Two-Stroke Posted December 14, 2015 Share Recently noticed a few references made to a new(ish) XCO course built at or near UCT. Is it open to the public - like the one recently built at Coetzenburg in Stellenbosch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted December 14, 2015 Share UCT Cycling Club recently made an announcement regarding the opening of the course on their Facebook page here. As you know, over the past 6 months we as a club have developed and built our own mountain bike track on the Upper Campus of UCT. It started out as a circuit measuring in at under 1km has been expanded and improved upon to produce a 1.5km track with jumps, switchbacks and bridges. During this period we have tried to limit public access to the track while we sorted out how we were going to work a permit system and pay for maintenance and further development. This has resulted in frustration on our part, as well as the public. However, we can now confirm that the track will be sponsored by our long-standing club sponsors Private Client Holdings (www.privateclient.co.za), as well as Trek Bikes ZA ! We are delighted that we have been able to secure the sponsorship so that we can further improve the track and provide the public something new and exciting to ride, especially given that Tokai is closed for the foreseeable future. Permits will go on sale on Monday and can be bought from The Gear Change in Mowbray for R200. The permit gives you access to the track for the whole of 2016, as well as access for the rest of 2015 should you purchase one before the end of the year. The permits will also earn you a discount on any race entry fees for events held at the track. You will need to complete an indemnity form before purchasing, and these will also be available at The Gear Change. The permit is a small number board which must be attached to your bike at all times while you are on the track: No board, no ride. We are a student run club and so cannot be at the track at all hours of the day to ensure only those with permits are riding, but we hope that a sense of honesty will prevail. If you choose to ride the track without buying a permit and are found to be doing so you will be forced to leave the track and campus immediately. If you purchase a permit and see someone on the track without one, please help us enforce the number board rule. If you paid for your permit we are sure you will not want to be sharing it with people who have not paid for one. Also note that while upgrades and maintenance are being carried out by TrailTroops the track may not be rideable for a few days. We have plans for a high schools league and a few events for the public to be held in 2016, so keep your eyes peeled for any news about these. You’ll hear it from us first! This weekend we will be hosting the “Test the Best” Specialized Demo Day, so come on through between 8am and 2pm on Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th! We will also be selling our permits at the track, so come grab one! If you have any queries or comments please either comment below or email the club at chairman@uctcyclingclub.co.za See you on the track! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rock Posted December 14, 2015 Share sounds good, hate the idea of fitting a number board to my bike. must dig up my old UCT skinsuit..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skylark Posted December 14, 2015 Share Is 200 ront a year to ride a 1.5km track sound right or is that just normal Capetown prices? Seems on the rather exorbitant side on a per km ratio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilton. Posted December 14, 2015 Share Spoke to the UCT guys myself yesterday, and bought a number board from The Gear Shift in Rondebosch today. They have plans to extend the course to add another 1.5 km or so on the Rhodes Mem side I think, as well as a proper rock garden, to make this a full-on XCO course shortly. They'll be hosting events there next year as well. (Deon) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GC29 Posted December 14, 2015 Share I'm the chairman of the club so thought I could add a bit of info to this We do have plans for an event or two next year on the track, as well as plans for extension. Talking to the guys from TrailTroops who are the track builders, we think there is room for another 2/3km to be added, if not more. The UCT forest is a lot bigger than it looks we've realised! Being a cyclist, I do understand that R200 does sound like a lot for access to a relatively short track. However, while we do have a sponsor taking care of the maintenance, we do not have any cash inflow in order to make the upgrades we want to, hence the cost. The only way to generate this is by selling permits, and judging by the expected cost R200 seemed about right to us to be able to add to the track. What you get in return is 100% access 24/7 to the track as well as discount entry to the races we plan on hosting. We also do provide a safe trail to ride due to it being on private property, with the only way to access the trail being to go up through UCT We are of course constantly looking at ways to improve what we are offering, and are following social media closely to see what people are saying. From what we heard on the weekend, the track is short but tough and fun, with a few jumps and bridges thrown in to make it interesting. The track can also be ridden in both directions, meaning you get two very different rides depending on which direction you ride it in. If any of you have kids in high school in the southern suburbs we are hosting racing for them on a weekly basis next year in a league format, with permit holders getting a discount entry to this. If you have any questions about the track either post here or email me at chairman@uctcyclingclub.co.za, I will be happy to help in any way I can! Edited December 14, 2015 by GC29 DJR, Nick, rock and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GC29 Posted December 14, 2015 Share sounds good, hate the idea of fitting a number board to my bike. must dig up my old UCT skinsuit.....The number board is very small I promise! And rather stylish if I say so myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratty Posted December 14, 2015 Share Do you have any plans to allow day permits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GC29 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Do you have any plans to allow day permits? At the moment most of the committee are out of Cape Town and so it is a bit tricky to sit down and plan anything. We have mentioned it however, and are throwing some ideas around. We should have a more solid idea of how we can work day permits in the New Year. Ratty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogfish Posted December 15, 2015 Share paid up Table mountain biker member's also have access if im not mistaken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GC29 Posted December 15, 2015 Share paid up Table mountain biker member's also have access if im not mistaken? Yes you do, all you have to do is get the indemnity from Robert, fill it out and give it to him and collect a UCT Cycling Club sticker to put on your TMB permit DJR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milky4130 Posted December 16, 2015 Share sounds good, hate the idea of fitting a number board to my bike. must dig up my old UCT skinsuit.....have you ever done a MTB race before one day or stage race? Cause there they give you a compulsory big number board which you need to either race or ride with. So why not do it in training/playing around as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popcorn_skollie Posted December 16, 2015 Share Any pics of the course? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilton. Posted December 16, 2015 Share Any pics of the course? I'll go ride the course either today or tomorrow, and I'll take some pics and post here.. popcorn_skollie and Captain Fastbastard Mayhem 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GC29 Posted December 16, 2015 Share Any pics of the course?On our FB announcement post there are a few pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilton. Posted December 17, 2015 Share [Deleted] Edited December 17, 2015 by Hilton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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