Tokai Maintenance and Building

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

I went to build on Saturday with a all waterproofed up and sat there like a ****.

 

ROFL. Wish I could have been there to see the expression on your face.

 

Did you eventually use your jacket that was bought for Morzine?

[Guest Omega Man]

To the guys giving gears to bluehubs. He's right. Go up there and look at the place objectively.

 

I rode Tokai yesterday and I agree with him completely. The entrance to DH1 is a mess. The snake trails have zero flow because they've not had any maintenance done in years. And there hasn't been a single new trail built on that mountain since I don't know when.

 

The trails are in a SHOCKING DISGUSTING state. When Botes was in charge I was under the impression that he was the roadblock but he has been gone since Feb and there has been one build day. And that build day was only to apease the downhillers.

 

The only meaningful maintenance that's been done there in the last 4 years is on the downhill track and that's only cos Vince bitches and moans until something gets done.

 

The last time paid maintence was done was on the divert on my roots and a little divert on the top snake trail. If I was a crosscountry rider i'd be livid to ride there. The ONLY 2 reasons people ride there is because it's convenient or they don't know any better. Cos let's be clear on this. It's not good.

 

Jonkershoek charges less and has far fewer riders and yet still manages to have maintained trails and expansions.

 

I've asked Deon on numerous occasions that a SCHEDULED monthly build day be set up and nothing. Just the usual nodding and pleads for patience

 

The wood cutters are up there on a daily basis with their bakkies choping up logs that we should be using for jumps and features and we just stand by and listen to bullsh!t explanation after bullsh!t explanation.

 

The fact is Tokai is an embarrasment to mountain biking. The trails are in a disgusting state and the person in charge of trail maintenace (Yes you Deon!) should do the honorable thing and allow someone who can actually get things done take over.

[(Deon)]

I certainly don't have time for this sh*t.

 

"And that build day was only to apease the downhillers." - are you effing kidding me?

 

..and did you just ask me to step down and hand over to someone else in a public forum?? Do you have ANY ethics, morals even?

 

Do you consider yourself in the know Duane? Then tell us about the progress to date, you seem to be the enlightened one. Not everything happens ON the trail. Lots of it happens in an office before it gets down to the trail and I would think we have made a remarkable amount of progress!

 

Just so everyone knows, especially those who are reading this and actually believing any Omega Man's rant above.. The downhillers lost their track! FACT! In November 2011 DH 3 was closed and deemed ready to be rehabilitated with Fynbos.. For the last 8 MONTHS, I have been meeting with SANParks to motivate the continued use of that ONE section of trail! 8 MONTHS DUANE, YOUR TRAIL! This is the same track that I have it in writing that is to be specced with laterite all the way down to the Quarry. Did you hear? QUARRY! The same section that was deemed ALREADY rehabilitated and that would NOT be opened.

 

WTF, do you think the fairies were out digging again? Thanks for the support!

[(Deon)]

"The snake trails have zero flow "

 

I know who you have be talking to...

[Guest Omega Man]

"The snake trails have zero flow "

 

I know who you have be talking to...

I rode the snake trails yesterday. I am capable of forming my own opinions.

 

Dude. I don't care about "in the know" All I hear is bullsh!t and all I see is erosion and no maintenance and zero expansion. It's been the SAME story since I can remember.

 

Please stop patting yourself on the back for having meetings. Meetings don't build trails. And neither does tapping away on a keyboard. You can't honestly go up that mountain and call those trails anything but sh*t. The place is a disaster. And the wood cutters achieve more in a week than the mountain bikers have in 4 years.

 

I personally am sick and tired of riding sh*t trails with assurance that things will get better.

 

We pay to ride there. R35 a time. We are buying a product for that R35. AND THE PRODUCT IS MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS!!!

 

And guess what. The trails suck balls!

Edited July 23, 2012 by Omega Man

[(Deon)]

Sure, I am patting my own back.. you have a DH to ride today because I commtted my time to motivating it's continued use, now you have it and suddenly nothing has been done in years.?? I talk sh*t, WTF are you saying??

 

Your statements are just plain stupid - you don't care about knowing.. no expansion.. meetings don't build trails..

 

Geez.. really?

Edited July 23, 2012 by Pain or Shine

[Guest Omega Man]

Sure, I am patting my own back.. you have a DH to ride today because I commtted my time to motivating it's continued use, now you have it and suddenly nothing has been done in years.?? I talk sh*t, WTF are you saying??

