Random Morning in the South

[Robbie Stewart]

On Sunday morning well before sunrise I departed for a quick spin up from Sunningdale to Melkbos. Approaching the traffic circle by the Total at the Mall, I see a polo approaching from the left. Despite being lit up like a christmas tree, I get the sense this guy is going to mow me down if I take the turn despite already being in the circle. I do the safe thing and slow down and watch him pass, swing wide around the circle and rush to the garage, probably for a pie to soothe his alcohol laden body as he heads home.

I cross the R27 a minute or two later, and there I see a taxi approaching from behind being passed by a hot hatch at speed. Hot hatch understeers to the point that it passes me on my lane. Again, most likely gesuip like no ones business.

I am starting to see why I mostly ride trails again. None of this happens out there.

[Jewbacca]

6 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

We all know south Africans are crap drivers,  no one needs to prove that. We could link to a recent thread with the video of a cyclist getting mowed down on this stretch of road.

It would appear to me that the whole point of this exercise was to point out to cyclists what it looks like during peak Argus. The way this thread is going, most of the cyclists are on the defensive instead of acknowledging the behavior. 

yeah nah..... as soon as anyone gets defensive it's usually because they think the comments are aimed at them in some way.

As I said before, everyone commenting here and/or on that IG post is guilty of being a douchepole on the road at some point.

Minimising that both ways is the dream, but unfortunately cars and drivers in a carcentric or motornormative environment have right of way by societal default

[Simon123]

I must be honest,  especially this time of year, even as a cyclist there are certain groups (and some individuals) you really just wish you could drive over.   Scant regard for anyone else,  rolling reds and then giving people middle fingers if they dare hoot etc.

Roadies are their own worst enemies (small minority ruining it for everyone else) and really want their bread buttered on both sides.  By the time drivers get to the good / well behaved, rule abiding ones, they've passed a dozen assholes and are over it.

Now for the Hubbers with zero, fokkol, and no sense of humour, I am not condoning driving over roadies in my first paragraph.   So sit down, calm down and stay in the yellow lane.

[dexterdent]

I think this has good intentions and cyclists on the road need to take some responsibility for our own safety. So it is good to get called out when we do something wrong. 

However, after seeing the comments on the video of that person who got mowed down by a drunk driver around the spot where the cameraman was taking pictures, I feel like a public post like this (somehow) gives justification to the mob who see cyclists as less than human, and makes me feel just slightly less safe next time I will be out on the road.

My experience is that the bulk of road users are rational, safe people (count the number of cars that pass safely and count the number that don't) and the less ammo we give the small amount of crazies, the better. That includes safe, predictable behaviour from cyclists of course.

[DuncanDoughnuts]

That's just another Cycle Lab cycle on a Saturday in the cradle ..... Seems they have spread to the Cape since taking over CWC

Edited February 6 by DuncanDoughnuts

[Sprocket and Chain]

21 hours ago, Robbie Stewart said:

Yes, people need to chill 100%.

Like this dude . . . sorry @Meezo, I couldn't resist. This chap looks like he is about the crack skulls and take numbers.

To be fair though, they are about the only crew riding properly.

My captain made the front page wohooooo🤣

[LazyTrailRider]

I'm both a semi-roadie and a trail rider (and have been all the other types except cyclocross over the years).

I love riding on the road, the way you can smoothly put watts down is something you don't get on even the best flow trails, and definitely not while pinning it through the gnar in full #enduro mode.

But here's the thing: I never do group rides on the road, because I can't handle how roadies in general behave. When I'm caught by a bunch or manage to catch up to one in traffic, I purposefully change my pace to avoid them because I don't want to be part of anti-social behaviour.

I can count on one hand the number of groups I've encountered who don't ride several abreast (always quoting that silly "it's safer to pass a short wide cycling group than a long single-file one" story) and who stop at all traffic lights and stop signs. I can't tell you how many times I've been stationary at a traffic light and seen motorists shake their heads at riders who think they have the right to skip lights because at that point they're in "pedestrian mode", only to switch to "now I have full vehicle rights" again 100m later. It's beyond ridiculous.

You know what's amazing? That more road cyclists aren't killed more regularly. On an average 90min weekend morning ride in the Southern Peninsula, my Varia registers more than 300 vehicles passing me. Those are silly odds.

Edited February 6 by LazyTrailRider
Added where I ride

[Pure Savage]

These topics are such nonsense and not changed in 10 years. 

