Random Morning in the South

[nonky]

3 hours ago, i24 said:

But this is Argie season and Sunday mornings is when it all happens!

Dude, it is ALWAYS Argue Season on the Hub.

[Jewbacca]

17 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

I could not disagree more with these assumptions. Especially so if you are right, we might as well stop even bothering.

 

 

 

If 99% of cyclists behave better, the motorists who hate cyclists will still encounter the 1% and that will vindicate their hatred.

You won't ever get 'perfect' behaviour from any group of people.

Sticking to the context of the chat in it's entirety, I have said we 'should' all aim to do better, but no, the hatred will exist because the hatred exists.

Good behaviour will always be offset by one or two instances of not good behaviour, even if it's an accident.

That is the nature of prejudice

On the other part of the highlighted text, most sport riders that have been taken out recently have not been in the wrong or riding in a large group in the middle of the road.

They have been mowed down by drunk drivers or speeding drivers while doing little wrong. Recent memory and a quick google search shows the cyclists were almost all either in the yellow line or well left.

The commuters that get killed are also usually not riding in big groups in the middle of the road.

Edited February 8 by Jewbacca

[Nick]

35 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

If 99% of cyclists behave better, the motorists who hate cyclists will still encounter the 1% and that will vindicate their hatred.

You won't ever get 'perfect' behaviour from any group of people.

Sticking to the context of the chat in it's entirety, I have said we 'should' all aim to do better, but no, the hatred will exist because the hatred exists.

Good behaviour will always be offset by one or two instances of not good behaviour, even if it's an accident.

That is the nature of prejudice

On the other part of the highlighted text, most sport riders that have been taken out recently have not been in the wrong or riding in a large group in the middle of the road.

They have been mowed down by drunk drivers or speeding drivers while doing little wrong. Recent memory and a quick google search shows the cyclists were almost all either in the yellow line or well left.

The commuters that get killed are also usually not riding in big groups in the middle of the road.

In summary, what has developed to be the acceptable behaviour is likely not the safest behaviour. But we're all encouraged to follow the acceptable behaviour nonetheless.

[Mamil]

The bicycle has radically changed my relationship with cars. As a younger person I took quite punctilious care of my vehicles - wheel balancing, washing, pride while driving, money spent on accessories etc. As the bicycle has become increasingly central in my life, I now actively dislike my own car which ironically is the nicest one I've ever owned. (It's not even that nice).

Now I am only half joking when I say that we shouldn't go anywhere unless we can get there under our own propulsion - an extreme view I know. I daydream about a society in which the billions of rand spent on roads and traffic and fuel is spent on bicycle infrastructure. I mentally abolish long distance truck driving in favour of rail. I consign air freight to the dustbin of history in favour of local manufacture and production and I fantasise about how economies might reorganise themselves if the taken for granted assumption that it is my right to be anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat were to be removed.

Granted, this often involves the elimination of at least half of the world's population and I'm always in the half that remains to enjoy these benefits but to the 50% who don't make the cut I say , "hey ho, those are the breaks".

I don't ride in groups often and I used to cringe when I saw people riding in large groups as depicted but these days I don't. I have come to believe that if we want to reclaim quality of life the chaos of modern life, we should all be riding 5 abreast down the M3 - feeling the hills and arriving at our destinations a little sweaty and with the textures of the terrain enlivening our senses.

OF course this is insanity - but like all madmen, I believe deeply in what my distorted fantasies tell me. To me they seem saner than the madness in which we currently live.

We're going camping in Stanford in a couple of week's time - I'm riding there - just me - single file - over hels hoogte where I hope not to be attacked, over franschoek pass where I hope not to be run off the road. I'll get there in 8 or 9 hours while the car will take 2 and the group we're going with will tell me I'm mad.

To me the madness is sitting at 100kmph in a queue of unhappy campers on the N2 all wanting to go faster but held up by the oomie in the front who's going at 85 cos you get bonus points from the average speed cameras for coming in under budget. 

 

[ChrisF]

7 minutes ago, Mamil said:

The bicycle has radically changed my relationship with cars. As a younger person I took quite punctilious care of my vehicles - wheel balancing, washing, pride while driving, money spent on accessories etc. As the bicycle has become increasingly central in my life, I now actively dislike my own car which ironically is the nicest one I've ever owned. (It's not even that nice).

