Tygerberg MTB Trails

[Quagga]

Hahaha i'm 37 now and making sure I still get hurt a big...I think you just need practice at that too 

Did the same, and I did not believe the "wait till you are older and you will feel those injuries every day"

[Thermophage]

Did the same, and I did not believe the "wait till you are older and you will feel those injuries every day"

Hahaha yeah I'm waiting for it. Feeling stuff already, but I kinda figure I've gotten better at ignoring it...so another 10 years of practice at ignoring it will go well surely.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Did the same, and I did not believe the "wait till you are older and you will feel those injuries every day"

Yeah, but all of those scars / bruises have STORIES.... That's what life is about. Not about what you didn't do 'cos you were afraid of being hurt. It's about jumping in 'cos you were concentrating on the moment, and trusting you wouldn't be hurt. 

[Grease_Monkey]

I somewhat agree with this. But is the club building for the 5% or the 95%? Stuff can be technical and fun, but also safe for other riders.

 

Why is there even a Flow terra? To keep 5% of the club happy ?

 

Lets have one section for XCO then and make the Flow terra fun for all not just 5%

I'm not trying to be difficult here, but sre you saying that the 5% should be ignored? I agree you cannot build 90% of trails for the 5%, but you can build sections of the trail for the 5%.

 

And a trail being techy and challenging but still safe is an oxymoron, you cannot have both. We will never develop the level of our cycling if there are not difficult trails (and they will be inherently high risk).

 

I think the one area we can agree on is the progression part. One cannot build a green route and then a double black - there does need to be some trails that get progressively harder to get people from "green" to "black" skill.

 

Not everyone has the skill for black routes, not everyone wants to ride black trails, amd many that want to just need some development still. But this does mean that black trails are only going to be ridden by a small portion of riders, and that people need to know their limits before moving on to the "next trail up".

 

But by saying we should not build for the 5% (I do not include myself in this, although I hope to get there) it means that it will always just be the 5% that can ride it. If you look at the average skill level in say Canada of Europe I'm guessing it's much higher than here - not because they are better, but because they are exposed to harder routes.

 

The one thing you cannot escape in mtb is thinking there will be progression withour risk, the two are directly proportional.

Edited March 27, 2019 by Grease_Monkey

[Eddy Gordo]

I'm not trying to be difficult here, but sre you saying that the 5% should be ignored? I agree you cannot build 90% of trails for the 5%, but you can build sections of the trail for the 5%.

And a trail being techy and challenging but still safe is an oxymoron, you cannot have both. We will never develop the level of our cycling if there are not difficult trails (and they will be inherently high risk).

I think the one area we can agree on is the progression part. One cannot build a green route and then a double black - there does need to be some trails that get progressively harder to get people from "green" to "black" skill.

Not everyone has the skill for black routes, not everyone wants to ride black trails, amd many that want to just need some development still. But this does mean that black trails are only going to be ridden by a small portion of riders, and that people need to know their limits before moving on to the "next trail up".

But by saying we should not build for the 5% (I do not include myself in this, although I hope to get there) it means that it will always just be the 5% that can ride it. If you look at the average skill level in say Canada of Europe I'm guessing it's much higher than here - not because they are better, but because they are exposed to harder routes.

The one thing you cannot escape in mtb is thinking there will be progression withour risk, the two are directly proportional.

Agreed, met some folks at eden some years back. Chatted about mtb and they said in the uk everything is hard, thats why majority ride dh bikes. Edited March 27, 2019 by Eddy Gordo

[Eddy Gordo]

Hahaha yeah I'm waiting for it. Feeling stuff already, but I kinda figure I've gotten better at ignoring it...so another 10 years of practice at ignoring it will go well surely.

Dont worry, its coming. I feel my more recent ones more even tho they fully healed. Some days they pain, other days its hard to move. My older extremely messed injuries from my teens and twenties is about maybe 50% less than the newer ones i got in my 30's. The injuries I got as a pre teen, i dont feel.

[Grease_Monkey]

Agreed, met some folks at eden some years back. Chatted about mtb and they said in the uk everything is hard, thats why majority ride dh bikes.

Yeah, what just annoys me is the thinking that all trails should be accessible to everyone. By doing that you are essentially punishing those that can handle the harder trails by dumbing those trails down. Sure, if only 10% can handle it then the amount of trail dedicated to those riders should be reflective - ie: only 10% of trails with that difficulty.

 

I always laugh when I think of a trail in Pta that had this wooden feature - it was removed after 2 months because too many people fell. Yet there was a very accessible chicken line around it. Take away from those that can because some cannot. If you can't do a feature - don't. If you wanna try it even though you know it's above your limit make peace that there will be some risk involved.

