jmaccelari Posted January 30, 2011 Posted January 30, 2011 This is the first I have heard of this. Any Capetonians able to shed some light: http://www.iolproperty.co.za/roller/news/entry/cape_town_west_coast_cycle If this is a sign of things to come, it's frikkin' awesome...
cyclingfiend Posted January 30, 2011 Posted January 30, 2011 This is the first I have heard of this. Any Capetonians able to shed some light: http://www.iolproperty.co.za/roller/news/entry/cape_town_west_coast_cycle If this is a sign of things to come, it's frikkin' awesome... Work on this has been going on for almost a year so glad to see it opening. I have ridden the section from Milnerton to Blouberg several times and it seem fine but forsee problems with bike traffic going both ways and mixing with pedestrians on a fairly narrow lane. (From what I have seen,this dedicated lane is only on one side of the road). The part I rode has a dotted white line down the middle to separate peds and bikers making the bike part very narrow!Can't see serious cyclists using it, especialy if a group!
Capricorn Posted January 30, 2011 Posted January 30, 2011 serious cyclist will always obey the rules of the road, and use what they got. Training days are not excuses to go pretend it's a sanctioned race with provisions made for cyclists to hog the road.Use the damn cycling lane.
DJR Posted January 30, 2011 Posted January 30, 2011 I've used the cycle path from Woodstock to Blouberg three times now. It's a great idea and I wish the City of Cape Town will build a hell of a lot more routes like this one. The idea of separating cyclists and motorized traffic is the only solution to make cycling safe. Yes, it would have been nice to have it a bit wider, but from my experience, it works fine. Bunch riding is not possible, that has to be accepted in exchange for greater safety. On weekends a surprizing number of recreational cyclists and a few runners use it without any problems. A problem that I foresee is the devils thorns that are now ripening all over on the edge of the new cycle path - tubeless or slime will soon be essential. The route is almost completely flat but coming back against a howling south easter is more than a serious workout. It's only about 20 km long so you'll have to cycle on if you are looking for more than a 40km out and back ride. On 2 of the rides I rode with my 10 year old son and it was ideal for him, as long as I kept on reminding him of upcoming intersections, of which there are a few. The very fancy traffic lights at these intersections are however dysfunctional, take too long to turn green and turn red again too quickly. I'll treat them as 4 way stops in future (so much for trying to teach my son to obey traffic rules). The part through the station and the Paarden Eiland industrial area has been made to look quite good, perhaps with more fancy landscaping and gardening than I would have done myself. The rest of the way simply has the most stunning view of Table Mountain, the first time it was hard to concentrate on where I was going. And you have to concentrate a bit if you want to ride it fast because lampposts and bollards and intersections approach more quickly than you think. In my opinion, Cape Town needs a ring path like this all the way around the peninsula (for recreational riders) as well as a few "spokes" going out from the centre to the suburbs (for commuters). We can only dream that they will finally do something usefull with our tax money, but this is a good start!.
leet22 Posted January 30, 2011 Posted January 30, 2011 I use it everyday into town from Milnerton. But as was said the thorns are causing a load of flats. Nice to ride and feel safe
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