Tubehunter Posted April 13, 2015 Author Posted April 13, 2015 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. Yep Tim, it is so frustrating to even contemplate this stretch of road. People who live in HB and work in the burbs deserve a medal just for putting themselves through this constantly. It is however easier to accept a tipper truck or a sight seeing bus being your hold up as they go about their business using a shared resource like a single lane road with no shoulder. As a fellow cyclist who lives and trains in the area, to still have to make time allowances for the dude out starting his training session during peak hour and holding up traffic, patience does not stretch that far, in the face of that much inconsideration. And there are alternatives. I've even suggested some. No one is asking for a set of rules about who can ride where and when. People should be able to self govern and realise when they're likely to be part of a solution or part of the problem and aim to do the right thing!
Warren_G Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 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.That said I've had a motorist tell me that the shoulder on Rosmead (between Wetton & Ottery Rd) is a bicycle lane because he wasn't sure of the dimensions of his car or didn't have the skill to navigate around me whilst remaining in his lane, something every other motorist seems able to do with ease. He described it as a "beautifully smooth lane specially for cyclists". Sorry buddy but i'm not riding in the gutter trying to pic up nails and screws or any other construction debris that will ruin my tires.
Shebeen Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 who the hell send their kids to school in houtbay in the first place?!!!! wonder what's worse going 18km/h or 180km/hhttps://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/96856-idiot-drove-at-180kmh-on-rhodes-drive-and-posted-it-onto-youtube/?hl=%20hrabar
Wannabe Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 Would you guys still have complained if the cyclist looked like this?
Patchelicious Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 Would you guys still have complained if the cyclist looked like this? girl1.pngShes not even wearing a helmet dammit!!
webcast Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 KarlvN, on 13 Apr 2015 - 12:57 PM, said: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? It's like time stood still.
Pure Savage Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 Maybe the road cyclist was on his way to work/school in Hout Bay and lives in Newlands, surely he then has a "reason" to be on the road like the tipper truck? Maybe we should be thinking about all this unnecessary driving we do
Tubehunter Posted April 13, 2015 Author Posted April 13, 2015 who the hell send their kids to school in houtbay in the first place?!!!! snipped Huh? Humour fail! My daughter is a special needs child and the ONLY school that caters to her needs is in Hout Bay. I certainly would not be doing the daily trip voluntarily!
Tubehunter Posted April 13, 2015 Author Posted April 13, 2015 Maybe the road cyclist was on his way to work/school in Hout Bay and lives in Newlands, surely he then has a "reason" to be on the road like the tipper truck? Maybe we should be thinking about all this unnecessary driving we do As a regular cyclist you know the difference between someone on a training ride and someone commuting. If he was a regular commuter he would not be on that stretch of road AT THAT TIME OF THE DAY. The risks are too great to do it daily!
Pure Savage Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 As a regular cyclist you know the difference between someone on a training ride and someone commuting. If he was a regular commuter he would not be on that stretch of road AT THAT TIME OF THE DAY. The risks are too great to do it daily! Thats true, I do lots of my training on that side now. I have found a loop just below the top gate for my training and forget about the nek. Also wish there was better public transport for schools etc.
Tubehunter Posted April 13, 2015 Author Posted April 13, 2015 Thats true, I do lots of my training on that side now. I have found a loop just below the top gate for my training and forget about the nek. Also wish there was better public transport for schools etc. Have a few loops around Bishops Court that I ride to and are the biggest part of my training now. Hardly ever go over the Nek these days. Can ride for 2 hours and see maybe 15 cars. Forest Drive is my new hill of truth! Public transport is practically non existant in this country and even less useful if you need to consider it for something like transporting a pre teen child.
Shebeen Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 Huh? Humour fail! My daughter is a special needs child and the ONLY school that caters to her needs is in Hout Bay. I certainly would not be doing the daily trip voluntarily!oops, my full apologies for that comment. The Houtbay residents are normally complaining about having to do the trip the other way round.
Tubehunter Posted April 13, 2015 Author Posted April 13, 2015 oops, my full apologies for that comment. The Houtbay residents are normally complaining about having to do the trip the other way round. No worries. You could not have known. If I was a Hout Bay resident I would be standing in front of statues and picketing for upgrades to the road service to and from there! Must be some stretches along the Nek road that the uphill parts could have some double lane to get around the slow moving heavy vehicles that seem to constantly be on that road!
GoLefty!! Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 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. @6:30 Rhodes Drives is dark. I applaud your patience You killed it with your rant. Should just have turned it around and posted about how you were shining example of the patience needed on SA roads. - Unplanned for traffic obstacles happen everyday. today it as a cyclist, tomorrow its taxi violence. What was your rant about again?
T-Bob Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 Would you guys still have complained if the cyclist looked like this? girl1.png If I was sitting in my ute and she looked like that, from that perspective then I'd be worried as she'd be a giant! Understandably I'd have to point out a that the freeway was a much better place for massively tall girls on huge bikes that are starting to eclipse the sun.
Tubehunter Posted April 13, 2015 Author Posted April 13, 2015 @6:30 Rhodes Drives is dark. Get a light. Extreme lights have many specials! I applaud your patience I did not have the liberty of patience this morning. You killed it with your rant. Should just have turned it around and posted about how you were shining example of the patience needed on SA roads. - Unplanned for traffic obstacles happen everyday. today it as a cyclist, tomorrow its taxi violence. Precisely the point. This stretch of road constantly has all manner of traffic issues without adding something like an impassable cyclist to it. Hence me posting this in the safety forum. What was your rant about again? As utopian as it would be to claim we should all just cycle wherever and get along the reality of this particular daily melting pot makes it an extremely dangerous situation and someone is likely to get taken out. I'm ranting to other cyclists using this forum to stay off Rhodes Drive heading towards Hout Bay during peak hours, as your uphill journey at an average speed of 20 kays an hour is extremely painful and someone is going to lose their patience and drive over you. I counted roughly 5 drivers who were prepared to do that just this morning!
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