CycloPlus Dealer Tour
Episode 3
#WeVisit Oudtshoorn Fietse
On the 1st of April 1997 (No Joke!) Essie Esterhuyse opened Oudtshoorn Fietse. During our time in his shop, Oom Esterhuyse told us a little bit about how he landed up in the ostrich capital of the world.
Born on a farm outside of the Eastern Cape farming community of Aberdeen, he spent much of his childhood in the Free State after his father bought a plaas. His memories of those early years are drowned out by the area’s depressingly flat landscape … “die land was te plat vir my!“
After escaping the mielie fields of the Free State, Worcester would be his home for 25 years. Essie roars with laughter when describing how he inadvertently swapped his flat surroundings for the howling winds that blow through the Breede Valley. Unable to bear the torrents of air ripping through the valley he decided to trek to Oudtshoorn where has lived happily for the past 21 years.
Essie’s first love is road cycling, which is clearly evident with this awesome IBM Lotus Supercycling Team poster dating back to 2001 … who can identify the riders?!
Essie Esterhuyse
On the day we visited, it just so happened that Oom Esterhuyse’s mechanic Andre Olckers was sick at home. Not wanting to compromise the workshop’s output, Andre arranged for his brother, Jacques (above) to step in and cover for him. Luckily for Andre and Jacques, we had T-shirts and caps for both of them!!
While tyres, bearings and cranksets are popular, Oudtshoorn Fietse’s best seller is the CycloPlus rear derailleur.
CycloPlus is proud to supply quality parts to dealers like Essie Esterhuyse.
Commissioned by Rush Sports.
