Race Across America? - Spokes Magazine

ON
COVER
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Having completed many interesting physical challenges, Ken
Shuart (right) will tackle Race Across America. Pictured with
teammate Steve Laurenson.
BY THE END OF MAY, I will want to have one of those
number bumper stickers on my car. You know, the
kind that says 26.2 if you’ve run a marathon, or 140.2
if you’ve done an ironman triathlon.
I’m just not sure what number I should buy. 13.1,
52.5, 90, or 3-4-1? I’m not even sure where people get
those stickers or if they make these numbers. But I
always have fun trying to figure out what the numbers
represent when I see them on cars.
The 26.2 is easy. People who run marathons, cause
they run 26.2 miles.
I’d guess the most impressive is the 140.2. If you see a
vehicle with one of these stickers, stop and smile deferentially
to the driver. That person has likely swum
2.4 miles, biked 112 miles, followed by running a full
26.2 mile marathon, all on the same day and quite
possibly on the island of Hawaii.
As for me, this May my wife has signed us up for our
first ever half marathon (hence the possibility of a
13.1 sticker), my first ever Columbia Triathlon (hence
the 52.5, which represents a combination of the 1.5
kilometer swim, the 41k bike, and 10k run), and lastly
our second annual Kent County Spring Fling.
This last event presents a much more complicated
problem. You see, the Kent County Spring Fling is a
family affair in which my wife and I join 500 cycling
enthusiasts. We’ll travel to Chestertown, Md., captain
two tandems with our two kids for three days, averaging
30 miles a day. Hence, I figure we could get a 90
sticker representing 90 miles ridden with kids over
three days.
Much more impressive in my book is the 3-4-1 sticker,
which I would pay to create. The 3-4-1 represents 3-
days, with 4 people housed in a small 1 room college
dormitory. Running a half marathon is easy compared
to 3-4-1.
If I wanted a sound, unbiased recommendation on
which sticker to get, I would likely turn to my sister
Linda. Her answer would be simple. “Get out that
sticker we got years ago that says ‘This car climbed
Mt. Washington.’ That sticker isn’t so show-offey,”
she'll likely tell me.
Or I guess I could be like one of our neighbors who
has 20 or 50 bumper stickers covering every available
spot on the back of his pick-up truck.
Whatever. Let’s see how the month goes, then you’ll
know simply by checking out the bumper of my car.
Happy Trails,
Neil Sandler
Editor & Publisher
Touring • Racing • Off-Road
Recreation • Triathlon • Commuting
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page 6
MAY 2008
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Neil W. Sandler
CALENDAR EDITOR
Sonja P. Sandler
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Studio 22
www.studio20two.com
May 2008
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