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3 hours ago, marko35s said:Specific to the highlighted part of your post - in discussions with park management it appears that they try to bring in external contractors or put in place an outside company for any role that they do not see as part of their core skill set. The argument being that they want to concentrate on their core tasks and not spend time and money learning how to run a restaurant for instance.
As far as I am aware the company with the concession pays a rental to parks rather than parks paying them.
Whether this is a good thing or not is open to debate.
You would think that removing alien invasive species and fixing trails should be part of their core skill set. I think what they say is merely an excuse to justify not doing something they could if a decent budget was allocated to TMNP for such things. Also when you have contributing to the developmental state as an aim, conservation and preservation suffers, if you look at Tokai and Cecilia at the moment.Restaurants and other things like that are a different story.
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On 6/20/2023 at 11:40 AM, splat said:Thanks for the replies
As per the original post on this topic, Fox is super expensive to service.
Lyne has great products and support, but there are no service kits available right now. Not a problem if I bought a new post, but will be a problem in the future. But, I imagine that stock would have arrived by then. Lyne also wins on price vs OneUp or Bikeyoke.I the mean time, I should service my current Lyne dropper, but cannot because there are no kits...
They get stock in all the time so I'm confused why you are worried about the service kits. Their service is legendary. I fitted a 100mm drop Lyne to my wife's old Zula. Its been flawless for more than three years with just a clean and lube to keep it happy.
They do love to extort cash whenever they can however.
The last item above is part of the problem as it is elsewhere in SA society. everything goes out to tender, wasting months or years and often leading to poor performance by ill-equipped contractors. Alien clearing at Tokai being a case in point. The lack of a dedicated trail repair team being another.
2 hours ago, The Ouzo said:you see a problem, I see a tender opportunity.
You jest. SANP don't even have a dedicated trail repair or alien hacking crew, so any jeep track maintenance seems to get put out to tender, which of course leads to delays, overcharging and probably corruption. All in the name of allowing everyone to "eat a little bit" at the expense of the environmental gem that is Table Mountain.
2 hours ago, Jewbacca said:I'm loath to start pointing all the fingers at all the things.
In reality, the important parts of TMNP/SANparks are done fairly well in the cape.
They preserve nature/plants, they maintain the hiking trails, they patrol and monitor activity in the fragile areas.
They catch a heap of poachers every year, they have really made some places brilliant to visit.
I hate to say it, but MTB is not particularly high up on their list of priorities.
Could they improve their government run financials? Of course.
We sit here in our castles throwing the baby out with the bathwater because they don't seem to care much for a hand full of 5%ers people who often struggle to follow the rules in place anyway.
As someone who uses the mountain and the sea/coastline almost daily for a number of activities, I can appreciate the effort and resources being used correctly to assist in completing the important parts of maintaining a nature reserve.
I do believe that MTB is a bit like hand soap in the bathrooms of the airport. It exists, people use it and some people will be really upset if it isnt there, but it isnt that important in the overall efficiency of the airports main criteria
I think you've missed my point in your haste to bat for SANP (and tell us naughty bikers off?) Its not even about not caring its about rank inefficiency and poor communication, misappropriation/allocation of resources, incompetent staff, and sadly, lack of maintenance of trails. It's also about all visitors not just cyclists. (I'm not sure where you think they're doing a good job maintaining hiking trails but as far as I can see its largely being done by outside groups like FOTM).
I love the Kirstenbosch traverse - it is a real gem, but its becoming less and less of an option for beginners due to the parlous state of the SANP sections of jeep track. Its almost gone full enduro and is heavy going even for hikers. The Kirstenbosch sections are in near perfect condition which stands in stark contrast.That said I did see them removing a fallen tree on Friday. Their R1 Million SANP Cruiser had managed to get to it but was going to k@k off on the drive up to the next one.
