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Posted

I think we have to remember that someone has a serious injury with permanent consequences. There may be some anger from friends and family and that may be the source of wanting retribution. Hopefully that anger will go and understanding will come. I hope Peter recovers from this injury.

 

 

 

We ride the spruit at our own risk and that includes things like the now defunct northshore and seesaw. The spruit crosses several major roads along the way and no-one just rides blindly across the roads without ensuring it is safe and if you do there is only yourself to blame. It is the same with the obstacles.

 

 

 

At your own risk.

 

 

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Posted
I feel for the injured rider as spinal injuries are not something anyone 'deserves'That said..So many of the replies in this thread have already said what I would have.. Suffice to say' date=' the first time I saw it, I watched a few people do it, decided it wasnt for me and walked over the rocks.... Whats so hard about making your own decision?If it was on a flat piece of ground I would have tried it, but the rocks below put me of...Im now going to build a small one in the garden in the mini bmx track for the kids and me thoughSmile
[/quote']

can me and mine come round? smiley4.gif


Anytime... but there is a 'junior' BMX track near us that my son races at...

They even have a class for old lunatics... Join us next Saturday.....Tongue

 

which track is it? you in kempton?
Posted
Pretty sure you sign an indemnity before you ride. Giba and Logwood do. Funny enough' date=' NF doesnt have you sign anything. Maybe it's because it is government land (not too sure here).[/quote']

 

ja, sure, but indemnities or not, do a bit of googling and see you the litigious american all but shut down the big bear resort in the states.
Posted

hr... not in Kempton.. In the West ( Randpark Ridge area ). Its a feeder track to the bigger ones... Start hill is not as high, jumps are not not supercross and the track is 250 odd mtrs. Perfect for small lighties starting out on any kind of BMX. The odd lunatic father has been known to trundle around on a MTBWink

Posted
hr... not in Kempton.. In the West ( Randpark Ridge area ). Its a feeder track to the bigger ones... Start hill is not as high' date=' jumps are not not supercross and the track is 250 odd mtrs. Perfect for small lighties starting out on any kind of BMX. The odd lunatic father has been known to trundle around on a MTBWink [/quote']

 

Are you implying that HR is an odd lunatic father.Big%20smile
Posted

 

Minty' date=' you and Ti has been to these crazy parks overseas. Do they have their obsticles plastered with health warnings?

 

[/quote']

 

 

In the Whistler bikepark there are no warning signs on any of the trails, but there's an extensive disclaimer on the lift ticket. And there's no way in hell you'll get on the lift without a ticket.

 

I'm not sure if there are further disclaimers when you buy the tickets as I got all my tickets for free for volunteering at Crankworx.

 

The season-pass is a credit card type device with your name and photo on it so I assume you'd have to probably fill in and sign some sort of application form which would no doubt include a disclaimer.

 

On the Whistler valley trails I only ever saw this sign. In this instance it was more as a safety warning relating to the fact that it was a very long trail with no water supply.

 

20080821_012649_Whistler_140.jpg

 

 

 

There are no signs of any kind that I remember on any other trails in the valley. And these trails are littered with obstacles, bridges, skinnies, see-saws and rock-drops that would make the spruit look like a kiddies playground.

 

The pic I posted earlier was taken on Mount Fromme on the North Shore which borders on a residential area hence sees loads more traffic and this was perhaps why the "At own risk" warning was included on the trail marker.

 

From speaking to people, I got the feeling that Canada was not nearly as litigous as the US. It seemed there was a general disapproval for that type of behaviour with people seeming to support the idea of taking responsibility for your actions.

 

 

 

Posted

Dont know hr personally... but seeing as I recognise many traits in him and I have been known to be an odd lunatic father..... possibly!Big%20smile

Posted

I was a "victim" of that bridge - dislocated my shoulder and was not allowed to ride for 5 weeks. Still go to physio 3 times a week. But the reality is that I chose to ride over it (it looked like fun).

 

 

 

My response to my injury - These things happen. It was a risk that I took.

Posted
Minty' date=' you and Ti has been to these crazy parks overseas. Do they have their obsticles plastered with health warnings?

 

 
[/quote']

 

Yeah, when you get your pass your sign the form that says "I know I could fall on my head and if I'm dumb enough to fall on my head it's my own fault". A bit of paraphrasing but you get the idea.

Also on the map all the trails are marked with colours.

Green - Very Easy

Blue - More skill required

Black - You need to be a skilled rider

Double Black - You need to be a very skilled rider

Triple Black - Someone is paying you to ride because you're so damn good.

