PPA. Don't bash them. Vote for change.

[milky4130]

Not a PPA race - WPCA race - for the life of me I cannot find more info right now..

 

But it is on 25 September at Piketberg, 85km's and called "So you think you can climb?" - I assume we will be going up to "Piket-bo-berg"?

 

There will also be a 100km WPCA road race near Caledon on the weekend before the DC

[mazambaan]

Now that is just cruel. At least there is no pretence that the finish is on a downhill. 

[Mntboy]

 

Not a PPA race - WPCA race - for the life of me I cannot find more info right now..

 

But it is on 25 September at Piketberg, 85km's and called "So you think you can climb?" - I assume we will be going up to "Piket-bo-berg"?

 

There will also be a 100km WPCA road race near Caledon on the weekend before the DC

Eina! That looks bloody hard!

 

Sent from my GT-S6790 using Tapatalk

[Pure Savage]

If anybody is keen to stand as a trustee and is lekker, please contact me. Submissions have to be done 5 days prior. We have 3/4 suggested trustee nominations with around 400 PPA members willing to vote. (Not all will attend, but its a start) 

 

Would like someone that has tried organizing road events in past and someone for WPCA. 

 

I myself cannot run but am willing to help the nomination process.

 

If we get all the clubs members to vote in the same direction we could get trustees we want on PPA. 

[Allrounder]

so... who do i vote for?  would like someone with the interests of Roadies AND Mtb'ers alike.

i have to agree with you. why is this becomming a us and them thing. all of us love cycling. whats the problem? 

[Icycling]

i have to agree with you. why is this becomming a us and them thing. all of us love cycling. whats the problem? 

The problem is currently there is very little Road representation on the committee and a lot of MTB representation.

 

I been informed by a committee member not re standing for this AGM that of the 6 up for been re voted on only 2 will stand again so there are 4 position apparently becoming open.

 

It is important for the full success of the committee and the PPA that representation for all form of cycling are represented as per my post earlier in this track.

[Pure Savage]

The problem is currently there is very little Road representation on the committee and a lot of MTB representation.

 

I been informed by a committee member not re standing for this AGM that of the 6 up for been re voted on only 2 will stand again so there are 4 position apparently becoming open.

 

It is important for the full success of the committee and the PPA that representation for all form of cycling are represented as per my post earlier in this track.

 

Any suggestions for trustees? You can DM their names.

[Oufy MTB (Roadie)]

Canvass, influence, caucus, rally support, debate, vote, gather the numbers, push your agenda. Sekenjalo ke nako.

 

then we accept the decision, support the new board & do it all over again next year.

 

that is how democracy works (most times)

[carbon29er]

i have to agree with you. why is this becomming a us and them thing. all of us love cycling. whats the problem?

The current Exco is dominated by members of one 'club', The Smooth Knobblies and has been for the past few years. It's not healthy that a grouping of friends band together control an association that used to have 20K+ members but now has less than 15K members. Clearly bike riders are voting with their feet and leaving the PPA as it only serves a small interest group with all the cash it receives from the biggest timed road event in the world.

 

The income expected from the Argus/Cycle Tour is expected to drop significantly over the next 3 years.

 

If the PPA carries on at it's current rate of increasing overheads while membership drops and income drops all the reserves sitting in investment accounts will be gone in 3 years but nothing would have been done to improve the lot of road riders.

 

Projects and development (clubs) funded and safety are budgeted to drop significantly next year, all because overheads have sky rocketed at the same time membership has dropped. Numbers I hear are there are 2500 less paid members today than a year ago today.

 

That's why every person interested in road riding needs to attend the AGM and vote for a candidate that is not part of the Smooth Knobblies or Table Mountain clique.

 

All is not well. Which is, I would imagine, why 4 (four) members of Exco have elected NOT to stand for re-election this year. Unprecedented at PPA where 4 of 6 members up for re-election decide they would rather go do something else with their time.

 

So it's not exactly, as you posted, us vs them and the love of cycling.

[DJR]

I understand what you are saying, I do not disagree with you, but I side with democracy and transparency.

 

In this case I still think you should rather play the men (those causing the problem) than the ball (mountain bikers). Tell us who the problem people are and what exactly they have done wrong. Tell us who will be better and what they will do differently. Then we can decide who to vote for or not. At this stage it feels too much like politics of emotion (that us vs them thing). I, for one, will not vote for someone only because he is a roadie or a mountain biker. (I am 50% of each myself)

[carbon29er]

I have nothing against mountain bikers just to be clear. I too am both and have ridden far more mountain events than road events. My issue is how PPA Exco has allowed road events to all but disappear in Greater Cape Town, particularly the South, while actively pumping resources into mountain biking.  In 2015 14,000 PPA members rode rode events. 5,000 PPA members road MTB events.

 

By way of example there was a lot of social media publicity for the rehabilitation by PPA of some trails on Table Mountain after the Cape Epic prologue a few years ago. The Cape Epic as a massively wealthy and profitable company using PPA money to repair trails damaged by 1,200 elite mountain bikers with money that comes from a charitable ROAD ride.

