The massive Cape fires in early March forced the Cape Town Cycle Tour to dramatically shorten its route, devastated homes, caused untold destruction to the Cape’s precious fauna. Although the fynbos will grow back the damage to the pine plantations and the mountain biking trails in them are to us, as mountain bikers, nearly as devastating, so we asked Table Mountain Biker’s Robert Vogel to fill us in on the true scope of the destruction. Photos by Justin Sullivan and Andrea Nixon.
I woke up on Sunday morning having to complete a four hour training ride. Listening to the SE blowing outside, I lay there, wondering where I could go to avoid the wind. My go-to option would be cycling along the coast, over Suikerbossie and Chappies and then head up Ou Wapad to Silvermine, Tokai, Constantia, Newlands, Rhodes Memorial and back home via the Blockhouse.
Little did I know that 24 hours later the cycling landscape in Cape Town would change forever. The fire in the South Peninsula was already burning out of control when I got hack home, but I had decided to change my route on the fly and ducked into Hout Bay and then into Upper Constantia. I was riding in the trees and didn’t see the smoke until I got to the Blockhouse.
“Another fire,” I commented to myself as I headed home, thinking that it would be under control by the evening.
Flash forward two weeks and we’re left with total devastation, thousands of hectares in TableMountainNational Park and Jonkershoek has been pretty much destroyed. The fire in the Southern Peninsula ripped through the mountains above Muizenberg, Ou Kaapse Weg, Chapman’s Peak, HoutBay, and Tokai; while the Jonkershoek fire consumed most of the Jonkershoek valley and moved over the mountains into Lourensford Estate to the south and reached as far as the StellenboschUniversity campus in the north.
As mountain bikers, our immediate question was, “What happened to the trails?” The Cape Town fire was put out about a week ago and the Jonkershoek fire was still smouldering in places, at the time of writing. It’s too soon to get definitive answers from the likes of SANParks, CapeNature and CapePine. Everyone is still counting the cost of the damage caused. The burnt trees represent millions of rand in lost revenue for CapePine. The priority now is to recover as many of the viable pines as possible and mountain bike trails must be the last thing on their priority list. Ironically, CapePine tree-fellers were busy harvesting in the Tokai plantation when the fire moved across the mountain, into the area. And as Full Sus has already documented CapePine had made the decision that there was going to be no more replanting of pines as the area, the plan was (/is) for the slopes above Tokai to be returned to its natural, fynbos covered state.
The priority for SANParks and CapeNature is to make sure the environment begins its recovery process without being disturbed by feet and tyres. Only once the areas are safe and regenerating will cyclists and other users be allowed back into the affected areas.
For mountain bikers living in Cape Town, “losing” Tokai and Silvermine comes as a massive blow. More than half of the legal cycling network has been lost for the foreseeable future. A media release from SANParks talks about some areas being closed for six to twenty four months. As cyclists we can only hope and pray that the trails can be rebuilt sooner.
To be fair to everyone concerned, definitive timelines can’t be given so soon after the fire has been put out. We need to step back and let the landowners and leaseholders get their heads around what happened here. This applies to both Tokai and Jonkershoek.
The Tokai trails have seen a lot of use over the years and the hard work a small group of dedicated volunteers put into those trails was hardly keeping up with the wear and tear of thousands of cyclist riding every month. The guys looking after Tokai had just started working with a group from the government’s Extended Works Programme and were training them up to assist with the maintenance of the Tokai trails. Then came the fire!
But, all is not lost!
Mountain Bikers are a hardy bunch of guys and girls and I firmly believe that there are a lot of opportunities lurking amongst the burnt debris.
Fynbos needs to burn to regenerate and a large area in the SouthPeninsula had not burnt for close on 15 years. The slate in Tokai has been wiped clean, so to speak. The Tokai MTB committee have a trail vision for Tokai and Silvermine which required the area to be rid of pines and allowed to regenerate itself. This process has been fast forwarded by the fire. We are already seeing plants popping their heads out of the ashes. These now need time to grow and establish themselves in order to bind the soil together and stabilise the area. SANParks will monitor Tokai closely to determine which areas are ecologically sensitive and which ones not. This will determine where and when a new network of trails can be built.
This is the rationalisation process discussed so often before the fire. Cyclists were asking when the process would start, how long would it take, what would the outcome be, would we lose trails, could we build new trails or would we be confined to the existing network?
The fire has effectively made this process tangible. Even if Tokai was safe to enter right now, it would make no sense (to me) to start rebuilding what was there before. Let the earth heal itself after the trauma of fire and the abuse suffered at the hands of water-sucking pines.
SANParks have chosen to restore the area to its original state and there is merit in that. As cyclists we should respect this process and most riders I’ve spoken to are more than happy to ride a flowing single track amongst the proteas and silver trees.
We have seen from previous fires on TableMountain that fynbos recovers quickly and with some good, soaking winter rains, we could be looking at greenery in November already.
