Location: Sunday 31 Aug 2003
Karen Van Rooyen
Gauteng cyclists have become the latest targets of gun-wielding gangs who rob them and leave them stranded in deserted areas. The situation has become so bad that cycling clubs and magazines are now warning cyclists to ride in big groups, preferably more than five. This month alone there have been at least six attacks on groups of cyclists - in just one area - Honeydew, north of Joburg. One incident resulted in a shootout involving brothers Lloyd and Scott Griffiths, who are now facing murder charges. The two men were cycling in the veld next to Boundary Road in North Riding near Honeydew when six armed men attacked them. They shot at the robbers, fatally injuring one.
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Damian Marsala is one of the bike robbers' victims. His R15 000 bike was stolen by three men who attacked him in the veld next to Boundary Road two weeks ago. Marsala and three other members of the Joburg Mountain Bike Club had been plotting a route for their club. "Three hijackers jumped out of the bush, one of them on a bicycle," Marsala recalled. "They approached us with a gun, took our bikes, our shoes, camel bags and sunglasses, and they told us to walk away. We walked away barefoot." Marsala said the hijackers were on bicycles and that they had robbed other cyclists just minutes before. In that attack the hijackers left behind two bicycles, one worth R35 000. Some enthusiasts believe that the attacks might discourage newcomers from joining the sport and even force veterans into gyms where they are safer. But Marsala believes the sport will overcome the crooks: "People will be scared for a while, but the guys are too committed to their cycling."
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/2003/08/31/news/gauteng/njhb01.asp