Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Will bikers be left pining?
Clearing of trees to introduce fynbos is a big gain to the community
Imagine a pristine mountain bike trail that flows and twists through forests of silver trees, wild peach and protea?
You bank and weave through dense thickets that tower to twice your height. Patches of shade and sunshine flash by as you ramp off a wooden drop- off, slide across a wooden bridge before leaning into a perfect berm at high speed.
The air is filled with the peppery smell of rare fynbos, previously believed to be extinct, and found nowhere else in the world but on this mountain.
The Tokai Forest as we know it will soon be a memory. There is nothing we can do about it. The pine trees will all be logged by as soon as 2017.
However, plans to turn the Tokai slopes of Constantiaberg into a fynbos haven and mountain bike heaven may be closer to reality than many might think, pending a range of challenges.
The Tokai MTB Trail Builders Association, headed by the erudite Deon Bosman, aims to build a “worldclass mountain bike trail in a soon-tobe pristine world-heritage site on one of the seven natural wonders of the world.”
The fact that the American logging company that owns the trees in Tokai plans a quick exit to lessen their overall financial outlay may be a blessing in disguise.
The mountainside looks ugly after the logging mayhem. They’re back on Monday, clearing the area opposite the lower forest picnic area and clearing a corridor right across the mountain around the back of the arboretum all the way up to the start of the Downhill 1 route. Prepare for carnage.
However, as Bosman points out, skip the immediate future and envision the mountain in five to ten years time. The pine forests have been around for 112 years. Apparently the seed banks that lie in the earth under the forest contains some of the richest and undisturbed collections of critically endangered fynbos in South Africa. The seeds can survive for a long time, around 100 years.
“Already big block test burns have resulted in species coming up that were thought extinct for 20 or 30 years,” he said.
But time is getting tight. They need a burn to spark new life. Fortunately, the pines are mature, and soon the rehab can begin.
Old photos depict dense forests of silver tree and wild peach, and patches of other fynbos. It’s not all doom and gloom.
Silver trees grow to three metres or more, while wild peach grows almost the same height. This growth might take as little as three years (after the pine has rotted).
Mountain biking provides a huge chunk of revenue for Table Mountain National Parks, and stakeholders are beginning to realise that as a sustainable recreational activity, lead by people such as Bosman and others, mountain biking could hold the key to a partnership that yields successful conservation plans that are actually executed to the benefit of all users.
Bosman has been working over the last week or so on the Boomsland and Mamba trails, using specialist 3-D modelling to redesign them on his computer for a fast flowing ride, as opposed to the stumpy, rock-riddled route of yore.
Google Earth maps have been no good for terrain previously blocked by forest, but he found help in the form of Airmap, a company that does aerial surveying.
Their pre-programmed glider flew a set route shooting thousands of hires images later compiled into a massive photo-montage used to build a 3D model (accurate to 3cm!).
He works off this model, but two unplanned obstacles have threatened his digitally-laid plans: wind and water.
“While it was easy to design a trail in theory, the reality can be quite different, like when you come around a corner and a strong headwind pushes you back so you have to pedal down hill!”
Amendments have to be made to descent angles and ratios.
Now that the pine trees are not soaking up the rain water that seeps down the mountain, natural springs keep popping up where he is building. He has had to divert the streams or build wooden bridges to keep the trail flowing.
Tokai Trail Builders, which includes staff and machinery, used to be a voluntary system.
Two years ago they received a sizable private donation. This timeous assistance came as rapid growth in MTB made organised management crucial. The funding should sustain them until 2014 by which time a proper structure, including a fundraising component, should be in place.
“People just want to a place to ride their bicycles but they don’t always realise the work that goes on behind the scenes.”
TMNP are the curators of the park, but are guided by the expertise of SANBI (South African National Biodiversity Institute) and people like fynbos scientist Tony Rebelo. The Pedal Power Association represents the broader cycling community, which is also made up of groups and individuals from the downhill, cross country and enduro disciplines.
Then there are the nature lovers, the horse riders, the hikers and the dog walkers, to name a few people who are passionate about this small piece of paradise on the Constantiaberg.
Permission for the trail work has been agreed to in principle, but future plans hinge on a rationalisation process where Bosman needs to prove to TMNP the sustainability of the trails via a professional trail plot with aerial view. Apparently the PPA is going to pay for the rationalisation.
But a lot of things must happen before decisions are made about what tracks – old and still to be built – can stay.
“They can only do that after the logging is cleared and once they see what vegetation pops up, but the critically endangered species only come after fire, so controlled burns need to take place.”
Meanwhile, a lot of people have their 2 cents worth, negative and positive, about how the process should continue. Public forums, debates and trial by media create a lot of background noise to the core issues. Bosman hopes his work on the snake trails will excite people, and create a springboard for future harmony.
And you just thought it was a bit of fun on your bike? Peninsula this weekend. The laaities can expect some gruelling conditions with proper winter swell but light winds. See: facebook. com/ Billabong.South.Africa