Cradle loop and a bit of a rant - share the road

[Pure Savage]

18 minutes ago, ouzo said:

you have support cars, you just need to teach the driver of the support polo to drive behind you and not into you.

 

 

low blow... sorry

ha ha!!

That oke is now out and about!! You never really get over the sound of carbon getting run over, the shock from hitting the windscreen and then the thump as your face hits the ground. Then start crying uncontrollably as you are grateful to be alive and will see your wife and kids again, but everything is sore and then they turn around and try run you over again and your mates drag your half limp body into the veld to hide.

[Mojoman]

1 hour ago, love2fly said:

Been in Kromdraai mine. Interesting place.

Home of the Zama Zama now isnt it?
Same issues here in Magalies...
Certain areas here I now longer ride...Thats awesome after 30  years....Just took a year or so for it all to be ruined....
 

[The Ouzo]

52 minutes ago, Pure Savage said:

ha ha!!

That oke is now out and about!! You never really get over the sound of carbon getting run over, the shock from hitting the windscreen and then the thump as your face hits the ground. Then start crying uncontrollably as you are grateful to be alive and will see your wife and kids again, but everything is sore and then they turn around and try run you over again and your mates drag your half limp body into the veld to hide.

eish sorry man. apologies for my poor humour.

[MORNE]

4 hours ago, MVDP fan said:

People are using support cars as safety back ups due to the rising crime on cyclists & their beloved machines 

also, should be a crime to summon someone to a thread based on a 4 (almost 5) month old post ????

[Paul Ruinaard]

16 hours ago, Mojoman said:

Home of the Zama Zama now isnt it?
Same issues here in Magalies...
Certain areas here I now longer ride...Thats awesome after 30  years....Just took a year or so for it all to be ruined....
 

Hmm - so totally OT is that what's going on there now? Which areas are you referring to - the Kromdraai spur up to the main road. Theres also a number of gravestones on the LHS when you turn right to the caves at the kromdraai cafe turing coming from Kloofzicht side. They look pretty old. 

Seems like that area floods a lot as well - the falls are upstream in the botanical gardens.. I was wondering if the gold wasn't alluvial but if they are digging in the old mine it would indicate otherwise. Zama Zama are pretty tough folks 

Edited October 28, 2021 by Paul Ruinaard

[Spy007]

See there was an bike jacking in cradle during full moon ride last night? So sad

[shaper]

21 minutes ago, Spy007 said:

See there was an bike jacking in cradle during full moon ride last night? So sad

Just saw it mentioned and copied from FB... "Hi guys, bike jacking at last night's full moon ride in the Cradle, just past the Brookwood trout farm entrance going uphill towards Bidon. Cyclist shoot, no warning, very lucky, bullet hit bottom of left ear and went through top of shoulder, 2nd cyclist not harmed. 2 bikes stolen with cellphones etc. Very disappointing and disheartening, no value for life in SA."

[JJDT]

This must've been an isolated case where guys just decided to ride, after the full moon ride was cancelled.

[MudLark]

On 10/27/2021 at 2:51 PM, 117 said:

Maybe I'll get my pal to ride his KTM 450 Eduro on the single track to support our mtb mob. 

Yeah, that'll work 

 

 

But in fairness though, if the runners and everybody else can use the singletrack, why can't the guys on the off-road motorbikes also do so?

The point is that if everybody is entitled to do anything and everything, it becomes a complete mess.

[117]

2 hours ago, MudLark said:

But in fairness though, if the runners and everybody else can use the singletrack, why can't the guys on the off-road motorbikes also do so?

The point is that if everybody is entitled to do anything and everything, it becomes a complete mess.

Only if it's a 4 stroke

[Danger Dassie]

3 hours ago, shaper said:

Just saw it mentioned and copied from FB... "Hi guys, bike jacking at last night's full moon ride in the Cradle, just past the Brookwood trout farm entrance going uphill towards Bidon. Cyclist shoot, no warning, very lucky, bullet hit bottom of left ear and went through top of shoulder, 2nd cyclist not harmed. 2 bikes stolen with cellphones etc. Very disappointing and disheartening, no value for life in SA."

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10159728390989721&set=a.10150098936974721
 

"RIDE REPORT: BITE THE BULLET !
FULL MOON RIDE AT THE CRADLE
This is the report that one really do not want to write and yet so glad to be able to !
Last nite I decided to attend the Full Moon Ride in the Cradle area. Event which is organized on a monthly basis on the Cradle Loop I believe. I also needed a little leg warmer before the 947 on Sunday.

Due to weather condition, it wasn’t very crowded. However despite the storm we encountered a number of riders on the roads. On the way back the rain had stopped and the sundown and night sceneries were superb. We were having fun and laughing away while holding a steady pace. We saw a number of riders turning around during the peak of the storm and we became the leading duo of the remaining riders.

As we approached the finish line at Bidon Bistro, a mere 800m from it, we saw a gun shot and three guys jumping from behind a road guide rail, right on top of us. It felled like I was pushed on the ground. They obviously robbed us of our phones and bikes, using them as get away vehicles.
As they were busy taking the night lights off the bike we moved away an ran as far as we could. I was shocked but happy that we were unarmed. I was limping from hitting my hip in the fall. After a few minutes a lady rider caught up with us walking and we sent her away fearing that the aggressors were still around. We kept on walking and a bigger group of riders stopped and assisted us.

