cradle route

[TNT1]

So... When the cradle motorists are out illegally blockading the roads this weekend, are we gonna organise a group poop on someone's driveway?

[mallo]

Cradleresident and Mr Ples please be on the look-out for me ON YOUR roads as I ride there all the time and introduce yourself in manner you deem fit and I will return the greetings the same way.

 

 

 

I believe I have as much right to any public road as you do as I respect my fellow road users however if I am impeded for any reason or other I shall do the same without any hesitation.

 

 

 

I ride through the cradle area every second Saturday from 06H30 to 08H00 starting from avianto side through around the circles and up Beyers Naude back to Avianto. I am on a black and orange bike.

 

 

 

Malcolm     

[techguy]

Cradleresident and Mr Ples please be on the look-out for me ON YOUR roads as I ride there all the time and introduce yourself in manner you deem fit and I will return the greetings the same way.

I believe I have as much right to any public road as you do as I respect my fellow road users however if I am impeded for any reason or other I shall do the same without any hesitation.

I ride through the cradle area every second Saturday from 06H30 to 08H00 starting from avianto side through around the circles and up Beyers Naude back to Avianto. I am on a black and orange bike.

Malcolm     

 

Me too, I will gladly move out of the way, and give a friendly wave...

[Edition 507]

Do you know what I find quite unbelievable about this whole saga? And thats the fact that the cradle residents are bitching about cyclist riding two abreast and how illegal this is, when, and I will bet my bike on this, they themselves are continually breaking the law by speeding in the very same area. I bet they don?t even know what the speed limit is. Riding two abreast is a petty misdemeanour and deserves a slap on the wrist, however, reckless endangerment while driving, and heaven forbid manslaughter, are serious crimes and result in jail sentences and criminal records. Now who should be doing the bitching? That?s right, the cyclist should be begging for camera traps and speed bumps to be spread all over the cradle area to prevent the criminal behaviour of the motorist who are endangering our lives. And before any cradle resident tries to bullsh*t us into believing they are adhering to the speed limit let me point out a thing or two. If your car is travelling at 40kph, which is the speed limit in some places, then nearly every single cyclist will be overtaking your car on the downhills, and in some cases on the flats as well. If you are doing 60kph which is the maximum allowed, then the majority of cyclist will be keeping up with you on the downhill?s. I ask all cyclists following this thread if they have ever seen cyclists overtaking or in fact keeping up with the cars? Not in a month of Sundays!!

[Edge_Design]

Do you know what I find quite unbelievable about this whole saga? And thats the fact that the cradle residents are bitching about cyclist riding two abreast and how illegal this is' date=' when, and I will bet my bike on this, they themselves are continually breaking the law by speeding in the very same area. I bet they don?t even know what the speed limit is. Riding two abreast is a petty misdemeanour and deserves a slap on the wrist, however, reckless endangerment while driving, and heaven forbid manslaughter, are serious crimes and result in jail sentences and criminal records. Now who should be doing the bitching? That?s right, the cyclist should be begging for camera traps and speed bumps to be spread all over the cradle area to prevent the criminal behaviour of the motorist who are endangering our lives. And before any cradle resident tries to bullsh*t us into believing they are adhering to the speed limit let me point out a thing or two. If your car is travelling at 40kph, which is the speed limit in some places, then nearly every single cyclist will be overtaking your car on the downhills, and in some cases on the flats as well. If you are doing 60kph which is the maximum allowed, then the majority of cyclist will be keeping up with you on the downhill?s. I ask all cyclists following this thread if they have ever seen cyclists overtaking or in fact keeping up with the cars? Not in a month of Sundays!! [/quote']

 

You know, it's posts like this that really irritate me! If I bought myself a section of road, I wouldn't let some stupid government employee come and tell me what speed I can drive on it either! That's absolutely ridiculous! Just for an indication of CR's attitude towards the area, 1 of his first posts on the hub was a statement that we all wish we could live there! That tells you all you need to know about him and why he believes that he should decide who is allowed on his road...

 

I know my posts are all very sarcastic, but it really does amaze me how much these ppl have to say without once addressing what the actual point of the post was in the first place... not once have any of them even acknowledged the fact that this guy even drove his car, let alone that what he did was exceptionally stupid.

[Slowbee]

shaun, whats wrong with carbon's point ?

