Modderfontein Bike Park - what's happening

[Nakoota]

I rode Modder on Saturday after the changes and I don't know what the management/maintenance theory is. The red singletrack is now a great ride (bar one section where for some reason ±200m of track was left uncut in the middle of nowhere) and they have re-incorporated one of the dual slalom lanes as a downhill run on the red route - great work.

 

But... while they have focused on getting the red and black routes going again, it seems they have forgotten to maintain the green and yellow routes and sections of these are really overgrown (this coming from a rider who doesn't think all trails should be manicured and likes the "mountain" part of biking). On one section of the river run I basically rode blind as you couldn't see the ground anymore.

 

Looking at this as a business:

1. We are paying for a service and thus expect a certain level of maintenance.
2. If not enough people are paying for the service to make it financially viable to maintain the whole network then maybe it's time to consider alternatives to better the experience for the rider. One option could be to regularly mark un-maintained trails to give the choice to the rider or create a formal rotation strategy so that you maintain ±35km of trails instead of 45km and change it up every month.
3. Get the community involved in helping, there is so much potential for great trails in the reserve but after all the hype when you took over management - there is literally 1 (one) berm.

Maybe there is investment uncertainty due to the level of surrounding development and I am assuming some of the trail land might get developed, if this is the case then the trails that won't be affected should be earmarked for maintenance and improvement.

[Dexter-morgan]

I must say I enjoyed the "old way" more with some fast downhill action "dodging trees" section, Friday ride seems like a good idea, all of a sudden.

 

If management needs help with cutting the trails, lets get some volunteers together, maybe they could give us a multi entry ticket for our time and efforts.

[Dieter ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

I must say I enjoyed the "old way" more with some fast downhill action "dodging trees" section, Friday ride seems like a good idea, all of a sudden.

 You can still do the dodging trees section if you do red now   

 

Also, over the moon Wednesday! 

[thebob]

Did the 30km loop on Saturday. Can't complain about the paths being overgrown, though I did not do the last single track right before the big rock face. Enjoyed every second of my ride. As for the "Tree Dodging" section, just do the climb up to the start, klap it, then do the climb again!

[Dexter-morgan]

Did the 30km loop on Saturday. Can't complain about the paths being overgrown, though I did not do the last single track right before the big rock face. Enjoyed every second of my ride. As for the "Tree Dodging" section, just do the climb up to the start, klap it, then do the climb again!

They did lots of cutting, probably for the over the moon race, What about people coming the opposite way at 40km/h, that will not be cool.

 

Had a Lekker time there on Saturday.

[thebob]

They did lots of cutting, probably for the over the moon race, What about people coming the opposite way at 40km/h, that will not be cool.

 

Had a Lekker time there on Saturday.

 The yellow (I think) loop goes up the path on the left (from the bottom of the climb). The red loop comes down on the path on the right. If people are on the correct path there is no issue

[Deonwes]

Am I the only one still waiting for the results of the OTM #2 held in April in Modderfontein to be released on the ttce website.

Does anyone know if it's available somewhere else?

As a regular at Modderfontein I'm rather concerned that these jokers are slacking.

[TyronLab]

Attempted to do the 40km red loop yesterday, but the trail was so full of lumpy grass that I gave up and followed the orange route home. While there wasn't a lot of overgrowth from the side of the trail, the actual trail needs a lot of work. Might be fine for guys on dual sus bikes, but for HT plonkers like me lumpy grass just sucks to ride through. 

 

The green, yellow and orange routes were good though, I'm assuming that's just due to increased traffic vs the red route. 

 

I'd much rather spend my R50 at Big Red Barn to be frank. Its a pity, because Modders has so much potential. 

Edited June 3, 2019 by TyronLab

[Red Bird]

Attempted to do the 40km red loop yesterday, but the trail was so full of lumpy grass that I gave up and followed the orange route home. While there wasn't a lot of overgrowth from the side of the trail, the actual trail needs a lot of work. Might be fine for guys on dual sus bikes, but for HT plonkers like me lumpy grass just sucks to ride through. 

 

The green, yellow and orange routes were good though, I'm assuming that's just due to increased traffic vs the red route. 

 

I'd much rather spend my R50 at Big Red Barn to be frank. Its a pity, because Modders has so much potential. 

 

Sadly, they have taken a plunge especially since the new parking has been so far into the reserve and the trail runners used to take over. It used to be so much fun riding there, but the trails also eroded very much. Really hope Two The Core can manage a sustainable way of maintaining the trails.

[TNOSE_E]

Most of the trails need maintenance...!  All the other MTB parks can do it...

[Nakoota]

Attempted to do the 40km red loop yesterday, but the trail was so full of lumpy grass that I gave up and followed the orange route home. While there wasn't a lot of overgrowth from the side of the trail, the actual trail needs a lot of work. Might be fine for guys on dual sus bikes, but for HT plonkers like me lumpy grass just sucks to ride through. 

 

The green, yellow and orange routes were good though, I'm assuming that's just due to increased traffic vs the red route. 

 

I'd much rather spend my R50 at Big Red Barn to be frank. Its a pity, because Modders has so much potential. 

 

What next? Tar?

 

This is mountain biking and while I fully agree that blackjacks encroaching on the trail are no fun and lateral maintenance needs to be kept up to keep the trail clear. Expecting the trail builder to manicure a red loop for you because it is too bumpy is borderline ridiculous. Maybe road riding would be a better past time - or stick to green yellow and orange.

