Posts Tagged ‘Conrad Stoltz’
Stoltz Racing’s 1st XTERRA training camp…
“It was a dark and stormy night…”
No, just kidding!
“It was a bright and sparkly morning… Six of us – all friends and family- got together for a little informal XTERRA training camp on our farm near Lydenburg, Mpumalanga. Uh, thats South Africa.
These guys are all relative newbies to sport. Sorry Gustav- rugby (even provincial rugby) is still a “game”:) Over the past few months while I was in the US I have been peppered with training questions, equipment questions, diet questions, I instructed on converting tires to tubeless and I even ferreted some Suunto t6 watches out from the US. These guys had a thirst for knowledge even the Encyclopedia Britannica couldnt quench. So once I landed on the farm they were onto me, and we had this fun impromptu training camp. It went so well, we’ll have some more in the future. (MTB camp end of Feb 09) Check www.StoltzRacing.com shortly
L to R: Gert Stoltz (aka Tarzan)- also my dad. Werner van der Merwe, Johan Pieterse, me (aka Caveman), Shelly van der Nest, Gustav Klingbiel.
I did quick bike fits, suspension tune ups, lectured on tires (a dangerous topic!) and helped one person put their
York Timbers Sabie Experience mountain bike race. 2008
I just got back on the farm after riding 3 of the 4 days of Sabie Experience. Sabie is only 80km from our farm and when my good friend (and Specialized Factory team damager) Bobby Behan said we were invited to ride, we couldnt say no. Despite still being in the midst of “ice cream and beer season”.
Turns out were were guests of Ian van der Walt and his newly formed DCM racing team. What a fun group of characters. After 3 days of hanging with these guys my voice box hurt more than my legs. Not they they are slow – its just that the amount and intensity of chatting, cajoling and prank playing was significant.
Bobby Behan visits our farm
Bobby in our driveway.
We started in groups of 4. I’m on the red and black Honda. (Yes, the guy in the back!) The guy next to me on the far right, Willie “die Lem” (The Blade) won, and I finished 2nd. The guy on his back wheel crashed about half way through while in 2nd. He had a 2 inch thorn in the back of his hand- not sure if that’s CAUSED the crash or if it was BECAUSE of the crash.
I did my 1st Enduro dirt bike race today. Wow, what an experience! I grew op riding dirt bikes on our farm, but when I turned 16, and became really serious about triathlon, I sold the bike. (Also needed the money to buy a “faster” bicycle.) So the last 18 years I told myself “the day I retire from triathlon racing, I’ll buy a dirt bike again. But last year, after winning Xterra World champs, I thought: “Screw it, I cant wait anymore! You only live once.” I bought the perfect bike: a 2005 Honda CRF 450 X. The previous owner rode it a few times, crashed really hard, got scared and became a motivated seller….
Fun flying memories from earlier this year.
I know “fun” and “flying” is an oxymoron nowadays, but this was the best flight of the year. My flight from Kona to Maui. Andrew the pilot is trying to squeeze 1x XL Specialized bike box and 1x XL Tri All 3 Double case into those small little bins under the belly of this “plane”. I’m grinning like a fool. (note the flying shoe box on the runway behind me)
Since I got to South Africa last week, I have been struggling to get on top of my emails & computer work- mostly because I didnt have email for a week.
Click here for PACIFIC WINGS. The best commercial flight I’ve ever been on…
