Article in Tygerberger regarding Hooggekraal

[Wannabe]

Sorry for my ignorance (as I do not know Hoogekraal trails that well), but this "journalist" claims that Lee feel on / or because of some loose rocks at the specific bridge she photographed and published. I had a damn good look at that photo, but I could not see a single rock, only a fairly broad and properly cleared path coming from a bridge that looks like it is on a straight section of the route. Nothing dangerous or technical there.

 

Enlighten me if I'm wrong.

 

Not being insensitive or callous.

[Brent]

RIP to our lost cyclist and condolences to his family

 

I think the solution here is to grade the various trails on their difficulty / danger level.

This has been the norm on many MTB trails and if I remember correctly from the TBMBC maps, that these trails are indeed graded.

 

BLACK - extremely difficult

RED - difficult

BLUE - moderate difficulty

GREEN - easy to moderate difficulty

YELLOW - easy

 

The problem is that these difficulty or danger level gradings are not well signposted at the bottom of each trail, and/or not very well known to the more recreational MTB'er. They are also normally associated with single track and not trails themselves.

 

Lets remember one thing, we were all noobs once and its never a pleasant sight seeing an injured/bleeding cyclist on the side of the trails because of a fall.

 

PS. Lets also as MTB'ers realise our skill levels and rather not take the trails that are beyond what we or our machines are capable of !

[Capricorn]

Other than signage, the other half of the rider safety equation is level of skill, and there's no verification at the start of the trail, other than that which the rider tells him or herself.

 

+1 what DJR said about the article and author thereof. Highly emotive and misleading.

[Craigwt]

My condolences to the family and loved ones. This is a very tragic accident.

 

On a side note. Is the Tygerberg Mountain Bike Club trail maintained and managed in accordance with IMBA standards? Is the trail affiliated to IMBA (through AMA Rider)?

 

If the trails are graded and maintained in line with IMBA standards, then this is just a tragic ACCIDENT and the trail cannot be blamed.

 

The thing that really gets me about this article, is that the accident didn't even happen on, or near, the difficult/technical sections of Hoogekraal. The only bridges that cross over a fences are while riding along jeep track. This is definitely not the trails fault.

 

... even if there were difficulty ratings, he would have been on the yellow/green part of the trail.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Craigwt

[Marius]

Oh please, if you fall on that bridge you are a noob.

[MeridaHFS]

The part where he fell is not technical or dangerous AT ALL. I can safely assume this journalist has never been to hoogekraal to see what it looks like for herself. This article makes my blood boil!!

 

RIP Lee

[NicoBoshoff]

http://www.saflii.org/cgi-bin/disp.pl?file=za/cases/ZAWCHC/2014/35.html&query=Za%20v%20Smith

 

Pretty much on point.

[NicoBoshoff]

Mtb'ing has exploded in popularity. Trails haven't gotten harder or more dangerous. You just have way more people riding them, and of those many are inexperienced. You are bound to have a greater incidence of injury. It's simple probabilities.

[Tumbleweed]

http://www.saflii.or...uery=Za v Smith

 

Pretty much on point.

 

For those who want a shorter version…

 

http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/widow-loses-case-against-nature-reserve-1.1664345

 

 

 

Widow loses case against nature reserve

[BLACKvoodoo]

Condolences to the family.

 

To the reporter.... ai!

 

What do they want....tarred trails?

 

They're called roads

[GLuvsMtb]

My condolences to the family and loved ones. This is a very tragic accident.

 

On a side note. Is the Tygerberg Mountain Bike Club trail maintained and managed in accordance with IMBA standards? Is the trail affiliated to IMBA (through AMA Rider)?

 

If the trails are graded and maintained in line with IMBA standards, then this is just a tragic ACCIDENT and the trail cannot be blamed.

The Tygerberg trails are much better maintained and marked than any of the IMBA trails I have been on in SA.

Do we sometimes lose sight of the fact that mountain biking is an extreme sport? Yes!

Is it the land owner / clubs responsibility to grade riders before they take on a challenge? No!

If this freak accident happened on Fearie Garden in Tokai (that little hairpin section that catches many new riders out), or on one of the A frames in Oak Valley's green route would we all be up in arms as well?

[marko35s]

Oh please, if you fall on that bridge you are a noob.

Harsh, very harsh.

[BrandonF_]

In the cloud of the writer's motif, facts and opinions, of wich I feel it a waste to entertain, my wish is for this unborn son and mother of this fathers only child, to be comforted by God's grace and be carried in this terrible time of their lives, please God, wipe her tears and hold her tight.

[GoLefty!!]

I understand the intent of the article. Everytime there is a death people have a tendency to consider if an activity is too dangerous. This is natural. The TMBC response is also the correct one. Signs will help those who know what they mean. This means more work for all involved but if nothing is done then the club and land owners open themselves to litigation.

 

Condolences to his wife and child. I woudl certainly not like to leave my family behind and loose the opportunity to see my daughters grow up. The article is one sided for a purpose and I am sympathetic and empathetic to that purpose.

[Hairy]

For those who want a shorter version…

 

http://www.iol.co.za...serve-1.1664345

 

 

 

Widow loses case against nature reserve

I knew Pier Alberto through doing business with him and he was really and awesome man.......the case as per the links is really, in my mind, a disservice to who and what Pier Alberto was.

[NicoBoshoff]

Harsh, very harsh.

 

Asperger's is a terrible disease.