 

Traffic circles at intersections, speed bumps and traps to make sure people stick to the speed limit are all valid arguements.

 

 

[Edge_Design]

I trust you're being as sarcastic as I was!  I think it would be great if they put in speed bumpers every 50 metres (to protect the residents children of course!). Maybe the one looking for donations should put some of the money towards it - it's a very good safety initiative which would reduce what his group spends on medical supplies!

[AndreZA]

If I bought myself a section of road' date=' I wouldn't let some stupid government employee?come and tell me what speed I can drive on it either! That's absolutely ridiculous![/quote']

 

 

 

and when did they purchase the road? If they did then they can put up gates aswell and no one can tell them not to keep cyclist out.

[GoLefty!!]

hey guys,

 

 

I was chatting to the constable at the local police station in the week about a few wankers who tried to drive me off the road while our cycling on wednesday morning.

 

He said if I am out alone why not produce photographic evidence of the drivers tactics....

 

So I got thinking , why not ride with a small helmet cam and record your ride? if a motorise harrasses you, you have the proof plus witness like other cyclists.

Theres a small mini cam being advertised on the hub that retails for R1500-00 or something. Record the bastards and take the evidence to the police.

 

[chucky]

What amazes me is that cyclists are also potential clients when not cycling.

They when not cycling must surely be clients with family and friends who attend these areas for business,weddings lunches etc,someone suggested to me why not boycot these conference centres and restaurantsas clearly we are not welcome

[BELL BOY]

Listen CHOP, I don`t give a sh*t what words we can and can`t use. Your mate Dave is a coward who hides behind a 1 ton bakkies steering wheel. Foot Patrol, horse patrols blah blah blah blah, so that means this wanker now has the right to commit a crime himself. You and him both need to get a life. Maybe when he does mame or injure a cyclist one day, he will get found guilty and sent to jail. Maybe then when he is being reemed BY BUBBA he might regret his actions.

 

GET A LIFE BRU.

[BELL BOY]

Mark, Bruce, this oak Mr Ples or whatever his name is, is an idiot and we shouldn`t humour him or his mate Dave any further.

We had an incident in December, when we followed the oak and confronted him he crapped himself. They are cowards who don`t give there names on a CYCLING forum?? They hide in cars. I don`t know why we as cyclists are pussy footing around them?

 

If one of these chops were walking out into the road every Saturday and Sunday firing warning shots at us with a gun, would we be sitting down having coffee with them to discuss it and find a solution??

 

I don`t give a sh*t if we ride 10 abreast a car can kill a cyclist and not the other way around. They are impatient wankers who clame they are involved in all these community projects, when all they are is cowards with nothing better to do than ride around at 6 on a Saturday or Sunday morning intimidating cyclists. Let`s stop being so diplomatic with these idiots it`s not gonna make them change.

 

 

 

 

[GoLefty!!]

 

So what you are saying is that X must endanger his life and his kids life by driving on the wrong side of the road on a blind rise.

 

 

Well actually the law states that you may only overtake a moving vehicle when it is safe to do so' date=' irrespective of whether or not you approve of its speed, colour, smokey engine.

The fact that the driver overtook on a blind rise with children in the car sends a clear message wrt to character. Clearly this person does not love his children because their safety was compromised by his actions. None of the cyclist held a gun to his head and forced him to overtake. His choice, his character.

 

 

 

At the meeting it was made clear by Metro that cyclysts can only ride 2 abreast in a cycling lane. This was a specific question asked.

This road does not have a cycling lane, not even a shoulder and X and other residents report that they were riding 3 abreast. Lets say they were riding 2 abreast. Still irresponsable and even more so from these guys as they know the situation and they know that riding in the middle of the road is not on. They go on about saftey saftey, but they ride like this.

 

 

Well safety begins not with the law, but personal action. Its always wonderful to adopt the officious position with the rule books under your arms but that does not solve a thing. That attitude creates a stand off. You talk of wanting to find a solution yet at the same time you want others to follow your doctrine.