The entry for some of the tracks are deliberately hard, to discourage people who can't ride them from trying.
Posted
Dont know hr personally... but seeing as I recognise many traits in him and I have been known to be an odd lunatic father..... possibly!Big%20smile

 

LOLLOLLOL

 

i go to the kempton track - raced there a coupla times - and the one in germiston every now and then, and have been know to hit the germies bowl from time to time. missed an opportunity to buy a 24" cruiser at a bargain price a while back.
Posted

 

Minty' date=' you and Ti has been to these crazy parks overseas. Do they have their obsticles plastered with health warnings?

 

 
[/quote']

 

Yeah, when you get your pass your sign the form that says "I know I could fall on my head and if I'm dumb enough to fall on my head it's my own fault". A bit of paraphrasing but you get the idea.

Also on the map all the trails are marked with colours.

Green - Very Easy

Blue - More skill required

Black - You need to be a skilled rider

Double Black - You need to be a very skilled rider

Triple Black - Someone is paying you to ride because you're so damn good.

The entry for some of the tracks are deliberately hard, to discourage people who can't ride them from trying.

 

Haha....love your descriptions of the colour markings.

 

WRT the entrance of the trails, it is a known practice in Canada that the first obstacle on a trail is desinged to reflect the difficulty of the trail as a whole, meaning that if the first obstacle is beyond your ability then it's best you not attempt the trail.

 

 

 

(Dammit....all this talk is making me sad)

 

 

 

 

Posted
there was a chap in the US (Who would have guessed) that set his RV to cruise control' date=' got up and went to make coffee. yes, as you guessed, the car crashed and yes you guessed it, they sued... And yup only in the US, he won. The manual did not stay that the car will not drive itself when cruise control is kicked in...[/quote']

 

Wasn't that Homer Simpson?
Posted

WRT the entrance of the trails' date=' it is a known practice in Canada that the first obstacle on a trail is desinged to reflect the difficulty of the trail as a whole, meaning that if the first obstacle is beyond your ability then it's best you not attempt the trail.

(Dammit....all this talk is making me sad)

[/quote']

 

Good example is the entrance to A-Line, an easy roll drop but some people coudn't do it, their is nothing bad on the trail unless you hesitate then as we all know all is lost. That's responsible for most crashes.
Posted

Followup article in the Sandton Chronicle

 

-----------

 

Injured cyclist will sue

NEWS

SANDTON CHRONICLE ? Week ending August 22 2008 ? 6

A MEATY MESS: It was a case of ?meat? by accident when two bakkies collided

on the M1 North, just off the Grayston Drive turn off. One of the vehicles

was transporting boxes of frozen meat. It overturned, causing the spillage.

Paramedics treated one of the drivers for slight injuries. Traffic flow on the M1

was badly disrupted while a clean-up took place.

LUCIA MOPP

PETER Harten is still in the

intensive care unit at the Sandton

Medi-clinic and his family has

launched a search for those

responsible for illegally building

the bicycle obstacle that ?sent? him

to hospital.

Harten fell off the obstacle at the

Braamfontein Spruit in Bryanston,

during a Sunday afternoon ride

two weeks ago, as reported in this

newspaper last week. He is left

with serious spinal injuries and

without feeling below the neck.

His wife, Nancy, told the

Chronicle that the family would

sue as soon as they know who was

responsible for the structure.

?The family is not doing good

and Peter is not doing well,? she

added.

Harten?s brother, Paul, wrote

to the newspaper expressing his

concern that cycling obstacles

are made more dangerous by the

cyclists who erect them.

He wrote: ?Peter was the seventh

person to be admitted to Sandton

Clinic with serious injuries,

according to paramedics who

attended to Peter.

The fact that the obstacle has now

been removed is too little too late.

I know my brother chose to ride

over the obstacle but if something

is declared illegal it should not be

there.?

Cyclist Ray Bienedell said it

was tragic that Harten had to be

seriously injured to bring some of

the safety issues into the public

domain.

He said: ?Richard Beswick is

correct in saying that there were

warning signs erected at this

particular structure, but I think

that he is missing the point.

?This see-saw structure was

inherently dangerous, and illegal,

to the extent that I never cycled

across it, but rather pushed my

bike, at the risk of being called

a ?wussy? by my friends. The

structure could only ever be used

by technically extremely proficient

cyclists, while it is mostly casual or

leisure cyclists who use the route.?

Bienedell added that a flat bridge

across this gorge would have been

a far safer crossing, but would

have taken even the casual cyclists

bike-handling limitations into

consideration.

luciam@caxton.co.za

 

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