Other Riding Options
In the meantime, we deal with the reality that our trail network has been severely reduced. The trails on the slopes of TableMountain are essentially a network of jeep tracks with a smidgen of single track in the Rhodes Memorial area. That’s pretty much all that is left within TableMountainNational Park.
The reality is that local cyclists will head out into the surrounding areas and the incidences of rogue riding will increase. If you’re a Tokai local, the Constantia greenbelts become very tempting. Look a little further and there’s CeciliaForest. But both are off-limits to cyclists.
Most of us don’t just ride on weekends, we like to head out for a quick ride before or after work. Getting into your car and heading over to Meerendal or Contermanskloof, for instance, is not viable. You’ll spend more time in traffic than on the trails.
As the ash settles over Tokai and Jonkershoek and the authorities have gotten to grips with the issues at hand, groups like Ace of Spades and Tokai MTB will step up their engagement with CapeNature, SANParks and CapePine. The reality is that the wheels of progress turn slowly when you deal with parastatals, but they do turn. The majority of the mountain biking community get it and will take their lead from the groups that have stuck their necks out and are prepared to do the hard yards. There is however always a minority who don’t have the patience to wait and through their selfish desire to ride wherever they please, when they please, they pose a real risk to the process of rebuilding the trails.
While spades can’t be stuck in the ground for now, there is still work to be done. Guys and girls want to keep riding and they’re going to end up riding where they shouldn’t. Table Mountain Bikers has been speaking to the FOCGB (Friends of the Constantia Greenbelts) since last year about the possibility of opening up some of the trails to cyclists. There must be hundreds of cyclists living in close proximity to the greenbelts, frustrated by the fact that they can’t ride there. With Tokai being closed, that “itch” to ride the greenbelts will grow and the temptation will get too big to resist. The FOCB are supportive of the idea, but the process has to be managed carefully and one has to consider the concerns of the current user groups in the area.
Illegal cycling in Cecilia Forest has been an issue for many years and will probably spike now that Tokai is closed. The challenge will be to both try and dissuade cyclists from riding illegally, and manage the situation alongside SANParks. Cyclists are full of good ideas and convincing reasons, why they should be allowed to share trails with other user groups. But on the ground sharing trails hasn’t always worked out harmoniously…
So for mountain bikers in Cape Town, getting Tokai and Jonkershoek up and running again is an absolute priority.
Who can blame them? Especially in Cape Town, we have so little legal access to trails and even less to real singletrack. If we had 8km in total, then that’s a lot. After losing Tokai, I think the singletrack length has dwindled to a kilometre. A single kilometre of singletrack!
Will the authorities share our sense of priority? I don’t know. Will other user groups be willing to share their space with us? I’d like to believe so.
The fires have affected so many of us who love to be out in nature. Whether we’re riding a bike, taking a hike, running or just walking our dog with the kids, we all share the same appreciation for our environment.
Tokai will come back better than ever. Jonkershoek too. We just have to be patient.
Love the mountain. Ride the mountain. Respect the mountain.
Ace of Spades Update
I spoke to Bennet Nel, the trail manger in Jonkershoek yesterday (Friday the 13th of March) and while he is obviously shocked by what happened, he is cautiously optimistic at the same time.
The trails will be closed for the next few weeks, Bennet says. Roads need to be rebuilt so that Cape Pine can go in and take out viable trees and clean up the mess left by the fire. Once this has happened, the time may be appropriate to discuss the future of the trails.
Trail Updates
For official updates on the status of the trails please visit the following landowners’ websites:
Cape Pine: www.capepine.co.za
Cape Nature: www.capenature.co.za
SANParks: www.sanparks.co.za
Or follow them on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates:
Cape Nature: Cape Nature 1 &@CapeNature1
SANParks: SANParks – Table Mountain National Park&@SANParks
To read the official SANParks statement on the closing of Tokai and Silvermine to all recreational activities scan this QR code.
If you’d like updates on the rebuilding process or would like to help physically or financially when the time comes please get in contact with the following organisations:
Table Mountain Bikers
Email: ride@tablemountainbikers.co.za
Twitter: @TableMTB
Facebook: Table Mountain Bikers
Stellenbosch Trail Fun
www.stellenboschtrailfund.co.za
Email: Louise Ehret at ehret@telkomsa.net
Facebook: Stellenbosch Trail Fund
Bios:
Robert Vogel is one of the founding members of Table Mountain Bikers and is a strong advocate for building a conscientious cycling community on and around Table Mountain. He believes that more riders on the mountain should lead to greater safety for all recreational users of the mountain. Follow him on twitter at @TableMTB.
Justin Sullivan is a Cape Town based photographer and the director of Communications at Treasure Karoo Action Group, the NPO aimed at stopping fracking in the Karoo. His goal is to get a photo on the cover of National Geographic one day. Follow him on Twitter at @JuzSullivan