 

This thinking of safe progression for me is akin to wanting to get fit without wantinf to eat right and put in hard training rides.

[Thermophage]

I'm not trying to be difficult here, but sre you saying that the 5% should be ignored? I agree you cannot build 90% of trails for the 5%, but you can build sections of the trail for the 5%.

 

And a trail being techy and challenging but still safe is an oxymoron, you cannot have both. We will never develop the level of our cycling if there are not difficult trails (and they will be inherently high risk).

 

I think the one area we can agree on is the progression part. One cannot build a green route and then a double black - there does need to be some trails that get progressively harder to get people from "green" to "black" skill.

 

Not everyone has the skill for black routes, not everyone wants to ride black trails, amd many that want to just need some development still. But this does mean that black trails are only going to be ridden by a small portion of riders, and that people need to know their limits before moving on to the "next trail up".

 

But by saying we should not build for the 5% (I do not include myself in this, although I hope to get there) it means that it will always just be the 5% that can ride it. If you look at the average skill level in say Canada of Europe I'm guessing it's much higher than here - not because they are better, but because they are exposed to harder routes.

 

The one thing you cannot escape in mtb is thinking there will be progression withour risk, the two are directly proportional.

You 100% certainly can have a technical and challenging trail that is safe to ride. 

Consider corners which are flat and on an off camber without too much gradient as one simple example.

Not dangerous but very difficult to ride that well.

[Grease_Monkey]

You 100% certainly can have a technical and challenging trail that is safe to ride.

Consider corners which are flat and on an off camber without too much gradient as one simple example.

Not dangerous but very difficult to ride that well.

Okay, true, but this will not always be the case. Eg: rock gardens.

[Thermophage]

Okay, true, but this will not always be the case. Eg: rock gardens.

For sure, but you start making people more technically capable by building stuff to force them to use good/better technique.

Some of the most rewarding, if not all of, have been trails like this. Where you're not scared or challenged from a roughness or steepness aspect, but simply from the fact that you are NOT riding your bike properly to get by. ANd when the pin drops...wow.

[Meezo]

Wow legit!

[Robbie Stewart]

But Faaaark it does not heal up that quick any longer

 

So, on Saturday I decided to tackle Dorstberg, feeling confident and strong.On the way, I came up the new Pomegranate bit, and it felt flat because I was feeling so strong, then when I came down, I was motoring, up to the last berm...

 

All a sudden I found out I was going WAAAAY too fast for it. Ended up with front wheel floating over the lip, and me sliding down the track on my left side at 28.4 kph...

 

I lost PLENTY skin all the way from my shoulder (which I nearly broke) to my left ankle...

 

At 43, it hurts like heck, and healing takes that much longer.

 

But ja, I am with Myles. If you can't make it, don't do it. If you can, do it. If you (inevitably) get it wrong now and then, pay your taxes. MTB hurts when you get it wrong. That's all on you.

 

Now, to go convince the missus that I ain't finished biking....

[RaymondC]

Guys who is in control of the Magic Forest trails? They need some attention I say that in the same breath as in I will also help out. Some sections the berms are gone and need some TLC.
 

[Hairy]

Did the same, and I did not believe the "wait till you are older and you will feel those injuries every day"

 

 

Hahaha yeah I'm waiting for it. Feeling stuff already, but I kinda figure I've gotten better at ignoring it...so another 10 years of practice at ignoring it will go well surely.

 

 

Yeah, but all of those scars / bruises have STORIES.... That's what life is about. Not about what you didn't do 'cos you were afraid of being hurt. It's about jumping in 'cos you were concentrating on the moment, and trusting you wouldn't be hurt. 

YOU GUY's SOUND ANCIENT!

[Hairy]

what happened to the good old "get off your bike and walk a tech section" if you did not have the skills to ride it.

 

that is how I remember learning riding way back in the tree filled Tokai days on bikes with 75mm of travel and brakes that made more noise than stopping power!

 

seriously, why do people not just walk a tech section, there is no shame in it, and if you walk it enough you may eventually try and ride it.

 

what I would really like to see is a tech climb, that would be fun, and I am not exactly your typical climbing mountain goat cyclist.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

what happened to the good old "get off your bike and walk a tech section" if you did not have the skills to ride it.

 

that is how I remember learning riding way back in the tree filled Tokai days on bikes with 75mm of travel and brakes that made more noise than stopping power!

 

seriously, why do people not just walk a tech section, there is no shame in it, and if you walk it enough you may eventually try and ride it.

 

what I would really like to see is a tech climb, that would be fun, and I am not exactly your typical climbing mountain goat cyclist.