Rhodes Drive brainfart!

[Tubehunter]

Morning hubbers!

 

Gotta put this out there, but some people who cycle really don't think about where and when they should ride certain routes so that they do not affect traffic flow as badly as they do!  

 

Picture the scene:

 

It's 7:15 this morning, you're driving towards Hout Bay along Rhodes Drive watching peak hour traffic build up coming the other way. It's standstill coming towards you in sections and heavy the rest of the time. Going past Kirstenbosch Gardens up the little climb and you come to a halt. Queue of vehicles driving at 15 kays an hour crawling up the hill. Must be some slow vehicle you reason and you edge left as the road bends that way to see what the hold up could be. Aaah a cyclist claiming the lane (Even though there is a little shoulder). Not too much hassle, everyone makes it past before the right turn at Gloucester road junction as the road widens a little. Phew you sigh! But wait, there's another chap up ahead cycling who is also claiming the lane here. Back down to 2nd gear. He's clearly going for a strava segment, pushing it at a whopping 25 clicks. As a fellow cyclist it's impressive! Unfortunately not impressive enough to change the reality that I'm 4th car back in a queue folowing him up the hill, trying to make it to Hout Bay for a school drop off and back to Mowbray for an 8:30 meeting, hoping to do some prep before it. Crest the hill at the Botanical Gardens side gate and one of the cars ahead turns left on Klaasens.

 

At this point it becomes a procession drive, as the volume of traffic coming from Hout Bay is so constant there is no way for any of the cars to clear the cyclist. He's boldly claiming the lane which makes it impossible to even consider trying to get past. You're watching both drivers in front losing their patience as even though he is hammering along, he is still keeping up a long, growing queue of vehicles but thankfully the driver at the front has not tried to overtake or allow his frustration to force the issue. Everyone is waving their arms in their vehicles, both in front and behind. One and a half KAYS later both cars ahead turn left in Hohenort ave, visibly annoyed at the distance they have travelled stuck behind this chap at such a key time of the morning. You're next up, but there genuinely is no safe way to get past this chap with the constant flow of oncoming cars. Hold back and do roughly another kilometer behind the guy until a gap in the oncoming traffic. You're now heading up the incline past Monterey and before Southern Cross Drive as you pull up next to him. What do you say? I went with "If you want to ride this route, get on the road earlier!".

 

Most motorists can handle waiting to safely get by a cyclist. Not so much when the cyclist makes no effort to allow traffic to get by in a way that is safe for both parties. I regularly ride this same route myself, BUT for the life of me I would never do it at this time of the morning, heading against traffic knowing the result would be that no cars could get past me!

 

Dude, whoever you are, you make it tough for us as cyclists to break down animosity towards our cause when you make choices like you did this morning. If you have to get to Chappies as part of your morning ride at that time of the day, hit Trovato Link to Alphen hill onto Constantia Main to the Nek. The shoulder is wider on that side and you'll impede traffic far less. People will still be able to overtake. If you absolutely must ride Rhodes Drive, do it at another time in the day. I suggest being through the Nek before 6:30am as then there is still an option for vehicles to get by you regularly.

[DJR]

I don't ride Rhodes Drive at all, I simply one day decided that I want to live to see my children grow up!

[T-Bob]

I don't ride Rhodes Drive at all, I simply one day decided that I want to live to see my children grow up!

 

Pretty much the same with the Nek from HB site. Madness up there, even in a car. 

 

Not to hijack the thread but I was impressed yesterday seeing two riders take up an entire lane of Liesbeek Parkway heading up the hill to the lights by the Spar. You Could have actually ridden a small peloton between them as they chatted away and cars were hammering along that section (as they do) and swerving into the other lane. 

 

Everyone has a reason for their actions but sometimes it's not the wisest move and bad riders stick out like a sore thumb to get people moaning about all riders while very few people noticing the good, considerate ones who think about how / where they ride. 

[Pure Savage]

Have the opposite problem, I find the cars hold me up on that road in the morning

 

You do point out a major problem though, school traffic.

 

last week a breeze, this week

 

 

Ride/bus to school maybe?

