In OM's defence, he has been involved in Tokai for the last year or two if memory serves. He joined the volunteers when the need to get the downhill track back in shape was priority, later moving onto assisting in motivating regular build days, something the new management in Tokai would finally consider.. His recent slating of Tokai and its tracks is something that still confuses me but I don't plan on taking any of it personally, I think most of it is aimed at the process of working towards a sustainable future where the mountain bikers and park management finally work together on matters. One needs a LOT of patience to see this challenge through and when other opportunities present themselves, which saw OM leave Tokai's volunteers for a place where scope and approval are carte blanche (Helderberg DH track where they are doing great work), I think it only natural to harbour feelings towards the rigid structure that previously stifled freedom. For me, as long as we have a track that rides well now and provides a basis for future improvement, I am happy. The process for new trails is well under way and for the most part, Parks are happy with TokaiMTB's progress and its respect for their constraints.. it's a two way street. - Just so everyone is up-to-speed, part of the process of making Tokai sustainable is establishing a group (TokaiMTB assisted by cptmahem and supported by countless others) as a NPO that provides employment to keen, motivated and incredibly neat labourers from impoverished backgrounds. This group employs 3 staff at the moment but the aim is to have 8 full-time staff. I have been raising funds and had some generous donations which has kept the group going for some time. Future fundraising will be mainly at corporate level but the public's assistance will always be welcomed. This pays for the maintenance you are seeing carried out during the weeks including; repairs, preventative maintenance, course features and lifting some of the severely eroded trails threatened with closure. (Ideally if the public was contributing towards the labour annually, it would be a CSR project with Cape Town's backing! Can you imagine..) Understandably without money and paid staff, the volunteers would unfortunately not cope under the pressure of 1200 riders each weekend on trails with several years worth of damage. Add to this pressure, the trees being removed places unbelievable stress on the tracks with sun and rain taking its toll daily.. For the position of managing the labour I earn a meagre salary and work nights to make the shortfall of up to 70% of my regular monthly salary. Luckily I do it for the love of mountain biking so it will take more than words to sway me from the goal of riding in pristine fynbos forests with the blessing of the landowner. Ok pack the violins away, as you were..
