Attention all cyclists

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metalcore

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I read today in the news that there was another fatal incident involving a cyclist in Cape Town. This is a sad situation and my condolences goes out to the family of the cyclist. However I wish to vent my opinion on the matter of cyclists on our roads in general with no reference to the incident that occured in Cape Town.

First of all there are many more cars on the road and more and more drivers so this compounds the dangers for cyclists however the current generation of cyclists need to learn how to ride their bicycles.

When I was a kid I used to ride all over the place and I still have the calf muscles to prove it. In those days (over 12 years ago) there was a lot of traffic still. I had a quite a few close encounters in my youth with busses, trucks and cars. I learned very fast that to safely ride in the road I had to keep close to the curb. It didnt take me long to master this, riding with my pedals mere inches away from the curb, moving away from the curb only when I had to pass parked vehicles. Sometimes I would mount the curb and stay there on the curb where there clearly wasnt enough road.

Fast forward to today and I see so many cyclists cycling far away from the curbs thinking they are in the road or driving cars or something. Sometimes they even ride side by side having conversations in main roads.

WTF is wrong with you people who do this. I will tell you what it is...

Most of the "cyclists" today are people who only occasionally road their bikes as kids, but they are into cycling because its trendy or because their peers at work are into it. Much like golf. These people spend lots of money on bikes, magazines and fancy gear to look in with crowd. These people have no real road sense or experience on bicycles hence the fact they ride far away from the curb and in traffic and act like complete morons at times getting hostile with motorists.

I cant stand lame wannabe trend followers. Please stop being scared to scratch your R5000 set of pedals against the curb, or being scared that you will crash into the curb and learn where a bicycle belongs... to the side of the road.

To those cyclists out there who grew up cycling like I did and know how to ride, keep up good work, but even some of you are scared to scratch your fancy bikes or something.


Thank you.
 
+1

When I was a kid (I'm still part of the pedal power association) they had strict rules and road regulations. You had to have a "license" where you took a written test to prove you could safely be on the roads with other cars. Cops even occassionally (back then) stopped and checked for my license and then fined me R50 (which was a crap load of money for a kid) if I didn't have one.

They eventually stopped doing that and nowadays it's apparent that its more of a trend than anything else.

KEEP YOUR LINE!

You have no idea how many idiot cyclists are out there. I almost moered into 3 other cyclists (different occassions) as they would just stop next to the road in a bundle. (This was with the Argus and Die Burger/Sanlam)

But yea. Close to the curb or even on it. I used to be on the curb most of the time as it's easier / faster to cycle there than in traffic. Whenever I did go on the road, I used to make sure to keep it on the curb whenever I deem a certain "narrow" lane or at the traffic lights even (that way I skip the red light, haha)
 
metalcore said:
Fast forward to today and I see so many cyclists cycling far away from the curbs thinking they are in the road or driving cars or something. Sometimes they even ride side by side having conversations in main roads.

WTF is wrong with you people who do this. I will tell you what it is...
Click to expand...

Plus fukking 1! I agree wholeheartedly! If a cyclist gets hit by a car, immediately everyone assumes the driver of the car was being careless. :mad:
 
I'm a cyclist and I can tell you know, many seasoned cyclists know how to keep their line, its the cars that pass you on the right, they get so damn close, many times I am surprised how the guy never hit me.
 
gdiza said:
I'm a cyclist and I can tell you know, many seasoned cyclists know how to keep their line, its the cars that pass you on the right, they get so damn close, many times I am surprised how the guy never hit me.
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Very true. In most cases it is the drivers fault btw. But we're talking about the wanna-be's that doesn't know ****.

For example the one guy posting about 2 guys cycling next to each other. Now fine, on a road without traffic thats cool. My dad and I used to do the backroads through the winelands where there was no traffic at all, so we did like that SOMETIMES.

But most of the times its more effecient riding behind the one guy, and then switching up depending on weather conditions and what routes you're doing etc.
 
gdiza said:
I'm a cyclist and I can tell you know, many seasoned cyclists know how to keep their line, its the cars that pass you on the right, they get so damn close, many times I am surprised how the guy never hit me.
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Same whether you're on a motorcycle... inconsiderate road hogs pass by so close I can kick their cars...
 
I used to live on a bicycle in the 80's in Jhb and rode all over the place, including empire road, jan smuts and cbd, never had one accident which was my own fault, was never inconsiderate to motorists (who generally treated me like ****) and can tell you that riding on the curb is incredibly dangerous as you have no room for error and there is also loads of krap there which can puncture/break wheel/cause swerve etc. You need to ride slightly off the curb to give yourself room to move and so the idiots in cars will actually notice that you are there.
 
