Riding up the DOWNhills at Tokai

[Capricorn]

Chubba: goes without saying really.

 

But as Oh Mega Man has clearly stated repeatedly, as well as other posters, it's about riding UP a dedicated downhill trail.

 

The minute we generalise this issue, we go off topic. sighzor

[Chubba]

You will notice that this thread has taken the line of understanding to avoid clouded judgements when a solution is sought., your intolerance is not tolerated here.

 

Grow up or read the thread from start to finish.

I have! Please point out where I have been intolerant?

[onetrackmind]

You will notice that this thread has taken the line of understanding to avoid clouded judgements when a solution is sought., your intolerance is not tolerated here.

 

Grow up or read the thread from start to finish.

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.

[Guest Omega Man]

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.

Here. I'll repost so you don't have to use the back button.

 

Hey all. Sorry for taking this long to respond and sorry for the essay.

 

@OTM. I'm sorry if I've offended you in any way. It was not my intention.

 

Right. About those downhills.

 

There clearly is a lot of confusion around who has right of way and what exactly constitutes a Downhill at Tokai. I wanted to make sure I had my facts straight so I went for a little ride on Friday and took special care to look at the signboard at the entrance and the signs at the entrances of the trails. It's in all of our interests to know and abide by the rules.

 

Firstly the sign at the carpark.

 

In my opinion it is quite misleading. From what I could make out it indicated that all the single track is downhill and all the jeeptracks were the xc routes. This is obviously incorrect or I misread the sign.

 

There are also a few things on the sign that surprised me.

 

1. Hikers and Horsey people have right of way over mountain bikers. I find that particularly odd as hikers and horse riders don't seem to pay to ride there. But I guess safety issues come in to play etc.

2. There is a blanket 30kph speed limit.

 

Right now to the trails. Once again I took special care to look at the signs marking the entrances to the trails. The signs are there for everyone to see and by IMBA standards mark the entrance to the trails and give them a grading.

 

There are 3 bits of trail at Tokai marked as Downhill. The signs clearly show a black diamond and the signs read as follows.

 

Downhill 1 (From the Road Gap)

Downhill 2 (From the road crossing abt 200m above the berm)

And last but not least Downhill 3/Vasbyt. We all know where that is.

 

Yes boys. Vasbyt is marked as a Downhill.

 

Now you can argue it any way you want. But. Downhill 3 is a......DOWNHILL and therefore people heading in a downward direction have right of way in that particular area. EVERY SINGLE downhiller I have spoken to in the last week agrees and most of them say "Read the sign dude. It says Downhill"

 

Now downhillers are not unreasonable guys and we don't consider the trail all the way down to the quarry to be downhill but the bit from the berm, over the root gap and the 3 jumps are Downhill. There are also 2 nice safe exit points in that area. The one branches north at the 2nd jump and comes out 50m north of the berm. The second exit deposits you on the road just below that huge log lying next to the track.

 

For me personally if you want to ride up a downhill that is your prerogative but doing so puts you in a precarious position both ethically and physically.

 

The most dangerous bit is riding up the berm at the entrance to Downhill 3. Seriously guys. We can't see you when we drop in to that bit of trail and if you are coming up the berm we are gonna slam into you. And no-one wants that. Even the guys saying you will come off second best etc. It's also not our duty to scream or whatever when we enter the trail. It's your duty to get out of the way.

 

And you can say stuff like we are youths with attitudes (I'm 38) and whatever you want but if you ride up that bit of trail you lose the moral high ground. You are breaking the rules. You are putting yourself and whoever you encounter in danger. It's exactly the same as driving up a one way road.

 

How often do you do that?

Edited May 30, 2011 by Omega Man

[Chubba]

Chubba: goes without saying really.

 

But as Oh Mega Man has clearly stated repeatedly, as well as other posters, it's about riding UP a dedicated downhill trail.

 

The minute we generalise this issue, we go off topic. sighzor

I get that dude, i was trying to make the point that this could be debated forEVER and there will still be those personalities that don’t give a crap.

[pauloc]

I can't believe this thread is STILL going

 

Closing arguments please

 

I've lost track since about page 3, but has someone confirmed whether the section of trail is clearly marked as 'downhill only'?

[Guest Omega Man]

I get that dude, i was trying to make the point that this could be debated forEVER and there will still be those personalities that don’t give a crap.

True. On both sides. XC and DH. And that's why rules exist. To force people without respect to act in a respectful manner.

 

And getting back to topic...

[Guest Omega Man]

I can't believe this thread is STILL going

 

Closing arguments please

 

I've lost track since about page 3, but has someone confirmed whether the section of trail is clearly marked as 'downhill only'?

Yes.

[Slowbee]

play nice ..... you downhill, uphill and across the hill riders! simple.

[(Deon)]

I have! Please point out where I have been intolerant?

 

It was calm a while ago.. now it is not.. did you read?

 

Why don't you pitch in on Saturday and we'll all chat.

 

Still to confirm.

[Guest Omega Man]

downhillers believe they have the right of way, that this is fact and cannot be questioned, and seem incapable of sharing the trail.

 

"Grow up"? See, that smacks of intolerance in my book.

 

You are completely right. We do have right of way on certain trails. Downhill 1, 2 and 3 to be exact. on the rest of the mountain you have right of way.

 

We're not incapable of sharing anything. It's a safety issue.

 

I hope to never grow up.

[Chubba]

It was calm a while ago.. now it is not.. did you read?

 

Why don't you pitch in on Saturday and we'll all chat.

 

Still to confirm.

Just wanted to have my say, from what i have read, you had your's.

 

Will have to chat to the wife, she's very intolerant when i ride all day, or anything over 2 hours!

[Guest Omega Man]

Just wanted to have my say, from what i have read, you had your's.

 

Will have to chat to the wife, she's very intolerant when i ride all day, or anything over 2 hours!

 

Come dig dude. It's liberating to know some of your sweat went in to the trails.

[Chubba]

Come dig dude. It's liberating to know some of your sweat went in to the trails.

 

I know for sure some of my blood has seeped into the trails.

 

When you guys meeting 2pm, this Saturday? At the gate. Will try rope is some other guys!

Edited May 30, 2011 by Chubba

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

2pm? Done! Is this confirmed...

[Guest Omega Man]

Ok. 2pm. Deon Can you org a gate key? We can go up in my bakkie.