onetrackmind

Was Dakar won in a WRC car? Will world MX champs be won on a superbike? Another series of pointless points.

Downhillers are slower on the uptake than other mountain bikers? :D

Agreed. Mine arrived fine this time, but never pitched the one before. The people at Tread were really helpful, but they are at the mercy of the PO. I have a mate who works for one of the bigger mag publishers in Gauteng, and he says they have a whole department that just looks after getting copies to people who have had theirs nicked by the postman/sorter/neighbour. One of their big expenses every month. Give them the benefit of the doubt, double check they have your address 100% correct (easy to swap digits around in a box number for instance). They do try their best, I am sure.

NONSENSE!

Actually, his 'intolerance' as you call it is quite welcome. For some (many) of us, he hit the nail on the head, and did so without being a **** himself. The only line of understanding in this thread is that downhillers believe they have the right of way, that this is fact and cannot be questioned, and seem incapable of sharing the trail. Because they are bigger and tougher than other riders. "Grow up"? See, that smacks of intolerance in my book.

Definitely a downhiller, no way that would get up the berm.

Hahaha - so the bully is feeling bullied. Gary, you brought the aggro into this debate, you expect people with a different point of view to just roll over? Because you are old, weigh like 2000kg and have body armour? All you have done is made the downhill gang look like a bunch of spoiled brats. To use a word you might understand bette, 'chops'. Fortunately, I know the majority of them aren't, certainly not the ones I have ridden with. Hell, I have even ridden with you, quite a lot, back in the day, and you came across as a level-headed kind of guy. (Yes, this lycra-clad racing snake has dabbled in the DH scene, although without much enjoyment. Walking up hills with my helmet dragging on the front tyre doesn't do it for me ) Your aggression on this thread has really surprised me, I didn't expect it from what I found to be a decent guy. Maybe we have all got older or something.

You have to be pretty talented to even try either! So, DH fellas, are we only talking about these sections, or is Vasbyt the track in question?

You have to be pretty talented to even try either! So, DH fellas, are we only talking about these sections, or is Vasbyt the track in question?

They've been riding Tokai for years. They think they own the place for that very reason. Downhillers ride down it and have been doing so for years. Nice job. Now. Firstly, I stand corrected, but there is no sign at the top of the berm designating it a downhill. Just the name of the section - Vasbyt - and a red squiggly worm, indicating it is 'Difficult Singletrack.There are numerous other sections with this red annotation, which are not being claimed as downhillers' personal fiefdom. How is a anybody meant to guess? The DH routes further up are called DH, or similar, on their entry signage. If all this stink is about somebody riding up the berm, you guys really need to learn to share the trail a little. It has also been an uphill for years. It has been ridden up since the trail first was developed. For as long as people have ridden down it, they have ridden up it. You get my drift? The trail is steep. Quite right. That is what makes it a challenge to get up. FFS, pensioners can ride up it, I have ridden with people who get up it on a singlespeed, no stops, no dabs. Possibly a deposit of breakfast shortly thereafter, but completely rideable. It is NOT a downhill course, just an XC section with a berm and one set of roots (that are jumpable on a hardtail, go and search for Epic Bike Shop's videos of Lance and Karl Platt doing just that. Wearing lycra). Bitching about only 600m of track, in 30-something kilometres of available track? You don't ride any of the other trails? How many downhillers use Tokai? On a weekend where 600+people pay to enter Tokai(busy weekends are probably more like a thousand), how any are 'downhillers'? 10? 20? I think I am being generous at 20, so let's say 30. MI.NOR.ITY. So, just do what the rest of the people do, enjoy Tokai for recreation and stress release. I promise you will still have fun. The proper DH trails above this don't see riders going up, I am sure. Get your rocks off there, and share the trails nicely on other stretches.

Absolutely. And, therefore, to use your logic, if it IS rideable up, I have every 'right' to do so. I knew you guys would understand eventually.

There is no signage indicating direction of travel, anywhere, I don't think. Until such time as there is, I don't think anybody has the right to presume they are entitled to endanger other users by using their 110kg bulk, or over-engineered forks, to bully them off the trail. It is a multi-purpose venue. I said it earlier - if you want to race downhill, go to a downhill race. If you want to ride in Tokai, you need to fit in with other users' needs. Until such time as there is different signage, that is just the way it is. I would say it is really that damned simple, but I am not an angry youf wif a long travel bike.

Big tough downhiller on trails that are possible to ride up? Surely not... From memory, and I haven't ridden there in a year or so, there is no designation as to either trail direction, or the 'grade' of the trail. So, it boils down to just getting along, and sharing the trail. Race downhill in a downhill race, or on designated trails. Seems to be an awful lot of aggro from DH riders on the hub lately, or am I imagining things? You guys haven't got into the roadies' chemistry set, have you?

Hincapie's most recent tweet: "As for the substance of anything in the '60 Minutes' story, I cannot comment on anything relating to the ongoing investigation." Again, clearly not "I said nuffink, boss." This is the first time somebody on Lance's side has been involved in implicating him, a non-proven or convicted doper. I find it fascinating how careful he is being with how he says these things. To date, LA and those around him have been bullish/bullyish about the whole thing. I can't wait for Bruyneel to start being ultra careful... The thot plickens.

"I can confirm to you I never spoke with 60 Minutes. I have no idea where they got their information." That is not distancing yourself. "I never said any such thing" would be distancing yourself. What Hincapie says in his tweet reads more like "I have told the feds everything, how the $%^& did 60 minutes find out what I said?"

Except that one you always conveniently forget about. Oh, but you bought a backdated exemption from the UCI, didn't you. Sorry, my mistake.

I hope the dude at Buycycling doesn't read this, he will probably think you are being serious.

We seem to spend a lot of time here grumbling about the local mags, and probably rightly so. I often wonder why, why we don't just ignore them and read overseas stuff, but maybe we need to keep trying them to find out if they are as passionate about bikes as we are? right now, who knows For me: Tread is getting the local-is-lekker thing right, and is a good read. Even if the paper smells. Bicycling lost it when they found an editor who can't ride a bike. It shows on every page. Ride feels like a Joberg newsletter, but the passion for cycling shows through the mag. GoMulti is improving, but still feels like a KZN newsletter. Do It Now tries to do to much, so the cycling content gets lost a bit. My favourite was TopCycling, oh how I laughed. So, the local offering is dismal. What do we actually want? Maybe if we all make an effort at telling the editors what is missing, the sharp ones will react? My 2c: More stories - long, well-written stuff that I can sit down with and get absorbed in. ten pages of images of guys on fixies doesn't do it for me. a ten page feature on keirin racing, and the bikes it has spawned, and the NY messenger scene, both of which combined to create the fixie 'revolution'... now that would make me buy your mag. Tell me what it is like to ride a stage in the epic, don't presume i know. there are plenty of great writer-riders, the editors just need to give them space to tell their stories, not cram it into a blog. Depth and substance over rock hard abs, please.

You have just bought the perfect bike for riding around car parks... hope it works on the mountain!

Exactly. Ybbeating yourself up over this 29er thing anyway?

If he doesn't answer, you could try Waylon.

I've only ever seen her fully clothed.

And the blonde chick in the workshop is hot!

Well put. Let those with no faith in this country run off to somewhere 'safe' and sterile like Aus, or wherever, and those that are willing to stay reap the rewards. Yes, there is risk here, but there is no reward without risk. See you in ten years, and all the years in between.