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They are, no issues at all, I got claps and cheers, its just disconcerting meeting them unexpectedly when concentrating on a tech piece of trail...

Its so not a Motto

Thx - you learn something new every day! Nothing in my size left unfortunately but that site could be a goldmine...

The T and T guys were out in full force taking full moon snaps on vasbyt yesterday evening. They stopped out of the way and it wasn't an issue - just a bit disconcerting coming round a corner because you don't know what to expect or how big the group is...

Ya must say I feel nekkid in lycra... I thought this was a place for like minded cycling enthusiasts to share info so I find the "look at what i got for a bargain and I'm not telling from where" attitude a bit strange. The Endura's look good and are cheaper than TLD by around R400 at CRC. You can also shop for moto stuff and there are bargains around - Mike Hopkins in town was selling off a lot of Shift gear. I have a pair of solid winter thickness shorts I made by cutting the legs off a pair of longs.

My wife raised this with me yesterday evening - no doubt it has come up here and elsewhere before... That is the fact that MTB riders have to pay to ride in TMNP while trail runners and hikers- who often use the same tracks we do (and which we maintain and build) use Tokai for nothing. I have had some close shaves with runners and hikers in the past on Vasbyt for instance. Are there any plans to make other users pay for the privilege. If not, surely they should stay off the trails we pay to ride on (jeep track excepted)? I am about to cough for another years riding at Tokai. It will take ten rides to cover the cost at R45 per session, which will happen quickly so still good value. The rates TMNP charge is high. I still recall the days of R5.00 a go. :-)

\ That is good news - that stump getting more pronounced as the ground eroded. Going to give it a whirl this evening. There used to be a sharp rock sticking out just below the pallet below the jump just before this (now clayed over). I hit it twice in two weeks - once flatted my front and once the rear. Those were the days of XC tyres...

Ha, that place is hardly recognizable. Must say I started enjoying the extra concentration the trail damage required in that area but this looks amazing.

Good to hear of a bike being located. I had 2 bikes and kit stolen in the SS over a month ago - no sign of any of it online so far...

Strava is very inaccurate, didn't you know? :-)

Dan is right - beginners are focused on staying on their bikes and don't look and listen the way they should. The chap I mentioned had perfect hearing unless he was reading my lips when I gave him some braking tips

Great - as per my thread re skills issues at Tokai - how about a short skills section on the site. I would like to see people being encouraged to learn and research in order to improve their skills.

Agreed - its all about fun and I certainly had a tonne of that. The other solution is of course to pick your times - later in the afternoon is always less crowded. The crash I referred to happened despite repeated, loud verbal warnings by the descending rider. On the skills issue, I am sure that a few people would be happy to give a skills course for 30 mins in the car park or just beyond. Nothing serious, just braking, awareness and some basic riding skills. A course could be devised beforehand to cover the essentials.

We headed up just after 10 am. The place was crawling - the usual mix, but I only noticed the piles of beginners - HT, tackies, cage type flats and t-shirts with helmets on at weird angles. I guess we all started out like that, but I like to think that we also tried to learn as we went along. Some of the dangerous and bizarre behaviour I saw: People stopping dead in front of the start of the next trail down - completely oblivious to the fact that a faster rider might come up behind them. The guy who did just that to me because he hadn't noticed I'd been on his tail for the last 100m - maybe he was deaf. The woman texting on the road junction between dh2 and 3 ( as reported to me) The chap who despite being advised that a faster rider was about to come down the berm at Vasbyt at the last minute trundled in on said riders line causing a nasty head shot (not me), I just saw the injuries and heard the tale back in the car park) People with bike/people issues stopping on the trail and leaving bikes and their uninjured bodies on the trails. Signage will help but it needs to be legible decent signs. The old font and graphics must not be used - too small to read properly, too little information. Pics of cyclists going up a hill on a DH sign is confusing etc... Rider education - signs will help again and may keep some of the real newbs off the steeper trickier trails before they are ready. Maybe Tokai MTB could organise skills clinics - just a half hour for beginners in the car park. Most beginners don't even know how to brake properly. The chap who stopped in front of me on Mamba had no clue that his front brake was his primary stopper. Situational awareness would also be a good lesson to teach. I am sure people would volunteer to give these classes if they were organised properly. As it is people with absolutely no experience are let loose on some fast and tricky trails (for them) without any training or list of do's and don'ts. What say you?

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The repairs and shaping there are spot on Saw the dh3 repairs That laterite the guys put down is taking strain Looking at BNs work it seems to me dh3 needed a lot more compacting...

Correct a criminal record will result in payment of the admission of guilt fine.I have a client/friend who fell foul of the dam ticketing thing. I spoke to the "head"of TMNP security who didn't even understand that his tickets resulted in criminal records. The guy was clueless and his reason for ticketing people for swimming was illogical. The swimming doesn't really apply to cyclists per se - most people who used the dam in question were just out for a stroll or students smoking weed :-) Happily, the Wynberg Magistrates court refuses to prosecute the tickets ( for now) so if you get one, either for cycling illegally or swimming in the dam, go to court DO NOT PAY THE FINE. There are serious questions about the legality of TMNP's use of the National Environment Management Act to prosecute alleged transgressors and their own staffs incompetence and lack of understanding of the law is disturbing. The client/friend I mentioned above was assaulted and robbed on Devils Peak in Feb last year - they got a R60k bike and all his kit. A year later the heroes of the park hand him a ticket for swimming in a frikkin dam...

Bwaha I lost again,,,

Aaah Nige, man. I did read your post on all of the above. I get the rule change swinger thingy going on, I just don't think it is fair. Its an example of a badly drafted rule for lazy officials to try to avoid having to make a judgment call. I think they decided that one or two unhappy riders is better than a whole field being pissed off because some official let off his countryman/woman who broke the tape and wasn't cm perfect on the return to the racing line. So in trying to be fair, it is unfair. A bit like imposing the death penalty to keep the masses happy :-)

Masochistic ....

I think the weather both added to and stuffed with the race on Saturday. It reduced the speed and spectacle a bit, but added to the trickiness and made it more of a lottery than usual. Ratboy did well and good to see GA winning again. Biggest disappointment was the excessive coverage of the pedal section and almost nothing on the high speed jump and whoop section. The after the fact edits have far better angles and show the speed and skill required. That and GM's crumby race run plus DQ. Still not sure about that rule or how it was applied...

Mmm, not sure where the worse corners are with the same level of potential for a serious head on, but will check next time. Bridge - Nope I haven't ridden there for a week :-(. Good to hear its fixed, well done and thanks.

At that point on the trail hit that drop/jump which lands me into the trail just before the little lip and the left hand berm or slightly further back depending son speed. There is definitely scope for a coming together there as viz is very poor. A divert for up riders past that point is perhaps an option that should be looked at. Its the most obvious problem area on Vasbyt. The troll bridge is also stuffed - last time I rode it I thought the thing would collapse under me where the planks are broken...

I see that Fox are allegedly offering 3 stage upgrades to older CTD forks to bring them up to 2015 spec - anyone have any further info/pricing. Droo?

The PR spin reason given by SANP on the face of it holds no water either - how can post burn follow up alien eradication be the issue when the pre-burn alien infestation is seemingly an even bigger problem. No fresh fynbos growth therefore more aliens out of control. Very much a case of fiddling while our home trails burn. This and SANPs recent attempt to justify curtailing night activity on the mountain as well as ticketing hapless harmless swimmers at the dam next to the Rhodes Mem access road leave me with little faith in SANP.