Cape Town danger areas

[cadenceblur]

50 minutes ago, MORNE said:

I get this but Its difficult. I ges my PTSD or just plain new awareness means I have not ridden past my hijack spot since it happened in 2020. It has opened my eyes to how exposed i was, not to mention how dumb. part of being safe in SA anywhere is being street smart. You cant be a ignorant ‘tourist’ here. People say it alot but Africa is not a place for being a ‘gazelle’. The ‘predators WILL get you at some stage…its a numbers game. It was my second time. I have a kid now and im not willing to see if they decide to use the knife the third time. 
 I used to ride that 60km route 2 or 3 times a weekend for years. Sometimes in the dark.

I felt safe since it is used by 100’s of cyclist over a weekend…and i im from GP too so im mos tough you know lol. I mean minutes after it happened a group of cyclists stopped…and had i left 2 min later at home the guy right behind me would have been the victim i guess.

Its not that simple anymore. You have to consider the possibilities and the possible consequences and readjust your strategies/routines etc. It is what it is here. Some call it being negative but its just being realistic and common sense imo.

so true 

vigilance

perhaps a bit less "windgat"

take the necessary precaution or the inconvenience that you have to endure, be it to leave later, drive to a safer starting point or co-ordinate your activities with others. 

Our reality in some respects

[The Ouzo]

52 minutes ago, MORNE said:

I get this but Its difficult. I ges my PTSD or just plain new awareness means I have not ridden past my hijack spot since it happened in 2020. It has opened my eyes to how exposed i was, not to mention how dumb. part of being safe in SA anywhere is being street smart. You cant be a ignorant ‘tourist’ here. People say it alot but Africa is not a place for being a ‘gazelle’. The ‘predators WILL get you at some stage…its a numbers game. It was my second time. I have a kid now and im not willing to see if they decide to use the knife the third time. 
 I used to ride that 60km route 2 or 3 times a weekend for years. Sometimes in the dark.

I felt safe since it is used by 100’s of cyclist over a weekend…and i im from GP too so im mos tough you know lol. I mean minutes after it happened a group of cyclists stopped…and had i left 2 min later at home the guy right behind me would have been the victim i guess.

Its not that simple anymore. You have to consider the possibilities and the possible consequences and readjust your strategies/routines etc. It is what it is here. Some call it being negative but its just being realistic and common sense imo.

I hear you. And having it happen twice makes its even worse.

I guess its easy to talk from the sidelines when it hasnt happened to you. One of the previous incidents in my area happened minutes after I had been there, another happened at a time I would have been at the location had I ridden that day. I scared me, but I am determined to not let it keep me from riding (for now).

[ChrisF]

31 minutes ago, ouzo said:

I hear you. And having it happen twice makes its even worse.

I guess its easy to talk from the sidelines when it hasnt happened to you. One of the previous incidents in my area happened minutes after I had been there, another happened at a time I would have been at the location had I ridden that day. I scared me, but I am determined to not let it keep me from riding (for now).

 

Having had one attempted bike-jacking I am certainly more vigilant in certain areas ....

 

BUT ... I want to continue riding.

 

Saturday morning I did a nice lone ride .... heading into Stellenbosch I had two options.  Slow down and wait for the two cyclists behind to catch up and enter Stellenbosch as part of a group, OR, speed up and catch the two riders in front, and enter as a group ...  SWEAR I could see that infernal Zwift banner "Close the gap .. close the gap" ....

 

Certainly some areas I avoid riding alone .... others I avoid all together .....

[ivan888]

Not nice to read about these stories.

I left SA just over a year ago, primarily because it was no longer safe to cycle in Cape Town, (and I also find electricity a useful thing thing).

Anyway, before I left I managed to get port/harbour access so that I could cycle through the harbour and avoid Paarden Eiland and Woodstock and the need to chance it on the N1.

It was well worth the effort to get a permit and not that difficult at all. (I seem to remember that the permit had to be renewed every 90 days).

You just need a letter from your company (or from your self if you are self employed), that says you have customers to visit in the the harbour as well as a certified copy of your ID and then go to the office in the Port Tower (next to Shimmy Beach Club). 

They will give you a paper based permit. Put it in a plastic sleeve. Show it at the entrance and exit. 

Stay safe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hairy]

38 minutes ago, ivan888 said:

Not nice to read about these stories.

I left SA just over a year ago, primarily because it was no longer safe to cycle in Cape Town, (and I also find electricity a useful thing thing).

Anyway, before I left I managed to get port/harbour access so that I could cycle through the harbour and avoid Paarden Eiland and Woodstock and the need to chance it on the N1.

It was well worth the effort to get a permit and not that difficult at all. (I seem to remember that the permit had to be renewed every 90 days).

You just need a letter from your company (or from your self if you are self employed), that says you have customers to visit in the the harbour as well as a certified copy of your ID and then go to the office in the Port Tower (next to Shimmy Beach Club). 

They will give you a paper based permit. Put it in a plastic sleeve. Show it at the entrance and exit. 

Stay safe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

mmmm ... it is not expensive or difficult to register a company either .... so an interesting way to do things

[MORNE]

44 minutes ago, ivan888 said:

Not nice to read about these stories.

I left SA just over a year ago, primarily because it was no longer safe to cycle in Cape Town, (and I also find electricity a useful thing thing).

 

I get that too. Im the only one left in SA of my immediate family, but its always give and take. I can leave whenever I want.  But no place is perfect. You'll learn that with time if you havent already. I spend alot of time in other places and everywhere has it fatal flaws.
EVERWHERE. Its a case of pick your poison.

