MTB thugs spoil a morning ride at Hoogekraal

[Boerklong]

I've met a couple of these tygerberg guys and 90% of them need a dwis tag.

That's just me..

[GLuvsMtb]

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????

If these riders were treated like guests and were politely directed to the said box and signs everyone would have had a decent day out. Surely members are expected to act courteous and respectful to visitors, fellow members and land owners? There is a decent and mature way to handle these situations. With the version on here it seems like 'Trail Prefects' were everything but mature and decent about it. I'd like to get these 'Trail Prefects' version too, but usually these guys evaporate at the first sign of someone questioning their way of doing things.

[BrandonF_]

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.

Well said comprehensive kindly addressed reply. Thx

[BrandonF_]

If these riders were treated like guests and were politely directed to the said box and signs everyone would have had a decent day out. Surely members are expected to act courteous and respectful to visitors, fellow members and land owners? There is a decent and mature way to handle these situations. With the version on here it seems like 'Trail Prefects' were everything but mature and decent about it. I'd like to get these 'Trail Prefects' version too, but usually these guys evaporate at the first sign of someone questioning their way of doing things.

That would settle this matter; Two offenders and a Judge,..until then, I lean toward law and regulation.

[the nerd]

That would settle this matter; Two offenders and a Judge,..until then, I lean toward law and regulation.

 

I dunno, the OP sounds pretty level headed and undeterred by this incident as he has said he has now seen the great website and understands all the procedures, and will return and get a permit (more members and more money)

 

The only regulation is an "honesty box" and a few *** attiduded members make not the law, they make the entire club look like a bunch of boxes, which by the response above by gofastorgohome is certainly not the case. 

 

I understand the issue with vast stretches of land and the challenges surrounding access control etc but it sounds like the club should send an email out to its members reminding them that not all people are ass***** trying to "jump the fence" some are just genuinely not sure on the processes. 

 

Many people visit the Cape from out of town as well and this could happen to anyone, a little courtesy goes a long way. 

 

The more people on the trails legally the better for everyone. 

 

my 2c as an out of towner perhaps on the wrong side of "the law" one day in the future not wanting to get into an argument with one of these *** attituded types and rather have someone explain it nicely   

 

 

*Attituded isn't a word, but I'm using it anyway 

[Sparki 1]

I dunno, the OP sounds pretty level headed and undeterred by this incident as he has said he has now seen the great website and understands all the procedures, and will return and get a permit (more members and more money)

 

The only regulation is an "honesty box" and a few *** attiduded members make not the law, they make the entire club look like a bunch of boxes, which by the response above by gofastorgohome is certainly not the case. 

 

I understand the issue with vast stretches of land and the challenges surrounding access control etc but it sounds like the club should send an email out to its members reminding them that not all people are ass***** trying to "jump the fence" some are just genuinely not sure on the processes. 

 

Many people visit the Cape from out of town as well and this could happen to anyone, a little courtesy goes a long way. 

 

The more people on the trails legally the better for everyone. 

 

my 2c as an out of towner perhaps on the wrong side of "the law" one day in the future not wanting to get into an argument with one of these *** attituded types and rather have someone explain it nicely   

 

 

*Attituded isn't a word, but I'm using it anyway 

I think a level headed guy would have asked other riders where the honesty box was in my honest opinion. Anyway, the OP already admitted that he should have done this. Like they say, there is always 3 sides to a story so let's rather just leave it there.

[the nerd]

I think a level headed guy would have asked other riders where the honesty box was in my honest opinion. Anyway, the OP already admitted that he should have done this. Like they say, there is always 3 sides to a story so let's rather just leave it there.

 

He explained it fairly clearly in the opening post... 

 

So you agree with the way the honourable members "dealt" with it then? 

[Beefy]

Quite right - my mistake.

  

He explained it fairly clearly in the opening post... 

 

So you agree with the way the honourable members "dealt" with it then?

 

I think he owned up in this one.

[Sparki 1]

He explained it fairly clearly in the opening post... 

 

So you agree with the way the honourable members "dealt" with it then?

 

Hell no! Def not! "if" that is indeed the way they dealt with it. But like I said, there is always 3 sides......

[Joe Low]

GoFast and Brandon - you sound a lot more frustrated than the OP (who, incidentally, seems to have taken a lot of messages on-board during this thread).

 

You're talking of 1,000s of people being controlled by a few volunteers and ropey systems? That cant end well (obvs) - suggest something more formal is set up or you increase your cardiac health cover!

 

You wont get on top of the situation with the current methods.

[KingTJ]

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????

You need to relax a bit....people make mistakes, get over it

[the nerd]

I just hope the club can sort this kind of nonsense out and come up with a better more formal solution as I would also like to ride some of these awesome trails at some stage. 

 

It just takes the wrong guy "chooning" the wrong visitor (land owners cousins auntys son) and then things get messed up for everyone. 

 

*edit

 

I know that's a bad example as everyone needs to follow the same rules but you get my point. 

[BrandonF_]

He explained it fairly clearly in the opening post...

 

So you agree with the way the honourable members "dealt" with it then?

..I take my first road trip to Oudtshoorn,..gets pulled over by a Metro Officer for doing 100 in a 60 zone,...1) Is it his responsibility to come to me, before my road trip and warn me of each provincial road law and regulation? 2) Now that I have caused offence,..the "officer" is a ......?

[GLuvsMtb]

I think a level headed guy would have asked other riders where the honesty box was in my honest opinion. Anyway, the OP already admitted that he should have done this. Like they say, there is always 3 sides to a story so let's rather just leave it there.

I think we all agree that the OP was in breach. He maintains that it was not deliberate and questioned the manner in which club members responded to this. I think the club can manage access to these trails better. With a revenue stream of over R2million one would think that public holidays and weekends warrants more than an honesty box. The problem with relying on members to manage access is that there is no set protocol to do this. Initially members were expected to make sure that their own riding party are all compliant (great! If I was going to get flack because my buddy is free loading I'd make sure that they are all paid up). Somehow this escalated to members being encouraged to approach total strangers to make sure they are all paid up. If day members were issued temp boards like on most other trails, it would have been easier to spot rogue riders and ask them to comply, but with no investment in adequate access control or a proper temp permit system members and day visitors are exposed to potential conflict and unnecessary animosity. With over 5000 members the focus is probably not on day members, but a well thought-out day member system may assist in reducing the rogue rider problem that the club is experiencing and could attract even more members.

[KingTJ]

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.

Surely at 5000 members, you can afford to pay some people to control the entrances...

 

Also i think you have 2 different groups reporting the same type of behaviour on the same , so worth looking into

[Joe Low]

..I take my first road trip to Oudtshoorn,..gets pulled over by a Metro Officer,...1) Is it his responsibility to come to me, before my road trip and warn me of each provincial road law and regulation? 2) Now that I have caused offence,..the "officer" is a ......?

 

Exactly, a uniformed officer trained and authorised, recognisable to road users doing his job according to publicised regulations known to all, communicating in a formal but controlled manner.

 

Then the road user doesnt have much to complain about.