Cocaine Posted December 4, 2006 Share Elite bunch sat right hand gutter on the road to Wellington for about 10km' date=' nobody was willing to move left at the back and the front guys were trying to get away, as a consequence the entire bunch sat right hand gutter.[/quote'] yes - the R44 to wellington. it was a joke. the oncoming traffic was carrying on as usual as the race took place in the righthand yellow line! haven't seen that in a while. Then there was the road after that with the roadworks!!! stones, signs, sand.. Yeah, I clipped 2 of those bloody road signs, one on the right hand side of my bar! All good fun! This was probably the most dangerous race I have ever done. The guttering on right hand side was super dangerous! As far as I am concerned that is the organisers fault. Had the comm given us a warning the first time we strayed over the white line the group would have known its limits and ridden on the left... but we were allowed to move over the white line in the first couple kms and we just kept drifting further and further across, until eventually it was completely out of hand. We never had this problem in league races because we knew that we dare not cross that line. By enforcing the rule early in the race the race comm could have avoided a potentially disasterous situation before it got out of hand. As for the roadworks, that was just ridiculous... I don't know how many riders I saw hit signs, and lost count of the cyclists who went farming off the side of the road trying to avoid them. The road signs aside the flipping stones were another story... Surely the organisers have a responsability to make sure that the road is safe and obstacle free. Quite frankly I expect more from a race that charges a similar entry fee to that of the Argus and 94.7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerFace Posted December 4, 2006 Share It was made very clear at the start that the roads were not closed and that cyclists should stay in the left lane. What is this rubbish about comm giving warnings before rules are obeyed???? Stop behaving like children and pointing fingers when the fault lies with the cyclists not obeying rules. I say DQ cyclists that don't obey. This is giving us all a bad name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windbreaker Posted December 4, 2006 Share but we were allowed to move over the white line in the first couple kms and we just kept drifting further and further across' date=' until eventually it was completely out of hand. We never had this problem in league races because we knew that we dare not cross that line. By enforcing the rule early in the race the race comm could have avoided a potentially disasterous situation before it got out of hand.[/quote'] I heard the instructions at the start of this ride and every single other ride that I can remember taking part in! I am amazed!!!! The elite bunch repeatedly IGNORED the instructions from organisers and only when they were slowed down did they respond. I believe there might be a fallout about this issue...... I sincerely hope so. Imagine the headlines if 20 cyclists were taken out by an oncoming car round that bend? I doubt that the PPA would get another race organised in the Western Cape for 20 years to come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Token Posted December 4, 2006 Share Well a big problem is the organisers make the bunchers to big if they only going to let us use half the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windbreaker Posted December 4, 2006 Share Well a big problem is the organisers make the bunchers to big if they only going to let us use half the road. "They" are doing what they can so "you" can have the enjoyment of racing. Full road closure occurs only for a very few races in this country and I think that the organisers, marshalls and other volunteers do an EXCELLENT job considering the crap they take. Sometimes they slip up but they don't deserve to be blamed for your poor discipline. Never saw the A group going over the white line - except for the odd single rider moving to the front. So I'm afraid that the group size excuse doesn't count. The bottom line is that when the guttering occurs you have to be disciplined enough to treat the white line as if it were the edge of a cliff! And you need to keep your fellow cyclists in line when they transgress. I don't know the guys name in the Vets league but when he starts to shout the odds about the white line he gets my vote everytime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cocaine Posted December 4, 2006 Share It was made very clear at the start that the roads were not closed and that cyclists should stay in the left lane. What is this rubbish about comm giving warnings before rules are obeyed???? Stop behaving like children and pointing fingers when the fault lies with the cyclists not obeying rules. I say DQ cyclists that don't obey. This is giving us all a bad name. I am not disagreeing... I am simply saying that if you say that cyclists will get DQ'd when they cross the white line then the rule must be inforced. By that I don't mean once the situation is out of control I mean from the beginning. Do you really believe that the entire Elite bunch would have been riding in the yellow lane on the right of the road if the comm had given the bunch a warning the first time we crossed that line on bottleray road. The comm could have controlled the situation by enforcing the rule early before it got out of hand. Of course the riders are to blame, we should know better then to ride on the right hand side of the road. However when you are racing (and I mean racing, not funriding) you tend to race aggresively and look to get an advantage on the riders behind you... so pushing the rules and limits is all part of the race... so if you know that the comm isn't enforcing the rules then you are less inclined to obey them. That is just human nature. If the riders know that the rules are going to be enforced consistently then they will obey them, which is precisely why we haven't had this problem in the leagues this year. I mean lets get real, we spent most of bottleray road spread across the entire width of the road (approx. 