Cape Cobra riders skills

[Oracle]

I almost got taken out by one of the Cedar riders past Ocean View towards Slangkop. I was in front and this guy decide to overtake, cut in ahead of me almost clipping the full length of my front wheel. This was 1 of 2 incidents I had with the Cedar riders today.

[Tiny K]

I almost got taken out by one of the Cedar riders past Ocean View towards Slangkop. I was in front and this guy decide to overtake, cut in ahead of me almost clipping the full length of my front wheel. This was 1 of 2 incidents I had with the Cedar riders today.

 

Yeah, that is the problem - there are too many of that clubs' riders and not enough bunch riding skill between them all.

 

Edit: On that though, why the h3ll did he move back? He should have held his line - it is the responsibility of the trailing rider to move in behind the leading rider, not vice versa

Edited January 22, 2012 by Tiny K

[mrbaker]

I wonder how the motorbike rider is & who is going to pay for his bike to be repaired if it is not insured??

[Oracle]

 

 

Yeah, that is the problem - there are too many of that clubs' riders and not enough bunch riding skill between them all.

 

Edit: On that though, why the h3ll did he move back? He should have held his line - it is the responsibility of the trailing rider to move in behind the leading rider, not vice versa

[Oracle]

I was in front of the bunch and no one ahead of me, all he had to do was first pass me then move left and not try and take me out. This happened in the STARS group.

[The Search]

_{Talked to the bikers involved,asked us to please not pass the white line. There was a lot of small groups coming from the back passing on the wrong side of the rode on dangerous corners between Cape Point and Simonstown. No marshals to be seen.}

 

_{Other point I want to make. The roadraces are becoming as expensive as the mountainbike events. I'm involved with mtb events. As soon as you start building singletracks,the cost go up. That roads have been there for ages, just need to be marshalled.}

 

_{Don't know why we started so late. Our group started 7:40am (L). If it was really hot the medical staff would have had there hands full. The roads have been busier than it would have been if we started earlier. Dont know why they never cater for enough Coke, especially for the guys at the back. Please organise something to drink at the finish. I think you guys are lucky it wasnt as hot as the previous days this week. Pull up your socks organisers. If the price go up,so does the expectation to have a super event. Events arent cheap anymore,get it right.}

 

_{I enjoyed my ride, just a few small stuff to be tweaked.}

 

_{To the guys that was in the accident,hope you recover fast. Never nice to see fellow cyclist in an accident.}

[VroomSL]

I was in the stars group, and I have an E seeding. After today I am certainly thinking of pulling out of the stars group. There were riders from cedar switching people all over the place. So cedar and mohamedeya please address your youngsters, cause next time I will ban these riders myself if they threaten my safety! I will not take this sh$t lying down. PPA take note of this thread, cause I'm sure your intent is not to let ppl get hurt. The absence of the Marshall today also Is a major oversight, as many of these youngsters don't know about good road etiquette.

[Slowbee]

Here you go guys.

 

Sounds hectic, pleased I was enjoying the braai!

[BB69]

I started riding and racing in 1984. Nothing has changed - riders continue to cross the white line and pay the price. It is very simple - don't cross the white line and you will be fine. Use your bike handling skills to move to the front of the bunch, however everyone takes the easy route by passing riders on the right hand side of the road by crossing the line.

 

Don't blame the think bike marshals. Most of you bitch and moan when they do police the bunch and you are disqualified but when an accident such as this takes place then they are in the firing line.

 

i agree that think bike marshals are required for the junior riders, but as for the rest we are all adults. How difficult is it to obey a simple rule. If the wind changes direction and you are not strong enough then you must drop and start a second pace line. Perhaps you should train harder next time and not just want to draft the stronger riders. This is why when there is gutter riding you guys drop off the back.

 

I have 2 children of my own and can only imagine what they must be going thru at the moment. My thoughts are with his family.

[firewolf]

any news on the guy that went down into the gutter near smits?

[Thomo]

A lot of the various leagues are based solely on PPA seeding, so a lot of "near novices" qualify but really don't have the experience to be riding there.

This appears to be particularly evident in the Stars group but is certainly not limited to that group.

 

Something else that casued issues along the route again yesterday (and I haven't seen it for a while), was non participants taking advantage of the groups and the marshalled intersections etc.

If you have not registered for the event and paid the entry fee, stay out of the action.

[Niner]

 

 

+1

 

I saw the first guy go down, and it was a matter of too much speed into the corner - no amount of marshalling would have prevented it. The particular spot is actually quite deceptive and I think its very easy to loose control, if your concentration lapses for just a second.

 

I hope all involved heal up well.

 

From what I heard it was not the 1st rider down that was the problem. The guys who hit the motorbike was look at the crash on the left and thus crossed the white line.

 

PPA should investigate and action. I hope the guys heal. But it could have been worse, what I'd the motorbike swerved into the buch???

 

 

Also guys, if you see bad racing reort those people to PPA. It is not only the bike marchal that has to police. Everyone on the bunch should do their but.

 

Report them. Don't just come and moan here how badly they ride.

 

IT IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD.

[Niner]

I started riding and racing in 1984. Nothing has changed - riders continue to cross the white line and pay the price. It is very simple - don't cross the white line and you will be fine. Use your bike handling skills to move to the front of the bunch, however everyone takes the easy route by passing riders on the right hand side of the road by crossing the line.

 

Don't blame the think bike marshals. Most of you bitch and moan when they do police the bunch and you are disqualified but when an accident such as this takes place then they are in the firing line.

 

i agree that think bike marshals are required for the junior riders, but as for the rest we are all adults. How difficult is it to obey a simple rule. If the wind changes direction and you are not strong enough then you must drop and start a second pace line. Perhaps you should train harder next time and not just want to draft the stronger riders. This is why when there is gutter riding you guys drop off the back.

 

I have 2 children of my own and can only imagine what they must be going thru at the moment. My thoughts are with his family.

 

Well said

[Oltremo]

I heard that one of the ladies in the Stars group went down at the bottom of Boyes, any confirmation on this?

[ThaStig]

I'm in F and after yesterday, I have more motivation to up my seeding to E 'cos man that stars bunch is a death trap. We caught them at Slangkop and I couldn't wait to get past them. The sad part is that it is not only the young riders who are so suspect but there were two gents on very expensive (60k +) bikes whose bike handling and bunch riding skill needs lots of attention. Apparently money can't buy you skills and they didn't take kindly to being asked to ride properly.

[Denny Menchov]

'cos man that stars bunch is a death trap.

 

We had the same problem in the Tour de PPA. Starting in F/G and caught up with the Stars at Helshoogte, some half way, and a few along the route. The finishing sprint was chaos. That said, there's a few very stong Stars riders, with excellent bike riding skills, and who's willing to work up front.

 

ThaStig, you're right. Better your seeding, start in a quicker bunch, and compare your fitness to your PPA group. This is the beauty of Racetec and the PPA seeding.

 

Wrt the crash: my thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the rider in hospital. Years ago I lost a friend doing a race going down Constantia. It hurts to see how vulnerable one is on a push bike.

 

Heal soon.