I'd be happy to pay for access to the mountain as a hiker or cyclist if that cash was actually used to maintain the numerous trails, deal with poachers and bark strippers,, in contrast to money paid to TokaiMTB or FOTM which shows tangible results. Perhaps we need to go back to square one and make any and all access to the mountain subject to a permit fee? But who would buy in to that given their track record of poor comms and misallocation of budgets. Its like paying taxes and expecting the government/Eskom to keep the lights on...
15 hours ago, Tim Brink said:I only saw this today, on Vleisbroek, with objection window closing today, but one interesting line within it:
https://www.sanparks.org/assets/docs/parks_table_mountain/2023/revised-draft-implementation-plan-2023.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2zsV-_6CqGv2f92TzqX_87i50dOmuh0-L6ow4p3avoD4NF8jcodNyn38o
It should only take 13 years to implement, but at least they are aware it is needed!
Yes stated like it's some revelation that recently came to light... SANP is an excellent example of why SA is failing. Government is simply hopeless. I see it every day in the way state institutions are managed. They are rule bound and incapable of making practical efficient rules. The concept of cause and effect are lost on them.
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My card has also lapsed so I've been forced to pay the crazy SANP Tokai gate fee of R100. The main reason I haven't renewed yet is the drive to Tokai - only about 20km round trip and the hassles involved - photos and the form, completed and signed by both applicants. Last time they made me get my wife to sign the form at work and whatsap me a copy so they could see she'd signed the indemnity and issue the card to her. I still have flashbacks of utter frustration when I think about going back. 🙂
2 hours ago, LazyTrailRider said:I rode the bridal path recently after not doing so for a few years. Beautiful climb and still pretty technical down, definitely worth it if you have the legs (or you're on an EB like I was 😆).
Bridle is excellent and the climb is not that extreme even on a normal bike. A nice route is to start with Bridle, then go back up for all the snakes and then down Dh or Vasbyt.
14 hours ago, Robbie Stewart said:I've ridden all over the Cape in the decade I've been on my MTB, yet I still haven't ridden Tokai. I'm just not convinced yet that the effort is worth it. let it be known I absolutely detest any form of waiting or bureaucracy, so that has been the main driving factor (of course, I'm probably building this huge obstacle in my head of driving all the way south from the upper parts of the west coast Blouberg side, potentially for nothing). That said, I'd probably end up that side this weekend if the weather permits. Let's hope it was worth it.
If you don't know your way around study Trailforks and make sure you know where everything is. Tracks are shorter than JH but no less fun.
1 hour ago, porqui said:Cherry on top - SanParks gets money from PPA which is duly used for boardwalks for hiking none of it used for cycling. It does not get better. (Zebra - source - same as previous one)
We have a beautiful land.
As far as we are aware this was a once off that probably won't happen again..
The reality is that the land is part of a national park. In no park in SA do SANP cater for mountain biking other than providing access and some rudimentary trails. Think Harkerville and probably a few others where cycling is permitted. The kind of "proper" MTB trails with exclusive bike use ( no hikers) at Tokai, exist only because of TokaiMTB which not only repairs the trails there are but also helps fend off environmental lobby group agitation against "downhill trails" and liaises with SANP management. The trail maintenance is key - if the trails were left to waste away and erode, SANP would simply close them and the enviro lobby groups would have a field day.
Tokai is in most respects better as a trail riding destination than it used to be. Its gnarlier and more fun than it ever was when it had so-called crown jewel status. I think people just have fond memories of the trees which fogs the memory. That was also before Tygerberm and JH became so well developed.
That said, Tokai is the second most ridden destination in the country, running a close second to Tygerberg on ridelog stats.
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1 hour ago, Mtbiker404 said:No, its me, Andri.
Actually I think its you, Nino.
The UCI/ESO really are mad. I spent almost the whole weekend on the couch watchin DH and XCO racing and now the same the next weekend with an enduro thrown in for good measure. Luckily the weather in CT is making actually riding your bike near impossible but still, I think its an excess of TV on one weekend.