Now I am only half joking when I say that we shouldn't go anywhere unless we can get there under our own propulsion - an extreme view I know. I daydream about a society in which the billions of rand spent on roads and traffic and fuel is spent on bicycle infrastructure. I mentally abolish long distance truck driving in favour of rail. I consign air freight to the dustbin of history in favour of local manufacture and production and I fantasise about how economies might reorganise themselves if the taken for granted assumption that it is my right to be anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat were to be removed.

Granted, this often involves the elimination of at least half of the world's population and I'm always in the half that remains to enjoy these benefits but to the 50% who don't make the cut I say , "hey ho, those are the breaks".

I don't ride in groups often and I used to cringe when I saw people riding in large groups as depicted but these days I don't. I have come to believe that if we want to reclaim quality of life the chaos of modern life, we should all be riding 5 abreast down the M3 - feeling the hills and arriving at our destinations a little sweaty and with the textures of the terrain enlivening our senses.

OF course this is insanity - but like all madmen, I believe deeply in what my distorted fantasies tell me. To me they seem saner than the madness in which we currently live.

We're going camping in Stanford in a couple of week's time - I'm riding there - just me - single file - over hels hoogte where I hope not to be attacked, over franschoek pass where I hope not to be run off the road. I'll get there in 8 or 9 hours while the car will take 2 and the group we're going with will tell me I'm mad.

To me the madness is sitting at 100kmph in a queue of unhappy campers on the N2 all wanting to go faster but held up by the oomie in the front who's going at 85 cos you get bonus points from the average speed cameras for coming in under budget. 

 

 

Ooooo cr@p ..... so it is not just me ....

 

I had a meeting in Malmesbury yesterday .... actually gave it some thought where I could shower, so I could still go by bike .... YES, client I DID end up talking about the big bike shop down the road ....

 

 

WORST is my Stellenbosch meetings .... I HAVE a shower spot, but no safe parking for the bike, and this is a much more realistic trip time wise.

 

 

Seems in 2023, about 25% of my  20 000km travels were by bike 

[ChrisF]

Did the commute thing thing today.

 

After work my trusty steed automatically veered off in the wrong direction .... doubling my commute distance. 

 

Along Carl Cronje there is a slip road into the shopping centre .... I look back .... a vehicle is a few meters behind me and indicates that I can cross the slip road, they gave me a safe space.

 

Turning right towards the Kenridge Centre in peak traffic is always going to be "fun" .... nope, car hangs back and waves me accross .... he even hangs back and gives me space at the circle.

 

Sure, there was the gent skipping the red robot ... would have ended me if I had not looked to make sure it is safe before crossing.  But, we KNOW to check, and only take off once safe .... I CHOOSE to concentrate on the first two drivers, and to enjoy my ride.

 

 

There ARE considerate drivers out there 

 

 

 

 

Ooooo wait .... wrong thread for such a way off topic positive post ....

 

 

[Robbie Stewart]

7 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

Turning right towards the Kenridge Centre in peak traffic is always going to be "fun" .... nope, car hangs back and waves me accross .... he even hangs back and gives me space at the circle.

This morning I had the same happen to me. Actually, this has been pretty consistent of late along the west coast cycle path and surrounds. This morning I was approaching a circle and the car with right of way yielded to me. A courteous wave and a smile was met with the same. Methinks if we as cyclists actually engage with cars and acknowledge the human behind the hunk of metal we will go a long way to mending perceptions. 

but like the boy throwing that one star fish back in the water while on the beach surrounded by millions of beached starfish, we can't fix the problem, but we can make a difference to that one starfish.

One tree doesn't make a forest. But if everyone plants a tree after a forest fire . . .

[Nick]

While I'm also a proponent of a wave and smile campaign, I can't find much evidence of riding in the gutter and meekly obeying the demands of the motoring overlords shifting a country's transport policies.

Even the poster child required protesting and tantrum throwing to help it shift to a more inclusive transport strategy. 

[DieselnDust]

On 2/5/2024 at 2:31 PM, Robbie Stewart said:

Now these same boets will scream blerrie murder at the next taxi that crosses their path, blissfully ignorant of their hypocrisy.

