Be Cautious When Riding Grabouw/ Gantou

[milky4130]

With W2W coming up next month, this is BAD news for the whole area. It will keep riders away and it will negatively affect other established routes as well even though they are on the other side of town, because people will simply stay away from Grabouw if it is seen as dangerous. The owners of guest houses, restaurants, mtb trails, wineries and businesses should meet with the local police and try and impress on them the importance of solving this crime and catching the perpetrators. It is way more than just the robbing of one or two mtbikers. Otherwise it will not go away, it will get worse.

w2w? I think you meant houw hoek. I'll still be doing it.

[DJR]

w2w? I think you meant houw hoek. I'll still be doing it.

 

You're right, Houw Hoek, it's just that the little connection between my mushy old brain and my typing finger didn't actually connect at all. Doing a race, the numbers will make it safer, I would go too, but I won't go ride there alone or in my usual small group of 2 or 3.

 

That means 3 of us won't fill up at the garage (R1000?), have lunch at a restaurant (R500?), buy a few boxes of wine (R1000), buy some goodies at the farm stall (R250?). That would have been just on a 1 day outing for 3 of us, yes, up to R2750? not spent in Grabouw.

 

We also won't go there for the long weekend with our families (12 people) and that means that three guest houses won't share R9000?, a few restaurants will miss out on R3500?. None of the wives will spend at the farm stalls, the art galleries or the craft shops. Again, we won't buy local wine, apples, fruit and that lot could easily come to another couple of thousand rand. (R15000 for the long weekend for 3 families soulds reasonable?).

 

I think that in a big city one could solve a crime problem like this by visiting the area in large numbers and by law enforcement patrols, like it has worked at hot spots on Table Mountain. In a rural environment, there will never be enough bodies to elbow the baddies out. The only solution is for the locals to pressure the cops to work together and catch the baddies. Otherwise, sadly, the loser will be Grabouw.

[Skylark]

That's a k4k one to happen in such a rural area, glad the guy got out safe and sound.

Nasty thing to experience though, probably be good to get some help dealing/getting over what happened.

[Ratty]

You're right, Houw Hoek, it's just that the little connection between my mushy old brain and my typing finger didn't actually connect at all. Doing a race, the numbers will make it safer, I would go too, but I won't go ride there alone or in my usual small group of 2 or 3.

 

That means 3 of us won't fill up at the garage (R1000?), have lunch at a restaurant (R500?), buy a few boxes of wine (R1000), buy some goodies at the farm stall (R250?). That would have been just on a 1 day outing for 3 of us, yes, up to R2750? not spent in Grabouw.

 

We also won't go there for the long weekend with our families (12 people) and that means that three guest houses won't share R9000?, a few restaurants will miss out on R3500?. None of the wives will spend at the farm stalls, the art galleries or the craft shops. Again, we won't buy local wine, apples, fruit and that lot could easily come to another couple of thousand rand. (R15000 for the long weekend for 3 families soulds reasonable?).

 

I think that in a big city one could solve a crime problem like this by visiting the area in large numbers and by law enforcement patrols, like it has worked at hot spots on Table Mountain. In a rural environment, there will never be enough bodies to elbow the baddies out. The only solution is for the locals to pressure the cops to work together and catch the baddies. Otherwise, sadly, the loser will be Grabouw.

 

So if this puts you off riding in the whole Grabouw area, where do you ride? There have been muggings in Tokai, Somerset West, N7 etc.

 

I won't let this stop me riding there, I will just go in a bigger group.

[Lilise]

The police say that Oak Valley and Paul Cluver is safer.

 

This happened 500 metres onto the Old Wagon trail, at Gantou Pass. The police says its locals from the township, and not an organised syndicate, and they are on their trail. The thing is just, they are not petty, grab and go thieves, they meant business, tying him up with his own clothes, holding and interrogating him for about an hour and they will kill you if you do not co-operate. But maybe if you are in a group of at least more than 3, they would be discouraged.

[Craig1968]

Very sad indeed!!!!!!

Should set a trap for them.

[Witkop]

And their I was off to buy a plot in Bot River area........

[flymango]

The police say that Oak Valley and Paul Cluver is safer.

 

This happened 500 metres onto the Old Wagon trail, at Gantou Pass. The police says its locals from the township, and not an organised syndicate, and they are on their trail. The thing is just, they are not petty, grab and go thieves, they meant business, tying him up with his own clothes, holding and interrogating him for about an hour and they will kill you if you do not co-operate. But maybe if you are in a group of at least more than 3, they would be discouraged.

 

I'm at a loss for words. Actually, I need to refrain myself from saying anything. I sincerely hope your husband makes a full recovery. To say it was traumatic is putting it mildly. Thankfully he's alive.

 

I cycled there before with my wife and we thoroughly enjoyed it - think we'll need to bolster our numbers before venturing there again, or just stick to Oak Valley and Paul Cluver. Such a shame as there are so many wonderful trails from the country club. I also get the impression that Lebanon is quite exposed to rogue elements.