A good 10mn after the incident, I could not figure out why my back was so sweaty? Closer inspection revealed that it was blood not sweat! My riding partner insisted that I had been shot…I still couldn’t believe it nor process it…but indeed this was a shot wound.
I cannot begin to understand, nor justify the need to shoot us – I was convinced that he had shot in the air. But no, oblivious to the potential murder charges VS robbery, the best way these idiots found to stop cyclists to rob them, was to hide, shoot to stop them and then rob them !!

It was full darkness and we had bike lights, the shooter could not aim properly, his objective was just to hit…and he did. Now picture this: I was riding uphill, probably in an “attack position” and the bullet hit my hear lob, burned slightly my neck before entering the flesh on the top of my back and exiting the body again some 10cm further. That’s right! Just a flesh wound; Now put your finger on your ear lobe and see how close this is to your face !

Now I realize fully what the army of medics and people responding, the police, the owner of Bidon (thanx a lot guys as well as your neighbor who performed the first aid) and later on the Doctor at the ER said: I was SOOOO LUCKY !!!
This is actually the only emotion that dominates my thoughts to be honest. All of this sucks at every level, but I can’t say that I’m angry or particularly upset, I’m just happy to be here. The rest is pretty much life contingency, it happened, full stop. I live a pretty full life and love my family and really didn’t need a near death experience to make me appreciate it, but I’m glad I can.

I’m not sure that this will make me a better human in any kind of way and I’m not sure what the conclusion of it all is?
I am very involved in cycling and was aware of the dangers and crime situation, the places to avoid, the need to be in groups, or in organized events…and I applied it all but it did happen anyway. In the vast majority of mugging, there is no shooting. This may be a new scary trend. I can’t tell you to stay safe, I don’t know what it means really – Just be aware !
I will ride again, it’s my passion and my life…just need to figure out how to get the next bike now "

[Paul Ruinaard]

29 minutes ago, Danger Dassie said:

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10159728390989721&set=a.10150098936974721
 

"RIDE REPORT: BITE THE BULLET !
FULL MOON RIDE AT THE CRADLE
This is the report that one really do not want to write and yet so glad to be able to !
Last nite I decided to attend the Full Moon Ride in the Cradle area. Event which is organized on a monthly basis on the Cradle Loop I believe. I also needed a little leg warmer before the 947 on Sunday.

Due to weather condition, it wasn’t very crowded. However despite the storm we encountered a number of riders on the roads. On the way back the rain had stopped and the sundown and night sceneries were superb. We were having fun and laughing away while holding a steady pace. We saw a number of riders turning around during the peak of the storm and we became the leading duo of the remaining riders.

As we approached the finish line at Bidon Bistro, a mere 800m from it, we saw a gun shot and three guys jumping from behind a road guide rail, right on top of us. It felled like I was pushed on the ground. They obviously robbed us of our phones and bikes, using them as get away vehicles.
As they were busy taking the night lights off the bike we moved away an ran as far as we could. I was shocked but happy that we were unarmed. I was limping from hitting my hip in the fall. After a few minutes a lady rider caught up with us walking and we sent her away fearing that the aggressors were still around. We kept on walking and a bigger group of riders stopped and assisted us.

A good 10mn after the incident, I could not figure out why my back was so sweaty? Closer inspection revealed that it was blood not sweat! My riding partner insisted that I had been shot…I still couldn’t believe it nor process it…but indeed this was a shot wound.
I cannot begin to understand, nor justify the need to shoot us – I was convinced that he had shot in the air. But no, oblivious to the potential murder charges VS robbery, the best way these idiots found to stop cyclists to rob them, was to hide, shoot to stop them and then rob them !!

It was full darkness and we had bike lights, the shooter could not aim properly, his objective was just to hit…and he did. Now picture this: I was riding uphill, probably in an “attack position” and the bullet hit my hear lob, burned slightly my neck before entering the flesh on the top of my back and exiting the body again some 10cm further. That’s right! Just a flesh wound; Now put your finger on your ear lobe and see how close this is to your face !

Now I realize fully what the army of medics and people responding, the police, the owner of Bidon (thanx a lot guys as well as your neighbor who performed the first aid) and later on the Doctor at the ER said: I was SOOOO LUCKY !!!
This is actually the only emotion that dominates my thoughts to be honest. All of this sucks at every level, but I can’t say that I’m angry or particularly upset, I’m just happy to be here. The rest is pretty much life contingency, it happened, full stop. I live a pretty full life and love my family and really didn’t need a near death experience to make me appreciate it, but I’m glad I can.

I’m not sure that this will make me a better human in any kind of way and I’m not sure what the conclusion of it all is?
I am very involved in cycling and was aware of the dangers and crime situation, the places to avoid, the need to be in groups, or in organized events…and I applied it all but it did happen anyway. In the vast majority of mugging, there is no shooting. This may be a new scary trend. I can’t tell you to stay safe, I don’t know what it means really – Just be aware !
I will ride again, it’s my passion and my life…just need to figure out how to get the next bike now "

Very worrying - like i said i have always felt safe in the cradle with the volume of riders in there. Not sure if that's a good idea any more

[MudLark]

1 hour ago, Paul Ruinaard said:

Very worrying - like i said i have always felt safe in the cradle with the volume of riders in there. Not sure if that's a good idea any more

Been too many incidents at the Cradle to call it safe anymore. But then that's true of the country as a whole…

[Mamil]

Hard to know how to be with the level of violence all around us. 

May our gods keep us safe. 

[Wannabe]

This is just next level crazy.

Things are spiraling out of control, human life has got no value in this messed up country. 

[MudLark]

2 hours ago, Wannabe said:

This is just next level crazy.

Things are spiraling out of control, human life has got no value in this messed up country. 

The rise in ransom kidnappings is extremely concerning, to say the least.