In Pursuit of Mediocrity

The Cruise-a-Thong is a triathlon designed for the "Average Joe" athlete in all of us. The course included a 2 mile cruiser bike tour of Pagosa Springs with an elevation gain of about 3 feet, a thong (flip flop not the underwear, please!) walk up the almost world famous Pagosa Springs Riverwalk and a 1 mile tubing trip down the San Juan River, now in it's lazy July phase.

The overall winner was the participant with the most average time, taking into account bonus points for consumption of edibles & beverages, costumes, the number of gears on the bike in excess of 1, any flip flops lost during the "race" and the subjective preferences of the judges. Other prizes were also awarded to the median participant and the mode participants.

There were comfort stations at strategic points along the course (2 along the "grueling" 2 mile cruiser ride). Participants were encouraged to bring along their own beverages, as the regular consumption of liquids keeps racers hydrated. We saw one participant run out of his beverages, but fortunately, he was able to avert dehydration and make a detour to a liquor store along the route to replenish.

Since our daughter, Tiffany, son, Tony and his wife, Shea were visiting with five of the grandkids, we brought them along for a fun day in the park. Here's a picture of Isaac, Taylor and Samantha enjoying the cool San Juan River in the heat of the day.

Guess you can tell that Jon takes after his Grandpa in his love of costumes...

Here's a pre-race picture after a family race strategy session, or something like that. Shown are Tony, Sammy, Muriel, Mikey & Ashley...

Pre-race festivities began at 9 am with the first annual Bloody Mary Showdown, where the participants tasted the contestants' Bloody Marys and voted on which was best in town. Below is one of the contestants and a few of the tasters...

Mikey's Captain Six Pack outfit attracted lots of attention--which is just the way he likes it! Here is is posing for the local media...

Racers lined up (sort of) at the starting line for a pre-race photo. What a colorful bunch we were!

After the start, racers strolled or cartwheeled or rolled or whatever in a leisurely fashion to their cruisers for the first leg of the "race" which was the cruiser ride around downtown Pagosa Springs.

Here's a photo of Captain Six Pack flying along the course. Fortunately with his helmet and straw, he was able to stay well hydrated...

Allison, Mikey, Ann & Tony, followed closely by fellow racers, along the cruiser course...

Captain Six Pack demonstrating proper flip-flop technique for the next leg of the "race"...

Colorful racer during the third and final leg of the race, tubing down the San Juan River...

Below, Mikey and Tony dragging into the finish line after an exhausting physical effort ;-)

Among the highlights of the race, Muriel found a fellow racer in Cornhusker headgear stuck on his tube between two boulders in the river. She floated down backwards and hit his tube, tossing him into the water minus his hat. Recovering the hat was his first priority, then the tube! Sadly, she probably delayed his progress long enough so he ended up winning the median participant prize!

The event was so much fun that Tony and Shea have decided to return next year to do it again!