TokaiMTB

TokaiMTB, together with PPA and Amarider met with Table Mountain National Park management in Tokai for a further in-depth discussion regarding the ongoing logging operations and reopening timelines for recreational activities in the Tokai precinct and surrounds. Click here to view the article

Hi Hubbers, We are aware that the snake trails are in need of maintenance and we have plans to work on all the XC trails ASAP. Our regular volunteer build days aren't quite enough to maintain the whole of the network in Tokai so we have a few plans in the pipeline to address that issue. Hoping that we can make a few public announcements in the next few weeks that will make all Tokai riders happy.

Hi Hubbers, This Saturday 26th July will see the DH line below the berm getting worked on. From 9am-1pm. Free craft beers afterwards thanks to the kind folks at CBC!

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Thanks headshot Next build day (5th July), We'll get up there. Mainly going to just cut away the overhanging vegetation and fix up the real big ruts.

Just a reminder about tomorrows DH build day. 15 tonnes of laterite has been delivered to Tokai, a lot of rain last night and sunny tomorrow ie. Perfect conditions for trail building! We'll be working on DH0 and DH 1. Meet at 9am at the gate. New faces welcome ie if you ride a DH bike or ride the DH trail on anything else, we'd love to meet you and hear your input!

Shebeen, Could you send links to me(Dan) if you have them. Will save time and get through to more people. Thanks!

A bit more info on that (even though there is a dedicated thread to this)

Hi Hubbers, The TokaiMTB committee had a constructive meeting with Noel from Trail & Tar, who leads the runs weekly into Tokai plantation as well as Trevor Ball from trailrunning.co.za (he organises the Table Mountain Challenge and Mast Challenge). These 2 running groups cover most of the trail runners that visit Tokai and with the planned signage, we hope that other trail runners will conform to what we have all decided as a representative group. The issue of safety was presented and well received. Consensus was quickly reached that the mountain bike community, as large as it is, is restricted to very few locations in the Park with a few kilometers of purpose built singletrack trails, found mainly in Tokai. Since runners enjoy the features found on the mountain bike trails, it was also established that it would be a shame for runners to lose access to all the singletrack, so the suggestion was made for TokaiMTB to advise on which trails could be deemed safe to share. Since the MTB trails are built for mountain bikers and by mountain bikers, it was agreed that right of way would be granted to the mountain bikers. Slower trails where running would be permitted include: Fairie Garden Your Roots (contour section). It was advised to approach the exit of this trail with caution as riders entering from the road do so at speed and over a blind rise for anyone in the trail. An exit route has been constructed and will be clearly marked on the map. Runners are encouraged to use this exit. Lizard If you take a look at the current MTB trail map, all green graded routes will be shared between runners and mtbers. Outcomes and requirements: to be communicated among users. Rider speed on descending trails and vegetation height are contributing factors that place both rider and runner at risk of collision and injury. Runners are to be educated on appropriate trail rules and encouraged to comply for continued good relations. A map will be provided showing the trails that can be shared between users. Trails in the tree-lined areas are best suited for shared access as the widely spaced growth allows both runner and rider enough sight to plan encounters well in advance. Should there still be an unexpected meeting on the trail, the average rider speed on these contour trails is slow enough to avoid an accident. Fall-line trails (Downhill 0, 1, 2, 3, 4) and descending XC trails are to be avoided by runners at all costs. See map for approved shared trails. Where running is permitted on mountain bike trails, right of way will be granted to the rider. Runners are to move well off the trail to provide enough room for the rider to pass unhindered. Runners must not make use of earphones while running. Signage at the trailhead will soon be erected detailing rules and guidelines. At this time it is not possible to signpost each trail sign, so runners need to associate themselves with trails set for shared use before setting out. At some stage a symbol/icon may be applied to signs at running permitted trails to assist in compliance.

Headshot, we are having a meeting tonight with trail runner representatives so hoping that we'll be able to sort these issues soon. Slowing right down when meeting another trail user should not be an issue though- it's good 'ol trail etiquette

Thanks for the warning Headshot-we'll get to clearing it ASAP. Can you tell us how big it is? ie estimate on how many people needed to remove it from the trail?

