Spruit Bike-jack!

[Dirty Twin]

DT' date=' where about did this happen and at what time?

[/quote']

 

TT, Not sure will try to find out.

[Daft Vader]

Oh ...... I get it.

 

So did someone wake up one day and said "hey lets give cyclists a safe place to ride' date='" or did he say, "hey!, if I develop a safe bike park here I can make huge bucks if people use it rather than the dangerous spruit."

 

Tow truck drivers have been known to cause accidents, change robot settings etc just to create business. I'm not for a minute suggesting that anything like that is happening, but what if the dangers of riding the spruit were not given so much publicity. Then surely lots of riders would not be tempted to support the bike park.

 

I respect A McLean for what he's done for the sport, how he runs his business and as a rider, but if safety was the primary concern, lets see how much entry fees are.

 

If I lived closer I would use it, and yes I will make an effort of sampling it and I also worry about my safety when out riding.

[/quote']

 

What about...

 

Hey the mountain biking in Jo'burg is CRAP.  Lets build some fun trails for people to get a little more enjoyment out of their sport.

 

When are you going to pick up spade and build something?

 

 

[Pocketbikes]

 

Oh ...... I get it.

 

So did someone wake up one day and said "hey lets give cyclists a safe place to ride' date='" or did he say, "hey!, if I develop a safe bike park here I can make huge bucks if people use it rather than the dangerous spruit."

 [/quote']

 

I am sure it's neither the one or the other, but a ratio of both. People seem to have a problem with people making money. People must also realize that if it doesn't work, AM stands to loose a lot of money. I can't imagine what it's cost so far for the machinery and earth moving equipment, let alone everything else. Big rewards come with big risks, and I hope he makes HUGE bucks. The more money he makes means more people are going to the park, more people enjoying themselves, more safety and fun for the families, more skills being learned by the beginners and on and on... basically he would've done something for the community.

[Tumbleweed]

Oh ...... I get it.

 

?

 

So did someone wake up one day and said "hey lets give cyclists a safe place to ride' date='" or did he say,?"hey!, if I develop a safe bike park here I can make huge bucks if people use it rather than the dangerous spruit."

 

?

 

Tow truck drivers have been known to cause accidents, change robot settings etc just to create business. I'm not for a minute suggesting that anything like that is happening, but what if the dangers of riding the spruit were not given so much publicity. Then surely lots of riders would not be tempted to support the bike park.

 

?

 

I respect A McLean for what he's done for the sport, how he runs his business and as a rider, but if safety was the primary concern, lets see how much entry fees are.

 

?

 

If I lived closer I would use it, and yes I will make an effort of sampling it and I also?worry about my safety when out riding.

[/quote']

 

 

 

idrive, the plans for the park have been around for some time. the spate of attacks on the spruit is relatively recent. how you can put the two together is beyond me. is the person who started this thread, or the others on the subject, in any way connected to a publicity campaign? i'll put my cock on a block to say no, and, yes, they will profit out of the fear many cyclists have in this day and age. much the same way as northern farm, groenkloof, logwood, etc have. good for them. at least they had the initiative to do something about it.

[idrive]

The real message I'm trying to get across, that no-one sees, is that if mtbiking was safe (everywhere, not just the Spruit) there would be no need for bike parks ........ or am I missing something obvious.

 

But because cycling is fraught with danger, bike parks are becoming the big thing. I also have no issue with anyone doing anything for profit ...... the world works that way. 

 

But, by highlighting danger. the secure bike parks everywhere will benefit from the publicity.

 

There are none so blind as those who will not see!!

 

Come to think of it. Won't this Bike Park make the Spruit even more dangerous. There's safety in numbers and if the numbers drop, well ........

idrive2008-10-16 00:12:26

[Dibles]

The real message I'm trying to get across' date=' that no-one sees, is that if mtbiking was safe (everywhere, not just the Spruit) there would be no need for bike parks ........ or am I missing something obvious.

 

But because cycling is fraught with danger, bike parks are becoming the big thing. I also have no issue with anyone doing anything for profit ...... the world works that way. 

 

But, by highlighting danger. the secure bike parks everywhere will benefit from the publicity.

 

There are none so blind as those who will not see!!

[/quote']

 

I disagree. I use bike parks as I ride alone most of the time and, should I have a nasty accident, I know that someone will realise that I am MIA.

[dirtrider]

Mandibles there are bike parks and then there are the "prefered" game reserves where we cycle . Both will give you awesome riding trails and whatever else you need , the big difference is that the one you can afford to take your family , the other not .

[markStockton]

 

The real message I'm trying to get across' date=' that no-one sees, is that if mtbiking was safe (everywhere, not just the Spruit) there would be no need for bike parks ........ or am I missing something obvious.

[/quote']

 

What utter cr@p, there will always be a places like the Fourways park and Rietvlei as the spruit is about as technically challenging as an average stretch of tar.

 

This is aggravated by the fact that anyone trying to do something to improve and make the spruit more interesting get's sued by some dumb @ss who should never have left the tar.

 

But because cycling is fraught with danger' date=' bike parks are becoming the big thing. I also have no issue with anyone doing anything for profit ...... the world works that way. 

 

But, by highlighting danger. the secure bike parks everywhere will benefit from the publicity.

 

There are none so blind as those who will not see!!

[/quote']

 

I have to tell you that I think you are just trolling for trouble.

 

[Nancy Drew]

Come to think of it. Won't this Bike Park make the Spruit even more dangerous. There's safety in numbers and if the numbers drop' date=' well ........

