No Hare Posted March 28, 2016 Share "But the incident totally ruined any joy we had got out of our short foray into the world of mountain biking" Maxanon. So are you selling your bike? Price, make, size etc please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxanon Posted March 28, 2016 Share Hey Maxanon Around what time did this happen? Think I saw you, the same guys had harassed my friends who had paid their honesty fee. I don't know these guys personally but their intentions seem to be good, the way that they go about it is far too aggressive and condescending to fellow riders though. It is also not the first time I have seen them try police every rider going past. I would not let these guys ruin your experience, and would highly suggest you buy a permit for TBMTB its well worth it.Thanks - good advice. It was around 10:15 this morning. For sure - I think a permit is a much easier way to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandonF_ Posted March 28, 2016 Share I understand ALL of the above,......BUT this post just sounds odd. IMHO. Take it. Leave it. Personally not really phased 'bout a 1st (moan) post like this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxanon Posted March 28, 2016 Share "But the incident totally ruined any joy we had got out of our short foray into the world of mountain biking" Maxanon. So are you selling your bike? Price, make, size etc please.Nope not selling - It will take a lot more than them to scare me off :-) But now that I understand the protocol a bit better, I will always pay before my ride not after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathrix Posted March 28, 2016 Share I think they take your word. They sometimes have guys there watching.Don't think the honesty box is working as hoped. There could be many similar instances not known to us. In my experience 90% of people are honest and 10% are not. It's the 10% that worries me and buggers it up for all of us at the end. I'm sure the solution is not that simple though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLuvsMtb Posted March 28, 2016 Share Now if only TBMTBC can come up with a solution here. Surely it cant be too hard to rope in a few youngsters to monitor green corridors and honesty box trails for a couple of ZAR? Relying on members to enforce a paying culture is going to blow up one way or the other. I have no issue with members making a polite enquiry to whether or not I have paid my daily permit fees or not. I have made similar enquiries as a club member on occasion, and paid up riders have never taken offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCD Posted March 28, 2016 Share Now if only TBMTBC can come up with a solution here. Surely it cant be too hard to rope in a few youngsters to monitor green corridors and honesty box trails for a couple of ZAR? Relying on members to enforce a paying culture is going to blow up one way or the other. I have no issue with members making a polite enquiry to whether or not I have paid my daily permit fees or not. I have made similar enquiries as a club member on occasion, and paid up riders have never taken offense.You actually can pay with Snapscan at Hoogekral. This will create a 'receipt' in the app that you could show on request.Sure not everybody has Snapscan but it is a possible way to create proof of payment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandonF_ Posted March 28, 2016 Share Now if only TBMTBC can come up with a solution here. Surely it cant be too hard to rope in a few youngsters to monitor green corridors and honesty box trails for a couple of ZAR? Relying on members to enforce a paying culture is going to blow up one way or the other. I have no issue with members making a polite enquiry to whether or not I have paid my daily permit fees or not. I have made similar enquiries as a club member on occasion, and paid up riders have never taken offense.Why don't you contact TGMTB then? Your "request" seems repetitive...As per your, signature,..YOU are the VOICE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted March 28, 2016 Share I haven't read the whole thread - limited time, but in a nutshell, I agree with being "nice" first off, not aggressive. Then if nice doesn't work move on to "firm" and finally "**** mode" when all else fails. This was an honest mistake by a newbie and a lot of agro could have been spared! Happy Easter everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcW Posted March 28, 2016 Share Thanks - good advice. It was around 10:15 this morning. For sure - I think a permit is a much easier way to do it. That was definitely you then. Only 2 of the guys in the road were the wannabe "Trail Police" the others were myself and my mates trying to get on with our rides after being questioned by these guys (I'm a member with a board). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLuvsMtb Posted March 28, 2016 Share That was definitely you then. Only 2 of the guys in the road were the wannabe "Trail Police" the others were myself and my mates trying to get on with our rides after being questioned by these guys (I'm a member with a board).Any chance of remembering their bike board numbers? I'm sure the club would like to have a word with members being overly aggressive when policing the trails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarlvN Posted March 28, 2016 Share Personally I would like to meet these "trail officers". It would make for some fun times... ..being a paid up board owner and all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcW Posted March 28, 2016 Share Any chance of remembering their bike board numbers? I'm sure the club would like to have a word with members being overly aggressive when policing the trails.Unfortunately not, but if I see them again will take a friendly photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morne Veer Posted March 28, 2016 Share Hi I am part of the volunteer marshal group of the Tygerberg club. I quickly give a bit of background, but