According to some commentators, Austria is a really bad place to ride MTB's because most land and tracks are off limits, unlike France and other Euro countries. So the enduro is going to be on a lot of boring bike park tracks. The DH is always good though.
Did anyone notice what a cry baby Fluckiger was after the race on Sunday. What a sad little man.
On 3/15/2022 at 2:40 PM, Duane_Bosch said:Ok I've got Jawbones so it will be a good test.
Interestingly I can't ride with the Oakley Przm lense. Especially on the mountain bike. I keep seeing weird little anomalies that i find distract me. It's hard to explain but the blades of grass will change color for example. And I find that incredibly distracting.
Weird. I love the Prism Trailtorch lenses. when i get to borrow my wife;s Oakleys, that is.
what do you Oakleyists think of the big lense Sutro goggle style glasses?
If you want to catch Warner doing his thing watch the Erzbergrodeo 2023 on RBTV. Apparently he even entered the event once...
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MMM I agree with most of what you've said but not Cedric. I think he's terrible. Babbles on indistinctly over Ric's commentary. There was no proper build up of excitement or rather it was just poor compared to the Warner /Claudio / Jackson effort. Finish line was sterile - riders moved up and away from the action if on the hotseat. No invasions and wild celebration with the winner.
Production was sub par at times - quali's showed very little for each run and too many runs didn't show the most tech section up top.
Positives were seeing the Jr's live - something which RBTV should have started years ago.
That said, it was an overall good experience with some room for improvement. If you want some good behind the scenes commentary check out Cathro on PB and Wyn TV without Wyn. Cathro's insta has his crash on it, Quite brutal and a fractured vertebrae to show for it.
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9 hours ago, devvydoesdonuts said:You need to get VPN for the XCO as Supersport have the broadcasting rights.
Why come here and sprout k@k?
2 hours ago, Hairy said:Just checking again, but the DH and XCO is only available for viewing via a paid platform?
Its about R80 pm. Bargain, but for those that identify as motorcyclists/hate paying for services rendered, there are a few live on Youtube options, like the Juniors coming up this afternoon and the elite semi finals also free. Finals and the XCO are all paywalled, Sorry. 🙂
1 hour ago, dave303e said:You mean you can have the front brake in your right hand where it should be, so that your biggest stopping power has the fittest hand that has the best fine motor coordination controlling it. Logic is lost on the cycling world and standards are but a myth.
Some of us are able to fine motor on the left hand too, leaving the stronger hand for skids and giggles.
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16 hours ago, Pieter-za said:It seems many people don't have to prove how 'tuff' they are. They are content in their own space
Well no, because they avoid or complain about the tuff events. I think now its how fancy your bike is and how many gravel road miles you have ridden that determines your status. 🙂
2 hours ago, Ozzie NL said:Rode my 6th monster last weekend and can honestly say that the route was probably the easiest since it's straight up Breedts. Everything was rideable with less loose gravel compared to previous years.
The "old" route up to the top was much harder with a large chunk being on single track.
Where I do agree is that the numbers have very noticeably dwindled. It used to be a big event with 1000+ riders across the different distance. Last weekend can't have been more than 250 participants. This also affects the after rider gees as there are just a lot less people swapping war stories
From the OP's post it sounds like MTB racers have become a bit soft and have started avoiding the event because it is just too hard and technical. I guess a balance has to be struck but it sounds like a cool event in a great part of the world.
19 hours ago, babse said:Not really...
High end frame slapped together with average components. Overpriced.
Yeah, should be Roval carbon wheels and XTR or XX1 to be an S WRX level build. Stans alloy rims on that bike is almost a travesty 🙂
I would argue the ad is misleading - that is not an S Works bike because it has some writing on the frame. Should be marketed as S Works frame plus non S Works build kit.
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[Event] ROAD TO DESOLATION
in Events
Posted
Is the name of the race based on the trajectory of the entire country at the moment?