Jonkershoek - maintenance issues!

[Guest Omega Man]

 

trust me we have some of the best ST and trails in the world.

 

Really? Look I've only ridden in France and Switzerland but compared to those two places our single track is short, badly maintained and INCREDIBLY CR@P

[GLuvsMtb]

It's more a fact that when XC riders see a braking bump or a rut in a turn they think it's in horrible condition because our perception of XC in SA is jeep track riding for 40km and when you see a bridge you unclip and get off and walk it.

 

Have a look at world cup XC coures...far far far from what an XC course looks like in SA!

 

They need to wake up, grow balls and improve their skills.

At least the XC guys don't need to take a shuttle to the top of the run. You need to get up earlier, do 15 to 20 hours a week and get your fat arse up there yourself.

[covie]

Really? Look I've only ridden in France and Switzerland but compared to those two places our single track is short, badly maintained and INCREDIBLY CR@P

 

Really? Look I've only ridden in France and Switzerland but compared to those two places our single track is short, badly maintained and INCREDIBLY CR@P

 

so have i and if you know where to ride (which is not tokai) then you wont make statements like these, i have ridden in Germany, switzerland, france, scotland, whales, and Ireland. So I have a good gauge, yes its fun since if your lazy you can take the ski lifts up and just zoom down, something we lack in SA, but go ride the 70km of esels singletrack, go do the Sani2C routes, go follow the routers through paulcluver, oakvalley lebanon, houhoek and slanghoek, etc.

 

But if your looking for a lift up to some place that will supply you with 20km of downhill sure book a flight to the Alps. if your willing to get on your bike and do 100km+ of some of the best singletrack in the world right on your doorstep give me a shout.

[jimmy hardtail]

I just realised that everyone has a different idea of the perfect trail. It depends on your skill level, your travel on your bike and much more. One mans washed out gully is another mans dh practice track. And as for perfect trail centers in the UK, no one is stopping you from opening one here! Go on then, you make it sound so easy...

[Karate Monkey]

First of all, who said I am riding DH? You assume way too much.

 

Second, we are a bunch of guys building together, XC, DH, AM, DJ and even a BMX'er or two and a skate boarder! So for your snippy comments, there you go, we are not all Downhill riders.

 

Third, we repair more XC tracks than DH tracks, the amount of XC riders we have here use the trails much more than any other type of rider. So all we do is XC maintenance out of our own pocket and time!

 

We can all get along but it is attitudes like yours that gets us nowhere! When last have you even said thanks to anyone you see doing trail repairs! The majority of XC riders don't even greet when they go past you! That is very welcoming to someone who has been working hard getting a trail ridable!

 

I dont have a holier than thou attitude, I ride with everybody and any type of riding, I love riding, building and even watching.

 

I just get so angry with these arrogant and ignorant riders who think the world belongs to them!

 

I have once watched the amount riders using the "no pay" entrance at jonkers and sadly it was all XC riders.

 

Come to build days and or go on private trail maintenance walks then you will meet the guys and see we are all a friendly bunch of guys!

 

Nope mate Im not bitching at all, I am saying your holier than though attitude while posting does not demand much respect. Trying to pervay that one type of discipline makes one better than another making comments like go develope some skill etc. That does not sit well, There are DH riders that suck there are XC riders that suck, There are XC riders that doesnt follow rules and there are DH riders that doesnt follow rules. Its called the human phenomanon.

 

Now you get involved in some trial maintenance respect for that, but in the same sentence there are posts about what will happen if one posts on a DH page lets go fix som XC track and the jokes that would ensue. Yet in the next breath there is a call to arms why dont XC people join in. Cannot have your bread buttered both ways dude. If you want everyone to work together for the greater good of the game, you need to take your DH attitude and bury it next to that berm, and the same applies for the XC guys.

 

If you want to get a group together to build/maintain trails thats awesome as well but then you go at it with a plan, i.e. letting everyone know this week we maintain section X (DH) and next week we move over to section Y (XC) hence forming a maintenance team for the greater good of the sport. In all disciplines regardless of how baggy your shorts really are.