[Surv0MTB]

Liesbeek parkway has a nice big shoulder to use as well.

Riders riding along Rosmead road from Plumstead side need to also be more aware. Traffic is always bad, and you riding a good meter away from the side is only going to end badly for one person.

[Patchelicious]

I agree with this post.

 

It often astounds me at the attitude we cyclist show to motorists.

If some cyclist behavior annoys me as a cycling motorist imagine for second just how pissed off non cycling motorists must get at it.

 

Just this weekend, I drove to Broadacres to go for a little ride, and I was astounded by the number of cyclist who didn't even slow down for red lights on Cedar Road. I mean just a month or two back a cyclist got killed in that area. Us jumping lights, riding a few abreast etc really annoys motorist.

 

We really do need to show consideration towards motorists. We cant ride like idiots then claim innocence when they freak out at us.

[zerocalves]

I didn't read too closely but I am assuming that this was a road bike, not a mountain bike.

On a mountain bike you can pretty much make it all the way from the M3 turnoff to Kirstenbosch all the way to Constantia Nek without needing to get on the tar. So if the guy was on a mountain bike then even worse.

[KarlvN]

It seems everyone is missing the point of the cyclist entirely. Obviously he was cycle-protesting Rhode's Drive's name...

[Red Zone]

Silly to ride that road in the peak hour. But I have often thought, although never had the guts to do it, that it is better to claim the lane and make cars wait to pass than to keep to the side of a road that doesn't allow a 1 m passing space and risk your own life.

 

You do get sections of road, like the Main Road between Muizenberg and Fish Hoek where I feel this sort of behavior is acceptable, simply due to the speed and reckless driving of motorists.

 

However you take a big risk that someone will simply mow you down.

[CAAD4]

Surely you mean Azania Drive???

[DJR]

It seems everyone is missing the point of the cyclist entirely. Obviously he was cycle-protesting Rhode's Drive's name...

You mean he was riding as slow as a statue?

[Velouria]

Yesterday, riding through Stellenbosch during load shedding there were cars sitting bumper to bumper for a few kms, taking up both lanes. If you're not going to move along at 37km/h, please chose another time to be on the road so that I can get on with my very important Sunday Strava run.

 

At one point my speed dropped to a pathetic 23km/h as I tried to weave between the stationary cars. It's not often you get a clear run through Stellenbosch with no traffic lights, yet these motorists just didn't seem to care. There are plenty of alternate routes and I can't understand why they insisted on ruining my day.

 

Seriously - the only way our roads are going to get safer for cyclists is if more people take to the roads on bikes. Research from around the world has shown that the more people on bikes there are, the lower the proportion of cycling related incidents. This encourages cities to consider cyclists when designing roads, and motorists get used to the idea of sharing the road with other groups of road users.

 

No one is right, and no one is wrong - somehow we all have to get along together.

[Tubehunter]

Silly to ride that road in the peak hour. But I have often thought, although never had the guts to do it, that it is better to claim the lane and make cars wait to pass than to keep to the side of a road that doesn't allow a 1 m passing space and risk your own life.

 

You do get sections of road, like the Main Road between Muizenberg and Fish Hoek where I feel this sort of behavior is acceptable, simply due to the speed and reckless driving of motorists.

 

However you take a big risk that someone will simply mow you down.

 

I will always advocate to take the lane and do so myself. But how can you take the lane on a stretch of road when you know that no cars will be able to overtake as there is a steady constant stream of vehicles coming from the other direction? Hence the frustration of everyone on the road this morning. And yes, I'm all for treating a cyclist like a slow moving vehicle, but when it's that time of the morning with the pressures of getting somewhere to a timetable and you're not expecting a 3 km cyclist uphill speed delay, as a fellow cyclist even I was properly annoyed at the gall of the dude to own the lane and hold everyone up AS MUCH AS HE DID!  It certainly was not a reasonable delay by any normal person's understanding whilst they're attempting to go about their daily routine.

[Tubehunter]

I didn't read too closely but I am assuming that this was a road bike, not a mountain bike.

On a mountain bike you can pretty much make it all the way from the M3 turnoff to Kirstenbosch all the way to Constantia Nek without needing to get on the tar. So if the guy was on a mountain bike then even worse.

