Riding up the tokai dh track . Again.

[Guest Omega Man]

The key here is MANAGEMENT. It costs money to have a good trails manager in place, much like a golf course needs to pay for the services of a good green keeper or a ski resort needs a good resort manager.

I have never had the opportunity to ride Fort William, Whisler or any of the world famous trails. I also know very little about the management of these parks, but I can assure you that they have competent people all earning good money from doing what they love. I think that relying on volunteers to build and maintain trails is simply not sustainable. Sanparks / Cape Nature don't have the expertise or resources to have good private sector trial managers in place. They also use the revenue from mountain biking to cross subsidize other services (fire and rescue to name but one).

With private management, Sanparks / Cape Nature can still get their share, competent people can put together a preventative maintenance plan and trail building, grading and marking programme, safety on the mountain can be improved etc. I didn't bother reading through all the "who's dick is bigger" posts on here, so excuse any repitition. Assume half of maximum people use the trails on average every weekend, so 600 x R50 x 40 good riding weeks per year = R1 200 000. Assume half goes straight to Sanparks / Cape Nature as rent, it leaves the program with R 600 000. A good trails manager will probably earn R25 000 per month, accounting for half, so R 300 000 is left for labour, materials etc.

Say a private programme can secure the facility for 10 years, this could actually mean a world class facililty right on our doorstep. It would mean that we are going to have to pay a bit more.

Very well thought out my good man. I'll pay R50 to ride sweet trails. I gave the guy that signs you in a lift down to his house this evening and asked him what the usage numbers are.

 

He said on the weekend +-800 riders rode there and 200 today. We can all afford R50 to indulge our passion. Hell. A 6 pack of beer costs close to R50. I know which of the 2 I prefer.

Edited August 2, 2011 by Omega Man

[The Drongo]

For Pete's sake, is this still going???

 

I will say one thing, and one only for fear of 'bumping' this heap of dirt...

 

When I see a CA number plate, I keep well clear. It obviously doesn't stop at cars..

 

OK. Two things...If you can ride UP a DH route, then it weren't built by Nige.

[TNT1]

Ping, admin, time for that recurring freds area?

[jimmy hardtail]

@ morewood mad. I ride twice a week on average. 104 x r50 is 5200 rand a year. Way out of my reach. But i see your point about management. Unfortunately sanparks sees mtb as a nuisance more than a business opportunity i think

[rustycat]

Something that everybody is missing is again the safety issue, not the DH/T-shirt brigade/XC crap. Riding up a blind dangerous piece of track is just senseless. On top of that I don't think that the problem is so much the Downhillers, who, yes, ride fast, but are under control. The problem I see is the riders, who think they can ride fast, who also ride down the "big berm" and who have no chance of stopping in an emergency. They could be new DH riders or XC riders or fathers with their sons. I would think that the big issue is COMMON SENSE! COMMON SENSE should say that the piece of track you are about to ride up is blind. Don't ride up it!! There are very few pieces of trail that are like that, so why ride up them???? There are also better trails around these dangerous parts, most are more fun to ride up.

 

Now just to put flame to petrol, why would signs work?? When last did you see a Capetonian stop at a stop street sign in their car?

[jimmy hardtail]

Accountability. If people ignore the signs at least we will know who is right and who is wrong when it comes to medical bills.

[jimmy hardtail]

Totally off topic now. How does the rating thing work. Champion hubber. Ultimate hubber. Domestique etc.

[daneger]

Mr. Wolff, you like a good argument I see. I didn't realize you took the whole riding thing so seriously.

[ccc2]

geez - you mtb'ers have seriaaaas issues. over the boerewors curtain it seems as if 1 in 2 mtb'ers don't bother to buy their boards which allow them access to all the trails nor do they pay in the 'honesty box'. so much so that the okes in charge are employing people to set up a toll of sorts to collect the moolla.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Totally off topic now. How does the rating thing work. Champion hubber. Ultimate hubber. Domestique etc.

 

Erm - Domestique is up to 200 posts, methinks. ultimate Hubber is beyond that. I am better than you 'cos I has more posts...

 

:clap:

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Guys - really. Get real now.

