Headshot Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 A while back the Kirstenbosch section of the traverse between Newlands Forest was repaired. A slow speed but not hugely difficult boulder garden was flattened out and it looked as if some rocks had actually been removed as well as some filler added. I recall a comment at the time that this route was now even more gravel bike friendly. This was done officially and loudly proclaimed at the time. Last week I rode a local trail on SANP land, not Kirtsenbosch. I've ridden it for over 20 years. Its not very tech in general but has some fun sections and there have been B lines around the gnarly stuff for years. I have noticed the tech lines being gradually smoothed out with some laterite clay gravel. It hasn't bothered me too much as the rocks reappear over time and the tech difficulty increases again. Who has been doing this work is something of a mystery. Nobody ever owns up to it and SANP have confirmed its not being done with their permission. These trail "alterations" reached a new low last week. I was heading down the trail and about to ready myself for the trickiest rock garden outside of Tokai on a legal trail but something was amiss. The entrance rock was lower and the gaps between roots had been filled in with soil and branches. It had been turned into a highway. A closer inspection later in the week and messages from other riders confirmed that several boulder and rocks had simply been hacked to pieces, some of these barely even in ridden portions of the trail. The rock shards bashed off the rocks were either left in situ or thrown into the bushes. There was always a B line around this section and its hardly needed as the rock garden has now been ruined as a technical challenge. for a mountain bike. Speeds will increase downhill hugely and because the trail is bi-directional, the risks of accidents is increased. If anyone knows who is responsible for this illegal activity please message me. I'd like to have a word with the perps and try and understand what they though entitled them to vandalize what is one of our iconic tracks in the area. ???? DJR 1
MTBeer Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 11 minutes ago, Headshot said: A while back the Kirstenbosch section of the traverse between Newlands Forest was repaired. A slow speed but not hugely difficult boulder garden was flattened out and it looked as if some rocks had actually been removed as well as some filler added. I recall a comment at the time that this route was now even more gravel bike friendly. This was done officially and loudly proclaimed at the time. Last week I rode a local trail on SANP land, not Kirtsenbosch. I've ridden it for over 20 years. Its not very tech in general but has some fun sections and there have been B lines around the gnarly stuff for years. I have noticed the tech lines being gradually smoothed out with some laterite clay gravel. It hasn't bothered me too much as the rocks reappear over time and the tech difficulty increases again. Who has been doing this work is something of a mystery. Nobody ever owns up to it and SANP have confirmed its not being done with their permission. These trail "alterations" reached a new low last week. I was heading down the trail and about to ready myself for the trickiest rock garden outside of Tokai on a legal trail but something was amiss. The entrance rock was lower and the gaps between roots had been filled in with soil and branches. It had been turned into a highway. A closer inspection later in the week and messages from other riders confirmed that several boulder and rocks had simply been hacked to pieces, some of these barely even in ridden portions of the trail. The rock shards bashed off the rocks were either left in situ or thrown into the bushes. There was always a B line around this section and its hardly needed as the rock garden has now been ruined as a technical challenge. for a mountain bike. Speeds will increase downhill hugely and because the trail is bi-directional, the risks of accidents is increased. If anyone knows who is responsible for this illegal activity please message me. I'd like to have a word with the perps and try and understand what they though entitled them to vandalize what is one of our iconic tracks in the area. ???? simple really. they're idiots of the same idiot variety that ride closed trails, drive like chops, jump queues, etc, etc. nothing to understand really. aquaratza and DJR 2
Headshot Posted May 25, 2021 Author Posted May 25, 2021 I asked if anyone knew them... Their type is easy to identify. DieselnDust 1
Yyyy Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 out of curiosity is this the rock garden at Cecelia Forest? when I rode there last week i noticed that they chipped away at some of the rocks to smooth out that rock garden. Headshot and DieselnDust 2
capediver Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 30 minutes ago, YaseenEnos said: out of curiosity is this the rock garden at Cecelia Forest? when I rode there last week i noticed that they chipped away at some of the rocks to smooth out that rock garden. If it is ie The Cork Tree trail, then I don't understand the logic...there's already a B line through both gardens....head scratch! DieselnDust, Headshot and DJR 3
MTBeer Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 (edited) 45 minutes ago, capediver said: If it is ie The Cork Tree trail, then I don't understand the logic...there's already a B line through both gardens....head scratch! I rode Cork Tree on Saturday, and didn't really notice any changes. maybe I was going too fast...???? Edited May 25, 2021 by MTBeer DJR and capediver 2
Yyyy Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 54 minutes ago, capediver said: If it is ie The Cork Tree trail, then I don't understand the logic...there's already a B line through both gardens....head scratch! same here that first rock garden not only has a B line but a C Line as well in fact you could argue there is an A+ and A- line through the rocks as well.
lukelockie Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 Can we get some pictures so we are all on the same page?
capediver Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 2 hours ago, lukelockie said: Can we get some pictures so we are all on the same page? @4:57 ?
capediver Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Tim Brink said: Wow! Sorry but that's F@%^$ d up!!! Never seen anything like that! Imagine going to such lengths to do this, that's sledge hammer work...I can't imagine Table Mountain authorities doing this...so someone decided to load up his car with heavy duty tools, lug them down the trail and then lay into the rocks with abandon! The mind boggles! Edited May 25, 2021 by capediver mazambaan and aquaratza 2
OVERDRIVE Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 1 hour ago, Tim Brink said: How ill must you be to spend time chipping rocks. Hope whoever did this gets help.
BenGraham Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 15 minutes ago, babse said: damn roadies ???? Nah its definitely e-bikers. TheoG, DJR, Ledz and 1 other 4
CPT MTBer Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 WOW. Those rocks are not easy to break. Someone must be going through a lot of effort to do this
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