 

Bottom line is without coordination and a concerted effort nothing will change.

 

Take a track like twrchtrail cwmcarn in whales, its public forest owned by the UK guvment, on it you will find someone leased it, build a awesome trail on it, put down a lovley restaurant toilets, showers, dressing rooms and lockers, they have a bike rental shop where you can rent proper quality bikes, from carbon XC machines to the meanest downhill monsters money can buy. They have AM type track, XC type track, downhill tracks, jump tracks etc. And its all beautifully maintained. There are no monserous entry charges, a set fee pretty much like we have here, they earn their revenue from the bike lift service taking DH people up and down, The restaurant, the coin operated rest room locks, businesses putting their logos on trail maps, the bike rentals and signage etc. All and all a damn good setup, which inspires, and is a world apart from debates like this where when you read it you wonder why your still part of this community.

 

These guys are coordinated, effeciant, dedicated, and have a plan, there is no crap of we have to wait on the forestry commision for xyz, they submit yearly plans and have it approved. They simply do things right.

 

Without that kind of management leadership an entrepreneurship, none of the above will ever change.

[covie]

I just realised that everyone has a different idea of the perfect trail. It depends on your skill level, your travel on your bike and much more. One mans washed out gully is another mans dh practice track. And as for perfect trail centers in the UK, no one is stopping you from opening one here! Go on then, you make it sound so easy...

 

I already have a job to do thanks And it is that easy, all you need to do is get a couple of buisnesses behind you, establish a meaningful relationship with the forestry commision. And you have the beginings of a world class trail center. Its been done all over the world, and i wont even sue you for stealing the idea.

[Karate Monkey]

Pretty funny that you say that coz all the Pro DH guys do XC and AM as base training. They are more on the XC bike than on the DH bike.

 

All the DH guys I know either have a XC bike or a AM bike which is their weekly ride, then the DH bike comes out for weekends!

 

At least the XC guys don't need to take a shuttle to the top of the run. You need to get up earlier, do 15 to 20 hours a week and get your fat arse up there yourself.

[(Deon)]

The only problem I have with "this community" is the divisions they set upon themselves.. Why the bun fight about some innocent remarks??

 

Fact is the XC trails are changing around the world. Tech gets better and the trails change accordingly.

 

As for comparing what we have here to other places in the world, that is subjective to what you like.

 

Then regarding the comparison to UK trails, it helps when gov't pumps millions of pounds into the sport. Here, we wait for private sector to finally take the bait and realise the benefit to supporting local trails... since this is the fastest growing sport.

 

Despite all that is being said, we are all still wanting the same thing, don't really see the point in getting worked up over something that, regardless how it looks, still provides hours of outdoor fun.

 

Good trails will cater for every type of rider but it is important to know your skill level, for this there should/and will be/ a skills grading facility so you know where to pin yourself against the funny signs with diamonds- black and blue, and wavy green lines.. to a novice they do look very pretty.

[covie]

I just get so angry with these arrogant and ignorant riders who think the world belongs to them!

 

I have once watched the amount riders using the "no pay" entrance at jonkers and sadly it was all XC riders.

 

Come to build days and or go on private trail maintenance walks then you will meet the guys and see we are all a friendly bunch of guys!

 

Im talking purely from the perception you create from your posts mate. Im not here to argue, I am here to say stop argueing and insulting and find a solution, and thats not just aimed at you its aimed at a bunch of guys on this thread.

 

I understand and share a lot of your frustrations but once again, if you dont do this in some coordinated fashion, i.e. putting printed signs at the gate, and on the start of the trails while doing maintenance that its closed for maintenance you will find people of all disciplines still going down them. If im riding down a peace of ST, and theres a log in front of it first thing in my mind is some careless worker left it there, or someone is trying to be spitefull etc. And i will continue with the trail.

 

If you simply put a notification up at the gate "snake eyes" closed for maintenance from date - date, riders will know not to waste their time to go that specific trail for a ride. Then just bar the entrances to the trails with signage and that should keep 98% of the people off the trails while maintenance is being carried out.