 

More recently R175,000 pumped into Tokai where riders have to pay an annual entrance fee of approximately R500 or a daily fee but organisers who try get funding to help with launching a new road event get declined.

 

As I wrote previously, there are thousands of commercial MTB events. There are precious few road events. Stop using PPA resorces to help organisers and trail owners make money while refusing to organise road events where access to roads may require some effort and skill in negotiating with local authorities.

[Icycling]

I have nothing against mountain bikers just to be clear. I too am both and have ridden far more mountain events than road events. My issue is how PPA Exco has allowed road events to all but disappear in Greater Cape Town, particularly the South, while actively pumping resources into mountain biking.  In 2015 14,000 PPA members rode rode events. 5,000 PPA members road MTB events.

 

By way of example there was a lot of social media publicity for the rehabilitation by PPA of some trails on Table Mountain after the Cape Epic prologue a few years ago. The Cape Epic as a massively wealthy and profitable company using PPA money to repair trails damaged by 1,200 elite mountain bikers with money that comes from a charitable ROAD ride.

 

More recently R175,000 pumped into Tokai where riders have to pay an annual entrance fee of approximately R500 or a daily fee but organisers who try get funding to help with launching a new road event get declined.

 

As I wrote previously, there are thousands of commercial MTB events. There are precious few road events. Stop using PPA resorces to help organisers and trail owners make money while refusing to organise road events where access to roads may require some effort and skill in negotiating with local authorities.

A letter I sent to PPA (CEO and a few EXCO members including the chairman) on this this past week - only one person to reply thus far - a Committee member who is no longer standing.

 

"Hi All

 

XX and I examined the various bike paths around Constantia, Kirstenhof and Lakeside this morning, so as to get an understanding of areas where improvements could be made and new facilities could be implemented as a recommendation to the CoCT.

 

Simultaneous to the site visits I received the mail below from the City, which raised a concern for me. XX will raise this at a meeting with the CoCT on Thursday.

 

The general motorist accepts when there is a bike path that all cyclist should be using it. When I receive a communication "We accept that professional cyclists (sport cyclists) will be more inclined to remain on the road in this instance", this sends a red flag to me – as many motorists are aggravated by cyclists in the vehicle lane next to them when a separate facility is parallel.

 

Robert, you mentioned to me that one committee member is active in the advocacy for bike paths, which is great. Quote from email from Robert 29th August  "The City has asked for a Cycling Strategy and one of our Exco members was part of that project and has submitted the first part to the City." My view is that this needs to be explored further, as in many instances segregated facilities are not the answer – rather it is one of keeping the flow as normal as possible so as to not interrupt the direction and speed of both cyclists and motorists. What is needed is signage, and a facility that can be seen and respected by the motorists – but that does not diminish from the levels of quality that cyclists now enjoy. My fear is that segregated facilities worsen the flow of cycling traffic.

 

I would be greatly encouraged if PPA can apportion more of its considerable budget to ensuring road safety and giving more time and effort to aspects governing road cycling. Whilst I can respect the need for efforts to look after MTB trails, PPA was born out of a road cycling event, with the ambition to create safer and more user-friendly routes for road cyclists (sport and commuter) and this has, to a large extent, been lost. Is it possible that PPA could reassign a staff member (or strengthen the support of an existing one) to put more time and value to addressing the road issue? This would be most appreciated.

 

XX and I hope that the specific guidelines and focus areas will bring about an intervention that addresses the facilities in the southern peninsula, including cycle paths currently under construction on Firgrove and Tokai roads to ensure that they are suitable for all cyclists. The City is demonstrating a commitment to spend money on cycle paths - surely PPA should be there to assist that they spend it correctly?

 

Regards

 

Peter Wheeler"

 

XX is not a PPA committee member or employee of PPA.

 

[Mntboy]

I have nothing against mountain bikers just to be clear. I too am both and have ridden far more mountain events than road events. My issue is how PPA Exco has allowed road events to all but disappear in Greater Cape Town, particularly the South, while actively pumping resources into mountain biking. In 2015 14,000 PPA members rode rode events. 5,000 PPA members road MTB events.

 

By way of example there was a lot of social media publicity for the rehabilitation by PPA of some trails on Table Mountain after the Cape Epic prologue a few years ago. The Cape Epic as a massively wealthy and profitable company using PPA money to repair trails damaged by 1,200 elite mountain bikers with money that comes from a charitable ROAD ride.

 

More recently R175,000 pumped into Tokai where riders have to pay an annual entrance fee of approximately R500 or a daily fee but organisers who try get funding to help with launching a new road event get declined.

 

As I wrote previously, there are thousands of commercial MTB events. There are precious few road events. Stop using PPA resorces to help organisers and trail owners make money while refusing to organise road events where access to roads may require some effort and skill in negotiating with local authorities.