 

Your statements are just plain stupid - you don't care about knowing.. no expansion.. meetings don't build trails..

 

Geez.. really?

 

I stand by everything I say.

 

My stupid statements are my impression of what is going on on that mountain. No I'm not interested in knowing and explanations. That's just more excuses and bullsh!t.

 

And if you refer to my previous posts you'll see that I said that the only meaningful maintenance that's been done has been on the DH track. On the xc trails there's so much erosion that they are almost unrideable.

 

Go up there and HONESTLY look at that place and tell me the nothing that's going on is good. 4 build days a year doesn't cut it dude. It's winter. We should be up there every weekend building.

 

Please stop looking at Tokai through rose coloured spectacles. The trails suuuck. And there's only 1 thing that will make it any better. Maintenance. Not Meetings. Not "being informed" Not talking. Not typing on keyboards.

 

Maintenance. Meaningful sustained maintenance. And if you can't get that done then you should allow someone who can get it done to step in and take over.

[(Deon)]

The obvious fact that you are missing in your porridge bowl of p*ss is that management at Tokai has changed. Tokai is the new head office for TMNP people.. it is all over the papers and we are in our third session on new precinct planning.. Did you get that? NEW..

 

If you cannot accept that Duane, you must please do the inevitable and find a place that will satisfy your desire for new trails.. A private landowner should be your first port of call. Sad day but you cannot accept my explanation that I have offered. You are instead bent on making me look bad in public.. not that I mind, I just think it is futile that you persist.

 

Until the meetings are over, there will not be new trails, diverts yes, but new, no.

[GLuvsMtb]

...and right here you have the reason that I'm not interested in trail builds at Tokai. Way too much moaning and bitching and handbag tossing going on here. Omega, you were rude to Painman here and Painman, just accept that the public is loosing patience with seemingly little progress made.

Now kiss and make up. I'd love to get involved with a trail build, but will only do so once y'all sort your **** out.

[Guest Omega Man]

The obvious fact that you are missing in your porridge bowl of p*ss is that management at Tokai has changed. Tokai is the new head office for TMNP people.. it is all over the papers and we are in our third session on new precinct planning.. Did you get that? NEW..

 

If you cannot accept that Duane, you must please do the inevitable and find a place that will satisfy your desire for new trails.. A private landowner should be your first port of call. Sad day but you cannot accept my explanation that I have offered. You are instead bent on making me look bad in public.. not that I mind, I just think it is futile that you persist.

 

Until the meetings are over, there will not be new trails, diverts yes, but new, no.

 

No. I'll continue to be dissatisfied with Tokai. And you'll have to cope with me and many others being unhappy about the trails. You aren't going to get rid of me that easily. Like I keep saying Deon. I'm not interested in exlanations. I've heard you beat the same old drum since I've started talking to you.

 

I'm not bent on making you look bad in public. The trails at Tokai do that already. And no. I'm not asking for new trails. That would be great but what I am asking for is maintenance.

 

And I'm not even asking for it to be done for me. I'm more than happy to get involved. In fact on Saturday I was there with my bakkie, wheelbarrow, raincoat and tools ready to build in the pissing rain.

 

I'm asking for maintenance of the existing trail network and true to character you've just pushed explanations and bullsh!t. What you should be doing is pushing maintenance days.

Edited July 23, 2012 by Omega Man

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

...and right here you have the reason that I'm not interested in trail builds at Tokai. Way too much moaning and bitching and handbag tossing going on here. Omega, you were rude to Painman here and Painman, just accept that the public is loosing patience with seemingly little progress made.

Now kiss and make up. I'd love to get involved with a trail build, but will only do so once y'all sort your **** out.

 

I'll be there. I don't have no isht.... Come along, Mad - come swing a shovel in anger next time. You may just pick up a Ho(e) or 2 along the way!

[(Deon)]

Duane, you have succeeded in very little today. I can accept that you are frustrated at the "little progress".. the fact here is that there has actually been A LOT of progress. You cannot leave the DH out of this.. It is all about the DH. That is where we have achieved the most and by you ignoring it, is ignoring the effort that I.. YES, I, have invested in the mountain. Why is this so hard to understand?

 

I knew from the beginning when I undertook to save the DH that I would be judged on the exclusion of the other trails.. but to be judged by you, the biggest mouth when your DH was only 600m long, that is a surprise.