just before I do so, I state officially that this message is sent without the knowledge of the Tygerberg Club, or on behalf of the club, or any of its committee members – it is sent by myself only, as a lover of mountainbiking and our (Tygerberg MTB club's awesome trails ! Based on the version of the incident (which is as far as I can read, one sided) seems we are talking about a member, and not actually one of our marshals. That said, member or marshal, could / should have handled the matter with the necessary tact, and perhaps one can even venture onto the border of “wrong attitude”...but again, I need to remind all that we only have one version of what / how things went down today. I obviously was not there to be in a position to judge, but from the one sided version, I believe the incident,should never even have escalated into an incident – some respectful and mature communication (BY ALL) could have avoided this nasty experience. I am a VERY passionate and committed member of this club, and fully support their initiatives, commitments, generosity and bloody good job in terms of land owner negotiations, trails, etc. I know there are a number of things we as a club can do better or differently, but for 90 % of it, we have it pretty much dialed in – and I am very proud to be a part of this club, which has some VERY special people running it (keep in mind, except for the trail maintenance staff, mostly all volunteers without any compensation, investing a huge amount of time and effort). I know we are not perfect, but most of us try our utmost to make a positive change where we can. It is very sad that you guys experienced the opposite to this, and I wish it never happened...... We have close to 5000 members and with only about 25 volunteer marshals, you can imagine the difficult job we have in keeping everyone aligned with the club’s rules and landowner instructions. These are only the members count, that does not include day visitors to the trails. DAILY, riders simply do as they please – some cases include members bringing non members along to ride on specific members only routes, which is obviously not permitted (day permit or not – member only sections are exactly that). Others simply bring members along to ride with them, and ignore the rules of needing a day permit to ride the trails – other members, will ride the trails without their membership board displayed on their bars, others will ride freely on farmland which is not part of the actual trail network, etc……. The excuses and abuse we get is shocking – guys blatantly lying, guys manufacturing their own fake boards, riders taking out family memberships (for example husband and 4 dependents, but then he has no dependents and he gives the other 4 membership boards to his mates, which membership is effectively reduced by 70 % !!), and the list goes on, and on, and on...... To be a volunteer marshal, is a tough job, as we have to deal with a hell of a lot of crap from folk with massive self-entitlement painted all over them. It is a thankless job, but one myself and others do, mostly for the reason of wanting to give back to the club. Has it not been for the valiant efforts of these volunteers, I am convinced we would have lost a lot more trails, and not just the Kliprug trails of a few years ago. I want to kindly ask that you guys try and put the incident behind you, much as it has probably left a sour taste in your mouth – I trust now that some time has passed, and perhaps by better understanding the rogue-cancer we as a club are dealing with daily, you realize that the incident with the select members today, must not be a reflection on the club, the volunteer marshals in general, and all the good that the club stands for. I would have handled the matter a bit differently......that said, most members are just so g@tvol of the continues excuses and blatant steeling from the club, that one can perhaps also understand why at this stage the frustration is boiling over. Just for the record, this last week, we had three different incidents of riders on our trails with 2015 memberships / board - excuses varied from : "....is it March already ?"...."I took out a new membership, last year, but just need to collect the board"......"it is a friend's bike, my bike with my correct board is in for a service"....although being laughable, it is a massive problem and I assure you, the landowners are increasing losing patience and getting more and more irritated with riders illegally accessing their land. We are only a small bunch of volunteers, no one earning any reward for our time and efforts, trying to keep this big ship of ours on course. Let’s keep our eye on the good, the privileges we all have and celebrate our health and the joy of some of the best trails in the country, right on our doorstep, BUT also remember that there can not be any excuses for any form of rogue riding, or riders not adhering to any of the landowners' and club rules. 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BrandonF_ Posted March 28, 2016 Share Any chance of remembering their bike board numbers? I'm sure the club would like to have a word with members being overly aggressive when policing the trails.a First time rider, 'directed!' by friends, to a well marked one accessed trail; HONESTY box/snap scan right next to the HUGE TRAIL MAP BOARD; which 'ANY' newbie will definitely look at(...and strangely now, "offended" aggressively) for blatantly trying to save 70bucks (probably coz no one is looking),.. and suddenly law abiding members, trying to do what is "expected" of them to do, are in the wrong???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloukrans Posted March 28, 2016 Share OP, why didn't you wait till Friday? As a member of the club, sorry for the experience. There is no justification for being rude and aggressive. Hope to see you on the trails soon - with your permit, of course! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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