Erzberg Rodeo

Thanks, Fryguy. When are you going to do the Erzberg, so we can have someone to root for?

It is nice to see travis finally finished one. I hope someone makes a good dvd of this, that shows for racing, and less crappy music videos and nutball stff. Also interesting to see McGrath to finish in his first attempt.

OOOOOOOHHH CANADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Wow...I am so pumped that Marty the Party was able to do that well. He is an incredible rider and all I could think about this weekend was how he was doing over there. I was simply hoping that he would finish and not embarass himself. The fact that he finished 24th and was ahead of a boatload of big names makes us all proud to be Canucks.

Marty is the real deal and has a couple of Canadian Cross Country Championships under his belt. I spent 3 years chasing Marty and his best friend Jared Thomas (who also has several Pro CC & HS championships)every weekend through the woods just trying to keep up and not kill myself. They were Pros and I was an Intermediate and for some reason they would let me practice with them. I think they just like to see me in pain. I definitely owe any speed or skills I obtained to the hours I spent learning from guys like Marty, Jared, Dan Watt & a few others.

I called Jared this morning and asked how it felt to have his best friend and riding partner do that well. He was obviously pretty happy. He and Marty started riding together as kids and pushed each other to the point where they both earned championships and reputations for being among thes best in this country. Now Marty has shown that they are among the best in the world. Bravo!!

I also find it interesting that Marty seems to have meshed well with Pastrana, McGrath, Renner and Crew....doing a little playriding with them and going to eat with them, etc. Sweet.

If you read the the threads that Fry put the link to, it says that Ronnie Renner head butted Marty a couple of times while they were out for drinks?????? Renner must be one crazy little dude because Marty is a big lad (he looks the same size as David Knight in the picture of them together) and Renner is a tiny guy. What is it with little guys acting tough with great big guys?

I also see that 4 Husabergs finished the event out of 39 bikes. Erich Brandauer on a FE550 finished 12th and 3 others in 19th, 33rd and 34th. Brandauer finished right behind Travis Pastrana....whom I'm suprised made it through in one piece!

Great exposure for our favorite blue and yellow machines

i would think there will be an Erzburg torrent very shortly, i have last years and its amazing il post the link here when its available,,type bttorrent into google if you dont catch my drift.

Woa some amazing high resolution pics Here
just click text underneath for high quality.

Yes. I feel very fortunate that I was "allowed" to do the infamous lake ride once before I moved away from you hooligans. I was told to go away when I tried to tag along in previous years as they only took roughly 10 people on the ride and they were all Experts/Masters.

After earning marginal respect from them via a few top 3 finishes in Intermediate and countless weekends of "surviving" their normal trail rides, they let me go with them in 2001. Again, I think they liked to see me in pain but refusing to give up. :? Hmmm...Coffin as entertainment...seems like a common theme Fry?! Jared, Schell and others seemed to be somewhat supportive of my efforts to try and ride with them...Marty on the other hand was usually more annoyed with me and simply tolerated me...sometimes...and liked to give me a hard time when I crashed...which was too often when chasing those animals.

The conditions at that altitude (10,000 feet?) are very similar to what I see in the Erzberg pics, crazy up and down hills, ridiculous bolders, big ledges that you would have to work together to get the bikes up and over, etc. I think that many people would be shocked if they new just how "Erzberg" like many of the Cross Country races in Western Canada really are. Every race I ever attended there would be some Junior who was all pumped up before the race and then swearing to never ride off road again by the end.

I spoke with a few of the guys yesterday and it was clear that some of our elite riders in Canada view Marty's finish as validation that they truly are some of the best riders in the world. It is great for our sport and I know that there are a couple of serious riders that are all pumped up about doing Erzberg next year and some other events. Marty has definitely motivated these guys. Beautiful!

I can't wait to see which Canucks line up for the Vegas Endurocross and Last Man Standing this year. I am also looking forward to seeing how Shane C does at the New Zealand ISDE this fall.