[Bugs du Toit]

On Saturday 5 April at around 13H30 I was riding alone from the Grabouw Country Club area to Somerset West. About 500m from the Gantou Pass (on the Grabouw side) I was attacked by 3 guys. Two of them had knives and the other a screwdriver. They hid behind a rocky outcrop until I was about 5m from them and then threw large rocks at me causing me to fall. They then grabbed me and dragged me off the road, down the slope and out of sight to any other riders that may have been behind me. They also threw my bike down the slope, out of sight. One knife was held in my groin and another in my neck and I was told to be quiet. One guy was kneeling on me with his other hand over my mouth. Once they realized that I was on my own they removed my shoes and socks, cut my helmet straps, cut my gloves from my hands, cut my shirt off and forced it into my mouth. They also cut my backpack straps and removed that too. They asked for my ATM PIN number numerous times and eventually one of them entered the number into his cellphone, as not to forget it (I gave them an incorrect number) They asked for my vehicle keys too, but as i cycled from home, did not have them with me. They were prepared for the attack as they had rope with them to tie me up, which they did. After a while, two of them left with all my belongings and bike and left the third guy standing over me with his knife in my neck. They told me that if the PIN number was incorrect they would return to kill me. A few minutes later the third guy also left and I was left alone there. I lay there for a few minutes until I thought it safe to roll over and try and free my hands and feet. I managed to get my hands free and after cutting the rope that bound my feet with a rock, scrambled up the slope and hid in some bushes a few hundred meters away. When I saw the three guys walking with my bike towards Grabouw I ran to the lookout point at the summit of Sir Lowry's Pass. There I asked someone for help and alerted the police.

 

There have been three attacks on mountain bikers in as many weeks and one attack on a group of hikers in the same area. It is not safe to ride there alone. Ride in groups of at least 4 and stick together. Safer still would be to avoid the area completely.

Let's not lose our mountains to these thugs!

[Bugs du Toit]

On Saturday 5 April at around 13H30 I was riding alone from the Grabouw Country Club area to Somerset West. About 500m from the Gantou Pass (on the Grabouw side) I was attacked by 3 guys. Two of them had knives and the other a screwdriver. They hid behind a rocky outcrop until I was about 5m from them and then threw large rocks at me causing me to fall. They then grabbed me and dragged me off the road, down the slope and out of sight to any other riders that may have been behind me. They also threw my bike down the slope, out of sight. One knife was held in my groin and another in my neck and I was told to be quiet. One guy was kneeling on me with his other hand over my mouth. Once they realized that I was on my own they removed my shoes and socks, cut my helmet straps, cut my gloves from my hands, cut my shirt off and forced it into my mouth. They also cut my backpack straps and removed that too. They asked for my ATM PIN number numerous times and eventually one of them entered the number into his cellphone, as not to forget it (I gave them an incorrect number) They asked for my vehicle keys too, but as i cycled from home, did not have them with me. They were prepared for the attack as they had rope with them to tie me up, which they did. After a while, two of them left with all my belongings and bike and left the third guy standing over me with his knife in my neck. They told me that if the PIN number was incorrect they would return to kill me. A few minutes later the third guy also left and I was left alone there. I lay there for a few minutes until I thought it safe to roll over and try and free my hands and feet. I managed to get my hands free and after cutting the rope that bound my feet with a rock, scrambled up the slope and hid in some bushes a few hundred meters away. When I saw the three guys walking with my bike towards Grabouw I ran to the lookout point at the summit of Sir Lowry's Pass. There I asked someone for help and alerted the police.

 

There have been three attacks on mountain bikers in as many weeks and one attack on a group of hikers in the same area. It is not safe to ride there alone. Ride in groups of at least 4 and stick together. Safer still would be to avoid the area completely.

Let's not lose our mountains to these thugs!

[Tubehunter]

Crazy to read this Bugs and certainly not something any of us consider when we head out on a ride! Hope you manage to make some time to talk to a pro about this event or book so e time off to process whilst doing something that you smaak stukkend!

 

A hectic experience but thank you for posting an update on this situation!

[Meezo]

This is sick.... I'm loss for words, you a brave man. And lucky to be unharmed. Stay strong.

 

Hope you can recover you bike, or the bike is insured. You have your life which is most important.

[milky4130]

How do we get the word out to more cyclist especially those not on TheHubSa, as we can see the last 2 victims were both new to the hub.

Surely Admin can make this a sticky post i.e. stay at the top if they wanted, similar to the ads in the classified section.

[canadonis]

Hey bugs lilise hubby

 

All the best with your recovery and despite the loss of possessions you came out f this unscathed.

 

The MO seems to be the same so it appears that these 3 f@ckers are terrorizing the mtb riders.

 

I hope the police track down these guys bec the escalation rate of the crimes will increase the risk of someone unaware of the dangers in the area being seriously hurt.

 

 

[Greybeard]

The "Hotspot" townships around these dangerous locations need to be alerted to something like a reward leading to arrest and conviction. These guys can't do these things without some locals being aware of it. Finding co-operative "snitches" shouldn't be too difficult by someone who is connected to the township networks. Perhaps a 'Snitch" fund needs to be established. Just a thought!

[Mr X]

Another riding area taken by criminals. The Schapenberg trail is also unsafe for a long time now, no arrests has been made and it stays unsafe. The way to sort this out is not by hoping the cops find them, because they wont. We need mtb riders with guns to go for a ride in the area. I volunteer to be bait, who`s got a gun and wants to go for a ride?