‘I will never ride a bike alone again’ – Cyclists and joggers under threat

You can walk, you can run or cycle, but South Africans enjoying the outdoors for exercise are being beaten, robbed, run over and killed for their bicycles, shoes, phones and even their T-shirts.

Democratic Alliance Gauteng shadow MEC for community safety Michael Shackleton said this week that cyclists and joggers on Tshwane roads were under threat.

“Two cyclists were bumped over by a vehicle and then robbed of their bicycles,” he said.

Shackleton said other, similar, incidents had been reported.

Cyclist Teresa Coetzee said she knew of 10 people in her circle who had been “bike jacked”. A friend had been robbed while riding in the Midstream area last week.

“They took everything. They took his bicycle, phone, shoes, and even his T-shirt. He walked into the police station with only his pants on,” she said.

Coetzee has been cycling for 15 years and rides five times a week.

“I have never been robbed. But I never ride alone anymore. You cannot. You can’t even ride two-two. You have to ride in groups,” she said.

Coetzee said her group cycled in the Cradle of Humankind area during the week and took to the open road over the weekend.

“Usually, we look out for the normal problems: drunk drivers in the early morning and driving while texting – those are the people we watch out for,” she said.

Former South African triathlete Nick Bester, who spoke to The Citizen yesterday, landed in an intensive care unit after being brutally attacked in the Magaliesberg in August 2020.

Bester said the incident did not scare him off and he still cycles 100km on a good day “I got a fright because they attacked me very badly. I still have some damage to my olfactory nerves, which means I cannot taste or smell properly,” he said.

Bester said the nerves took two years to recover.

“The nerves grow one millimetre per year so I have about 30% smell and taste currently.”

Bester said the nerves were damaged when his assailants smashed his head with rocks.

“It’s dangerous in traffic. You could be hit by a car – and it’s dangerous in the mountain or on the dirt roads because of the attacks,” he said.

ALSO READ: Gauteng cyclists ‘under siege’ – Hijacking hotspots revealed

Riders and runners should join clubs and never ride or run alone.

“Cyclists are easy targets because it is easy to bump you down and take your bike,” Bester said.

Cyclist Isabel Prins said she will never ride alone again after being knocked off her bicycle while riding alone at Hartbeespoort Dam a few years ago. Prins fought off her attacker, who bit her face before driving off.

“It was a very traumatic experience and I will never ride a bike alone again,” she said.

Prins said the attack has made her constantly aware of her surroundings.

“When I ride, I do not take chances,” she said.

Triathlete Andre Piehl was killed in January when the driver of a Porsche knocked him over and he was dragged by the luxury vehicle. His friend Jean du Preez was critically injured.

Megan Harrington-Johnson from HJW Attorneys said the police were investigating Piehl’s murder, and the suspect was due to appear in court again on 18 May.

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Du Preez’s wife, Ilinda, said her husband was doing well.

“Most of the injuries have healed or are still healing. He is back at work and slowly starting to become more active again,” she said.

“Since his accident, our gardener and friend were cycling to work and also knocked over by a taxi driver. The taxi driver offered them R50 and drove off.”

The Mauritian cycling team’s bicycles were stolen this month and coach Trevor Court said the team had received no news regarding their recovery.

The 12 bicycles, worth about R1 million, were stolen from a storage facility on a guest farm in Paarl, where the team was staying and training.

Court said police had arrested a group of suspects but had not recovered the bicycles.

“We are still looking,” he said.

– marizkac@citizen.co.za