Taking it to the (non-competitive) extreme
I’ve never taken much interest in the culture of competitive sports, either as a spectator or as a participant. I don’t follow professional or college foot-/basket-/baseball. I love cycling, but haven’t watched more than half-an-hour’s worth of TDF footage. Lance Armstrong doesn’t inspire me (plus he’s apparently dating Ashley Olsen. Ew.). I also really enjoy Lindy Hop and other social dances, but absolutely can’t stand most of the ballroom dance (or dancesport) world. Too much focus on competition and strict routines and the minutia of arbitrary “technique,” not enough attention to the spontaneous interaction between dance partners and music - y’know… dancing.
That being said, I still like the idea of pushing myself physically, and every now and then I think it would be awesome to do something that most people (including my fiancée) would think is crazy. I’m feeling that urge now as registration just opened for the Spring Death Valley Century and Double Century. That’s 100 or 200 miles of cycling through a desert that is known for things dying.
I’m not really worried about being able to hit the 100 mile mark. I’ve done the equivalent of a metric century (100 km, or about 60 miles) on a fixed gear and slightly drunk. That was for the Tour De Strand, a bicycle bar hopping cruise, where I rode 15 miles out to Santa Monica, 15 miles down to Redondo Beach hitting bars along the way, then turning around and going home. No problem there. No need to train, just get on the bicycle and go. So for the real challenge, I’ve got my eyes on the 200-hundred mile mark.
Why would I want to do something like that? Sure, there’s the sense of personal accomplishment, and the realization of one’s potential. But mostly it’s the bragging rights. I don’t need to compete and win; I just need to finish so that I can add the accomplishment to my list of quirky fodder when playing Two Truths and a Lie, like the time that I rode my Vespa from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in the middle of the night in February (It was frakkin’ cold. I recommend going during the day.), or the time I hung out backstage with George Clinton of the Parliament Funkadelic after possibly the greatest concern I have ever attended, or the time I beat Battletoads on the NES (not an emulator with save states).
One of those is a lie, and I’ll give you a hint. I really did beat Battletoads. Yes, really.
I’m still not 100% sure if I want to do the double century, but the more I think about it, the crazier it sounds and the more I’m attracted to the idea.
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sometimes it feels like life itself to enough of a competition that you don’t feel like competing in your hobby. how about pushing yourself physically by cycling for charity? i know there’s a ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, for Aids i think.
Yeah, that’s the AIDS LifeCycle. I’d totally do that in ‘08 if it wasn’t for the wedding - both in terms of cost and timing. It starts June 1st, which is the day after the wedding. I wanted to do it this year, but I found out about it too late. You need to raise $2000, and I didn’t have enough time to do that.
maybe some other time. i think martie finkelstein did it one year!
[...] up on the post I had made earlier about wanting to do the double century in Death Vallery, I was unfortunately unable to register. I had thought it over that weekend. Bronwyn and I went [...]