 

 

Dv16 - you've been invited to MULTIPLE build sessions. You are yet to show up. Your insistence that you will only pitch up to build XC tracks (because you say you only ride XC singletrack) going on evidence in this here thread, is BS. You ride the tracks that we maintain. Pitch up, or stfu.

 

GRB - I agree with you here. Signage is an issue we all need to work towards, in order to maintain a proper element of rider safety and awareness as to what is proper, and allowed. As soon as signage has been erected, ignorance is no longer an excuse (not that it ever was, as we can see here)

 

PorS - when r the signs coming? I've got a 10lb hammer and a heavy right hand just waiting for them!

 

Capricorn - Where the hell are you, beeyatch? ;-)

 

Oh Mega Man - I hate you. I hate Morzine. I hate random build sessions, followed by the feeling of ripping down a new section of track.

 

Cptmayhem - you needed to move more rocks at the last build session.

 

 

Overall though - there is NO excuse for riding up a DH only track. The guys new to Tokai would not be the ones doing this. It would only be the guys who know Tokai, and as such, have SEEN the DH designation at the trail heads. No excuse. Dv16 - until you and your brethren realise this, we will get nowhere with this discussion. We are all for safety. Heck, I see guys more padded than a frikkin ice-hockey goalie on the trails. And they're going DOWN the Down Hill Only trails. Not up them. The majority of trails in Tokai are uni-directional. Don't be a tosser.

[Caerus]

@ morewood mad. I ride twice a week on average. 104 x r50 is 5200 rand a year. Way out of my reach. But i see your point about management. Unfortunately sanparks sees mtb as a nuisance more than a business opportunity i think

 

That is crazy to think you would be expected to pay R5200/ year to ride, Giba is only R800/ year and I can ride as often as I like, add another R250/year for a EMBA board and youre free to ride pretty much anywhere at anytime.

 

R50 a ride is pretty expensive, I even think R40/day to ride is expensive, its ok few times only a month, but as Jimmy pointed out, it will be way out of reach for many.

[(Deon)]

That is crazy to think you would be expected to pay R5200/ year to ride, Giba is only R800/ year and I can ride as often as I like, add another R250/year for a EMBA board and youre free to ride pretty much anywhere at anytime.

 

R50 a ride is pretty expensive, I even think R40/day to ride is expensive, its ok few times only a month, but as Jimmy pointed out, it will be way out of reach for many.

 

Brace y'self for Nov's annual increase.

 

The answer is to fork out for a Green Card, launched a few days ago, sees a saving for Cape Tonians and is also much cheaper than daily access at R30... R280 for the year I think.

 

Read Paddy Gordon's logic to rates and how it is justified/determined.. People's Post, most recent.. can't find it online, but if you have the printed paper, read it.

[DJR]

Jeeze, Pain or Shine, I never figured you as a guy that gets up so early in the morning for anything other than riding!

[Caerus]

Brace y'self for Nov's annual increase.

 

The answer is to fork out for a Green Card, launched a few days ago, sees a saving for Cape Tonians and is also much cheaper than daily access at R30... R280 for the year I think.

 

Read Paddy Gordon's logic to rates and how it is justified/determined.. People's Post, most recent.. can't find it online, but if you have the printed paper, read it.

 

I understand all the logic behind how rates & cost can be justified/ determined. Even Giba, at R800/year doesn't have enough signage

 

Oh right, R280 is nothing then for a yearly membership - makes much more sense. Gosh if they made it even R500 a year, those signs that are needed can be included into the costs. Maybe even a proper maps at the all the entrances to make people aware.

[nigelhicks]

just checked the pricing at Whistler

Whistler 1 day pass is $55 ... with a season pass (5 months) being $525

 

So if you dont convert that means that they are paying R55 a day to ride and R1260 for a year (12 months) membership!

 

So i seriously dont think that 50 bucks for a day pass is too much IF the park has a dedicated maintanence crew and trails manager as MM mentioned!!!

 

You think Giba is 40 bucks on a day pass and thats not bad ... REMEMBER AS WELL that everyone rushes off at the first sniff of a race and happily spends 100 to 150 bucks on entry ... or in Sani2C or those races in the region of R2000 A DAY ... but then they complain about 40 or 50 bucks ... (which if you think about it is only a McDonalds Meal these days ... hahaha