Crossing the white line

[amateur]

Hey All you A-bunch riders

 

Last week you were all going on about 5 or 6 guys crossing the white line.

 

Well let me tell you, you aint seen nothing 'till you ride in the bunches at the back, these guys cross the white line 10 to 15 riders at any given time. It is the most frightening thing you will ever see, especially when you can see a car approaching and they just aint budging.

 

Well done to the marshall's on the bikes though, they did a sterling job trying to control it and getting the guys back onto the correct side of the road.

 

SP took some photo's of this, we'll post them asap.

 

[Grapkas]

One of the motobikes in our bunch actually caused a crash!!! It is very difficult in a race where there is a bad sidewind to stay on one side of the road! It is either ride in the gutter and get disqualified or ride in the wind like a good obedient cyclist and get dropped!!!

[KlapperKnop]

amateur, I was in the B-Bunch and we ahd similar problems, which I would blame the guys pacing in front. I found the guys pacing in the front came close to the centre line, with the result that the bunch had to move over the white line to stay in contention. I tried a couple of time to go to the front and move left of the road; in order to give space to the bunch.

[amateur]

Yikes!!! Sorry to hear that, I thought they were good controlling the guys at the back.

 

I suppose at your level it makes sence if there is proper bunch tactics happening to stay out of the wind.

 

There at the back it's just a mess, no one wants to go work at the front so they 'widden up' across the line just behind the guys in front cuase they want the guys to pick up the pace. It's funny you should hear how the people start screaming at each other and swearing.

 

I droped out of the one bunch because it was getting a bit heated and alot of pushing and shoving started.

 

They guys at the back are AGRO, you would swear they were fighting for first or something

 

[slowpoke]

grapkas, what freaked me out the most was trying to get past these bunches - there is a distinct difference between the back bunches and the further front bunches (i never managed to catch up to the front-front bunches 'cos it took so long to get past the E's and D's) in that the guys in the back bunches almost never even glance over their shoulders, and they only look up when the oncoming cars hooted at them. i almost got broadsided on a number of occasions by E's and D's when I was so far into the oncoming lane that my drivers' side wheels were on the dirt! now considering the fact tht these guys aren't remotely in line to win anything, why are they being so reckless? other road users were getting livid and i had to take photo's of them (making it very clear i was going for number plates) to get them to calm down.

[Grapkas]

Good going Slowpoke!!! I think the coolest thing ever would be if we had full road closure for sun city, i think the race is big enough and every year we have a few hair raising incidents!! Why can't they do that?

[Chippy]

KlapperKnob, I was in the B bunch and was doing  alot of pacing in the front as no one else seemd to be interested. And yes, I took the pace line to the centre to try shed some of the riders (hoping that they would not cross the white line) or to force some more riders to share the work in front. But the group crossed the white line which if you noticed caused the motor vechiles to pass on both the left and right. Instead of moaning about the guys in the front doing the work I would say you should be having a dig at the guys who choose to break the rules and move over the white line.

[KlapperKnop]

Chippy ... before commenting about "moaning" I myself did alot of pacing on Saturday. What bugs me, after I paced in front, I was forced to be over the white line cause the next cyclist went to the centre line; so is that fair on me to be forced out of the bunch (by going over the centre line) after contributing at the front? For you information, I was with the Silver Fuji ...

[Chippy]

Sorry KlapperKnopp I did not look at any bikes. I can't answer your question if it was fair or not, all I can say the purpose of riding along the centre line (if the riders do not cross the centre line) is to put the race in the gutter and force the weak riders out.  As it happenned I fell out the back of the bunch with about 30km  to go (I was buggered). This is the first time in a race that I have mixed it up in the front. ( I'm normally content to wheelsuck at the back) . I sat in the front few riders from the start and only after the left turn at about 50km I drifted into the group. To be honest if a couple of the guys in front actually worked together I'm pretty sure we could have got a succesfull break going. I think the biggest problem was that there was no proper marshalling of our group.

 

[Dicky DQ]

amateur' date=' I was in the B-Bunch and we ahd similar problems, which I would blame the guys pacing in front. I found the guys pacing in the front came close to the centre line, with the result that the bunch had to move over the white line to stay in contention. I tried a couple of time to go to the front and move left of the road; in order to give space to the bunch.[/quote']

 

That's the idea. If the bunch is not working together ther will always be a gutter. remember the white line constitues the edge of the road. if the wind was from the other side you would have had no option, but to sit in the wind.

 

Even if you tried to bring the bunch into a more acceptable position, if the rest of the front riders wanted to drop the hangers on, they will gutter the bunch.

 

If you cross the line you need to be nailed!

[Chippy]

Well said Dick !!!

[scotty]

All good and well to use these tactics, but this is not the Elite bunch. The road is not full closure so by riding middle line what must motorists coming from behind do ?. A bunch do it B bunch do it etc and this is when the motorist gets frustarted and take chances and leads to a dangerous situation.

[BikeMax]

Grapkas - how can that be a dificult choice, ride on the correct side of the road, get dropped but stay alive, or cross the line and risk getting hit by a car - that is what I call a no brainer..

[KlapperKnop]

 

That's the idea. If the bunch is not working together ther will always be a gutter. remember the white line constitues the edge of the road. if the wind was from the other side you would have had no option' date=' but to sit in the wind.

 

Even if you tried to bring the bunch into a more acceptable position, if the rest of the front riders wanted to drop the hangers on, they will gutter the bunch.

 

If you cross the line you need to be nailed!

[/quote']

 

Dick, I feel strongly about everybody doing his fair share in the bunch. However, I will not comprimise SAFETY by going to the front and pace on the white line to drop people in the bunch! I have experience it on Saturday, sitting in the bunch close to the white line is dangerous with oncoming traffic; whilst you have to concentrate on the wheel in front of you; hence why I moved to the left of the road when I went to pace.

 

 

[Dicky DQ]

KlapperKnop, never loose sight of the fact that if the wind is blowing from the other side there is never an issue as no one wants to ride offroad. so all that must be done is that the riders need to be disaplined.

 

The problem is addressed with the racing bunches in Cape Town by the whole bunch being stopped and/or disqualified. With the non racing bunches it is more difficult as the individual riders need to be DisQ'd.

 

Ultimatly the "few at the front" need to plan to get away from the bunch and the problems will be solved.

 

I think that the main problem up north is you dont get to play in the Southeaster is pomping.

[Johnny B]

Howzit guys ,

 

I was also in the B bunch.... The race was ok , but as klapperknop pointed out the pacing on the white line in dangerous. Realy if the guys are not willing to pace stay onm the left sid e, (as per Saterday) and back off , sooner or later some one weill come past. Full road closure is a different story. Luckily there weren`t so many trucks on the road this year ....