I strolled past a high end cycle shop the other day on my
daily (sometimes twice daily) walk
around the office park complex where I work. Now, I’m not one to spend time in
bike shops; I actually spend as little time in them as possible. Not that I
have anything against bike shops, it’s just that looking at equipment and
“talking shop” doesn’t really interest me. But I couldn’t help but notice the display
of brand new, gleaming road bikes on display outside.
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| Hennie Wentzel is still competitive using a no-nonsense approach to equipment. |
Upon glancing at the retail price, I was quickly reminded at
how costly sport as recreation has become. These complete road bikes retailed
at R35999-00 each, and they weren’t even top the range models. I reckon the
wheels alone would cost upwards of R10000-00 per set. This got me thinking
about how much I value old things and the sentimental value of those various
pieces of sporting equipment.
Take cycling for instance. How many cyclists do you know that still patch their punctured tubes? Not many I suspect. During my teens, I regularly cycled with guy of world-class athletic ability that patched and re-used every single tube that was repairable. He would re-use these repaired tubes until the fourth or fifth patch and then hang them in his garden shed for other uses such bungee cords and tow ropes. He even cut up his old wetsuit to make better elbow pads for my “aero” handlebars, while pondering exactly which adhesive would stick the best to aluminum.
When I was in high school, the father of a fellow pupil was
(and still is) an avid cyclist. Given his unusual working hours, he would often
cycle past our school at 10am on his daily trip around the Cape Peninsula on his then
new Cannondale SR500
complete with down tube shifters and original Look pedals. He
also had one of the original Cannondale mountain bikes and rode in Le Coq Sportif cycling kit
and a Roamer cycling helmet, which were fashionable in South Africa at the time.
Needless to say that over two decades later, he still rides the same bike in
the same kit and is just as fast as he was back then.
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| Equipment may have changed, but this guy hasn't. |
The local “wannabe pro’s”
in their white cycling shorts and gold shoes are often forced to eat humble pie
as they see his dust in the various hilly races in the Western Cape. Before one
race, he was asked exactly what those metal things
on his frame were used for.
I still have a pair of Asics racing shoes that my mother
bought for me in 1994. After seeing these running shoes advertised on special
in the morning paper, we drove through to Lemkus Sports that afternoon paying
R79.95 for these orange beauties. They are the one pair of running shoes that I
have held on to over the years, mainly for sentimental reasons. A competitive
running friend of mine was horrified that I was still racing 10km road races in
them some three years later, but I wasn’t fussed.
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| My beloved Ascis racing shoes, still going strong almost 20 years after purchase. |
Over the years, I’ve worn
them while painting houses, working on roof tops, gardening etc. Earlier this
year, I actually used them in a cross-country race, some eighteen years after
purchase. Given that this particular race was held over soft grass and sand
dunes, I figured that their lack of cushioning wouldn’t be an issue for my
legs. And they weren’t. I’ve since resolved to put them away for those sandy
races in 2013, in between gardening jobs of course.
There is this guy who has worked in the Simonstown dockyard his
whole life. Living in nearby Fish
Hoek, he runs to and from work rain or shine in a pair of old Adidas
running shoes carrying a 1970s style tog bag. In summer, he runs shirtless
sporting a pair of rugby shorts; winter time means he bundles himself up in an
old surfing T-shirt.
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| A bag is a bag after all. |
Cape Town has a few second hand sports shops, the most
famous being Replay Sports in
Claremont. Any aspiring sports person could easily kit themselves in this shop
out at a fraction of the price anywhere else. In fact, one of the most profound
quotes I read was that of a world champion duathlete, who was asked if he still
had the same passion for the sport given his new found fame and notoriety. He
replied that he would still be doing the sport even if all he had was a bike
and an old pair of running shoes. As if to validate this quote he once
participated in a small town race on a borrowed bike with makeshift tri-bars
constructed from hosepipe!
