Equipment Outfitters

The living area of the motorhome tends to be built around the front end of the vehicle — the engine needs to be accessible from various angles for servicing, and one of these may be from inside the cab. Access to the cab is made easier by the fact that there is already a side entrance, and in these cases access to the driver’s seat will be via the living area. Some cabs do not depart much from their industrial origins and access here is gained via an ordinary door on each side. Depending on the country of origin, many imported motorhomes have the steering wheel and door on the ‘wrong’ side for South African roads. While this is not illegal, it does mean that the driver will have to make allowances for restricted vision. If you don’t like the idea, rather buy a locally made vehicle. Read the rest of this entry »

I doubt many people would argue that triathlons are not grueling tests of an athlete’s physical conditioning and mental toughness. For the unfamiliar, triathlons are events where competitors face off in a combination of swimming, biking, and a running race. Triathlons vary considerably from venue to venue. The original triathlon and the triathlon most deserving of the word extreme is the Ironman, an event that draws the world’s top triathletes from 75 countries to Hawaii each year in October.

What makes the ironman the most extreme triathlon is not its distance—many world class triathlons have similar distances—it is the weather. Temperatures, with highs averaging 88°F (31°C) and humidity Levels between 40-85 per cent, are sometimes accompanied by 60 mph (97 kph) winds. Athletes can expect to endure conditions that make this one event more torturous than most. Read the rest of this entry »

Skateboarding Stunt and Cruiser

Mounted to every deck is a set of “trucks.” Trucks are the steering and axle assemblies on which two wheels are mounted. Trucks are available in a variety of widths. Skateboards all have four wheels, two on the front trucks, two on the rear trucks. Wheels are available in a wide array of widths and diameters, and also in different compounds. Compounds vary by their hardness and traction. Generally, harder wheels offer less traction than softer wheels. Each skater has their own preference when it comes to wheel size and compound.

There are two basic types of skateboards: stunt boards and cruiser boards. Stunt boards are designed to be agile and easy to throw around when performing tricks. Stunt boards are either “old school” or “new school” designs and are used to skate street and vert. Old school boards are wide with longer, wider tails than tips. New school boards are narrower and with symmetrically shaped tips and tails, however their tips are longer than their tails. Old school boards generally use wider trucks than new school boards. Cruiser boards are a lot longer than stunt boards, and tend to use wide trucks for added stability and tracking at speed. Read the rest of this entry »

Traveling down a snow-covered 60-degree slope at an excess of 125 mph (200 kph) on a skis is without question extreme. In fact, the 150 mph (240 kph) record for speed skiing was recently established. Is there any doubt that riding a mountain bike down that very same slope and seeking to achieve that very same speed is extreme too?

Over the past few years, downhill mountain bike racers have been pushing the limits of speed on specially outfitted mountain bikes, and have already broken the 125 mph threshold. The bikes are fitted with special aerodynamic fairings and tires modified with large spikes to grip the snow and ice-covered surface as they accelerate to maximum velocity before racing through a speed-trap zone (a timed distance that determines the official speed established by the rider). Read the rest of this entry »

Swimming into the deepest reaches of the ocean is a feat that many divers have experienced to a degree. Some may go below 200 feet (60m), others deeper. All would be lost without the air they bring with them. There is a special breed of diver who can go deeper than most, without air tanks. These freedivers have pushed the limits of unassisted breathing dives to below 400 feet.

Tofreedive to depths of even 50 feet (15m) is an unsettling prospect for all but the strongest swimmers. To dive much deeper requires holding a breath for minutes. In fact, the world’s best freedivers hold their breath for periods that rival many marine mammals. Read the rest of this entry »

Blisters

Blisters are the bane of outdoor people and as with most problems, prevention is far better than cure.

Break your boots in until they are completely comfortable and always wear well-washed, well-fitting socks. Pamper your feet, keeping the nails trim, the feet clean and the socks dusted with powder. Hot feet blister more easily than feet in dry, cool socks.

If, or rather, when, you get a blister, act as follows: At the first sensation of an imminent blister, or a ‘hot spot’ on the foot, remove the boot and sock. If the skin is merely red and tender, cut a square of ‘Moleskin’ and cover the area, which may prevent further trouble. Read the rest of this entry »

I first met Ed many years ago during a fishing trip to the streams of the Western Cape: I had spent a long day on the upper Elandspad River with two friends and was making my way downstream when I happened across two anglers fishing a quiet run on the bend of the river. One waved me a cheerful greeting as I walked behind through the bush, giving them ample berth to continue their upstream angling. These two anglers, it later transpired, were Ed Herbst and Tony Biggs’s late son, Damon. Though we did not meet officially that day on the Elandspad River, I followed Ed’s writings with interest. His experiments with artificial flies interested me because he was forever importing unusual fly-tying materials to try in his patterns. To me, Ed is the Gary LaFontaine of South African fly-tying, and I believe that in the Xmas Xaddis he has developed a patternthat will come to be regarded as an African fly-fishers.

The Xmas Xaddis, like many successful South African dry flies, evolved on the fast, tumbling mountain streams of the Western Cape. Ed says the pattern is a combination of existing facets of fly design and two new materials - Cactus Chenille and nylon organza - which, when incorporated into a dry fly, significantly enhance its appeal. Read the rest of this entry »