trailmansam Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 The trails in Jonkershoek are about to be closed down!!!!!!! This is a statement of fact!!!!! NO JOKE!!!!!! Background:When riding at Jonkershoek you pay at the gate for a day permit or you buy an annual permit. This permit gives you access to Jonkershoek and has NOTHING to do with the MTB trails. Not a single cent of this goes towards trail building and / or maintenance. NOT A SINGLE CENT!!!!! Cape Pine is not interested in the MTB trails and has no problem with shutting it down. The income derived from gate fees is accidental and does NOT form part of their business plan. After the sorry state of the trails following the fires a few years ago a Trail Maintenance Movement (TMM) was created by a few concerning cyclist. They pumped huge amounts of their own money into the project. Specialized also contributed thousands and put signboards up to mark the various trails. On these boards they printed a very low key Specialized logo. The movement is still strong and has a substantial slush fund available for trail maintenance. Issues: We as a group felt that there are people and businesses riding on the back of our effort without contributing a single cent towards the initiative. The coffee shop owner was given a few bicycles by a local cycle shop at the beginning of 2014. They proceeded to brand the coffee shop and entrance to Jonkershoek with huge Scott branding, in effect ambushing the effort put in by the TMM. Jonkerhoek now looks like Scott Park and you might be forgiven for thinking that Scott diversified from bicycles into the growth of coffee beans and supply of roasted coffee. Our request was simple: Please take down all branding or at the very least match the contribution of already branded contributors. The effort to set up meetings with the coffee shop owners was unsuccessful and Scott’s attitude is simply that they have a right to this, which they legally have but morally it stinks. Their branding and attitude towards TMM resulted in a shutdown of all maintenance. This is clear from the sorry state of some of the trails. WE ARE NOW PROCEEDING WITH THE PHYSICAL CLOSURE OF SOME OF THE TRAILS AS WE ARE NOT PREPARED TO FACE POSSIBLE LEGAL ACTION FOR INJURIES SUSTAINED BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF MAINTENANCE ON THE TRAILS. Our solution, We feel that if you don’t contribute towards the effort you have no moral right to put your branding all over the entrance – if you match branded contributors’ efforts then you can. We are not prepared to pay towards corporate SA’s marketing efforts. Specialized has agreed to make Jonkers a brand free zone – this is , and despite their huge contribution, our suggestion is to make this a brand free zone. This will ensure that the much needed maintenance will go ahead and that the trails will remain open for a long time to come. What you can do:Put pressure on the people involved to remove all branding and request the owner of the coffee shop to attend the TMM meetings. JustinS and insomnia 2
NicoBoshoff Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 I call bullsh*it Friday post. r0adrunner, LourensD and The_Eagle 3
ScottCM Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 If true poor on Your behalf. If Coffee shop and Scott are within law, then closing down trails just not to see the branding is poor going. Let Spez brand too and live happily ever after. r0adrunner 1
Headshot Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 Agree - BS has no name. This looks like more of a hand bag fight than Tokai - an imaginary one at that.
DJR Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 Better tell us who you are, who you represent and who your constituency is. Details and minutes of meetings? Who were there, what was said? Letters and e-mails? Otherwise you are just another raving lunatic Hubber. Bloukrans, Single Track, GLuvsMtb and 4 others 7
koukie Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 Are TMM the only people that can build trails in Jonkerhoek?
DJR Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 Where's Amarider in this? Meurant? Bennett? Hairy and Ernst Gouws 2
ScottCM Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 Better tell us who you are, who you represent and who your constituency is. Details and minutes of meetings? Who were there, what was said? Letters and e-mails? Otherwise you are just another raving lunatic Hubber .FIXED
trailmansam Posted May 23, 2014 Author Posted May 23, 2014 Where's Amarider in this? Meurant? Bennett? Bennet does all the Maintenance on the group's behalf. Amarider and Meurant not involved at jonkers any more
scuzzy Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 Will be sad, but do understand the "gentleman's" agreement rather than the legalities. Sad that these sort of things always has to happen.
trailmansam Posted May 23, 2014 Author Posted May 23, 2014 Are TMM the only people that can build trails in Jonkerhoek? This is a funding initiative. The work is done by contractors with proper knowledge on trail building. insomnia 1
trailmansam Posted May 23, 2014 Author Posted May 23, 2014 If true poor on Your behalf. If Coffee shop and Scott are within law, then closing down trails just not to see the branding is poor going. Let Spez brand too and live happily ever after. Legal rights are not at issue. At issue is the work done by volunteers to fund the maintenance and building of new trails which then gets ambushed by companies for own gain. Scott has not paid a single cent towards the maintenance and yet you are greeted by huge Scott branding at the gate.
T-Bob Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 If Spez are pumping money into Jonkers then let them brand the hell out of it. No harm in that, show that 'corporate SA/USA ' are giving back and not just taking hard ended rands. Make it visible and let them get return on investment. Shame Scott and tell each and every customer / rider that they are not contributing a thing to the brilliant trails that they ride but sure as hell should. Set up your own coffee shop / cart / food truck and tell the world that the coin goes back into the trails... and make better coffee than the scott shop. If sales of spez go up in the CT area from when they branded then tell them it's because they are supporting trails and use that in your next round of request for budget. Show increased ground level profile and exposure gained trough that and ask for more money. Set up a PBO and approach 'corporate SA' to use their CSI requirements (needed for BEE) to fund you rather than marketing and then create an out reach for employment in the local area and start a development team. Don't make it blank and shut down the trails. Makes no business sense. If you slush fund and contributors they will want to know where the coin is going and how it's helping won't they? Schoemie, koukie, insomnia and 3 others 6
DJR Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 ....and "the funding initiative" wants to shut it down with authority from who? After consulting with who? Taking into consideration what? Or is it just a pissing contest against the Coffee Shop?
scuzzy Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 ....and "the funding initiative" wants to shut it down with authority from who? After consulting with who? Taking into consideration what? Or is it just a pissing contest against the Coffee Shop? Well, I think if they give everybody's money back and leave it, then they do not really net permission to stop funding it. I someone else ie Scott, comes along and pick up the pieces, then it is their prerogative.
porqui Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 Can we have a reply from Scott? Anyone have a contact?
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