 

Your statement of "no maintenance" is also wrong.. Just because you have not been invited to volunteer build days to maintain, does not mean that it is not happening. Are you blind to the amount of rain we have over the last few weeks? I count only 3 or 4 puddles on the snake trail.. WHY? Because I apply all my free available time to repairing and opening water channels which keeps the trail rideable. Vasbyt too, there used to be a permanent puddle that took two hours to repair.. That same day I fixed three areas.. 5 hours invested into sustaining the trails. Do you understand this? There is constant work happening, not all of it is glory work, but someone has to do it.

 

In a few weeks there will be some reward.. So much has happened around a table that will make life on the mountain easier and more enjoyable. You are missing this in all my explanations.. or was that not what you were looking for?

[Guest Omega Man]

Duane, you have succeeded in very little today. I can accept that you are frustrated at the "little progress".. the fact here is that there has actually been A LOT of progress. You cannot leave the DH out of this.. It is all about the DH. That is where we have achieved the most and by you ignoring it, is ignoring the effort that I.. YES, I, have invested in the mountain. Why is this so hard to understand?

 

I knew from the beginning when I undertook to save the DH that I would be judged on the exclusion of the other trails.. but to be judged by you, the biggest mouth when your DH was only 600m long, that is a surprise.

 

Your statement of "no maintenance" is also wrong.. Just because you have not been invited to volunteer build days to maintain, does not mean that it is not happening. Are you blind to the amount of rain we have over the last few weeks? I count only 3 or 4 puddles on the snake trail.. WHY? Because I apply all my free available time to repairing and opening water channels which keeps the trail rideable. Vasbyt too, there used to be a permanent puddle that took two hours to repair.. That same day I fixed three areas.. 5 hours invested into sustaining the trails. Do you understand this? There is constant work happening, not all of it is glory work, but someone has to do it.

 

In a few weeks there will be some reward.. So much has happened around a table that will make life on the mountain easier and more enjoyable. You are missing this in all my explanations.. or was that not what you were looking for?

 

I respectfully disagree that a LOT of progress has been made. The xc trails are there for anyone to see. They are shocking. I agree that a lot of progress has been made on the DH. And for that I am eternally grateful.

 

You've now stated it publicly that there will be some reward in a few weeks time. I wait with bated breath. If this reward comes to the fore I will issue a public apology on this forum. If not I will repeat calls for you to step down as the trail rep at Tokai.

Edited July 23, 2012 by Omega Man

[RiderX]

Cant really say I find the trails to be as bad as described here. Sure a couple of places need some work but nothing that will prevent me from riding.

[(Deon)]

...and right here you have the reason that I'm not interested in trail builds at Tokai. Way too much moaning and bitching and handbag tossing going on here. Omega, you were rude to Painman here and Painman, just accept that the public is loosing patience with seemingly little progress made.

Now kiss and make up. I'd love to get involved with a trail build, but will only do so once y'all sort your **** out.

 

MM, Tokai is quite different from other places like Jonkershoek. Not sure if you have had any part in the recent projects happening there at the moment.. MTO is quite comfortable with new trails built under pine trees, but in Tokai, when trees are felled, that space becomes managed by TMNP = Conservation

 

1.Tokai is in the process of changing owners from state owned timber harvesting groups, to conservation land managed by SANParks.

 

This change has meant good and bad for mountainbiking, you probably know the story...

 

2. As of March, Tokai has a new Section Ranger still handing over and making some changes which keeps me tied up round a table. The biggest threat to Omega Man and the rest of the downhillers has been the closure of the DH3. I explained this process.

 

3. You might think it ends there.. To top off this process, and make it move even slower.. TMNP head office is moving into Tokai.. Some people who have voiced an opinion know this but choose to stir the pot hoping for a fast-tracked response.. it cannot happen.

[(Deon)]

I respectfully disagree that a LOT of progress has been made. The xc trails are there for anyone to see. They are shocking. I agree that a lot of progress has been made on the DH. And for that I am eternally grateful.

 

You've now stated it publicly that there will be some reward in a few weeks time. I wait with bated breath. If this reward comes to the fore I will issue a public apology on this forum. If not I will repeat calls for you to step down as the trail rep at Tokai.

 

There you go again.. Wars are won round a table Duane.

 

 

Edit, - I am assuming by you not commenting on the menial work that keeps the trails alive, you acknowledge that a LOT of maintenance IS being done on the mountain.. ??

Edited July 23, 2012 by Pain or Shine