15kms) then some of the groups road on the right up helshoogte and then we spent 10kms riding in the yellow lane on the right of the road with all the traffic continuing as usual on our left. Only then did a comm come up next to the bunch and give us a warning. Does it sound to you like they were enforcing the rule properly??? Trust me I didn't want to be riding into the oncoming traffic! But if I have to choose between dodging cars and getting dropped I'll dodge cars. As far as I can tell that is the general consensus for 99% of the guys in the bunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Token Posted December 4, 2006 Share "They" are doing what they can so "you" can have the enjoyment of racing. Full road closure occurs only for a very few races in this country and I think that the organisers' date=' marshalls and other volunteers do an EXCELLENT job considering the crap they take. Sometimes they slip up but they don't deserve to be blamed for your poor discipline. Never saw the A group going over the white line - except for the odd single rider moving to the front. So I'm afraid that the group size excuse doesn't count. The bottom line is that when the guttering occurs you have to be disciplined enough to treat the white line as if it were the edge of a cliff! And you need to keep your fellow cyclists in line when they transgress. I don't know the guys name in the Vets league but when he starts to shout the odds about the white line he gets my vote everytime. [/quote'] I personally didnt even ride this event so i was not even there, but i know from other times when you put a "racing group" with more than a 100 riders and want them to stay left the whole time it doesnt work. You said that in your group there was "except for the odd single rider moving to the front" when you racing everyone wants to be at the front so everyone is always trying to get to the front. Im not stay that i agree with what happered but if you are going to have a racing cat then the organisers must take into accout that they going to take all risks to get to the line in the best condition to get the best place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thyolo Posted December 4, 2006 Share Riding on the wrong side of the road - very illegal, because very dangerous. Also not in keeping with anyone with the label "Elite". Suggest those doing it take up train-surfing where they are less bother to others except the guy with the body bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vet pens Posted December 4, 2006 Share Het enige iemand al gewonder dat die rede hoekom hulle dalk aan die ander kant gery het was oor die nat teer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellie Posted December 4, 2006 Share Ons het heeltyd aan die linkerkant van die pad gery...die teer was nie meer nat nie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butafly Posted December 4, 2006 Share thats why it is so important that the sport gets its house in order in this province and all cyclist are licensed in some form or another. if you don't obey the rules your licensed is suspended. heard a marshal - Steve Hayward - at the start (who is also the chairman of the PPA) shout out that if you are caught littering you will be dq'ed) joker.i started in the c bunch , we were not too bad, but did rider a bit on the wrong side of the road. i just sat at the back and watched. almost canned the ride at the bottom of Bottleray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brakkies Sport Fotos Posted December 4, 2006 Share You can asked the 15 guys in the brake off the E group, I kakked them out when they went over the white line, and they listen. One acctually said "sorry" to me. Pity I punchered just before Klapmuts, but till there, we were about 15, picking up D stranglers but no one went over, because th tone was set on Bottlarey. Cyclist arn't that stupid, they just take changes. The Elites? Even Andrew McClean and Owen sometimes "approve" it because of the word "guttering". Its time the PPA stand up and do what they promise. DQ these idiots. Why don't they have racing marchells in the various groups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brakkies Sport Fotos Posted December 4, 2006 Share Ons het heeltyd aan die linkerkant van die pad gery...die teer was nie meer nat nie! Wie van julle 2 het dan die sambreel vas gehou? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donkey Posted December 4, 2006 Share Why don't they have racing marchells in the various groups? see Veloria's (spell?) earlier post. He didnt make use of the shelter from the wind and valued his life... dont blame him. You cant have racing marshals in the elite group... its battle of survival in a tour de gutter race like yest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellie Posted December 4, 2006 Share Donkey for Elite bunch marshall!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Token Posted December 4, 2006 Share how hard is it to have a rolling closure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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