Beaulieu Country Estate Discriminating Against Cyclists

[Ramrod]

Can't be that rich, if he was he would live in a proper security estate, not just some boomed off area

Or maybe I just choose to live in an estate whereby I try offer my kids the kind of lifestyle I wish I could have had. Where they have a yard to play in and not a sand pit!

 

That was really the dumbest thing I have ever read you type!

[Patchelicious]

I'm just pulling that grumpy guys leg

[Ramrod]

I take it personally when it affects me and the area I live in!

 

It always so easy to start a petition to have something removed when someone doesn't agree with something without even thinking about the consequences.

 

Why not rather try and arbitrate/mediate before making statements like discriminating?

 

A simple solution would have been to contact the Estate and determine the reason and even setup a meeting which I believe has now been done.

 

Instead my family who are also on social media and the hub are wondering how long they will be able to feel safe in their own home.

 

We are fortunate that we have a good security system and live a relatively crime free community. For that i will pay every last cent I have to ensure no harm comes to my family.

[Milosh]

I hear you , your statements echo my thoughts !

 

Operation of the boom and closure is a fine line , and all about balance. A petition is out off line , and not an appropriate response to denial road use but the security provider should now better than put you at that risk with such heavy hand on all for a few individuals who can't behave

 

I trust Wyatt will discuss and resolve and this will not be any sort of issue

[Milosh]

On a further note the time is coming when the law is tested and the question is asked

 

"Does a residents constitutional right to safety outweigh the right of non resident to unrestricted access your area ? "

[Wyatt Earp]

Yay, I am home .... eventually .

 

Just to explain .

This morning our regular group approached the boom and we were informed to use the pedestrian gate .

We had a guy with us who hardly ever finishes the ride with us, things got heated and he bumped the one boom.

Personally I find this uncalled for especially bearing in mind that the security guards were instructed to not open the boom for cyclists.

 

I was the only rider in the group who went through the pedestrian gate and walked out of the estate.

BenDL had a suspicion that some cyclists might have caused some disrupt within the estate somewhere along the past two weeks.

 

Ramrod was kind enough to whatsapp me the number for a gentleman by the name of Johan who happens to be the security manager for the estate.

I called him late this afternoon .

His first response was "I was expecting this call" and he came across as angry and with no intention of wanting to engage in any friendly discussion .

 

I listened to his story where he explained his reasoning for wanting cyclists to go though the pedestrian exit.

He explained that they have experienced cyclists being uncouth and rude towards the guards and they were also very demanding at times.

What really pushed it over the top for him was when one of the cyclists gave a lady resident the middle finger within the estate .

 

I started understanding his reasoning as well as his frustration.

I also informed him that we have been passing through there for the past 15 years without a single incident .

He then mentioned that he actually found our group to be very well behaved and courteous and that he has no issue with us.

I explained to him that using the pedestrian exit was no benefit to anyone and he agreed with that, he actually wanted someone to call him so he could explain the situation.

 

Now to the rude unmannered group and douche that raised his middle finger, you spoil the rest of the apples in the box.

We are not proud to know you as a cyclist and we are ashamed to say that you might be "one of us"

I want to urge all cyclist to be as courteous as possible and to treat everyone within the estate with mutual respect, whether it is a "protected public area" or not

 

For now we have a green light, but come on guys (and if Mr. Douche) is reading this, let's behave . 

 

[Joe Low]

"Does a residents constitutional right to safety outweigh the right of non resident to unrestricted access your area ? "

Not sure which side you come down on, but I think that the authorities are generally pretty reasonable about things, recognising the inability to police effectively, they allow or turn a blind eye to booms as long as the residents don't get too uppity.

 

If it comes to it - the freedom for any citizen to move on public roads and in public spaces in a lawful manner should always outweigh a householder's safety fears.

 

I'm embarrassed by the way some residents treat our road closure and will always open the gate for anyone wanting to come in during the day...as long as there aren't gun barrels sticking out the windows.

[SimpleDom]

So glad this got resolved in a good way in the end. I now ride through the Estate daily for my commute, because it provides extra distance and less traffic to worry about. I must say that my rides through there have always been pleasant. The residents are always careful not to drive too close, or create dust when passing horses and bikes. I was very surprised when they wouldn't open the boom, but I can understand it if cyclists (Or one specific cyclist) start to harass the residents.

 

Thanks Wyatt! By the way, you need to change more for your work!

[Ryan's dad]

Would it not be interesting if Mr knob middle finger and his cronies lived in the estate....unlikely but possible.

We had a guy at waterfall that lost his cool with the guards because they would not let him in even though he owned a stand.

[Milosh]

I am on the err on the safety side of fence.

This is after a few of said Visitors that others opened for stuck barrels in my window and relieved me of my car (ok the banks actually ).

 

That said its a thankless task and fraught with challenges, but stereo typing and targeting cyclists and bmw's will not make it easier though and a disservice to the resident.

[Wyatt Earp]

Morning all.

Part 2 and I am a little unhappy .

 

 

I was asked by one of the guys on our whatsapp group to just explain on the Beaulieu FB group that the issue has been resolved and that it is not our group that acted like idiots.

 

I duly asked to join the group and found the subsequent post with comments preceding it.

 

Now before I explain and go there I just want to mention that we were very surpised when last week we were told to use the pedestrian gate and then again the same thing yesterday.

Obviously we were as unhappy as we were confused .