Cheers

Looks like alot of fun. I love those adventure / survival type rides!
BTW, those rockpile sections are flat gnarly.

Fry...here is a pic in the clouds at the summit of the "Lake Ride". Have you gone on it before?


<~~~Hey, click me!!!!111one!

Nice to see some South Africans doing well, congrats to Lourens Mahoney on his 14th position. Darryl Curtis finished 5th, but missed a check point and looks like he might be scribbled.

So cool to see HUSABERGS, Husqvarna's, Beta's and Sherco's in top positions; the "exotics" as they are called in South Africa really battle with market perception and share over here. It's all KTM and Jap this side.

Interesting notes from Marty on Erzberg:

"Hey everyone.I am sore,my back,my neck,my ***,but I did it.I am happy that I finished.It was very hard.Picture the wettest Moose Mountain race Pissing rain and add 8 or 9 unclimbable hills,that you have to carry and push your bike up,3 or more per bike.the people i met and the experiences i have had are amazing and I have all you guys and girls to thank.I love my friends.
I had a terrable start,but first,I was 127th after the first prolog.Then I KEEP HER PINNED in the second prolog.I bettered my time by 11sec and 30 positions.So I was now 97th and in the second row.
I was watching the first row start and while they were climbing the first hill my back was turned.Bang...The gun goes off for my row.Well now I am in a big panic and I could not start my bike.I must have kicked it a dozen times,the third row was ready and waiting for the Canadian squid to get out of the way.Finally my bike lit up and i was off.I rode around the redbull can,first turn, and headed for the first of 6 big hill climbs out of the pit.I was ember rest and felt like a tool.OK now it was time to shine.There were bodies and bikes everywhere on the main lines on the hills,so I made my own.I told myself THERE ALL F*=;ED.My bike was pulling hard and my Rocky Mountain skills came out.By the time I had climbed the first 6 hills I was mid pack in the second row.I schooled all the hill climbs at Erzberg and the ones with lots of spectators I did them In style.I could now relax for a bit,but not long more road blocks ahead.
I passed McGrath I thing in the first hour and we decided to ride together and help each other.Carls Diner,it is hard,but not the hardest.Theres a section called "the roof of Africa"Holly sheet i was hitting the wall.It is like Carles Diner but uphill.Travis was at this section watching.He came running down to help me for a bit and then he went to help Jeremy.I pulled on Jeremy here because he ran out of gas.He told me to keep going.Oh Ya hows stupid idea was it for me to ride a sx 525 here,as specially with out a electric start.I got lot More to say but i am tired and i will see you all soon.Marty"

Marty's Erzberg posts

8O MY GOD do you belive the rock field there 8O 8O
what kind of shoes do you put on bike for that??

Wow reading Marty's post almost brought tears to my eyes. I remember Marty when he was a novice rider at Moose Mtn. working his way through the ranks. I think all canucks are very proud of him.

This is my first post so I have to say hi to Coffin. Nice to see you are not wrapped around a tree yet.
And thanks to Fryguy and Dan Watts for letting me ride the 450 and 550 at the Walts demo day. I could not sleep after riding your bikes. 8O So a week later I had a FE 450 in my garage. Only had 4 rides on it and am very impressed.

Welcome aboard Muskeg. I have kept an eye on your ice racing results over the last few years. Great to see your still chucking it sideways. I am very pleased that you picked up the FE450....I am certain that it will continue to make you grin.

I have been pretty good at avoiding trees....it is guard rail posts that I seem to have an issue with :roll:

Here is a link to some great Erzberg shots.

Cheers

Erzberg Photos

Anybody got a torrent for this? Would be great to see the video. I saw last years and it was great.

Thought some of you may be interetsted in this RacerX interview with Marty about his Erzberg adventure

RacerX Canada Erzberg article

Man that race sounds awsome. It sounds just like here.
A dirtbike buddy in need is helped even if you are racing
against him. A show of hands, who would like to go there
just to ride those trails \/
Earl

p.s. Congrats Marty.. roosting for better next year!!
haha get it roosting!!! okok I'll quit