Flog it on the hub for a fortune and fund a cool holiday! Seriously, there are many people looking for good, cheap beginners bikes that you could help them with.
Keep the administrators out of it. Do it Cape Epic style with privateers running the show and when it grows in szie, let the administrators have a sniff on your terms.
Apart from other such initiatives I tried to get in touch with the right authorities with no luck. The responsibilty lies somewhere between JRA and City Parks with no one wanting to take responsibilty or assist but both claiming rights with respect to the land and anything that happens there. The last piece of advice I was given was that I should build what I want as long as its not anything hectic that could cause injury and subsequent lawsuits but do so under cover of night so that "he" would be none the wiser and cant catch me. Basically a cover your arse scenario. Structures built would technically require engineering design and subsequent PI. Have found better things to do with my time.
Don't bother with council and dont let them catch you using as much as a spoon anywhere on the Spruit. Most of the bridges have been privately funded and put up by volunteers. Oh, and then there are the complaints about why you put the bridge here and its so slippery and you are spoiling the fun for the guys who want to get dirty, blah, blah, blah. Good luck. Oh, and if you want old timber get hold of me.
Man, was hoping it was some kind of sick hoax. Very sad to hear. The guy did so much for the sport especially the recreational side. Massive loss. May he rest in peace.
Very sad to hear the news of the passing of Allan "The Dog" Laudin of Swampdogs. A guy who truly loved his biking and did so much for the sport and social mountain biking. May he rest in peace and find some awesome singletrack wherever he may be. "WOOF".
If they had colluded to bring prices down would we be in the same situation? Apart from us as the consumer being much happier, is it against the law to try and monopolise prices by fixing them as low as possible?
Technical and unrideable are two very different concepts and vary for different skill level.
Where organisers miss the point is having 70 kays of boring district road and then throw in some "technical" riding which is more of a portage in the name of spicing the route up. Thats not cool. Have an obstacle here and there where you can ride or walk if your skills/guts are not quite up to it but often these things end up in bottle necks where no one can ride anyway.
Another point of view is that too many riders are expecting a "trail ride" from their race experience. You wont get this and its unfair to expect the organisers to achieve this kind or ride.
Hogwash. The Park Tools little Dingess is all about technique. You have to hold it delicately between 2 fingers and gently slip on and off. Closing your eyes and and slipping your tongue out assist with this delicate procedure.
Now if they could build a bottle opener into it it would make the ultimate multipurpose gadget.
http://lizardskins.com/store/products/mountain/bike-protection
Not sure how i feel about these things though. I reckon although it protects to a degree i also reckon there's just more opportunity for stuff to sit and cause problems.
Firstly, the word is "disorganised".
Secondly, a lot of these races are organised by people who have never done it before and do it in their spare time. Give them a break and try and give them contructive criticism so that they can improve the next time they have it. They are going a long way to make safer rider options for a lot of us more accessible. I for one would not want to organise something because it is a thankless difficult job.
Good luck for your next race.
