By Allison Kennedy
Photos by George Halmazna
 

When most folks sit in the comfort of their living rooms, watching footage from the annual Erzberg race, their first instinct isn’t to jump online and sign themselves up. But for Marty Halmazna, Erzberg looked both familiar and doable after years of racing off-road in Southern Alberta. Halmazna is currently dividing his time between self-promotion, arranging overseas logistics and training his butt off for the May 25th race. We caught up with Marty to find out just what is so tempting about Erzberg.

RXC: So, we hear you’ve signed yourself up for one of the toughest races on the planet, Erzberg?
Marty Halmazna: Absolutely.

Would you consider yourself crazy?
Yep, that’s pretty much the whole point.

When did you decide racing at Erzberg was a good idea?
I saw the 2005 video, and I thought, wow, that is so tailored for the terrain that I ride. When we ride out here, it’s very similar. A lot of our rides are way above the tree line, lots of shale and rocky trails. A lot of our races are just like that. I feel like I don’t have to prove myself in western Canada anymore, now it’s just basically international events. I’d like to do two or three a year for the next three to five years and see if I stack up to those big names out there.

So while some folks are watching the Erzberg video and thinking those guys are nuts, you saw it as a challenge?
Exactly, I saw it and I was like 'You know what? I can do that.' And I really like it that usually five percent or less finish the race. That to me is a challenge; I need to know if I am in that five percent. I’m sure luck plays a big role, so, this year, I’d like to just finish it. The following years after that, perhaps I can get better and better results to the point where I could podium.

Where are you riding in Alberta that is similar to Erzberg?
Anywhere, we have a big forestry reserve. There is a large area anywhere from the U.S. border all the way up to Sundry, Alberta where I ride. Definitely the southwestern portion of Alberta is rough.

Who do you ride with mostly?
Jared Thomas, he has won a lot of CMA national events, Shane Cuthbertson, Burt Petersen and Paul Petrin. We’ve been doing this kind of riding for years and years now, probably 14 years. Definitely that’s the elite portion of western Canada. A lot of us have started families, taken time off. I tried that but there are still things that I really want to do with the sport. I want to see how I stack up. A lot of the guys I am comparing myself to do this for a living: David Knight, Mike Lafferty. They do it for a living. I have to work eight hours a day, five days a week to support my habit and I want to see if I can ride with these guys.

How did you get started riding cross-country?
I grew up in Cochrane, Alberta and that’s how I met Jared Thomas, my close friend and best man at my wedding. We’ve been buddies every since. He was a local guy racing motocross. I was about 14 and my parents didn’t like idea of me riding a dirt bike. I did it anyway. I got a part time job after school, worked for about three weeks to be able to afford my first YZ80. As soon as I bought it, I got in touch with Jared. We hooked up and we’ve been joined at the hip ever since. We fell in love with riding. We were just riding in gravel pits, by the railroad tracks, beside the Bow River. We just rode and enjoyed it. Jared’s neighbour’s brother used to compete in the early 80s out here in cross-country. They invited Jared to check out an event, and he got to ride the trails in the mountains. As soon as Jared got back, he called me and said, “Oh my god. You have to see what is conquerable!” We were about 15 or 16 at the time. We got our parents to buy trucks and drag us out about a 40-minute drive to the forestry reserve and we started riding these trails. We just loved it; we were out there all the time. As soon as we turned 16 and we got our licenses, we both bought ourselves old Toyota pickup trucks. We got pretty good at it. Then Jared’s neighbour suggested we should try racing. So one weekend, we went to the ProAm challenge in 1992. We entered as Juniors and completely got our butts kicked. The race was two or three hours long. I think I finished in five hours. I came into the pits and never wanted to pick up a dirt bike again. Yeah, about two and a half hours later, Jared came rolling in. He hated it too.

But obviously you soldiered on. Tell me a bit about your accomplishments so far?
Well, in 2000 and 1999, I was the national cross-country champion at the pro level. In '99, I also won the Alberta Arenacross series for the plus 25 and 250 Intermediate classes. I won a silver medal at the 72nd ISDE in Italy in 1997. In 1996, I finished second in both the national and provincial championships at the pro level. In 1995, I won both the provincial and national intermediate titles and I did the same in the junior class in 1994.

If you combine all of that experience, I guess it doesn’t seem so crazy to imagine you watching Erzberg and thinking you can do it?
Absolutely. I basically woke up one morning and said people know what I can do here, I need to go and compare myself to the rest of the world. So I watched Last Man Standing and I was like, hmm ... this is good. Then I find out you have to get invited. Then I saw the Erzberg video, and Nitro Circus, and I was intrigued. Hill climbs, mountains, snow, muck, I know this, this is what I’m good at. I woke up one morning and said I’m not getting any younger and I need to go and do this. See what it’s all about and see what I’m capable of.

So, what are the logistics like?
It’s a real pain in the butt. I’m spending a few hours a day on the computer doing PR work. This is all completely on my own. When I decided to do it, I went on the Erzberg website, I thought about the cost and just decided I had to do it. I basically signed myself up and finally the other day, I got a confirmation from the race organizers. Show up on the 25th with your bike and come to survive. I’ve got a handful of sponsors and small donations.

Are you taking your bike or getting one overseas?
I just coughed up the money and bought a second motorcycle. DHL Courier gave me the best deal possible to ship it there. Crate X in Calgary, the owner's son is a motocrosser, so they have decided to donate a crate to me. Dave at A&E is getting me a bike and he’s trying to work with KTM Canada to get me a deal. I have a chiropractor friend who is helping me out. I am a foreman at a Toyota dealership, Charles Glen Toyota, and they are helping me out too. I feel really honoured that there are people here in Calgary backing me up. They just want to see me succeed. Snap on Tools, the salesman I know personally, has helped me out. Andy Bell, who finished Erzberg last year for the first time, has been great with information. Helping me with bike setup and stuff. They also set me up with some Ogio bags. I am so thankful for all the help I am getting. The Rocky Mountain Dirt Riders have also been a huge help.

So what are your expectations?
Well, the event isn’t very long, I think it’s 25 km. When we race here, we usually do a 35-km loop three times. I am at the point where I am training so hard, if I have to carry my bike 25-km, I will do so. I will be disappointed if I don’t finish but there is a lot of luck involved. If you can do the first two or three hill-climbs cleanly, you have a good chance of doing well. I have to go and race the course, not the big names. I’m sure looking forward to it and I am training like a bastard. Swimming, running, burning two tanks of gas on a big four-stroke and when I am tired, I go running again. I have basically until the 20th of May to be in the best shape I can be.

You are a brave man and good luck at Erzberg.
Thanks, I hope I will have followers who want to do this next year. A lot of my close friends are in for next year. I want to show the world that Canadians are not slouches, that we can ride and be on top of the world too.

Anyone who wants to help Marty get to Erzberg can email him at mhalmazna@yahoo.ca or check out www.rockymountaindirtriders.com/marty.shtml for more information.
For more information on the Erzberg race visit www.erzberg.at