Chairman’s message: Baakens Bash & Trail upkeep
Battle of the Bikes: Inter Provincial MTB event
FatTracks AGM 2023, Chairman’s Report
Dear members,
As the year starts to wind down, I wanted to update you on some of the things that the committee has been working on, including the much-needed trail repairs and maintenance.
Let me start by saying that I believe we are all grateful for the incredible rains that we have had recently, and for our dams to be overflowing! We can only sing praises for it! It is wonderful, just wonderful!
But, at the same time we also want our trails to be in good shape for riding!
Trail repairs and maintenance
Sadly, the trails have suffered a lot of damage due to the rains, and we have a lot of repair work to undertake. I have been feeling a lot of pressure to try to keep up with the maintenance and repairs, but I was grateful to be reminded by my committee members that we are mountain bikers!
No matter the state of the trails, we overcome and navigate the terrain until it is repaired. They reminded me that we need to eat this elephant called ‘repairs’ in small bites.
Trail builders
Over the last few months, we have also had to work with an HR specialist to manage some employment legalities regarding the legal status of our trail maintenance workers. I will not go into details here, but please feel free to chat to me when we see each other on the trails.
To help stay on top of the trail maintenance requirements, and to protect the club from potential legal issues, we are now piloting some private contractors for this work. We will keep you updated as we move forward.
Sponsor a crossing
FatTracks’ only income is through annual memberships, and generous sponsorships from local businesses. The majority of this income goes towards trail maintenance, and organizing our annual events.
To help cover the costs of ongoing maintenance and repairs, we are appealing to the MTB community as well as all those who make use of the trails, including walkers and runners, to help contribute towards the upkeep.
We are proposing that individuals, businesses or organizations ‘adopt’ a section of trail, or a stream crossing, and this adoption will be commemorated with signage. Currently, one of our river crossings/gabions has been adopted by a company that wishes to remain anonymous, however, they do take responsibility for the costs of maintaining that crossing.
If you are interested in adopting a section of the FatTracks trails, please chat to me anytime.
Baakens Bash 2023 – 19 November
After the Baakens Bash was rained out earlier this year, we postponed it to 19 November – just a month away!
Due to the condition of the trails, and the fact that we don’t want to cause further damage, we are going to change up the format of the event. It will still take place, but in a way that protects the trails and the riders from injury!
It will be a fun-filled family event, so please save the date! We will see you on 19 November.
Thank you once again to our members for your continued support,
We are looking forward to the last few months of the year!
Kind Regards, Pieter