I asked the question on the Bicyclesafety FB page and someone made mention that they had a similar issue elsewhere and the discussion veered off to the fact that it's a public road and a comment was made "do you honestly think that will stop them" to which I responded "No, but a petition to have the booms removed will cause more harm for them "

 

Now my reason for saying that was quite simple.

At this stage we felt that there was no just cause for forcing us through the pedestrian exit, especially not when we are passing through a public road, we all felt that if the issue was to escalate and no resolve was to be found that a petition to remove the booms would be one of the avenues to be taken.

Thus my comment .

 

Now I understand that in situations like these all tempers flair and when that happens all and any logic goes out the window.

Now we have unhappy and angry cyclists as well as an unhappy and angry security company and on top of that concerned residents that are bound to become angry over the possibility of a petition to get the booms removed .

 

Here I need to explain.

I read the comments on the Estate FB page last night and got a feeling that people are now very pissed off with me for my initial comment on the BicyclesafetyFB page even though it was more out of confusion than with any malicious intent.

 

I was mentioned as a contributor who happens to be very verbal on social media as well as the radio .

Now up to this point there never was any intent of a petition nor a plan to get the wheels in motion for one with immediate effect 

We needed to make heads or tails of what was really going on.

 

The way I see things till now.

I saw comments from a lady last night and from the way I read her comments I can only but assume she was the one who had the middle finger raised at her.

She also asked me after I commented that the issue has been resolved "does that mean in future the riders will be keeping their fingers to themselves as they are an expressive bunch?!"

I cannot answer that question as I don't represent those cyclists, nor do I know them and I actually have no idea who they may be.

 

She also makes rather derogatory comments regarding a Tuesday morning group, our group happens to be a Tuesday group and I am prepared to tell her to her face that she is lying.

​Our group is a well behaved group and if anyone does not comply with our ethos they are gone or I just refuse to ride with them.

 

Further to this, when I called the security manager yesterday he was angry and I must be honest I really didn't appreciate the way he spoke to me yet I tolerated him and kept things very calm, I got a feeling that he thought I was the middle finger douche, from the word go he spoke to me as if I was a naughty child, only much later in to the conversation did he calm down and we came to an agreement.

On this I would like to say that if he did not force us to use the pedestrian exit and actually took us aside and by doing so explained that there had been issues and that abuse towards the guards and residents will not be tolerated there would have been much less confusion.

 

He would have realised that we are not the same group and that not all cyclists are douche bags.

​We would have known exactly what the situation was and there would have been a lot less panic regarding the entire drama .

 

The lady that happens to be upset also needs to come to the realisation that not all cyclists are a-holes and she needs to be much less angry towards just anyone on a bicycle .

People like herself who fail to find an amicable solution to any scenario could be a danger to all.

If she keeps pushing the issue and if the security manager carries on taking matters in to his own hands there will be no resolve and before we know it things could really spiral out of control and if all this was to happen people will have no choice to take the moral high ground and one of these will be a petition to get the booms removed.

 

Personally I have no issue with the boom gates and as I stated earlier in this thread ,the residents have spent a huge amount of money on getting electric fencing along the perimeter ,everyone should feel safe where they live and Beaulieu in its current state is a great safe haven for all it's residents.

 

​On the plus side, one of our riders reported that he passed through the boom with a very friendly wave and a smile this morning .

 

[doppelganger]

I live right next to Beaulieu and find the guards very friendly. They normally open the gates for me, even though I have never asked them to. I used to aim for the curb and they would open the residents gate for me.

 

I guess reading this that those days are over. However I will continue to greet them and keep doing my thing. Beaulieu is a great place and I respect everybody in the estate. My wife stables her horse in the estate so I enter there every day. If I see any cyclists behaving like idiots, I will report them myself as I am not prepared to be placed under the same label as them. I have seen ignorant cyclists fly past horse riders and apologised to the horse riders on their behalf.

 

Let's hope the idiots causing trouble will go play somewhere else.

[Uni]

Considering they have the beaulieu prep mtb ride every year - I doubt they'd want to Antagonise any cyclists.

I live in a boomed area, some ppl are really douchey - get rude and impatient if they have to wait. Only way is point out and highlight bad behavior.

I imagine they would have camera footage at the gates if it came to that.

[Danger Dassie]

People, it's people being people. Personally feel the 'security' manager and others are really overstating the issue and making it more complex than it actually needs to be. In fact it's just compounding the issue and the fact that it's people on bicycles seems to be a very convenient excuse.
 
Have used that road on occasion myself and seen a driver being an absolute tool. So following the same logic all drivers need to take the turnstile too. 
Put that prick on a bicycle or in a pair of takkies, the same attitude.
For the record, I've also found the guards friendly, maybe they're an example some of the residents need to take page from. 

[Wyatt Earp]

I said to the guys on the ride this morning that I fear the issue might be resolved for now, but it is far from over.

I just spotted this and someone asked if they should follow this signage.

 

As much as we want to go on in peace and we use the estate (which happens to be a public area like most neighbourhoods) and we feel privileged to use it as guests, it appears that some residents are more interested in entering in to a war.

 

What about the many residents who live within the estate that also cycle ?

 

 

[Ramrod]

That was said due to the fact that we already have signage that states horses and children basically come first! The issue is that nobody seems to even read those signs.

 

We also have maximum speed signage stating the the maximum speed in the estate is 40 km but we have people who well exceed that!

 

I am also pretty sure however that the statement with the picture was said in jest.