I currently participate in triathlons, bicycle touring, running races, and some other outdoor activities - like the Angeles Crest Century, the ride that our bicycle club puts on. (It was rated by Bicycle Magazine as one of the 10 most difficult centuries in the country several years ago. 103 miles and ~11,000 feet elevation gain.) I've given up on some of the more exotic hobbies, like unicycle hockey and polo.
There is one thing that I do that deserves a mention. In 1997 we happened to be riding Route 66 through Arizona and passed through Oatman. Now for those of you who have been to Oatman, you know that it's motto is The Town that Refused to Die!. After I-40 opened and bypassed Oatman and the gold mines had closed, there wasn't any business base left - except for the wild burros that live in the Black mountains. So Oatman has survived on tourism and burros!
We were killing time in Oatman waiting for the temperature to drop so we could continue riding the bicycles without dying and heard that they were having their annual International Burro Biscuit Tossing Contest. Now, this is the kind of even that I love. Something totally different that you experience once or twice in your life. We walked down main street to the sign-in area.
I'm always amazed how adults like to get kids to participate in events that they refuse to try themselves. And so the burro biscuit tossing went. Parents eagerly signed up their children but when the kids pleaded with their parents to try, the adults refused. So we joined in and got some of the parents to give it a whirl. It wasn't a skill that most of us can claim to have developed - you just throw the biscuit the best you can and hope. Some of the kids were quite good, some of the biscuits got away and hit cars and unwary tourists, but it was all good fun.
This was truly an international event as my friend from Spain participated. We had 3 chances and we threw those biscuits as hard as we could. They don't weigh a lot, so they don't go too far. About 100 feet was good enough to capture first place for the women.
Not only was the event free to enter, but they gave out plaques to the first place winner in each division (boys, girls, men, women) *and* a nice prize. I won a black leather vest that was donated by one of the store owners. What a terrific surprise! My first place plaque (an old board with a gold painted burro biscuit attached) hangs proudly in my office at work, next to a picture of myself and the girl's first place winner .
I've already marked my calendar for next year. I'll return to Oatman to defend my title. If you happen to be in western Arizona around Labor Day, why not drop in and give the biscuit toss a go???
I ran my first marathon in 1997, L.A. XII, in memory of a very special friend who died in 1996. Jim had told me in June, 1995 that he wanted to run a marathon after he retired. He was only a couple of years away from retirement but I tried to persuade him not to wait. I even offered to train with him. As fate would have it, he was never able to achieve his dream.
I trained with the L.A. Road Runners and had an absolutely fantastic time running the marathon (much to my surprise as I had never been much for long distance running.) I only wish that Jim had been able to experience the same sense of accomplishment and emotion that I enjoyed after finishing. I know that the experience would have been something he would have valued.
After my first taste of a marathon, I've decided to continue. I ran L.A. again in 1998 and will continue to run marathons here and there for years to come.
In 1999, my good friend from England flew over to run the L.A. Marathon. It was her first marathon and even though our style and technique varied, we both crossed the finish line with the exact same time! Our 5:10:04 wouldn't break any records, but it was fun to run with someone during their first marathon.
And for the first time a member of my family ran as well. My brother, Allen, came out and ran his first marathon and did it in a fine time of 4:25:01! (Not that he felt he had to beat his sister's time or anything.) I was really proud of him and was glad that he ran such a good time. But just wait until next year...
the next L.A. Marathon is scheduled for March, 2001. If you live in Southern California or might be out this way, think about running or walking the marathon. Afterall, you'll get to see the city as you have never seen it before.
I have been known to attend track sessions with the Los Feliz Flyers. The runners are of all ages and abilities, though most of them are very fine runners. They workout at Caltech on Wednesday evenings.
This is a new sport for me. While I participated in my first dual sport ride in 1985, I didn't realize at the time that it had an official name. Since purchasing my first dual sport (offroad/street legal) motorcycle in 1997, I have discovered Team Dual Dogs and some Dual Sport email lists.
My current stable of motorcycles includes:
Now I need to learn how to ride offroad. It's been 11 years since I did any serious offroad motorcycle touring. That was in Cape York, Australia. Two-up on a Cagiva 350. (Talk about a trip to remember.) The nearest hospital was 500 miles away on dirt roads. We camped out among termite mounds that were taller than either of us. We drove through hoards of black flies and wildfires. We saw jabaru, kangaroos and wild bulls. We saw very few other travellers and rode the dirt track without a map. The rivers we crossed were crocodile haunts. We crashed so many times in the thick bull dust that I was certain we were going to end up "in hospital".
But we survived, as did the motorcycle. Gianpiero went on to ride the perimeter of Australia and write up the journey in an Italian Motorcycle magazine. (I have the article, but unfortunately, I can't read it.) And the memeories from that trip are with me. On the wall of my office I have a picture of the bike loaded with our gear parked by a gate across a dirt track. As a reminder that there are adventures to be had in life. Someday, I'll add a picture of my Honda decked out in its travel garb in some faraway place.
This topic includes sporting events in which the team I am on is composed of people with whom I work. The events have ranged from a relay marathon to a 250 mile race through the Mojave desert in June! If these things don't build teamwork, then I don't know what will. Even though we aren't out there to win, we are out there to have a good time. And we usually succeed at that.
I've really enjoyed these events and after reading the descriptions, you might find yourself organizing a team at your work...then again, maybe not.