[/quote']

 

I doubt that idrive, there will still always be large numbers of spruit users because of the convenience.  Not all riders want to get into a car and drive for half an hour to ride in the safety of a bike park. A lot of people use it because it's on their doorstep. There are also many walkers and runners that use the spruit as well...

[Guest Agteros]

But because cycling is fraught with danger' date=' bike parks are becoming the big thing.[/quote']

 

It is not just cycling that is fraught with danger. Life in general is fraught with danger. The same safety principles apply to life in general as to MTB'ing.

 

Security complexes, locks, SAPS, etc, and bike parks are all reactions to reduce the risks associated with life in general. Does the farmers single out people staying in security complexes for making things too dangerous for them?

 

To single out bike parks and to say they will increase your risks in patently unfair towards MTB'ing.

 

[Joe Low]

"There are none so blind as those who will not see!!"

 

 

Let's make a sentence using the words: pot, kettle & black.

 

 

Bike parks are attractive for a no. of reasons, there's no need for Andrew Maclean to have his wife mugged to boost the no.s.

 

 

[PhilipV]

The real message I'm trying to get across' date=' that no-one sees, is that if mtbiking was safe (everywhere, not just the Spruit) there would be no need for bike parks ........ or am I missing something obvious.

 

But because cycling is fraught with danger, bike parks are becoming the big thing. I also have no issue with anyone doing anything for profit ...... the world works that way. 

 

But, by highlighting danger. the secure bike parks everywhere will benefit from the publicity.

 

There are none so blind as those who will not see!!

 

Come to think of it. Won't this Bike Park make the Spruit even more dangerous. There's safety in numbers and if the numbers drop, well ........

[/quote']

But mountainbiking isn't safe anymore, almost everything in this country has an element of risk due to crime attached to it. Publicity or not, theifs will still target soft targets, and bikes will still be stolen. There is no use in drawing up magic world pictures of "if mtb was safe." At least the bike parks are doing something. You can either work at improving the security of mtb'ing overall, or you can create a safe haven for your customers to ride...

[Dirtbreath]

The real message I'm trying to get across' date=' that no-one sees, is that if mtbiking was safe (everywhere, not just the Spruit) there would be no need for bike parks ........ or am I missing something obvious.

 

But because cycling is fraught with danger, bike parks are becoming the big thing. I also have no issue with anyone doing anything for profit ...... the world works that way. 

 

But, by highlighting danger. the secure bike parks everywhere will benefit from the publicity.

 

There are none so blind as those who will not see!!

 

Come to think of it. Won't this Bike Park make the Spruit even more dangerous. There's safety in numbers and if the numbers drop, well ........

[/quote']

 

You are clearly starting to show how ignorant you are.

 

A safe environment is a small part of what the bike park is about. If you maybe open your eyes a bit and take some ineterest in the park you will realise it is a whole lot more than a Spruit clone within a fenced off area. The guys have put in a lot of effort in building a BMX track, a kiddies ride area, single track of various skills and a coffee shop.

 

Get hold of Andrew Maclean and ask him instead of knocking him for a brilliant effort.

 

On a side note, this park also addresses the other issue of obstacles on the Spruit where certain guys have built obstacles to make the ride interesting and got nailed when people nearly killed them selves.

 

 

[Daft Vader]

The real message I'm trying to get across' date=' that no-one sees, is that if mtbiking was safe (everywhere, not just the Spruit) there would be no need for bike parks ........ or am I missing something obvious.
[/quote']

What utter cr@p, there will always be a places like the Fourways park and Rietvlei as the spruit is about as technically challenging as an average stretch of tar.

This is aggravated by the fact that anyone trying to do something to improve and make the spruit more interesting get's sued by some dumb @ss who should never have left the tar.

But because cycling is fraught with danger' date=' bike parks are becoming the big thing. I also have no issue with anyone doing anything for profit ...... the world works that way. 

 

But, by highlighting danger. the secure bike parks everywhere will benefit from the publicity.

 

There are none so blind as those who will not see!!

[/quote']

I have to tell you that I think you are just trolling for trouble.

 

Amen brutha.

 

Bike parks = jumps, drops, Northshore, teeter totters and flowing purpose built singletrack.  THATs why we want bike parks.  It has nothing to do with being mugged.

[slowpoke]

idrive, i suggest you log off from here and go looking for a braincell as you have displayed a clear-cut case of idiocy with your comments.

 

as markStockton and one or two others have pointed out a bike park is about more than a little trail that people use to ride a bike on - it involves marking paths, creating different levels with different challenges (eg see-saws etc) that would never be allowed to remain in a public place in this country due to idiots such as you who will come up with a half-baked conspiracy theory about why they are dangerous yaddah yaddah yaddah.

 

the spruit has always been dangerous until the northshore stuff was built - then suddenly, due to the increased activity by law abiding citizens it got safe. then someone decided to try an abstacle that he wasn't able to ride, got very seriously ingured and his family looked for a scapegoat to justify the situation. now all the fun stuff (to ride or watch others riding) has been taken down... so numbers riding the spruit have dropped... and now, a few months later, the criminal elements in society have noticed it and have started with their activities.

 

so if you want to blame anyone then blame the family of the poor guy who fell, the legal local residents who always complain about mtb'ers using the trail and the government for not doing anything about crime.

 

[Roons]

Oh ...... I get it.

 

?

 

idrive - you are a right idiot! I hope that one day you are confronted by this kind of situation... see how your perception of the situation changes.

 

 

 

Take your agenda and FO! Roons2008-10-16 01:00:24