Yesterday morning, I was waiting in line for my Time Trial Cycling start. Theres a minute between each start, and you carry your bike up a few steps on a little ramp, and a guy holds your bike while you clip in, then counts down from 5 and sends you off. I was behind two gentlemen, both from San Fran. Originally from Norway, Kirsten is in his 70s. This is his 6th Gay Games. I recognized him from the triathlon -- hed won his age category. Kirsten was telling me that since Sunday, hed won another 5 medals, all in swimming. He said I better not pass him. Unfortunately I had to. :) But I shouted out some encouragement and said Id meet him at the finish. Of course he medaled again... and believe it or not, he was pissed because another 70-something edged him out for the gold. Derek, right in front of me, is 87. Hes competed in every Gay Games. He was also on the board of the Federation of Gay Games for 13 years. He said hed been on the committee that tried to bring the Games to Atlanta several years ago, and said a group of dignitaries had met him at the airport and given him a helicopter ride around the city to show him all the potential venues. I told him Id already started talking to the Visitors & Conventions Bureau about organizing a group to get the Games to Atlanta in 2022 and asked him if hed be willing to help. He said hed be glad to give us some advice, but said he wouldnt be coming to the 22 Games. I said, why not? (Sometimes Im pretty stupid.) And he said, Im 87, do the math! I cant tell you how much that one statement really put things in perspective for me. Here I was, worried about winning a medal in cycling... and his main concern was not crashing his bike going down the start ramp. I passed him, of course, and told him what an amazing job he was doing, and that Id see him at the finish. When the race was over, they asked him to present the medals, and at the very end, as the only competitor in his age group, he was awarded a gold. He stood on the podium, in what could very well be his last Games, and encouraged us all to live our lives to the fullest, and find our passion... which for him was cycling. I hope to see both Kirsten and Derek in Paris... but even if I dont, we had a moment together, a shared experience, as fellow competitors... on a crisp, windy day in August in Cleveland, Ohio... and I will cherish that moment as long as I live.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 13:07:52 +0000
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