 

If you dont warn people of maintenance in progress you cannot expect them not to go ride the trail.

[GLuvsMtb]

Pretty funny that you say that coz all the Pro DH guys do XC and AM as base training. They are more on the XC bike than on the DH bike.

 

All the DH guys I know either have a XC bike or a AM bike which is their weekly ride, then the DH bike comes out for weekends!

Apologies. Which one of the pro's are you? I'm talking about the fat slobs that think by taking the same run 10 times they've trained. I enjoy a good run down the mountain just as much as the next guy, but I want to earn it.

 

It probably takes more training to be able to ride a 30% gradient comfortably than what it does doing a gap jump, so next time you tell someone to grow a pair, think first.

[covie]

The only problem I have with "this community" is the divisions they set upon themselves.. Why the bun fight about some innocent remarks??

 

Fact is the XC trails are changing around the world. Tech gets better and the trails change accordingly.

 

As for comparing what we have here to other places in the world, that is subjective to what you like.

 

Then regarding the comparison to UK trails, it helps when gov't pumps millions of pounds into the sport. Here, we wait for private sector to finally take the bait and realise the benefit to supporting local trails... since this is the fastest growing sport.

 

Despite all that is being said, we are all still wanting the same thing, don't really see the point in getting worked up over something that, regardless how it looks, still provides hours of outdoor fun.

 

Good trails will cater for every type of rider but it is important to know your skill level, for this there should/and will be/ a skills grading facility so you know where to pin yourself against the funny signs with diamonds- black and blue, and wavy green lines.. to a novice they do look very pretty.

 

Cant agree more but just one thing most of the trail centers in the UK are privately funded and privately run. The big difference is they have proven to their forsestry commisions that its sustainable and can be done over long periods with minimal impact to the environment.

[Karate Monkey]

Reffering to Pro's like Gee, Greg, Gwin, Blenki, Danny in fact all the top riders, go have a look at their training then you will feel like the fat slob.

 

One can get fit yeah and not be a fat slob but no one can not get more balls to do a 15m gap jump. You have it or you don't. But you can improve your skill level!

 

Have you ever been to a DH race? How many fat guys did you see coz I dont see any?

 

Shuttles are only there on races, rest of the time there is no land access for vehicles.

 

 

Apologies. Which one of the pro's are you? I'm talking about the fat slobs that think by taking the same run 10 times they've trained. I enjoy a good run down the mountain just as much as the next guy, but I want to earn it.

 

It probably takes more training to be able to ride a 30% gradient comfortably than what it does doing a gap jump, so next time you tell someone to grow a pair, think first.

Edited March 8, 2012 by Karate Monkey

[(Deon)]

All and all a damn good setup, which inspires, and is a world apart from debates like this where when you read it you wonder why your still part of this community.

 

These guys are coordinated, effeciant, dedicated, and have a plan, there is no crap of we have to wait on the forestry commision for xyz, they submit yearly plans and have it approved. They simply do things right.

 

Without that kind of management leadership an entrepreneurship, none of the above will ever change.

 

Sounds rosy. SA is still in a developmental stage, these debates prove it. You think other countries did not have their fair share of discussion?

 

I want to know how you can submit a yearly plan and HAVE it approved? You think approval is easy considering where we are with this sport? I cannot count the submissions lost in the black hole of bureaucrazy..

[Guest Omega Man]

But if your looking for a lift up to some place that will supply you with 20km of downhill sure book a flight to the Alps.

 

Booked and paid for. 23 June I'll be plonking my lazy arse on a ski lift. Can't wait.

[Karate Monkey]

Siiiiick! Enjoy!

 

Booked and paid for. 23 June I'll be plonking my lazy arse on a ski lift. Can't wait.

[covie]

Booked and paid for. 23 June I'll be plonking my lazy arse on a ski lift. Can't wait.

 

Enjoy, Im personally looking at the 5 day tour where i have to pedal myself around. But hey everyone has their own definition of fun.