Thanks for those who turned up and did some heavy lifiting! Mamba is flowing well but still needs some work to limit water erosion that will be happening in these rains. It was great to see some new faces from theHub users-we hope to see you next time!

Hi Pappa bear, marko35s is correct. Apologies for the delayed reply but for future visitors to this thread, I'll put the official answers in writing. TokaiMTB is not a club. It is a publicly elected committee that represents the Tokai mtb riders. Who are they? Info here We are not a club so no club fees, but we will gladly accept donations that will go into trail maintenance. Your Tokai permit fees and wild card money does not go back into Tokai mtb trails! More info on that here. Check out the website for more info and sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with what we are trying to achieve.

A well timed post! I have just put up these trail etiquette guidelines on The Tokai website. One of the points is 'Ride dry trails'. Obviously it's not always possible but riding wet trails is one of the biggest destroyers of singletrack.

Hi Hubbers, We've taken a few of your suggestions and made the website a bit better. Check out the trail etiquette page here and let us know if you have any suggestions to add or if you disagree with anything.

After tomorrow's hard mornings work we'll have the following beers to try out. CBC Lager CBC Krystal Weiss CBC Pilsner We'll make sure they stay chilled but with this weather we could leave them out int he open and they'd still be at perfect drinking temperature!

Hi Hubbers, We've setup a monthly Tokai newsletter that will keep all updated with the goings on in Tokai, what the committee is planning, future plans, safety issues and trail news. Please sign up here and spread the word, we'd like to get a big database as this helps when we are negotiating with TMNP et al.

TokaiMTB will be having a meeting with Trail and Tar joggers sometime (probably next week) to discuss this. We'll report back when we have heard what the joggers think of all this.

SpyDude, Since those postings on the Trailbuilders facebook page (and Tygerberg groups), we have been trying to find the source of this rumour about police on quads arresting mtbers. Turns out, all we can find out is that its seems to have happened to 'a friend of a guy, that some guy knows' and other stories like that. I questioned the OP ( I think) about it last night and he says the story came from a client of the shop he works at, so we really can't comment on whether it happened or not, but somehow we doubt it. More likely that those police on quads were there looking for muggers (trying to help us!) Anyway, both those pages aren't official pages representing TokaiMTB so if it's not on the TokaiMTB facebook page or posted by 'TokaiMTB' on the hub or the AmaTokai Twitter account then please don't assume anything is the official word Just remember that we at TokaiMTB have full time jobs on top of all this and squashing rumours isn't high on the list of important Tokai issues. Trails are our most important issue so if everyone can help us in this regard it would be great!

First TokaiMTB post... So officially, all I can say about runners on mtb trails at the moment is that we are discussing it as a committee still (we have been in existence for 3 months and are meeting once a week nowadays, trying to get as much done as possible but you have to remember we have paying jobs as well). We have been focusing on many other important details like trail work, future trails, funding and the website, so please bear with us. Most of us don't want runners on our mtb specific trails due to the danger it creates so we are hoping to be going in that direction. Signs are desperately needed all over Tokai and we are working on that too! One question I'd like to ask is what would the 'rules for runners' be if they were allowed on the mtb trails? There is talk of Tokai charging for trail runners... These are our thoughts; Not all trails can be shared. Vasbyt and DH trails are prime examples-the speed is just too high and the jumps create situations where riders wouldn't be able to stop in time. I-pods should be banned if you are trail running so that runners can hear mtbers Mtbers have right of way always-it's a mtb trail Run against the flow (if its a unidirectional mtb trail) Is there anything else to consider as a rule? TheHUB might be a good place to make a poll asking whether Tokai riders would like to share mtb trails with runners-just saying... We have approached the Trail and Tar running group. They say that their group leader insists that mtbers have right of way on the trails. If that's the case then signage would be the next best bet to educate runners on trail right of way. Unfortunately I don't know what the official ruling (TMNP's) is wrt runners on mtb trails is but we will discuss next week.