Table Mountain, WTF??.

[Trance Dance]

Saw this post by TM bikers today. Can't believe something like this can happen. 

 

We’re not thrilled with the Deer Park to Rhodes Memorial area being closed.We want to keep riding around the mountain as we usually do.But,it is closed for rehabilitation work and San Parks have asked us to please request that everyone respect the closure and respect the SP staff & contractors that are doing the work they’ve been tasked with.There have been some heated exchanges between trail users and SP rangers,but when a female ranger is accosted and pushed to the ground and another female ranger has stones thrown at her,that’s when a line has been crossed.This type of behaviour is not warranted under any circumstances and certainly not representative of the mountain bike community.
Air your frustrations verbally,but keep it civil please.
Sections of the trail will reopen,from an email received from the area manager, over a 2-3 month period.Speaking to a section ranger a few hours later,it seems areas can open up in a few weeks time.This refers to hiking routes and cycling routes.We can’t be more specific than this,because we don’t have more concrete information at hand.
We’re putting this request out there without prejudice. 
Please just be respectful of the person you’re dealing with.

[capediver]

Wow, more completely bonkers reports of riders acting outrageously and entitled....seriously????? If these are your friends you need to either have a chat with them or find new riding buddies! Hasn't there just been a massive fire here?........complaining about closures for maintenance!? 

BTW not referring to you TD....

[DJR]

Agreed.

As much as I am frustrated with SANPARKS on so many things, abusing its staff and especially getting physical with them, is just 100% wrong.

Someone on here will know who the culprits are. I challenge you as a fellow cyclist, as a fellow human being, as someone who knows right from wrong, to supply the names of those responsible to SANParks and the police. It is the right thing to do! Do it! If you know and don't, YOU will be part of the problem, you will be complicit in the abuse of a woman ranger. Even if it is someone you know.

Catch the culprits, make an example of them. Show that they are NOT part of our cycling tribe!

Do it today!

[Mamil]

Well said @DJR. 

[Maniax]

name them shame them and shun them.

 

[DrRichard]

We lost our law abiding nature a long time ago  I fear - but at least felt guilty( a little) when breaking the law- I saw several bike lights up at the Block house this morning  was dark on my way to work! But when you are doing something illegal, and get caught, and then abuse the person who is responsible for policing the law - then we have sunk to an evened lower low

[Grease_Monkey]

I heard about this on the news on KFM this morning. The sad part is they are just referred to as cyclists - and we all get bundled together. 
 

Dicks

[Jbr]

those entitled pricks deserve a bit of sanpark rangers special treatment... Physically assaulting staff but even more so female staff...

[Eddy Gordo]

Yep read a report last night about this entitled behavior and abusing the rangers doing rehabilitation work work last night from the TMNP Ranger Forum.

It is TOTALY disgusting. The rest of the mountain is open compared to a small section thats closed. Last week, someone was caught deep in the burnt section. Not sure what happened to her. 

I

Edited May 26, 2021 by Eddy Gordo

[porqui]

I want to know what really happened !!

.

According to a SANPaks spokesperson on the radio this morning SANParks rangers are being abused on a regular basis on the mountain by cyclists.

[Eddy Gordo]

Not just cyclists, runners, hikers and dog walkers. 

[TNT1]

23 minutes ago, porqui said:

I want to know what really happened !!

.

According to a SANPaks spokesperson on the radio this morning SANParks rangers are being abused on a regular basis on the mountain by cyclists.

Puts their overreaction to Dlamini into context now.

[TheoG]

26 minutes ago, porqui said:

I want to know what really happened !!

.

According to a SANPaks spokesperson on the radio this morning SANParks rangers are being abused on a regular basis on the mountain by cyclists.

This is unacceptable behavior, disgusting.  Who ever you are grow up and stop your crap.

[DJR]

On a side note:

 

I noticed how quick the City Of CapeTown as to start building sandbag barriers above De Waal Drive to prevent wash aways from pouring mid and debris off the mountain and onto the road during heavy rains. They started doing that within days of the fire..............but also, nearly immediately people started stealing the sadbags, emptying the bags of their contents and making off with the very useful and sturdy bags! ****! I am really getting gatvol with some of my fellow humans! If I wasn't such a promoter of non-violence and reason, I would have said some culling is needed! Yes, I'm conflicted! Deal with it! ????

Edited May 26, 2021 by DJR

[Eddy Gordo]

This is the work currently under way.

• Removal/felling/clearing of burnt material such as trees along footpaths and boardwalks.

• Soil stabilization with the assistance of the City of Cape Town to prevent mudslide and water runoff

• Foot-path Maintenance.

• Monitoring of soil erosion.

• Boardwalk repairs.

• Repairing of water pipelines.

• Repairing of electricity lines.

• Signage replacement.

I dont understand why people cant have the patience to just wait. When tokai burnt lots of us asked questions, but we waited. Seems like lots of priveleged people Table mountain side

[Headshot]

The reason people are frustrated is because , well you know SANP. lest we forget- 

The work they are undertaking is relatively minor in the bigger scheme of things. The jeep tracks are fine and that's just about all there is to cycle on there anyway. There is some danger from falling trees but tracks under the trees in question could be closed off rather than the whole area. if someone then got a tree on their head it would be their fault, just as it will be now if people transgress. People are gat vol of the government and other money sapping government organizations like SANP regulating their lives in ways that make little sense. ( think bizarre lock down regulations and a closure of many weeks for TM when a few weeks should be sufficient)  Added to this is a perception that SANP have been very bad at managing the park, milking it but spending as little as possible and that they permitted this fire to occur through poor management and clearing.

By way of example: Jonkers burned to the ground a few months ago and was partially open within 2-3 weeks if I recall. There is an element of paranoia about SANP's closure of fire ravaged areas. When it came to Tokai we were only allowed back in there after a letter TokaiMTB penned ended up on Alan Winde's and then the park managers desk. The letter was necessary after it appeared that SANP were reneging on their undertaking to reopen on the date they had agreed on. 

Looking at the long history of SANP and its track record of poor management, bad public relations and red tape second to none, I'm not surprised people behave badly when confronted with seemingly pointless restrictions on access. This is peoples happy place after all and SANP are preventing access.

Added to this is the fact that  some people who should know better have been accessing the closed areas  and have probably encouraged others to do the same by their behaviour  leading to additional confrontation.  

(This should not be read as condoning idiotic behaviour like assault on rangers or any other illegal conduct and is merely an attempt to balance this thread with a dose of reality as far as SANP are concerned)