Category: #ThrowbackThursday
My first knobbly tyre bike
My “Knoppebandefiets.”
The plate number was the right one all along!
I was a rabid cyclist at the age of 5. It was the year 1979 and it was Christmas.
Santa (my dad minus the Santa costume) wheeled in the most amazing bike I had aver laid eyes upon- in fact, it was a little motorbike. Minus the engine.
It was black with yellow plastics: Mud guards, a number plate, (#1) even a little bottomless petrol tank. The suspension was HUGE. (ok, I was 5) Double coil springs in the rear and the front end looked JUST like a “Scrambler”. Except, after a few
#TBT Caveman catches air at XTERRA Milwaukee 2005
XTERRA Milwaukee was one of my favourite XTERRAs of all time. Right in the middle of the city build by beer loving Germans, and stunning, rough and ready bike & run courses.
This year was insanely hot and humid – you can see I’m glowing like a ripe tomato, with top rolled up to get more ventilation. To manage the heat exhausted athletes at the finish, the city parked a huge double decker city bus with Aircon running flat out to cool cooked athletes down.
The 2nd year was pouring with rain, we had a duathlon and I crashed really hard- 3 times
Cant believe how far bike design has come in 10 years! The 2005 Specialized Sworks Epic was aluminium, the new Brain shock was on the seat stay, no Brain in the fork, bars were narrow, shoes were modified XC shoes (I cut the tongues out) and Mavic was the best wheels around. (Now we have Roval wheels)
Monster Burger Eat and Run World Champs -flashback from 2005
Caveman & Matt Lieto tackles the 1st leg of the World Monster Burger Eat and Run Champs
Pilot Butte Restaurant, Bend, Oregon, 2005
Each contestant has 30 minutes to eat:
1) The 18oz Pilot Butte Burger. (with all toppings) For the Civilized World – 18oz means 510.34873grams. That’s just the meat patty!
2) Medium fries
3) Large milkshake of your choice.
30 minutes after the start of the Eating Challenge, the Hill Run takes place. (From Pilot Butte Restaurant to top of Pilot Butte)
First on top of the Butte with all of the above mentioned items intact, wins. (This rule will be changed for next years contest, as
Caveman tries to remember Durban Ultra Triathlon 1994 #ThrowbackThursday
The year was 1994. In a time before the internets. The year Apartheid crumbled. The year I had “Mark Allen hair” Nowadays its called a mullet.
“Ironman” was nothing but one race on a more-distant-than-the-moon volcanic island full of “Scotts” or, closer to home, “Ironman” was a Boere style triathlon: 20km K1 paddle, 120k bike, run around Harties- dominated by hard hard men with tough names like Rockley and Bester.
To us, the “Durban Ultra” was the pinnacle of endurance triathlon. 4k ocean swim with sometimes huge swell,
How on earth did we survive our youths?! #ThrowBackThursday
“What do you mean protective gear?!”
Its about 1987, I’m 14 years old. On a bored out two stroke YZ 125, I tore through dongas, thorn bushes, streams and my home made MX course- wearing nothing but worn out Nike Pegasus, PT short, T shirt and Open helmet & goggles. And a “This is awesome!” grin.
Not sure how I made it safely to (sort of) adulthood. As I near parenthood, I’ve heard people talk about “babies bounce”, but in hind sight, if I can help it- rather safe than sorry. Or as we modern bike riders say: “Dont dress for the ride, dress for the fall…”
A life time later- my dad and I crossing rivers (but not tearing through dongas and thorn bushes) on our