From all the horror in these photos and the tears and crys from Facebook. How many people were harmed by the cyclist riding 2 abreast on a 16m wide road? 

Last week I was in the bike lane, riding single file and a lady in a Mercedes ran me over from a stop street. She just didnt look. 

Maybe if I was riding like a **** in the middle of the road with 2000 lumen flashing light blinding everyone, three abreast with my mates I would not have gone to hospital, written my bike off and now have 8 weeks of recovery ahead of me. 

You dont see cyclists moaning about the cars parked like a car park on main road due to traffic and the bikes having to slow down and navigate it. 

[Jewbacca]

2 minutes ago, Pure Savage said:

These topics are such nonsense and not changed in 10 years. 

From all the horror in these photos and the tears and crys from Facebook. How many people were harmed by the cyclist riding 2 abreast on a 16m wide road? 

Last week I was in the bike lane, riding single file and a lady in a Mercedes ran me over from a stop street. She just didnt look. 

Maybe if I was riding like a **** in the middle of the road with 2000 lumen flashing light blinding everyone, three abreast with my mates I would not have gone to hospital, written my bike off and now have 8 weeks of recovery ahead of me. 

You dont see cyclists moaning about the cars parked like a car park on main road due to traffic and the bikes having to slow down and navigate it. 

SSShhhh... you can't question cars on the road. All the other users are the problem, cars BELONG on the roads so all the traffic they cause, trouble they make and space they take up is NORMAL. 

One cannot question it, it simply is.

Jokes aside, that sucks. I'm so sorry.

 

[ChrisF]

39 minutes ago, Pure Savage said:

These topics are such nonsense and not changed in 10 years. 

From all the horror in these photos and the tears and crys from Facebook. How many people were harmed by the cyclist riding 2 abreast on a 16m wide road? 

Last week I was in the bike lane, riding single file and a lady in a Mercedes ran me over from a stop street. She just didnt look. 

Maybe if I was riding like a **** in the middle of the road with 2000 lumen flashing light blinding everyone, three abreast with my mates I would not have gone to hospital, written my bike off and now have 8 weeks of recovery ahead of me. 

You dont see cyclists moaning about the cars parked like a car park on main road due to traffic and the bikes having to slow down and navigate it. 

 

 

Sadly the brightest flashing christmas tree dont help when momma rols the STOP sign ... she did not see the stop sign ... she was never going to see me ... she was turned around looking and shouting at her kids on the back seat.

 

 

I was broadsliding the commuter at 45 degrees and litterally touched the car as I came to a halt.

 

 

Sure, we need to keep our side clean, but that only goes so far ....

[Bub Marley]

3 hours ago, LazyTrailRider said:

I'm both a semi-roadie and a trail rider (and have been all the other types except cyclocross over the years).

I love riding on the road, the way you can smoothly put watts down is something you don't get on even the best flow trails, and definitely not while pinning it through the gnar in full #enduro mode.

But here's the thing: I never do group rides on the road, because I can't handle how roadies in general behave. When I'm caught by a bunch or manage to catch up to one in traffic, I purposefully change my pace to avoid them because I don't want to be part of anti-social behaviour.

I can count on one hand the number of groups I've encountered who don't ride several abreast (always quoting that silly "it's safer to pass a short wide cycling group than a long single-file one" story) and who stop at all traffic lights and stop signs. I can't tell you how many times I've been stationary at a traffic light and seen motorists shake their heads at riders who think they have the right to skip lights because at that point they're in "pedestrian mode", only to switch to "now I have full vehicle rights" again 100m later. It's beyond ridiculous.

You know what's amazing? That more road cyclists aren't killed more regularly. On an average 90min weekend morning ride in the Southern Peninsula, my Varia registers more than 300 vehicles passing me. Those are silly odds.

I always laugh at posts like these. Just completely out of touch with reality. 
 

i can also count on one hand the number of mtb‘ers that jump robots, ride 2 abreast etc. This narrative that roadies are the bad apples it’s completely false and needs to stop. 

 

Also annoys me when everyone acts all high and mighty when let’s face it, we aren’t perfect. We’ve all ridden two and three abreast and we’ve all jumped robots at some point. Let’s not kid ourselves and act like we’re all saints. At the same time we can all do better and try and be better but as long as you’re not endangering anyone, I think we should all just chill. Me having a chat with some mates on a social ride is not endangering anyone. Motorists can do better and be more patient as well. 
 

