A wire trap which appears to have been deliberately set for cyclists on the Glen trail has left one Camps Bay cyclist injured.
Harry Millar was snagged by a wire which had been maliciously stretched across the path at neck-height on July 7.
This has angered the cycling community who think the culprits may be those who have a sense of entitlement over the trails and do not want to share them with cyclists.
“A discussion with the culprit will simply not be enough, we will make an example of him,” said Table Mountain Bikers founder, Robert Vogel.
Mr Millar sustained injuries that has left him suffering to swallow.
Mr Vogel said cyclists in Cape Town are being targeted by a suspect who places wire traps to ambush cyclists and this was not the first time an incident like this has taken place.
“The first time this happened, I personally caught the culprit and it’s definitely one of the people who have a problem with cyclists in the Glen trails. Last year the culprits dragged logs and other obstacles onto the trail,” he said.
He said cyclists were now legally allowed to ride on the trails and some people feel their space has been taken away.
“This is serious, the victim sustained injuries but it could’ve been a lot worse, you can tell that this was planned and the culprit went to a lot of trouble to do it,” he
said.
said.
Mr Vogel said no one owns the trails and they must be shared by all residents. He said people who were unhappy with cyclists on trails should be voicing their unhappiness on the right platforms instead of resorting to violence.
He said they didn’t understand why someone would go out of their way to deliberately hurt others.
He said Table Mountain Bikers also paid for the maintenance of the trails and vowed that they would take legal steps on the matter.
Another Camps Bay cyclist using the trails, Ricky Lawrence, said since the incident happened, he’s been nervous to ride there.
“Hikers are grumpy when it comes to sharing the trails, but I find it hard that one would do that during the day, it could’ve been two naughty guys who were up to no good,” he said.
Some residents commented on social media that the incident was intentional with an aim to cause an injury and the culprit needed to be taught a lesson.
The hike leader of the Peninsula Ramblers hiking club, Glenda Dollar, said the person who did this was driven by malicious intent.
Ms Dollar said: “I saw on social media that people think it could be hikers and I can’t believe that people would think that about hikers. We never had a problem with sharing the trails with cyclists.”
Mr Vogel said they believed that the culprit is from the Camps Bay area and the Table Mountain rangers were currently doing patrols in the area.
They urged the community to help identify the culprit.
Camps Bay SAPS station commander, Captain Keith Chandler, said the police went to the crime scene and found a wire and a thick rope but no arrests had been made.
Mandated with managing the environmental integrity of the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP), SANParks is the managing authority of the TMNP and as such is the ultimate decision making authority within the boundaries of the national park. It has legislative power to establish rules regarding all activities within the TMNP. It’s responsible for among other things, monitoring activities, maintaining the designated routes and closing illegal or non-approved routes.
Atlantic Sun tried to reach SANParks on the matter, to no avail.
At least one cyclist was injured when a wire trap snagged his neck.
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