Presenting your host for the weekend, Graham ‘Tweet’ Bird. He successfully avoided army training and kan nie die taal praat nie, but Mr Vasbyt has spent 15 years breaking path to the Adventure Race podiums in 26 ish full length expedition races and uncounted shorter ones, largely as captain of the well known Merrell team. Top level paddling dominated his earlier life, bikes were always present and hard trekking just came naturally but expert navigation is his hard earned skill.
Like most experienced athletes who have built a life around their sport, Tweet is eager to see more people lose some toenails, gain some perspective and realise their unlimited potential. However, he’s getting on a bit, starting too many sentences with “When we..” and muttering like an old git something about the soft little cats of today who have such a big wall around their comfort zone that they don’t even know what’s on the other side. This grumpiness hides his genuine desire to constantly scale those walls and help others clamber over too.
One goal with VASBYT 36 is to get the younger athletes with potential exposed to the tougher international standard of racing so that one day we will welcome home World Champions. Another is to have the older billy goats fired up again with enthusiasm for a bit of suffering. Because they know so well the rewards of it.
VASBYT really is a passion project for Speadsheet Tweet. He is an obsessively organised accountant, and event organiser but his heart is forever wandering around the mountains. (Where he is renamed Tiger Line Tweet and if you’re following, you’d be advised to wear your long pants)
Nzuri, the Little Brown Dog so familiar to many runners at our events has almost as many names and has eaten almost as much trail food. And she’s about as grumpy when she’s not outside.
More info at http://vasbyter.co.za
Next up WHY is VASBYT 36?