In the middle of the journey of my life, I am--as always--a woman on a bike. Although I do not know where this road will lead, the way is not lost, for I have arrived here. And I am on my bicycle, again.
Long before he was Gordon Gekko, Michael Douglas was Inspector Steve Keller in The Streets of San Francisco. I now realize that the chief reason why I liked the show so much during its run was that it looked "authentic". At least it seemed that way to me at the time, before I had ever set foot in "The City Over The Rainbow". Even in my adolescence, I could tell that the acting was mediocre and the writing was contrived or just plain silly. (NYPD Blue was much better on both counts.) But it sure was fun to watch all of those chases with the bay and the bridge in the background. I haven't been to SFO in a while, but from what I hear, it's changed a lot. Whatever it's like now, I imagine few street scenes can match what's in this video called, appropriately enough, "The Streets of San Francisco".
The young dude in the maillot jaune--OK, yellow T-shirt--really got my attention!
The other day, Donald Trump met with Mexican President Jorge Pena Nieto. When I really wanted to know what they talked about. I mean, I'm not a violent person, but if I were in Senor Pena Nieto's zapatos, I'm not sure I could be as civil as he was to someone who so publicly and viciously insulted his country and people. El Donaldo claims they talked about The Wall: You know, the one that the erstwhile casino mogul wants to build along the border between the two countries, and make the country that supplies, directly or indirectly, his restaurant and domestic help (and, probably, a good part of the rest of his workforce) pay for it. After all, those folks south of the border have gotten so rich from all the money the fellow who made his taco bowl sent home that they can easily afford to foot the bill for keeping the country where the man makes his money safe. Right? Caballero Jorge very politely, but in a very manly sort of way, denied that his country is going to pay for any such structure. Donald, trying to out-do him in the machismo department, reiterated his promise that not only will the wall be built, but that "they are going to pay for the wall, 100%. They don't know it yet." OK, Donald, I won't let out the Big Secret. But please tell me: How thick will that wall be? And more important: How high? I ask because no one really knows just how much is necessary to keep those thundering herds of taco trucks from rumbling across the border. But even if Your Wall could keep out those hordes of enchilada chefs yearning to make a living, it can't deter another group of intrepid souls:
In this blog, I haven't written much about Bicycle Motocross, or BMX. My omission is not out of disrespect; I don't touch on the sport very much because, having never ridden BMX myself, I know very little about it. I have a lot of respect for the riders, as their sport requires a lot of bicycle, as well as other, skills that are gained only through a lot of disciplined work. Plus, a double flip is quite the spectacle!
Dave Mirra was the first person to pull off that maneuver, in 2000. Every year from 1995 until 2008 (with the exception of 2006, when he was injured), he won medals--including 14 golds--at the X Games. It's been said that he is to BMX as Michael Jordan was to basketball; perhaps we could say he was to his sport as Eddy Mercx was to road racing. Perhaps he was even more integral to BMX than anyone else was to his or her sport: The first year he medaled at the X games was the first year they were held!
But it wasn't just his daring feats that made him a celebrity; his engaging personality made him a popular guest on shows like David Letterman's and a host MTV's Real World/Road Rules Challenge. It's no surprise, then, that video games were named after him.
Sometimes he seemed invincible, as if there were no walls that could contain him and no boundaries he couldn't conquer.
Until now. Sadly, he was found today in his truck with "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound," according to police in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he has lived for many years.
Whatever the circumstances, his death is sad, especially since he is only 41 years old and leaves a wife and two daughters. But if he indeed killed himself (he left no suicide note), it begs the question of whether his many falls caused long-term damage that led to the depression he was said to be suffering. That question is especially valid in light of the experiences of former NFL players (like Junior Seau, who committed suicide in 2012) whose repeated hits to the head led to brain damage that resulted in depression.
One of the few genres of cycling I have never tried is BMX. Part of the reason for that, I think, is that when it was first becoming popular--in the late 1970's-- I was a bit older than most of its participants, who were in their mid-teens. Also, by that time I had become so accustomed to riding 27 inch--and, a little later, 700C--wheels that I simply couldn't see how I could ride the smaller-wheeled BMX bike. Moreover, I became more interested in speed and distance--and, later, longevity--than in fancy maneuvers. (That's one of the reasons I was a mountain biker for only a few years.) Finally, I'll admit that by that time I was on the cusp of early adulthood and thought of anything with small wheels as a kid's bike.
I probably won't ever be a BMXer because, at my age, I don't think I any longer have the reflexes or flexibility for the kinds of maneuvers BMX riders routinely do. But that doesn't mean I don't admire the really skilled riders: In fact, their feats are among the few things I watch on TV or video anymore. Even the less-skilled riders interest me in much the same way skaters and dancers do: As something of a performer, athlete and artist myself, I can appreciate their intricate moves--and, most important, the talents those riders possess, and the drive and discipline it takes for them to turn their visions of themselves into reality.
Funny that I should mention skaters and dancers: Some of the earliest--and, even today, best--BMX moves were done by someone who never claimed to be a BMX rider. In fact, this person was, by training and profession, a ballerina. And she didn't cut her teeth (or gears) in the sandlots of Southern California. Rather, she got her training on the other side of the United States--in New York, where she was born to parents who came from Japan, on the other side of the Pacific from California.
And, because there wasn't a BMX circuit in her time, she performed most of her acrobatics in circuses or on other stages of one kind or another. She once even performed on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Who is this amazing performer to whom I am referring? She is none other than Lilly Yokoi, who was dubbed "the world's greatest bicycle acrobat" during the 1960's and '70's.
Look at some of the moves she was doing years before Dave Mirra and Ryan Nyquist were even born:
The show was The Hollywood Palace. That particular episode aired on 9 October 1965. And, yes, that was Joan Crawford hosting.
I can't find any current information about Ms. Yokoi. In 2009, her daughter let it be known that Lilly, then in her eighties, was retired and living in Japan.
