Cyclists on the Franschhoek pass

[Maaknplan]

Did you make this up right now!? 

 

No I cant take credit, its an old poem

[DieselnDust]

Trumpism at its best...skewing\deviating from the facts to suite your agenda.

 

"... in DOUBLE file, right of the yellow line, up the pass." - OP

 

Maybe a picture will work for you.

 

fpass.PNG

 

What is going to happen around that left-hand bend with cyclist "... in DOUBLE file, right of the yellow line, up the pass." and a yellow bakkie comes down the pass?

 

 

With the cyclists in double row they are further out into the road an therefore will be seen earlier whether you are speeding or not. If you see them earlier it gives you more time to slow down and assess the situation to chose a suitable moment to pass.

 

But hey I won;t let common sense ruin your day

[splat]

A picture:

 

fpass.PNG

 

What is going to happen around that left-hand bend with a single cyclist on the yellow line being passed by a group of breakfast run motor cyclists (at high speed) and a yellow bakkie comes down the pass?

 

A different topic of discussion for the same pass

 

Edit: But this is known as 'what aboutery' 

[Patchelicious]

Seems the term “whataboutery” has become the new ”dolus eventualis”

[Titleist]

With the cyclists in double row they are further out into the road an therefore will be seen earlier whether you are speeding or not. If you see them earlier it gives you more time to slow down and assess the situation to chose a suitable moment to pass.

 

But hey I won;t let common sense ruin your day

 

Keep it mind (common sense) that there are blind turns. If cyclists are riding in double file around a blind turn and a car comes from behind, the moment the car sees the cyclists and the car's speed is high, i.e not enough space to stop, there are 2 scenarios:

 

1. The car must get into the other lane. 

2. Hit the cyclists.

 

If the other lane has a car in, guess who'll be hit.

[DJR]

With the cyclists in double row they are further out into the road an therefore will be seen earlier whether you are speeding or not. If you see them earlier it gives you more time to slow down and assess the situation to chose a suitable moment to pass.

 

But hey I won;t let common sense ruin your day

Strongly disagree. Your "common sense" does not add up. And since it is Friday, I'll take the bait.......

 

You are advocating something that is illegal and will put other riders in harms way if they follow your advice.

 

On a road where it is wide enough to cycle on the left of the yellow line, a cyclist will be MORE likely to be hit from behind by a vehicle if he rides closer to the middle of the road, to the right of the yellow line. Even if you are more visible, which is debatable. If you are on or to the left of the yellow line (and you ARE legally allowed to ride there) the car will most likely MISS you, even if the driver does not see you at all. 

 

Just to be clear: If you ride dangerously, that is YOUR business, but if you make statements that endanger others, you are potentially the cause of injuries or death to others. I see it as irresponsible.

[DieselnDust]

Keep it mind (common sense) that there are blind turns. If cyclists are riding in double file around a blind turn and a car comes from behind, the moment the car sees the cyclists and the car's speed is high, i.e not enough space to stop, there are 2 scenarios:

 

1. The car must get into the other lane. 

2. Hit the cyclists.

 

If the other lane has a car in, guess who'll be hit.

 

Typical motorist response. "don't slow me down or i'll kill you."

 

On a blind left, the further right the cyclists are riding the sooner you will see them whether single file or not.

They are traffic and therefore you have to overtake in a manner that does not endanger their lives.

Around a blind corner do you keep your foot planted or do you think there may be a car standing stationary and therefore have to slow down to mitigate the risk? Why are cyclists treated differently in this situation?

[sawystertrance]

Diesel,

When in a hole, stop digging....

[LongDonkey]

Wow, one or two of you talk shyyte. Please give me a warning Mods cos even i am annoyed now. You try talk to a cyclist while riding with them, they ignore you or tell you to mind your on business. Do it in a car (with a bike rack on the back) and the response as pointed out is abusive at best and violent at worst. In general cyclists are arrogant Richard Heads when they are riding and that is the reason i spend most of my tine riding by myself ..... single file. I cant deal with the annoyance of cycling in a group playing nanny to idiots. 

As much as motorists should be polite and wait for a chance to overtake, some cyclists should be pushing a wheelbarrow to Cape Town through the bush rather than be on our roads.

[Eddy Gordo]

With the cyclists in double row they are further out into the road an therefore will be seen earlier whether you are speeding or not. If you see them earlier it gives you more time to slow down and assess the situation to chose a suitable moment to pass.

 

But hey I won;t let common sense ruin your day

Riding more than one abreast is illegal and should not be  encouraged.

If you want to create visibility then use lights. There are some pretty great ones that can be seen long before  you can even make out a cyclist. Lights/reflectors are also a requirement.

[RobertWhitehead]

I'm going to weigh in on this topic because I've seen it plenty times as well. Cyclists (especially roadies) - sorry, I get it, those bikes are pricey, you don't want to ride on the edge of the tar where it suddenly breaks up or you have a whole pile of glass cutting up the tires. 

 

With that being said I feel common sense applies here as well. If you decide that it's a great idea to ride with your polystyrene shell and lycra in the way of a 2 tonne piece of metal hurtling towards you at speeds about 4 times more than your own then have at it, I mean I'm not going to stop you.

But, I also don't want to have to deal with the trauma of having to call your loved ones to give them the sad news that you got hurt.

So, if you want to ride like a tit then please go and do it elsewhere. 

[hubbernero]

Wow, one or two of you talk shyyte. Please give me a warning Mods cos even i am annoyed now. You try talk to a cyclist while riding with them, they ignore you or tell you to mind your on business. Do it in a car (with a bike rack on the back) and the response as pointed out is abusive at best and violent at worst. In general cyclists are arrogant Richard Heads when they are riding and that is the reason i spend most of my tine riding by myself ..... single file. I cant deal with the annoyance of cycling in a group playing nanny to idiots. 

As much as motorists should be polite and wait for a chance to overtake, some cyclists should be pushing a wheelbarrow to Cape Town through the bush rather than be on our roads.

 

Have been riding on my own for this exact reason years ago. The typical cyclist mentality on display here just reinforces that decision. 

[DieselnDust]

Diesel,

When in a hole, stop digging....

 

 

Why??! theres a lot to bury

[Patchelicious]

Why??! theres a lot to bury

Cats bury their crap too

[fanievb]

so the general consensus on here is that you should stop your car on a fairly narrow and winding road to tell some stupid people that they are doing something stupid.

 

uhm ok...

 

no one said stop,

 

That's what windows are for

http://digitalsnippets.ford.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/windows.gif

[Dirt Tracker]

I'm not 100% sure why the OP got flamed so badly. Maybe he should have stopped for a chat but a lot of the time (as has been mentioned) the can end in ugliness. Why can't he bring it up here. Maybe if some people think about it a bit more, may be one person will mention ti if they see it in a dodgy stretch of road and maybe one more rider won't die on our roads just riding a bike. 

 

I wouldn't ride some of those narrow, busy roads in a group anyway. As a precaution I stay away from roads like Constantia Nek even though they are great to ride. The danger is real enough in South Africa, the threads and news reports show this so why not take a few decision that might reduce this. I have a new born and to leave her with out a father because of hobby or a pig headed view point is lunacy, self centred and cruel. I can still ride my bike, do my training, do my intervals and the rest in a safe manner, in a way that minimises my potential risk and (hopefully) let's me know my loved ones as they grow. But bottom line is that cars are harder than bikes or humans and riding on that pass with the blind spots and narrowness of the road just a stupid idea because of all the factors not just one side of an argument. Whether the driver is a crazed agro dude or a mom with some kids doesn't matter. Accidents happen and there is usually a reason.