1836 – second day of ninth expedition

Today we have planned to meet a legend of Dagda, an eighty year old strongman named Antons Ornicāns. I look in the map to find an interesting road to Dagda, so that our guest riders, motocross experts, don’t get bored. Muddy and ruined by pickup trucks, the road is unsuited for cars, but perfect for us. At the end of the road, not far from Dagda, a surprise awaits us- we have to cross river Asūnīca. There is a spot here where forest trucks go right across the river. There is, of course, an alternative- an old wooden bridge nearby, closed off with a chain, but crossing the river would of course be more adventurous. My experience with Latvian rivers makes me weary so I suggest that Dāvis should try crossing it by foot first. He is too lazy to take off his motocross boots and kneeguards, and the water isn’t that warm either. He enters the water on his ride. At first, only up to his wheel axles, then his wheels disappear under the water and his exhaust pipe is soon making bubbles. Too deep! Dāvis is in water to his waist, his ride chokes on water and stops in the middle of the river. Now he has to take it out of the river and bring it back to life. The water has got into the cylinder, we’ll have to take it apart. Dāvis and Renārs are not beginners in these matters and it takes only 40 minutes to get the ride back in order again.

We missed breakfast this morning. We eat everything that he only open cafe in Dagda has to offer. After the fight with the river and the mud, even the re-cooked potato pancakes are a delicacy for us and all of us want an extra portion. While waiting for the order, we call Antons Ornicāns. Antons is a world champion and eight-time Latvian champion in kettlebell lifting. At his age, he still participates in international championships and, in his age group, he often proves to be the best. People say of him- he once lifted a VW Golf, he puts hay rolls in the trailer by himself, he brought his own horse to the vet on his back, and he even brought his own house to Dagda. Who knows, maybe these are not just legends, we’ll try to see if they’re true. Antons picks up the phone while bringing hay from the field with his horse Dzintars [Amber, transl.]. We agree to meet on the road. We have brought a small liquor bottle for Antons and a pack of oats for his horse. Dzintars is very happy with his gift and eats the whole pack from our hands in a few minutes. He blinks at us with his wise-looking eyes. A human name suits him well [Dzintars is a human name in Latvia, transl.]. Antons complains that he has no financial support to go to competitions more often. He looks like he’s 65 at most, because of discipline, fresh air, clean food and exercising often. He invited us to his home. The guest room is literally shining with all the medals he has. At least a kilogram of medals is hanging in his chandelier. He also has a drawer full of trophies. Antons picks them up and confusion sweeps across his face because he can’t remember in which championships he got which. Apparently, his favourite prize is a polished bronze 17 kilogram kettlebell with his score engraved in it, as well as the federation president’s signature. He holds this kettlebell in his hands and doesn’t let. In his backyard, he demonstrates his abilities with it.

We return to Asūne where, in his workshop, the best trophy raid rider in Latvia, Vilnis Zeiza, greets us. Trophy raid is a no-compromise off-road vehicle competition that takes place in maximally difficult conditions. In Latvia, that usually means swamps and mud, but elsewhere it could also be mountain terrains. In short, the terrain is one where a person wouldn’t want to set foot on. This sport is getting more and more popular in Europe and in Russia. Vilnis takes part in these races with cars -prototypes- that he himself builds. Currently he is building his fifth prototype ‘Z5’ in his garage. Building a monster like this takes approximately a year. Vilnis doesn’t let us take photos of the whole of it, because every new model’s construction is kept in secret. His competitors are always woke but he tries to stay one step ahead of them.The precision and elegance in the aluminum frame and other details surprises us. It could as well be called an artwork, but he himself says that the most important thing is the vehicle’s performance.

Vilnis has years of motocross experience behind him. Fifty one year old Vilnis is in great shape, trains regularly and takes part in enduro races, mostly for his own joy. Vilnis takes us to his self-built improvised motocross track. We try it out. Vilnis also shows us a great enduro route through Asūne forest. We have to cross Asūnīcas river again. The river is more narrow here, but Dāvis later admits that he was very concerned about falling in for the second time in one day.

We have arranged to stay in a small guesthouse with a sauna next to Dagda lake. We have been exploring between Dagda and Asūne today. Dāvis has to take care of urgent matters at home, so its just the three of us now. Tomorrow we will explore a little more and then continue our journey on the Latvian border.