Im going on my 3rd week in dubai at the moment as i type this and i hate it here. I feel the same about OZ, UK, US. When i get back to SA and walk through customs and have that grumpy old mug stare back at me with total disdain and contempt …i still tell myself everytime…i dont care, he/she is MY grumpy old fart. They are my people.
 

The hotel im staying at is full of russians fleeing western santions, but also north african staff mostly…and we have something that binds us, this(that) shithole continent lol. 

[Bonus]

5 hours ago, ouzo said:

Just ride.

Be alert, be aware, but continue riding the same roads. 100s of cyclists use the same roads daily.  You have just as much chance getting hijacked driving to your cycling destination. 

 

Perhaps only someone who has lived in South Africa and now no longer does can see the deep sadness in the truth of this statement. 

[justinafrika]

7 hours ago, MORNE said:

You have to consider the possibilities and the possible consequences and readjust your strategies/routines etc. It is what it is here. Some call it being negative but its just being realistic and common sense imo.

Can’t agree more.  This approach worked unfailingly in 19 years of operating various endeavours and socialising and running club nights in the historically beautiful but crime-ridden Central-on-the-Hill in my city.  Our students (and also our clubbers) paying hard cash meant that I frequently walked half a dozen blocks to the bank with that.  360° vigilance and avoiding threats has become natural and relaxed while cycling the city or trails at all hours.  And still a minibus taxi driver took me out on a dedicated cycle path…. Ain’t stopping this old geezer.

Edited May 23, 2022 by justinafrika

[MORNE]

9 hours ago, justinafrika said:

Can’t agree more.  This approach worked unfailingly in 19 years of operating various endeavours and socialising and running club nights in the historically beautiful but crime-ridden Central-on-the-Hill in my city.  Our students (and also our clubbers) paying hard cash meant that I frequently walked half a dozen blocks to the bank with that.  360° vigilance and avoiding threats has become natural and relaxed while cycling the city or trails at all hours.  And still a minibus taxi driver took me out on a dedicated cycle path…. Ain’t stopping this old geezer.

Cycle lanes are the best example in SA. Especially CT. False sense of security so a lot of cyclist just switch off and become instantly entitled snd forget about the dangers…which probably is how it should be, you SHOULD be safe on a cycle lane…but again, you cant assume anything. My wife is a good example, she doesn't really like cycling in the road…she has a real fear of the cars and is super careful, will even get off the bike and wait - to my annoyance. But as soon as she hits a cycle lane she becomes a total asshole haha. She’s like this is my piece of road and i own it and if they hit me here im set for life’. I try and explain that although she is rightfully entitled to feel that way, there is no point in being right if your are dead….

Edited May 24, 2022 by MORNE

[RustyHWR]

16 hours ago, ivan888 said:

Not nice to read about these stories.

I left SA just over a year ago, primarily because it was no longer safe to cycle in Cape Town, (and I also find electricity a useful thing thing).

Anyway, before I left I managed to get port/harbour access so that I could cycle through the harbour and avoid Paarden Eiland and Woodstock and the need to chance it on the N1.

It was well worth the effort to get a permit and not that difficult at all. (I seem to remember that the permit had to be renewed every 90 days).

You just need a letter from your company (or from your self if you are self employed), that says you have customers to visit in the the harbour as well as a certified copy of your ID and then go to the office in the Port Tower (next to Shimmy Beach Club). 

They will give you a paper based permit. Put it in a plastic sleeve. Show it at the entrance and exit. 

Stay safe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not so easy to get a permit anymore. All done online. They even want to know what you had for breakfast, They very strict now, because of all the foreign drivers that is illegal and uses old harbor access cards from other drivers. They starting the finger print access at the gates for normal "private" harbor users soon. Most of the trucks standing outside the port with containers on in Marine drive is trucks with drivers without access cards (or finger prints not matching the access card) and waiting for a "legal" driver to take the export container into port. I'm one of the lucky ones with a access card that is valid for 3 years. What a pleasure  it is to cycle from Blouberg to Camps Bay side using the harbor.

[Jbr]

3 hours ago, MORNE said:

there is no point in being right if your are dead….

Try telling that to my wife when she attempts crossing the road on a designated crosswalk without looking first if the cars saw her/are slowing down

[The Ouzo]

14 hours ago, Bonus said:

 

Perhaps only someone who has lived in South Africa and now no longer does can see the deep sadness in the truth of this statement. 

we see the sadness, trust me. but to dwell on it and live in fear will make you crazy

[Robbie Stewart]

13 hours ago, justinafrika said:

And still a minibus taxi driver took me out on a dedicated cycle path….

yep. I had a similar incident. The one time a car knocked me was while riding on the west coast cycle path. The a-hole driver was exiting Big Bay Beach Club and decided since I was supposed to yield (to traffic turning off of Marine Drive . . . ) he was not obliged to STOP. At a STOP sign complete with the painted white line and big block letters and all . . .

Cycling lanes are NOT a place to be complacent. I ride there often enough, and by the way people speed along on that road, I have often wondered what the mess will look like the day one of those speedsters loses control and smashes across the cycle lane.

[Bonus]

36 minutes ago, ouzo said:

we see the sadness, trust me. but to dwell on it and live in fear will make you crazy

 

I hear you. Stay safe! 👍

[Robbie Stewart]

Attack on runners on cycle path this morning between Dolphin Beach and Sunset Beach along R27. Stay vigilant out there folks.

 

[MORNE]

😡🤬