68 Years, 20 Miles, 1 Hr. 20 Minutes

I spent a good part of the day today "working." It was a beautiful, sunny, warm Saturday that found me at a duatholon in North Salt Lake, and getting paid to be there. However, I wasn't participating in the duatholon. I had the opportunity to serve as support crew for one of the participants at the agency at which I work/do my internship. This event is considered instrumental to this individual's treatment plan and overall well being. The agency arranged it and paid the fees for him to participate. I like that. This agency provides transitional housing for homeless veterans.

This individual, whom I will refer to as C., is 68 years old, and an avid bicyclist. He claims to have begun cycling before it was "cool." He told me today that he can't remember a time when he hasn't love riding a bike. He regaled me with stories, on the drive down, of six day tours across Wyoming. 100 mile rides across more states than I can remember, and a recent adventure that found him with two flat tires in Logan Canyon. I recall a few months ago when all of the participants were invited to a dinner in Roy. I, along with other staff members, transported approximately 17 individuals in agency vehicles; however, C. chose to ride his bicycle.

This duatholon was extremely exciting for C. He has trained tirelessly for weeks. He cross-trains....some days he would walk 10 miles instead of riding his bike. He has planned his food intake for days to assure he was sufficiently fueled. At yesterday's group, he told all of us that he was going to get a good night's rest to assure he had sufficient energy. This morning he told me he kept waking up all night, afraid he'd not hear his alarm, and ended up getting out of bed at 5:15, even though we didn't need to leave until 6:45. He came equipped with several packages of Gu, an energy gel used by athletes. Perhaps the most exciting thing for C. was the t-shirt. He was so excited to receive the race shirt and, in fact, wore it to the race today. He was taken down last night to pick up his registration packet so he was prepared for the day.

He was amazingly calm this morning as we drove to the race, and he managed all his gear and his bike without any assistance at all. (Please remember.....I am a runner, therefore, a bike and a tote bag seem like a tremendous amount of "gear" to me.) C. was registered for the bike only portion of the duatholon; he was one of twenty. He is never seen without his newsboy cap, and it was worn today underneath his bicycle helmet. His bike is used and old, but in good working condition.

When it was all said and done, C. had an incredible race. He said he's been bitten by the racing bug and I reminded him it's just the beginning of race season, which he seemed very enthusiastic about.

I so wish I could post pictures of this day, however, for confidentiality reasons, I can't. If I could you would see C. pre-race, underneath the Finish Line, pretending to run over it; C. crossing the finish line on his bike; C. raising his bike above his head in triumph at finishing the race; C. standing on the podium (at our request) with a medal (at our request) hung proudly around his neck. After all, he is 68 years old and he bicycled 20 miles. Out of 20 people, he was the fifth best performer. Out of all the participants aged 65-69, he was the fastest. Out of all the people who participated today, I'd wager to bet he's the only one who's homeless. I think a medal was in order.