garryjohnmitchell Posted November 10, 2014 Share rode van gaalens this sunday and need to alert riders to chicken wire across the steel bridges on oom piets loop that you don't see till too lateVERRRY DANGEROUS as well as really poor signage at the end of greek church loop where we came across a son and mother who had spent an hour trying top see where to go!!at R50 per ride at least some decent signage please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouxtjie Posted November 10, 2014 Share Not going to happen, the signage gets stolen / moved by people since a lot of it is in fact footpaths. Erik tries his best to maintain the signage but he is fighting a losing battle... If you don't know van gaalens well, and don't like getting lost, don't go and ride there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kosmonooit Posted November 10, 2014 Share Not going to happen, the signage gets stolen / moved by people since a lot of it is in fact footpaths. Erik tries his best to maintain the signage but he is fighting a losing battle... If you don't know van gaalens well, and don't like getting lost, don't go and ride there. Sorry that doesn't wash. If they are accepting money to ride their trails, they must maintain them, and take responsibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocknRolla Posted November 10, 2014 Share Rode there yesterday as well.The wire is across 2 bridges on the Oom piet and Nguni Loop.There were cows there, and i believe it has probably been put in place to keep the cows at bay. Singage is always a problem at VG, and the wife and I had our fair shar of confusion on the river section. It was insanely hot, we skipped the church as nguni loop took everything out of my legs and arms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouxtjie Posted November 10, 2014 Share Sorry that doesn't wash. If they are accepting money to ride their trails, they must maintain them, and take responsibility.They maintain the trails...please note that they probably have the biggest network of trails in gauteng crossing many farms(we not talking northern farms here). Lots of river crossings and bridges crossing farms, nevermind cutting new trails the whole time. To maintain the signage on that scale given that it uses lots and lots of footpaths where people vandalize and or move the signs will shoot the price of riding there up ten fold...you would need patrols and or permanent structures which will be harder to vandalize. R50 bucks is a bargain considering what you get. Erik is playing the cards he is dealt...if you dont like the place / scared of getting lost(heaven forbid) don't ride there again, simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocknRolla Posted November 10, 2014 Share I have to add, that it's a flippen awesome ride. Maintainaing signage over such a vast area certainly is a full time job. However not an impossible task. The confusion for me stepped in because of multiple arrows showing multiple options resulting in us doing a section twice (not such a huge issue because of the awesomeness of the river signletrack) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kosmonooit Posted November 10, 2014 Share It the signs are not enduring, then they must evolve to something that is more durable? Look I don't have a problem getting around, but I can see others with a lesser sense of direction will. Whilst we are about it, I also still have an issue with them cutting trails down at a grade on pristine veld/bush (in a World Heritage site nogal) that is steeper that accepted guidelines, and that will turn into a donga in a few years. Signage should also follow guidelines. https://www.imba.com/resources/trail-building Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouxtjie Posted November 10, 2014 Share It the signs are not enduring, then they must evolve to something that is more durable? Look I don't have a problem getting around, but I can see others with a lesser sense of direction will. Whilst we are about it, I also still have an issue with them cutting trails down at a grade on pristine veld/bush (in a World Heritage site nogal) that is steeper that accepted guidelines, and that will turn into a donga in a few years. Signage should also follow guidelines. https://www.imba.com/resources/trail-buildingCan't comment on the cutting trails part...I just ride them. But wrt the signage not being durable enough, well even if you make them out of stainless steel and dig foundation they will be vandalized / stolen, its not so much wear and tear or weather but idiots removing them. The type that does it has little regard for our hobby or if you and I get lost. My point is that the signage thing is boat that has sailed...erik himself has given up....its not fenced in like other bike parks but rather farms that are connected. People / laborers are part of the deal when riding there. So the options are really: 1.Hire security company to man the intersections and protect the signage where the trails split...possible sure, viable...not. Considering the amount if signage to protect and the vast area, you will need a team of 20+. So that will take your day pass of 50 bucks to ten times that 2.Close the trails(which are the best ones btw) that cannot be patrolled...Less people will ride there then making the trails less profitable which will eventually lead to the whole trail closing down...Do we want that?? 3.Leave it as is...mark where you can, especially on new trails, but when they get stolen, so be it. People that gooi a vloermoer cause they paid 50 bucks and got lost in absolute mtb heaven must rather not visit the place again, there are other places which cater better for them I vote no 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dillon Posted November 10, 2014 Share been lost there many times, loved it each time. Now I know my way around,so moral of the story, just get lost more often Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouxtjie Posted November 10, 2014 Share been lost there many times, loved it each time. Now I know my way around,so moral of the story, just get lost more oftensame here bud, you get lost, take a minute to recap, heck might I even suggest taking in the scenery, fauna and flora...I could think of far worse places. But maybe its just me....funny though, I always remember the rides where I did get lost more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.T.G Posted November 10, 2014 Share Not sure why the wire was put up at Nguni and Oom Piets, that is very dangerous,could very well have been, as was mentioned, to keep the cows in... however that farmer knowing riders come through there, should've put something on the wire to make it more visible.THEN... regarding the signage...As Rouxtijie mentioned, the network of trails covers over 40 different properties and it's a HUGE area to maintain.VG offers the best riding we have in Gauteng (although it's technically NW if I'm not mistaken)I've been lost there so many times, but that's how I got to know my way around as "well" as I do now... I say "well" because I'm STILL learning... Just in the last two weeks I came across little segments of trails (not new) I never knew existed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Bike Posted November 10, 2014 Share I have to agree with both rouxtjie and LTG, the only way that you will learn VG is by getting lost, or by having people show you. But it's not rocket science to find your way home. Most of the trails are in a valley between 2 ridges, with a tar road thru the middle of it and a dirt road that meets the tar road. There is also a river that will take you back to the front door. Enjoy it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjokkits Posted November 10, 2014 Share would it not make sense to download maps onto GPS like they do on sani2c etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouxtjie Posted November 10, 2014 Share would it not make sense to download maps onto GPS like they do on sani2c etc?Yip, could work.... However, if you don't know VG, then you probably also won't know the difference between the race and normal trail routes. So it would be best to get it from someone that knows the place, if you just randomly downloaded a GPX route from strava or garmin you might be downloading a race route that crosses farms which are only open during races. The boere there have big guns, and they are pretty good shots, so make sure it part of the normal trails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty250 Posted November 10, 2014 Share Not going to happen, the signage gets stolen / moved by people since a lot of it is in fact footpaths. Erik tries his best to maintain the signage but he is fighting a losing battle... If you don't know van gaalens well, and don't like getting lost, don't go and ride there.I concur with you in respect to the problem Eric faces. How knowing VG pretty well, I also almost went into the wire at Oom Pets on sat...... Actually looked as though the farmers have closed off the bridges in a numerous places. Rather dangerous, as had another 4 bikes almost crash into me from behind...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty250 Posted November 10, 2014 Share Do agree, getting lost is part of the fun, plus exploring new safe routes. That was the Sunday ride, was awaiting "the growling farmers" in the two places.. All good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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