Tip to cyclists: If you hear a car coming from behind, don't turn your head and look at it. Keep your line. Odds are greater that you'll veer infront of the car as you turn your head than the driver being a malicious prick and hits you deliberately.
 
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Picard said:
Tip to cyclists: If you hear a car coming from behind, don't turn your head and look at it. Keep your line. Odds are greater that you'll veer infront of the car as you turn your head than the driver being a malicious prick and hits you deliberately.
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ROFL :D But so true!
 
I whole-heartedly agree with Metalcore. I drive to school in the morning (at around 6:45am) and there are already so many stupid cyclists veering in my driving path. It's about four months until the Argus, and they've already started...they must learn roads were built for cars, not cyclists. The law, unfortunately, is in favour of the "innocent" cyclist.
 
Nothing more horrible than a damn car HOOTING at you (like trying to get your attention or just to wave or something)

I get this alot, because I wear the kit for my company, when people know my company, they hoot... its stupid because generally I get a fright.
 
1st rule of cycling, ride on the side of the road where your riding against traffic. This way you can see the cars coming. They fail at that.

I have seen too many riders thinking their bikes are cars and ride on the road as if it was. I make way where I can but they ride like turds. I have no sympathy for them dying. I do feel sorry for the families though :(
 
Pitbull said:
1st rule of cycling, ride on the side of the road where your riding against traffic. This way you can see the cars coming. They fail at that.

I have seen too many riders thinking their bikes are cars and ride on the road as if it was. I make way where I can but they ride like turds. I have no sympathy for them dying. I do feel sorry for the families though :(
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And then you get the cyclists who try and "race" cars on a flat piece of road. Do they honestly expect any driver to lose this "race"? :rolleyes:. It's a silly and stupid game, designed to fulfill the ego of some idiot.
 
Dominic Rooney said:
I whole-heartedly agree with Metalcore. I drive to school in the morning (at around 6:45am) and there are already so many stupid cyclists veering in my driving path. It's about four months until the Argus, and they've already started...they must learn roads were built for cars, not cyclists. The law, unfortunately, is in favour of the "innocent" cyclist.
Click to expand...


Er... roads were made for cycling my friend. Go to wikipedia and check when bicycles and cars were invented.... mkay?

And turning your head to check traffic and veering into oncoming traffic not keeping your line? Thats AMATURE!

But again. If you "go with the flow" (instead of against it like you should) you shouldn't be bothered by cars and ****, you should just keep your line.
 
AcidRaZor said:
Er... roads were made for cycling my friend. Go to wikipedia and check when bicycles and cars were invented.... mkay?
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Maybe originally, but their usage has changed to favour cars. You not seriously telling me the N1 and N2 were designed for cyclists....
 
When I cycled (basicly whole of primary and high school plus 2 years of varsity) I made sure I took quieter streets for my route, even if it was a bit longer. This at the end of the day cut down my trip time (and stress) because I didn't have to worry about cars that much. Also I used to cycle on the right hand side of the road (on coming lane) so that I could see when the cars come and make sure I am not in their way when they pass me. By cycling in the left lane you put your trust in that fact that the driver won't hit you, while when you can see the on coming cars you make the choice to not be in his way.

Frankly busy roads were the worst roads to cycle in for me. But then again I never cycled competitively and had a mountain cycle that could handle all the curb work, holes and rocks on the side of the road.
 
You should cycle about 1 metre from the pavement. However riding side by side is never acceptable.

Darth_Vader said:
Same whether you're on a motorcycle... inconsiderate road hogs pass by so close I can kick their cars...
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I just remove unnecessary parts of their cars. Like mirrors.

Dominic Rooney said:
And then you get the cyclists who try and "race" cars on a flat piece of road. Do they honestly expect any driver to lose this "race"? :rolleyes:. It's a silly and stupid game, designed to fulfill the ego of some idiot.
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It's a game, but nothing silly about it. No different to going hard up a hill. I suppose idiots who only spend time in cages might think otherwise.

supersunbird said:
Goverment should make road widers, or cars WILL pass too close to cyclists,
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Cars should pass when there is sufficient space and it is safe. If the road isn't wide enough they'll have to wait. Or take the extensive damage to their car.

FacELesS. said:
Also I used to cycle on the right hand side of the road
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That really does not make you safer.
 
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