 

I rode the full red loop on Sunday and the only section that really justifies a complaint is the 80m of track near the dumping site that is overgrown on both sides with blackjacks, the rest is great.

Edited June 3, 2019 by Nakoota

[TyronLab]

What next? Tar?

 

This is mountain biking and while I fully agree that blackjacks encroaching on the trail are no fun and lateral maintenance needs to be kept up to keep the trail clear. Expecting the trail builder to manicure a red loop for you because it is too bumpy is borderline ridiculous. Maybe road riding would be a better past time - or stick to green yellow and orange.

 

I rode the full red loop on Sunday and the only section that really justifies a complaint is the 80m of track near the dumping site that is overgrown on both sides with blackjacks, the rest is great.

 

I can see your point, and if you're happy to ride trails like that then awesome for you. My personal preference is that there are features that challenge me, not how rough a straight section of uneventful trail is. I could very easily have the same experience riding the footpaths in the veld behind my house, for free.

 

If I'm paying to ride a trail, my expectation is that there are interesting features for me to tackle. A lumpy, straight, 2% gradient climb is not my idea of a feature, but again, that's my preference. Give me a steep technical climb, a rough drop, some tight spaces to negotiate, jumps and berms that can all be as rough as a bear's arse and I'll feel that is money well spent. 

 

I'm not saying everyone should boycot Modders, I'm just giving an honest opinion about my experience there. 

[geomark]

I can see your point, and if you're happy to ride trails like that then awesome for you. My personal preference is that there are features that challenge me, not how rough a straight section of uneventful trail is. I could very easily have the same experience riding the footpaths in the veld behind my house, for free.

 

If I'm paying to ride a trail, my expectation is that there are interesting features for me to tackle. A lumpy, straight, 2% gradient climb is not my idea of a feature, but again, that's my preference. Give me a steep technical climb, a rough drop, some tight spaces to negotiate, jumps and berms that can all be as rough as a bear's arse and I'll feel that is money well spent. 

 

I'm not saying everyone should boycot Modders, I'm just giving an honest opinion about my experience there. 

I'm with you on this, I rode there for the first time in ages as I was meeting friends in Modderfontein for lunch. 

 

Grass polle is an abomination that has no place in a high traffic bike park!

 

There are also large areas of single track with absolutely no erosion control so they are becoming deeply incised, trap the front wheel, so people start a new track next to it an repeat.  In a high volume urban park this is going to become a big issue quickly.  The general impression for me coming from outside there normal geographic catchment was very much "meh" and not worth travelling to.

 

I know it is not in the control of the bike park but this place DESPERATELY needs some controlled burns, the blackjack and other weed crops are world class and the whole ecosystem very out of kilter.  Hence the reason the game stays to a small mown section. I assume that it has been a very long time since any fires were allowed as AECI would be very nervous, but if you want to push the conservation angle then they must realise they are sitting on something very dysfunctional.

[Stiggy]

I had the same thoughts and echo your sentiment below. 

Blackjacks are sh*t and should be removed. As for it being too bumpy, skip it out, next thing you'll probably say is that there too many roots and these should be removed........

 

What next? Tar?

 

This is mountain biking and while I fully agree that blackjacks encroaching on the trail are no fun and lateral maintenance needs to be kept up to keep the trail clear. Expecting the trail builder to manicure a red loop for you because it is too bumpy is borderline ridiculous. Maybe road riding would be a better past time - or stick to green yellow and orange.

 

I rode the full red loop on Sunday and the only section that really justifies a complaint is the 80m of track near the dumping site that is overgrown on both sides with blackjacks, the rest is great.

[Nakoota]

 

If I'm paying to ride a trail, my expectation is that there are interesting features for me to tackle. A lumpy, straight, 2% gradient climb is not my idea of a feature, but again, that's my preference. Give me a steep technical climb, a rough drop, some tight spaces to negotiate, jumps and berms that can all be as rough as a bear's arse and I'll feel that is money well spent. 

This they could do a lot on, hyped up their berms and jumps when they took over the place and ended up making one berm where it wasn't needed and making one jump on an uphill just after a 90 degree turn.

 

Definitely improvement needed in this sense.

[madmarc]

What next? Tar?

 

This is mountain biking and while I fully agree that blackjacks encroaching on the trail are no fun and lateral maintenance needs to be kept up to keep the trail clear. Expecting the trail builder to manicure a red loop for you because it is too bumpy is borderline ridiculous. Maybe road riding would be a better past time - or stick to green yellow and orange.

 

I rode the full red loop on Sunday and the only section that really justifies a complaint is the 80m of track near the dumping site that is overgrown on both sides with blackjacks, the rest is great.

 

I agree, if its manicured trails you want then go ride Huddle Park. In my opinion the R 50 entrance fee is more about the safe environment you get to ride in. Security is good in both the parking area as well as on the trails. If you clever, get a multi entry card and it works out cheaper per ride.

 

Each bike park has something different to offer, so go ride the park the suits your requirements best.

 

This weekend i rode Red Barn, whilst they have a maize of trails on offer, the condition of the trails were also lacking in some aspects. Their bridges look fairly dodgy and in need of some serious maintenance, but for me it was more about working on my technical skills so i'm not complaining its an awesome park if you want technical.

 

Go to NF, their trails are no better or worse than Modders, but they offer a different ride experience in terms of overall climbing and distance, with a nice amount of single track and a bit of technical riding.

 

Go to Groenkloof, they offer a different ride there as well.

 

Blackjacks, mud, riding ruts, grassy knolls, loose gravel climbs......come on guys, this is what MTBing is all about