You do realize that the money paid by mountain bikers to access Tokai goes to SAN Parks and is used to help fund other SAN Park reserves? So I think as far as Tokai is concerned it certainly is fine for them to support the rebuilding that's currently occurring. That said, they definitely need to help address the shortage of road races for sure as I could imagine that it would be easier to organize if the race had the PPA's backing.

 

However I would like to think that if roadies desperately need road races in the southern suburbs and the deep south then a plan can be made even if it means going a bit old school and getting signatures from the community supporting the planned race.

 

Sent from my GT-S6790 using Tapatalk

[Skubarra]

An observation - some extracts from the PPA CEO's August newsletter

 

 

The complaint most commonly levelled at PPA is that we don’t support road cycling, despite the fact that we are a 50% beneficiary of the Cape Town Cycle Tour, a road cycling event. Mountain Biking is well established in the country with a host of very good commercial event organisers putting on a glut of events. Often there are 2-3 events taking place over a single weekend. 

 

<Then some comments on how the Southern Peninsula is a no go area for events, how much easier mtb events are to organise, how hard it is to negotiate with municipalities - (none of which I dispute)>

 

Hence, we are moving events into the Northern Suburbs, so we don’t lose them. 

Believe it or not, it’s the best we can do.

 

 

Then you see Arny Arnesan's thread

 

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/162812-wpca-country-classic-series/

 

which start off with this

 

the WPCA have lined up 3 endurance races in the countryside. These races were chosen to complement the longer distance races hosted by other organisations during the same time.

• 25 September – Piketberg (“So You Think you can Climb”) – Sponsored by Nedbank Sports Trust (85 kms)
• 6 November – Slanghoek Valley (120kms)
• 20 November – Caledon (“Stairway to Heaven and Earth”) (100kms)

 

How is it that the WPCA with far less resources are bringing us new events while PPA tell us the current status is "Believe it or not, it’s the best we can do."

 

I will be at the AGM voting for change, but I am starting to feel strongly that we should stop moaning and begging PPA for change but rather support these WPCA guys who are actually out there doing something. While PPA is out there hosting hill climbs I would much rather support actual events like those above.

[Bankie99]

Come and attend the WPCA meeting on Wed evening 7pm at the Bellville velodrome.

 

They will be discussing the new summer league and plans to grow it even more.

[Icycling]

An observation - some extracts from the PPA CEO's August newsletter

 

 

The complaint most commonly levelled at PPA is that we don’t support road cycling, despite the fact that we are a 50% beneficiary of the Cape Town Cycle Tour, a road cycling event. Mountain Biking is well established in the country with a host of very good commercial event organisers putting on a glut of events. Often there are 2-3 events taking place over a single weekend. 

 

<Then some comments on how the Southern Peninsula is a no go area for events, how much easier mtb events are to organise, how hard it is to negotiate with municipalities - (none of which I dispute)>

 

Hence, we are moving events into the Northern Suburbs, so we don’t lose them. 

Believe it or not, it’s the best we can do.

 

 

Then you see Arny Arnesan's thread

 

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/162812-wpca-country-classic-series/

 

which start off with this

 

the WPCA have lined up 3 endurance races in the countryside. These races were chosen to complement the longer distance races hosted by other organisations during the same time.

• 25 September – Piketberg (“So You Think you can Climb”) – Sponsored by Nedbank Sports Trust (85 kms)
• 6 November – Slanghoek Valley (120kms)
• 20 November – Caledon (“Stairway to Heaven and Earth”) (100kms)

 

How is it that the WPCA with far less resources are bringing us new events while PPA tell us the current status is "Believe it or not, it’s the best we can do."

 

I will be at the AGM voting for change, but I am starting to feel strongly that we should stop moaning and begging PPA for change but rather support these WPCA guys who are actually out there doing something. While PPA is out there hosting hill climbs I would much rather support actual events like those above.

I sure PPA would try and argue that these events are too small and attract far less numbers of cyclist compared to PPA Road event. This is true. But these events are so much bigger than PPA MTB events which by results more often than not only have about 100 timed cyclist on the results - This timing cost R10 k i.e. R100 per rider to time. How were / are they able to afford this?  The road members and the Cape Town cycle tour.

 

What really worries me is they say they run PPA like a business. I have a business which import cycling components and wheel sets. I sell a lot more competent than wheel set. Would it make sense thus to re invest all the money back into wheel sets or components - well of course components! Surely the same should apply to events you offer - and re invest into the type of event where the money came, in this case, road fun rides make the money for PPA and MTB fun rides / trail building drain the money of PPA. Where is the business logic? Seem  like they run PPA like our president runs our country / uses TAXes for personal gains / interests.

 

I have said for a number of years while on the PPA committee if you stop / reduce  the supporting event (road fin rides) for the Cape Town Cycle tour the numbers will start dropping off for the Cape Town cycle tour (the goose that lays the golden egg) - my understanding is that The Cape Town cycle has been less subscribed this year compared to years gone bye. PPA membership is also apparently abut 2500 members down even with the conspiracy of trying to make cyclist join PPA to get a entry into the Cape Town Cycle tour - agin the bulk of PPA members join predominantly because of road riding.