 

Heres a few guidelines that may help you grasp the fundamentals:

 

- Cyclists are tax payers too, thereore they paid for the road that everyone drives or rides on. that is fact and truth.

if I recall, farmers are often tax exempt, especially if you can prove a loss therefore its likely that residents in the Cradle contribute less to the upkeep of the roads tey wish to domineer than others,.....perhaps

 

- the law does not provide a solution, it provides guidelines to follow for the post event. the problem here is present and future events. Only morality can guide you there. If placing the lives of your own children and three cyclists at risk is justified by "the law says they are wrong because only 2 may ride abreast" then in the event of an accident your tjommie would be the most liable for the accident because:

 

-- he saw them and had plenty time to react and chose not too.

-- he failed to slow down for a slow moving vehicle

-- he failed to take adequate avoiding action

-- he caused a dangerous situation by overtaking on a blind rise.

 

i could go on but I'm thinking that by now you may start to get the point.

 

even if three cyclists were riding abreast, your tjommie made all the mistakes and is most at fault. Is he not responsible for his actions? did the devil make him do it?

 

Tolerance is the starting point for a resolution. There is no justifying....

 

[Icycling]

Anywhere in the world - Cyclist are traffic - and hopefully part of the trafic and Co2 global warming solution!

 

 

 

Motorist need to start appreciating this on all public road.

 

 

 

Yes believe it or not if it was a blind riase then their would be a solid white line which in turn means it would be illegal to overtake and need to slow down for the slower trafic (cyclist(s)) ahead of the motorist and wait untill it is safe to overtake and on a dotted line - That is also the law!

 

 

 

I live down in the Cape far from you guys but this Dec / Jan holidays their were a lot of GP number plates down here and I must admit GP number plate drivers seem to be very inconsiderate - whether I am on my bike / or in my car!

[mr ples]

The wisest, most long standing resident on the African continent will now speak!

 

No cyclists enter the Cradle Area, until RESPECT AND DECENCY (this is applicable to all folk) returns to this process, until points tabled from the previous Teak meeting are actioned, and until the surface for the cycle lane is sorted.

 

 

 

In this way I am sure we will all be on the same page, and put pressure in the right places (at governments door), no need for 'talk shops', no need to send nerd emails to and fro, no need to waste the law enforcement agency's time, have a happy local community, and cyclist will not be in any danger.

 

 

 

This will not be too painful, as many opinions expressed in this forum, don't like the area and it's residents, residents are prepared to take the financial set back, farmers just want to farm, police can chase murderers, and whilst we all lay-off for a while, the wise men will meet and build bridges to the benefit of all.

 

 

 

Once the bridges have been repaired and built (including the cycle lane), and the middle road is found (cyclist keep left please) we all get together, celebrate and open the Cradle Route officially.

 

 

 

Alternative Route: Cyclists should use the Northern farm facility.

 

In the Interim, The law enforcement agencies patrol the Cradle area to stop all mis conduct of all road users.

 

 

 

"I have a dream, that every Cradle Resident becomes a Cyclist, and that every tourist and Cradle Resident become friends!"

 

 

 

Ples has spoken!

[no.one.knows]

So after reading this whole thread, i feel i have justed wasted my time. because after 13pages no solution or agreement has been even considered by both parties. so you are all wasting your time.

 

The facts i see are: cycling is a rapidly growing sport worldwide. probably one of the fastest places for this growth is SA, look at fact sheets from 94.7 and argus for instance, so more and more average joe's are getting out on a bike, which is good for your environment by the way mr ples and cradleresident, so be thankfull. it also affects your roads less, less road wear. anyway back to my point, if more and more people are out on their bikes and hear about what is happening in this area, less and less people will visit this area because of the risks involved, whether in their car or on bike. so the income in this area will drop as less and less people visit it, something to think bout cradle residents.

 

If you think this doesnt affect your business in the area, guess again. I have customers here in australia, 9000km away who are not from SA, who have heard about this and are shocked by it, and because of it, will not visit this area when on holiday because of reports or bad driving, bad cycling, bad tension etc...

 

to both the cyclists and the residents, in reading all your posts. I feel this might never stop, and that the toll on people's lives at some stage may be great. so please before you all carry on trying to acuse each other or point blame, drop the past and whats happened and start as if you were starting from scratch, to find a solution, to work together, and help each other. cause although there are issues to be addressed here, they have become soo entangled that there will never be solved cause both parties arent even agreeing on anything.

 

come guys SA is still the most beautiful country in the world, and has the most unique things/culture/scenary to offer. lets not turn it bloody and violent.

 

just consider it, thats all i ask....