Hi guys,It’s been a while since my last post regarding Tokai, but we worked on the trails this past weekend as normal. We started at 9am this time, in order to make it an all-day affair and allow more to be done, and give others the opportunity to come along as they wished. Turnout was average, but still hovered around the 12 person range – which is excellent considering its school holidays and a lot of people are on leave at the moment. We worked on My Roots this time around. It was needing a bit of TLC, and being that this area is going to be an extension of the Skills Park (for which we have approval, BTW) it means that we needed to get started with the planning and preparation process for the future. Firstly, a small divert was put on Your Roots (the one that runs parallel to the jeep track – the upper section of the Roots trails that starts opposite Faerie Garden’s exit) so that people no longer have to climb the entry chute in order to get out onto the jeep track. There’s now a divert to the left just before you pass the last 2 tree stumps. It’s a little bit longer, and it removes the danger of potentially colliding with someone entering the trail on the way down – and we all know how fast some people enter Roots! We then concentrated on that old gap jump and the first 2 berms. The gap was removed, extended and filled in so that there’s now a tabletop in its place – it’s now about 2.5m in length (top length) so approx. double the size of the old gap jump. It’s packed HARD, and we used the JoJo tank to water and pack it properly for the weekend. The following berm was raised and reinforced with more logs, so that it now allows you to rail the corner so much better than before. The berm following that was also re-done, as it had broken apart in places and needed to be extended a little. This berm was finalized yesterday, as we ran out of water before we could spray it! In addition to that, the 2 “problem stumps” were removed. These were the stumps at the first corner, as you’re trying to pick a line, and the one in the middle of the trail just before the jump – this was the one most complained about as it was in the “wrong place” and could feature in someone’s chest if they got it wrong. It’s now FAR easier to get the right line and carry proper speed now that you don’t have to dodge the tree. In the corner before the jump, where there used to be a small drop, this has been increased in size and is now a 0.5m rollable drop that you can hit at speed, and exit in a semi-cambered corner, carrying all your speed into the jump. I’ve hit it a number of times now, and it flows super sweetly. Yet it can be rolled for those who are slightly less capable. If you hit it at speed, you do not even come close to touching the back-side of the drop (wheelbarrow standing where stump used to be) Those few spots took a HUGE amount of time to finish up, and by the time we were finished, it was 18h15 and beyond time for a beer. Or 6. As normal, PnP Steenberg sponsored wors rolls and cooldrinks, but beer was conspicuous in its absence. To be fair, I wouldn’t have liked to have seen us at 5h30 if we’d been on beer at lunch, so that may have been a good call in the end. I was there yesterday with Deon, Jerome and the boys, to put a final bit of loving on the trails and to finish a few things.The things that got attention yesterday were the divert, the entry in to Roots, the 2nd berm and a 3rd berm (in-between the first and 2nd, just after the split to the old DH run) and the rock drop. The divert had all the “fluffy stuff” removed (fallen leaves, etc) as even though it had been cut, it hadn’t had all the soft gumpf removed from where it had fallen. The exit also got lined with clay and watered to harden it up a bit. The entry in to Roots had a bit of a change, in that a MOERSE groot rock was rotated so that there is no longer a little protrusion just right of the landing zone. This thing was HUGE. We couldn’t move it, so we had to dig around it an swivel it so that it lay flat against the trail. With 3 okes levering with levers and me standing on the corner, it finally moved. Once the dirt had been cleared for half a metre around it. So the entry can now be taken at speed, even slightly off the main line, without fear of being taken out by a rogue rock. The drop then got a bit more reinforcing material, and a bit of a stamp n spray to get it hard. We also cleared a bit of the loose sandy stuff just after the drop, but that will harden up with a bit more water (went in yesterday as well) and some time. The rest of the trail then got watered and mixed with clay in strategic places, in order to bind the clay and soil properly. The next berm was then started – this is going to be a left handed berm into the right hander that’s already there, which then takes you to the rock drop. This area is helluva rocky and rooty under the surface, so that took a bit of time and effort to complete. It’s still not complete yet, but it is rideable. The rock drop then got filled in at the bottom, and several “strava lines” were closed off. In the end, Roots is looking a lot more like the trail it deserves to be. Flowy, fast and fun. And it will continue getting better with time and attention. The plan is to make that area the extension of the skills park, with green, blue and black routes all in there giving you the proper choice you need in order to test your skills, or complete a sessioning session to get your bike skills up. There are plans to put more in there, in a different line, and the DH4 route (which starts at that jump on the left as you enter Roots) will swing below the existing Roots trails to end up on that super steep super rooty section, and go over the river at the bottom to connect with that old jump that a lot of people have forgotten even exists. Next time though, we’ll be putting further love into the Snake trails. They need it after this initial sunny session, and with the JoJo tank and hoses we have (as well as the water pump we were given) we have the potential to pump water to the sections which need it most, and to lock down the dirt properly.