 

Yep roadie dude. (In summer I am one myself though!)

[timbrink]

Morning hubbers!

 

Gotta put this out there, but some people who cycle really don't think about where and when they should ride certain routes so that they do not affect traffic flow as badly as they do!  

 

Picture the scene:

 

It's 7:15 this morning, you're driving towards Hout Bay along Rhodes Drive watching peak hour traffic build up coming the other way. It's standstill coming towards you in sections and heavy the rest of the time. Going past Kirstenbosch Gardens up the little climb and you come to a halt. Queue of vehicles driving at 15 kays an hour crawling up the hill. Must be some slow vehicle you reason and you edge left as the road bends that way to see what the hold up could be. Aaah a cyclist claiming the lane (Even though there is a little shoulder). Not too much hassle, everyone makes it past before the right turn at Gloucester road junction as the road widens a little. Phew you sigh! But wait, there's another chap up ahead cycling who is also claiming the lane here. Back down to 2nd gear. He's clearly going for a strava segment, pushing it at a whopping 25 clicks. As a fellow cyclist it's impressive! Unfortunately not impressive enough to change the reality that I'm 4th car back in a queue folowing him up the hill, trying to make it to Hout Bay for a school drop off and back to Mowbray for an 8:30 meeting, hoping to do some prep before it. Crest the hill at the Botanical Gardens side gate and one of the cars ahead turns left on Klaasens.

 

At this point it becomes a procession drive, as the volume of traffic coming from Hout Bay is so constant there is no way for any of the cars to clear the cyclist. He's boldly claiming the lane which makes it impossible to even consider trying to get past. You're watching both drivers in front losing their patience as even though he is hammering along, he is still keeping up a long, growing queue of vehicles but thankfully the driver at the front has not tried to overtake or allow his frustration to force the issue. Everyone is waving their arms in their vehicles, both in front and behind. One and a half KAYS later both cars ahead turn left in Hohenort ave, visibly annoyed at the distance they have travelled stuck behind this chap at such a key time of the morning. You're next up, but there genuinely is no safe way to get past this chap with the constant flow of oncoming cars. Hold back and do roughly another kilometer behind the guy until a gap in the oncoming traffic. You're now heading up the incline past Monterey and before Southern Cross Drive as you pull up next to him. What do you say? I went with "If you want to ride this route, get on the road earlier!".

 

Most motorists can handle waiting to safely get by a cyclist. Not so much when the cyclist makes no effort to allow traffic to get by in a way that is safe for both parties. I regularly ride this same route myself, BUT for the life of me I would never do it at this time of the morning, heading against traffic knowing the result would be that no cars could get past me!

 

Dude, whoever you are, you make it tough for us as cyclists to break down animosity towards our cause when you make choices like you did this morning. If you have to get to Chappies as part of your morning ride at that time of the day, hit Trovato Link to Alphen hill onto Constantia Main to the Nek. The shoulder is wider on that side and you'll impede traffic far less. People will still be able to overtake. If you absolutely must ride Rhodes Drive, do it at another time in the day. I suggest being through the Nek before 6:30am as then there is still an option for vehicles to get by you regularly.

I got stuck behind a tipper truck on this exact stretch of road the other day. Took nearly twenty minutes from Top Gate to the Nek. I almost wrote a long letter to theTipperSA online forum to complain.

[dirtypot]

You do get sections of road, like the Main Road between Muizenberg and Fish Hoek where I feel this sort of behavior is acceptable, simply due to the speed and reckless driving of motorists.

 

The difference is that along this stretch of the Main Road you can quite comfortably be doing 40+ so you're not a major inconvenience to the traffic.  Quite often I'll just ride in the road behind another car and just be part of the traffic flow.

On Rhodes Drive (soon to be called something else I'm sure... But I digress) you can't keep up that speed, and 25km/h uphill (although commendable by cyclists) is just not fast enough for the motorists - especially at that time in the morning.  

 

On the other hand though, we all have a right to be there at any time that pleases us.  But as a matter of courtesy I do agree that it should be avoided.