They’re always all over the road that lot.

 

On 2/5/2024 at 4:12 PM, Shebeen said:

I liked this one the most.

 

 

Also because the guy might actually have checked behind to see what was coming behind first, or not.

 

 

 

 

 

Argh sweet , love birds making cycling great again

On 2/5/2024 at 10:08 PM, Nick said:

Ah, good old motonormativity at it again.

Every road user should have the right to the full lane, if they choose.

Sadly this sounds extreme but it really makes all the sense in the world.

Just because a vehicle can be bullied to the side of road doesn't mean it should.

In fact, the highest priority road users should be the most vulnerable.

Also...

And if the big motorised vehicle drivers are really offended, maybe they can help lobby for some separated pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. A common cause we can all bond over.

Ya Boet you may be right hey but right doesn’t equal alive . This is Africa, no one’s looks in mirror first and he with the biggest vehicle wins.#onevokmaaan

[Spookie]

👀

[mikkelz]

50 minutes ago, Spookie said:

👀

Bet you one of them drives a BMW. 😜

[Mamil]

1 hour ago, Spookie said:

👀

I like this ...I can't help but imagine how a society would look if all public thoroughfares were for bikes and people instead of the monstrous machinery with their fumes and names stolen from forgotten and conquered peoples (Cherokee, touareg ... Ok they disguised that one a little).

I know lots of us are petrol heads as well as bicycle riders and I'm half, but only half joking, but jeez it would be lekker if the number of cars on the roads were cut by 80 percent... Ok 70... 50?

 

 

[Jewbacca]

I drove down main road between Muizenberg and Fish Hoek yesterday morning. There was a huge group of really slow moving cars in front of me and they were driving in the middle of the road so I couldn't pass them and NONE of them pulled over to let me pass!

They were all going so slowly and I was obviously able to go faster. 

The cheek

[Spookie]

5 hours ago, Mamil said:

I like this ...I can't help but imagine how a society would look if all public thoroughfares were for bikes and people instead of the monstrous machinery with their fumes and names stolen from forgotten and conquered peoples (Cherokee, touareg ... Ok they disguised that one a little).

I know lots of us are petrol heads as well as bicycle riders and I'm half, but only half joking, but jeez it would be lekker if the number of cars on the roads were cut by 80 percent... Ok 70... 50?

 

 

Haha, yeah look, my point is more that there is nothing productive about shaming one group. Often it’s a people-specific problem more than a cyclist-specific problem. It just creates unnecessary conflict or allows people to justify a bias they already have. 

Edited February 10 by Spookie
.

[Bike Dewing]

On 2/6/2024 at 8:44 AM, BuffsVintageBikes said:

That's a really silly post by Chris and rather unexpected from him. All it does is give drivers a chance to validate their own reckless behavior on the road. Any one of us can sit at any intersection, any day of the week and take photos of drivers of cars & taxi's doing stupid **** as well.

We need to be teaching tolerance rather than laying blame on individual parties. We're all to blame, including local and provincial government for our poor infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists.

Typical that someone highlights a problem and then gets condemned for doing so..

does this not just highlight what assholes cyclists and motorists can be.?. the car feels entitled to the road as it was built for them and they pay to do so, but despite that the higher powers stepped in and made it law that we cyclists must be allowed to use the road as well, for no extra charge, and as long as we follow the rules of the road, and those cars must respect us and give us space to use our bicycles in safety.. 

and then to thank them we get all entitled about it as well, don’t obey traffic laws and can be straight up nuisances to traffic.. 

for me this just reminded me to not be that cyclist and even if an intersection is clear, if the lights red, ******* stop and wait, I’m not special.. 🤷🏼‍♂️(unless it’s real real early and there really are not any cars on the road.)🤔🤦‍♂️🤣🤣

[Mamil]

2 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

I drove down main road between Muizenberg and Fish Hoek yesterday morning. There was a huge group of really slow moving cars in front of me and they were driving in the middle of the road so I couldn't pass them and NONE of them pulled over to let me pass!

They were all going so slowly and I was obviously able to go faster. 

The cheek

Hope you took a photo