlights how crazy it is that it doesn't take long to capture the amount of incidents in the video).

[Eddy Gordo]

I too must have passed you a few times on that sir lowry road, main section. I use the lower main road, then join the top main road by goodhope tyres.

I have sent some videos to the city as well. No response. Post it publicly on twitter, better results that way. There are also some other threads to follow, road hogs, pig spotter, trafficsa, various radio stations etc. Tag them all and post.

[DJR]

............The video is made up from the rides on my last 4 commutes (which kind of highlights how crazy it is that it doesn't take long to capture the amount of incidents in the video).

Holy ****! That makes it even more 

[wildwindfr]

Makes me glad to be commuting where I am. That is more incidents than I have in a month.

Stay safe!

[ChrisF]

Made a video of what it's like to commute in Cape Town, let me know what you guys think:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVOEO5VMdlM

 

Sluiper I spend a LOT of time driving these roads in my car, and I also commute between home and the office on a regular basis.  So I see these events from both sides - all too often.

 

The one thing I see on each drive is the number of drivers that are texting away on their cell phones, often I notice their eratic driving before I get to see the phone in their hands.

 

 

I am fortunate that I can alter my commute route to miss the hectic traffic, and not having taxis on my route makes a massive difference !!!

 

 

 

That said, driving a car in the middle of Kayelitcha is an eye opener !!!  Fit in or get the heck out of Dodge !!!  They drive by a different standard ... and once you get over it, get your hand out the window, wave to give somebody a gap, and the rivers part as they welcome you into their world ....

 

The "fun" starts when "Western driving" and "third world" driving meets on the roads you commute along ....

 

 

On these roads you need a mind shift to survive ... KNOW that the "left turn" lane is there for illegal passing, so stay clear.  KNOW that if there is a person standing on the sidewalk a taxi WILL push you onto the pavement to pick up the passanger .... bit more difficult to predict when they are going to pass you to stop dead ahead of you to drop off a passanger ...

 

Would be interesting to hear from those that commute these roads daily what their survival tips are ....

[DJR]

..............Would be interesting to hear from those that commute these roads daily what their survival tips are 

ANTICIPATE

Ride defensively

Never assume someone saw you

Expect drivers to do the unexpected

Signal and make your intentions clear

Make yourself VISIBLE with flashing lights

Avoid the dangerous roads whenever possible

Avoid the dangerous times wherever possible

Alter your route to make it SAFER rather than quicker/shorter/easier

[ChrisF]

Actually I prefer taxis to normal family cars ....

 

 

With a taxi you KNOW it is just a matter of time before they swerve or stop in front of you ... when you see the big square box you KNOW that you need to be extra vigilant !

 

 

Family cars used to instill some level of security .... frankly I now see as much idiotic and dangerous driving from family cars as I see from taxis. 

 

 

Only solution - treat each and every vehicle as a potential danger

 

 

 

Then again.  I prefer to stop at dangerous crossings, and wait for a safe crossing.  Every so often a car, even taxis, would slow down and wave me through.  So it is not all doom and gloom out there. 

[sluiper]

Yip, agree that taxis are predictably erratic (if that makes sense). I'm not really upset about the conditions I have to commute in as I've been doing it for years and know how to handle myself. What does irritate me is that the conditions mean that I can't in good conscience recommend to others that they should commute by bicycle.

 

Without decent public transport and/or cycling being a decent alternative, people will continue to clog up roads and pollute the city.

 

Another interesting (anecdotal) observation is that when people see a camera on your head, they actually drive better. The amount of close calls I have when I don't have a camera on my head has convinced me to _always_ cycle with a camera for additional protection. 

[DJR]

.......Another interesting (anecdotal) observation is that when people see a camera on your head, they actually drive better. The amount of close calls I have when I don't have a camera on my head has convinced me to _always_ cycle with a camera for additional protection. 

Does anybody else see the business opportunity in this? Cheap fake dummy cameras?  

[ChrisF]

Does anybody else see the business opportunity in this? Cheap fake dummy cameras?  

 

I have an very old GoPro that have not been charged in decades ....  may just mount it as a dummy to test this concept ....