Tygerberg MTB Trails

[Thermophage]

4 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

There is some *** form at Witfontein on a kids bike....

I guess Thermo is saying 'commit'. As soon as you're not over the bike you can't shift your weight forward and backwards, so you paint yourself into a corner. 

I'm not going to hand out advice though. I don't regard myself as being particularly 'good' but I can ride a bit.

Hahahah I try not to say "commit" as often it's taking as saying "don't be a kitteh".

But let's be real. You dont have to be an excellent rider to know what you SHOULD be doing. Well at least not IMO.

[Mamil]

I definitely have too much weight committed back as soon as anything looks tricky and I've drawn blood and scratched two pairs of oakleys because of it.

 

[ChrisF]

8 hours ago, Eddy Gordo said:

I hear you, rocks is a hard one to get around. Most trails have them. Jumps all have chicken runs.  Not every trail is gonna be as smooth as butter, so learning to ride rough stuff is important

 

I am one of the late starters.  I know what hospital food tastes like, and have no desire for it ....  So I am probably on the conservative side, compared to others on the trails, i.e.  insanely slow compared to pros on this thread

 

As much as I enjoyed the super manicured Super Tubes on Sunday (and I was flying down there), the rutted sections and the rocks and the loose sections and sandy sections are vital to prepare you for what awaits when you enter a fun ride.

 

Doing the Eselfontein ride I truly ENJOYED the event ... but make no mistake, there were a good few sections that required all of your attention, loose rocks, thick sans and everything else was part of the route .....

 

 

 

gap jumps .... no thanks

 

Bloemendal Flow Line .... I went down the B-lines last week .... no thanks, personally I prefer the old line.  That said, I fully appreciate there are MANY club members who truly enjoy the new Flow Line.  And this is the beauty of so many trails in the club - something for each rider of each skill level.

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by ChrisF

[Eddy Gordo]

I am also a late starter to mtb. I only recently started to doing proper jumps and gaps, but have called a big No on some features. I ride to enjoy myself, not break myself. As for high speed smooth trails, they are more dangerous than trails with jumps. I always watch wit amazement how fast guys descend jeep tracks to avoid single track. Jeep tracks have lots of loose rocks, ruts and the odd speedbump. Riding a single track can be slower than descending via the jeep track. Coming off at speed has some serious consequences where as landing short of a jump not really.

I did not mind the hospital food on the various occasions I was visiting due to some mtb injury. I hate when they have to wake you at 4 in the morning for shift change to take your vitals and give you meds.

[Robbie Stewart]

I have a healthy fear of gap jumps, but not so much that I avoid jumping them. To me, I mentally compare the gap in question to the largest table I can comfortably clear, which is around 2.5 / 3 bike lengths. Doing this, I managed to clear that dreaded gap at the bottom of Banhoek Afterburn, which is a high consequence gap. If you end up short there you could very likely taste hospital food again.

On the day I attempted it, I had a good look, watched some okes huck it, and then mentally talked myself into the line. I committed and chose to not do a BCPOV Eric and do 50 roll-ups only to chicken out. So as I rolled up, all the wisdom I gained from watching millions of YT vids on jumping came to the fore and I recall thinking "wait for the back wheel to clear before straightening up, and then stay upright" and suddenly I was soaring over the gap and landed safely on the other side and rolled out.

The endorphin rush was immense. I can't adequately explain the rush I felt after making that gap. I immediately turned around and did it again. It was surreal after that to see okes descending and b-line it over the bridge and stop and watch us who now know how to jump it. Suddenly I was no longer an audience member but I was a participant.

To this day I can recall the immense sense of accomplishment I had from doing something that was way outside my comfort zone. Since then, I still have a healthy respect for a gap, but I enjoy them immensely now.

[Robbie Stewart]

Mate of mine riding the new Bloemendal flow line.

We have been progressing over the course of the year taking on all sorts of tech. The result is riding like this. His girlfriend started riding last December for perspective. She is clearing tables in less than a year. There is always value in getting upskilled.
 

 

[Mamil]

8 minutes ago, Robbie Stewart said:

Mate of mine riding the new Bloemendal flow line.

We have been progressing over the course of the year taking on all sorts of tech. The result is riding like this. His girlfriend started riding last December for perspective. She is clearing tables in less than a year. There is always value in getting upskilled.
 

 

The bike sounds sooo niiiice ---

[Charles71]

On 11/15/2021 at 8:52 AM, Robbie Stewart said:

But in saying that, I haven't ridden the flow line yet due to my inability to even walk at this stage, but from what I've seen it really does not seem hard at all. Plaisir de Merle has an even bigger flow line than Bloemendal's one. Point I'm trying to make is that riding a mtb guarantees that at some point, you will separate from the bike resulting in a crash. The best way to mitigate this is to upskill and progress your riding. Just blindly getting on a bike and hitting some new feature just because its there is not the wisest thing to do.

I agree with you that the flow line does not seem hard at all, and I almost went OTB by riding it blind - luckily managed to save it. In my defense it was my first time riding it and had just completed Lombards Terra so I was a bit over confident ????  

[Robbie Stewart]

13 minutes ago, Charles71 said:

I agree with you that the flow line does not seem hard at all, and I almost went OTB by riding it blind - luckily managed to save it. In my defense it was my first time riding it and had just completed Lombards Terra so I was a bit over confident ????  

Ja I dunno if Lombards is adequate preparation for the flow line. They are two different animals. Again, have not ridden the flow line yet - broken leg recovery and all. I have been so excited to ride it and then wham, bust my leg. But I am patiently biding my time until I'm jump fit and then I'll be all over that line like white on snow.

['Dale]

Cool idea ????

[Eddy Gordo]

11 hours ago, 'Dale said:

Cool idea ????

When I saw that I was like yes, but damn, probably gonna cost a pretty penny. Maybe if it gets segmented

[Thermophage]

11 hours ago, 'Dale said:

Cool idea ????

Is there even enough gradient to warrant such a massive berm? ????

[Hairy]

3 hours ago, Thermophage said:

Is there even enough gradient to warrant such a massive berm? ????

maybe a stepping stone to bigger things, getting people comfortable with such structures first?

[Thermophage]

3 hours ago, Hairy said:

maybe a stepping stone to bigger things, getting people comfortable with such structures first?

Unlikely considering there's nothing else similar on the trail network. Unless there;s something in the works.

[Hairy]

54 minutes ago, Thermophage said:

Unlikely considering there's nothing else similar on the trail network. Unless there;s something in the works.

hopefully something in the works

[Thermophage]

14 minutes ago, Hairy said:

hopefully something in the works

Hopefully something slow and technical and less prone to hurting people