Dave Worth
2009
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August, 2009 Wow. We graduated 35 years ago and I remember my graduation speech like it was yesterday. I remember I couldn’t get my left knee to stop tweaking back and forth. I thought no one would notice under my graduation robe but Ray Downs (may he rest in peace) mentioned how entertained he was by it. Speaking of Ray, I went to his memorial service in April up in Washington. Lots of ASIJ characters there. Ki Nimori and John Tanner spoke, and Gary Fish and many others were in attendance. But the really weird thing was that Vicky Downs was doing what she does best, being the most gracious hostess on the planet. She had a story for everyone there and oh yeah; the weird part is that she is now my age. How did that happen? I am flying around the U.S., Canada and Mexico these days in an Airbus. I have lost so much seniority that I don’t even have a schedule. I’m just on call so it is hard to predict where I’ll be. Mata atode!
July, 2009 Hi everyone in cyberspace! I think most of you know that I signed up for the Seattle to Portland bicycle ride and by now you may be wondering 1) has it happened and 2) I wonder why we haven’t heard from Dave? Maybe he quit after a mile or so and hitchhiked home. Or perhaps he bonked at mile 18 and is still lying in a blackberry thicket in fetal position. Well, I’m happy to report that everything went just great. I drove up to Kirkland on Friday with my bike in the van and had a great time with Monica and family. Got up early (4 am) and made pancakes and mixed up my various electrolyte solutions and fuel for the ride. Parked the van at the start line and took off. I had been warned that everyone goes out too fast, only to regret it later in the day. Absolutely beautiful day in what we call "God’s country"- sunny, low humidity and a high for the day of 82. I remember passing the first Starbucks (about 1 mile into the ride) and lots of people were pulling over to stop. Hmmm, I thought – these people are serious about not being serious. After I rode through the first food and water stop, I realized that I wasn’t even warmed up and could pick up a little. The thing about having a ride with 10,000 total riders is that no matter what your pace or how seriously you wish to take it, you have company. I found that when I got in to a groove there were always people drafting behind me, which was new stuff to me. I learned that the most important thing when drafting is to keep a steady speed. This is easier these days as everyone has some form of computer or at least a speedometer. By mile 60 I was into uncharted territory as I had never ridden that far before, but I felt good. IO passed many riders wearing U.S. Marine Corps bicycle shorts and riding a $10,000 carbon fiber bike. I arrived at Centralia about one and a half hours earlier than I was counting on to a misting of water. We also were handed food items and hydration drinks. I found my tent (it was put on a truck at the start line) set it up, took a shower and then got to the business of eating as much as I wanted. After all, I was told, you are eating for two (days that is). I woke up to rain which made putting the tent away a little bit of a challenge, but once I was underway, it was fine, except for the lightning. Yup, at 7:30 in the morning in the great Northwest. Not what you would expect, but at least sunburn would not be an issue. During a brief hailstorm, I did wonder what I was doing but I’ve always found that if you have enough people doing something ridiculous it seems normal. The highlight of day two was being escorted across the bridge over the Columbia at Rainier. In the past years, this was a real bottleneck as there is a narrow one-lane bike route on the bridge. We went over a couple hundred at a time, which was a lot of fun. Oh yeah and the other high point was to cross the finish line. I was even a couple of minutes faster on the second day. There was an appropriate cheering and volunteer put a patch around my neck which proudly states "I finished the STP." Once again, food, drink and I bought a T-shirt. So the whole thing was great! I have been asked several times if I’ll do it again. Maybe. Right now I’m working on the logistics for my next big idea which is to ride from my front door to the front door of Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood. Hate to let all this work go to waste. Dave Worth |