Chris is amazing at what he does and I get the message he was trying to get across but if you look at those photos, 90% of those cyclists are smiling and having a good time. The unfortunate thing is now we as cyclists get all the hate again. Why can’t a car just be a bit patient even if the cyclist is blocking part of the road? Like I said we can all do better. 

[LazyTrailRider]

28 minutes ago, Bub Marley said:

I always laugh at posts like these. Just completely out of touch with reality. 

i can also count on one hand the number of mtb‘ers that jump robots, ride 2 abreast etc. This narrative that roadies are the bad apples it’s completely false and needs to stop. 

Oh FFS, is that what you got from this? That I'm somehow a mountain biker who doesn't like roadies?

Obviously there are MTBers who behave like muppets. Duh. Obviously there are roadies who are courteous and don't act like entitled idiots. Guess what, I don't think of myself as any particular kind of cyclist, I'm just a cyclist, regardless of the type of bike I'm on, and I've been on them all and seen all different kinds of douchebaggery for the 30 odd years I've been riding seriously. The common thread is that cyclists have always done what I've described. Always.

I suspect I am more in touch with reality than you'd like to admit. I cannot think of one non-cyclist I know who hasn't at some point made a remark about how cyclists act like entitled idiots on our roads. It's the perception that's out there, whether we like it or not.

Edited February 6 by LazyTrailRider

[Robbie Stewart]

2 hours ago, Pure Savage said:

Last week I was in the bike lane, riding single file and a lady in a Mercedes ran me over from a stop street. She just didnt look. 

Are you kidding me? You got knocked down AGAIN ?!?

Jeepers, get well soon. 

[Pure Savage]

12 hours ago, Robbie Stewart said:

Are you kidding me? You got knocked down AGAIN ?!?

Jeepers, get well soon. 

Yeah - Less than ideal.

[Shebeen]

so to sum up.

*Cars vs cyclists war act XLVI, cars currently winning.

*thread highlights that many cyclists are not doing the community any favours in the PR game, therefore cars will continue to hate cyclists on the road.

*whole bunch of cyclists respond on this thread with a long journey of

 

*my water cooler conversations continue to revolve around cars hating cyclists.  Act XLVII will not continue, with cars winning and no chance of ceasefire

[Bub Marley]

14 hours ago, LazyTrailRider said:

Oh FFS, is that what you got from this? That I'm somehow a mountain biker who doesn't like roadies?

Obviously there are MTBers who behave like muppets. Duh. Obviously there are roadies who are courteous and don't act like entitled idiots. Guess what, I don't think of myself as any particular kind of cyclist, I'm just a cyclist, regardless of the type of bike I'm on, and I've been on them all and seen all different kinds of douchebaggery for the 30 odd years I've been riding seriously. The common thread is that cyclists have always done what I've described. Always.

I suspect I am more in touch with reality than you'd like to admit. I cannot think of one non-cyclist I know who hasn't at some point made a remark about how cyclists act like entitled idiots on our roads. It's the perception that's out there, whether we like it or not.

You mentioned roadies in your post hence my comments. Nevertheless, I’m glad you have clarified and don’t really want o go further into it.

 

I just want to highlight this though: “The common thread is that cyclists have always done what I've described. Always.”

 

I am a member of a club so do group rides often and I do loads of solo rides as well on the road and off road. When I ride with the club, we probably average between 10-30 cyclists on a group ride. For the most part, I would say we are well behaved. When there is a lack of shoulder, we try and ride single file. If there is a shoulder, we try and ride in the shoulder. Do we sometimes ride 2 a breast? Of course. Do we sometimes stray outside of the line? Of course. But we don’t do this intentionally and we certainly try not to do this when it’s a busy road etc. But yes, at times it happens. Just like a car overtakes a cyclist, a faster cyclist can also overtake a slower cyclist and unfortunately to do that, you have to kind of veer towards the centre if there is no shoulder. Unfortunately on this particular road between fish Hoek and Simon’s town there is no shoulder and it’s busy. It’s also a month before the Argus, so everyone is out on their bikes and everyone wants to ride the peninsula route. You are going to get people that swerve tot the centre. I don’t think 90% of the people are doing it on purpose or trying to endanger anyone. We just need to be more patient and understanding.

 

So while cyclists may always do what you describe, 98% of them are not trying to be entitled idiots. Society has just engrained it into our thinking that cyclists are assholes when in reality we aren’t. Humans are assholes and the 2% of that do give cyclists a bad name are probably idiots when they take their Lycra off as well. The rest of us are actually pretty decent people who just enjoy riding bikes.