On the Road Again 2012 # 25

Lorraine drove me all of the way to Revelstoke (although she was somewhat coy about telling me where she was going - she later admitted that she did not want to tell me how far she was going until she was sure that she wanted me with her that long). She was the first in a series of four drivers who, while some of them had achieved remarkable success in their lives, were somewhat self-centered in their conversations and none of them ever exhibited any real desire to hear my stories. Lorraine for example never asked once in the near six hours we were together what I did for a living. All of the rides were somewhat easy rides in that I didn't have to participate in much of the discussions. I would just ask a simple question and they were off on another monologue.

I don't want to imply that Lorraine or the others were not interesting. In fact the opposite is true. For example Lorraine had achieved some impress successes in the realm of professional downhill racing (bicycles) and was by all accounts somewhat in demand as a trainer and as a coach. I had lots of questions about the sport and that life. Lorraine was generous in answering them. As she freely admitted, the sport is more about lifestyle than about a high level of competition (e.g. Olympics). She made money not only by coaching for various lodges but also by getting free products including clothing and bikes (some of which were worth more than $10,000.)  As she was in her late 30s she was working hard to get more sponsorships from the various companies affiliated with the sport. It was her hope that she could convince them that more women would buy high end equipment if there were more women in the sport. (I thought it was a great argument)  She was also quite convinced that her photos in the various magazines and her coaching of men would allow her to be a good representative. We spent  a fair amount of time talking about various marketing approaches that might convince the owners that they should sponsor her. It could be a lucrative business. Lorraine was fairly sure that the top men were making $120,000 to $180,00 a year both by winning competitions and through sponsors.

Her business was in fact a strange one and somewhat incestuous. The races (and other similar events) were sponsored by the companies that made products (clothing, bikes and even Red Bull drinks); racers competed in these event to win prizes and to get them the name recognition that would get them sponsorships from those companies; the people watching the event do not pay to watch; the sole purpose of the events is to sell products made by the companies that sponsor the event. It is in fact one giant commercial.  However the real money is not in racing, it is in getting the affluent audience to buy the clothing and the bikes.

Lorraine had a very positive approach to life and worked hard at staying that way. She had a strong spiritual side and really believed that if she believed things were possible, then they were. She had numerous examples where because of her attitude, things had worked out well for her. I suspect that the fact that she was a female, quite genuine and charming, very bright, and very hard working helped as well.

We only had one disagreement. I suggested at some point that she worked in a sport that catered to the financial elite. The cost of equipment and training for the weekend warriors is extraordinary. The sport only can exist as long as rich people and their children buy the stuff that is being advertised. The sport would not exist if it were not for the millions that are being made by the sponsoring companies. Lorraine was a little bit offended by my observation. I am not too sure why. It would seem to me that the truth is pretty obvious.

I asked Lorraine why she had never wanted to compete in the Olympics. Her answer was interesting. First of all there is no downhill hill racing in the Olympics ( there is a distinct difference between the cross country racing in the Olympics and downhill racing. Amongst other things, the later sport requires a rather high mountain for the contestants to go down); secondly, while she was obviously very fit, she had no desire to work very hard for four years without reward just to compete. As she said - her sport is about lifestyle as much as anything else. Lorraine enjoyed her life and did take time off to travel.

Lorraine also had another job. She, during the five winter months, worked in a semi-government office dealing with avalanches and their effects on the roads etc. For much of her career, it was this job that put the bread upon the table.

We get to Revelstoke around 11:30. Lorraine was somewhat concerned about where to let me off. I was quite content for it to be anywhere. She did offer her backyard (she seemed to understand that I wanted to sleep outside) but as it was out of down I elected for somewhere near the highway.

It had been a long day. I had gone from Naniamo to Revelstoke in a day. That was pretty good travelling.