Bankie99 Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 I recently met both the dad and kid on my commute home and they were very friendly and obeyed the rules of the road and the dad never left his son's side in dangerous sections of road. That piece of road where you came across them is actually a very popular piece of road for cyclists to use as its part of the 99er route and you will see a lot more cyclists on that road in the coming weeks as we lead up to the race. They probably spent around 2-3kms on the freeway(illegal) before they got to either the vissershok turnoff or the blouberg/tableview turnoff. The dad is a very experienced rider and his son competed in the winter league 2016. I am in no way condoning them riding on a freeway but just bringing some perspective to this.
Jurgens Smit Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Not wanting to start a fight, but does this then mean that if you see a a dangerous act being committed that we should just leave it and move on? Think drunk driving, murder , breaking in etc? Or should we have a list of things were we do get involved and a list we leave out? Cyclist skips red light, we say nothing....but we call the police when we a dude jump over the neighbours fence with a big knife? Just asking? No I don't believe one should just leave it and move on, but what else can you do? Some people just can't see what consequences their actions may have. Are you going to call the cops to arrest/fine a guy riding his bike? Even though it's illegal it's a waste of public resources. Like I said - you did your bit by speaking to him What else can you do? Some people just can't see what consequences their actions may have.
Shebeen Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Is this legal?No it's not. Are there alternatives, don't think so. So any commuter/cyclotourist/rider on the N7 south of malmesbury needs the same level of policing really Definitely not the safest road around, but I don't think it's a huge issue. Road is double lane, decent shoulder. Also probably sunday morning so quietish.
openmind Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 I sometimes do road loops from Blouberg that include that section of N7. It is often the safest feeling part of my ride - there is a wide shoulder and double lanes for the speedsters to use. It is a lot safer in my opinion than the section between Blouberg and Melkbos for example, and I doubt you would have got upset if you saw this pair on that road. You told the guy how you feel, he responded ok (relatively as far as roadies go) so just let it be.
fabes Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 coenie, any reason you did not stop on the side of the road and have a chat ? maybe offer a lift till the blue signs were no longer valid ? EDIT: see you tried to chat to him through the window - but did you stop ?This 2017 Slowbee. Pulling over sounds like a good plan but nobody cycling on that road with their kid is going to say you know what you are actually right I won't do it again. An argument will flair up soon after offering advise
Fat Boab Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Not wanting to start a fight, but does this then mean that if you see a a dangerous act being committed that we should just leave it and move on? Think drunk driving, murder , breaking in etc? Or should we have a list of things were we do get involved and a list we leave out? Cyclist skips red light, we say nothing....but we call the police when we a dude jump over the neighbours fence with a big knife? Just asking? A discussion point around moral relativism vs absolutism, I think? Never an easy discussion, and probably doomed in this fora! Eg would a reasonable person do X vs Y, or take action X vs Y?
Patchelicious Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 This 2017 Slowbee. Pulling over sounds like a good plan but nobody cycling on that road with their kid is going to say you know what you are actually right I won't do it again. An argument will flair up soon after offering advise Cradle Incident and Hout Bay pepper spray.....
Patchelicious Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Come to think of it, I would have lightly knocked him off his bike with my car mirror.Stop the car, help them and obviously say "Sheez man, so sorry about that, I honestly wasn't expecting cyclists on this road, here let me help you. And don't worry about my mirror, I'll fix that cause Im a cyclist too". Lesson about riding illegally on highways, taught. Pours myself a beer.
Fat Boab Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Come to think of it, I would have lightly knocked him off his bike with my car mirror.Stop the car, help them and obviously say "Sheez man, so sorry about that, I honestly wasn't expecting cyclists on this road, here let me help you. And don't worry about my mirror, I'll fix that cause Im a cyclist too". Lesson about riding illegally on highways, taught. Pours myself a beer. Tough love - Patch style!
GrahamS2 Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Remove all warning stickers from everything and let nature take its course and refine the gene pool a bit further.The law is there to keep you safe but if you gonna be dumb you got to be tough.Just sad the youngster is not being taught the right things...Sure, but let me know how you feel when you're the driver that wipes someone out, or ends up in ICU when the rider comes through your windscreen. The rule of Darwin only applies when innocents are not affected, i.e self-removal from the gene pool.
Slowbee Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 This 2017 Slowbee. Pulling over sounds like a good plan but nobody cycling on that road with their kid is going to say you know what you are actually right I won't do it again. An argument will flair up soon after offering advise i suppose you right. one day i am going to have to climb out the naive box and realise that people have forgotten how to talk to each other. whatsapping, forum lynching and vliesbook mobbing are much more effective tools. But point taken. Now where is that humble pie, I am starving.
Ispeed_V Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Nice bike for the youngster. Beats my Alpina I had at that age hands down
Skubarra Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 They probably spent around 2-3kms on the freeway(illegal) before they got to either the vissershok turnoff or the blouberg/tableview turnoff. Was my thinking as well, a lot of cyclists ride the short stretch between Vissershok & Van Schoorsdrift on the N7 to make a loop and it is probably what they were doing. (There aren't any alternatives to link the 2 that I'm aware of) Agree that strictly speaking it is not the safest of places to ride but at least the shoulder is wide.
Patchelicious Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 I don't see a big problem riding on a freeway if there's adequate shoulder. I know the okes are out training, but if there's zero alternatives what do you do? Is this legal? No it's not. Are there alternatives, don't think so. So any commuter/cyclotourist/rider on the N7 south of malmesbury needs the same level of policing really Definitely not the safest road around, but I don't think it's a huge issue. Road is double lane, decent shoulder. Also probably sunday morning so quietish. My apologies, your initial comment was a general one, my reply was to that, not about the N7, which is why I asked.
Psyrax Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 This is illegal. Even if it was legal I will not ride there. A large shoulder is not going to make it safer. Ever seen a person who was hit by a vehicle thats going 120km/h? There is a very good reason this is illegal and not safe.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.