Sports Roundup – Lynch readies documentary on ‘Big Fix’/Golfer scores ace, wins car/Swimmers sharp in relays/Golfers win early matches

Published 9:00 am Monday, September 25, 2006

The new film chronicles his bicycle ride across the United States.

Kevin Lynch has been through 12 Ironman triathlons in his life and filmed them all, but his 28-day cross-country trip through the U.S to film the “Big Fix” fixed-gear bicycle ride was the most grueling – even though he didn’t ride for most of the trip.

And it almost didn’t get off the ground.

“The ride almost fell apart and disintegrated on Day 3,” he said. “The support crews are tearing their hair apart trying to figure out how to support this thing.”

With the all-volunteer support group struggling on the major issues of how to communicate with, feed and provide repairs for the riders and with a rider taken to the hospital, a decision was made to anoint Lynch the crew chief for the remainder of the trip.

“That night there was a big riders meeting and they said, ‘Unless this thing is fixed, we’re going home,’” he said. “They (the support crew) said ‘What options do we have?’ They said ‘Kevin knows what he’s doing. Put him in charge.’”

That’s one of the many stories Lynch came back with as he readies for two showings of “Big Fix 2006 – The Movie.”

The premiere will be held Monday at the Davis Varsity Theater in Davis, Calif., which was the start of the ride.

The showing is sold out, but islanders have a chance to see the 70-minute film for themselves when it’s shown at the Bainbridge Cinemas at 11 a.m. Sept. 30.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for kids and are available at the door.

The people who pledged money during Lynch’s “Little Fix” fundraiser back in June get to enter for free. There will be door prizes and a raffle as well.

Lynch’s documentary takes a look back at the trek and everything that went on from the start to the finish in Boston, Mass., including the downs and many of the ups, including the scenery.

“You look at the stuff (I shot) and you go, ‘Wow,’” he said. “It’s like riding paradise.”

The 3,500 mile route went through such places as Monarch Pass in Colorado at the Great Divide, stifling heat in Kansas, numerous small towns and big cities such as Cleveland where they attended a day-long symposium on histiocytosis.

They also climbed over 135,000 feet of combined elevation with their treks through the Rockies and the Catskills in New York.

Lynch also details how the cyclists and crew dealt with the difficulty of riding for 28 days with little time to stop for a break.

They also had to figure out every day not only the logistics of where to sleep – many times they rested on high school gym floors and YMCAs, with the occasional hotel thrown in – but how to deal with riding with injuries and getting the occasional meal in as well.

“You’re doing this all at one time, totally relying on your SAG (support and gear crew) to be where you’re supposed to be at the right time with the proper equipment,” Lynch said. “Then what if something else comes up?

“How about a road outage? How about a road closure? How about a detour? How about a broken chain? How about someone getting sick? How about a crash? How about a plague of locusts (in Nevada)? All of these things happened.”

Lynch even dealt with the near wreckage of a $25,000 camera during the ride, but was able to fix it with a part waiting for him in the next town.

The crew called the chain of unforseen problems the “daily dynamic,” but the willingness of people to deal with the challenges helped make for a memorable ride and a piece of work Lynch calls his “best effort to date.”

“I’m quite happy with the film,” he said. “It’s interesting because it’s not your typical documentary. I think it’s more of a travel music video. It plays really fast and it’s super high energy. It tells the story, it sets the stage.”

“My biggest responsibility was to create a vehicle to tell the story as a fundraising tool. So I wanted to create something that’s a rip-roaring, knock-down drag-out good time.”

The documentary also features music from Lynch and local artists such as Ranger and The Re-Arrangers, J.W. Hanberry and even former Eagle Don Henley, thanks to a rider that knew Don’s cousin Tim Henley, who plays on the song with Don and is backed by Bon Jovi’s band.

The ride raised over $300,000 and Lynch hopes to work with the Histiocytosis Association of America to create a condensed ride for next year and possibly a ride in Europe.

The DVD will be sold on the association’s website at www.fixhistio.org. To see the trailer, search for “Big Fix Trailer” at YouTube.com.

For more info, call 842-1099.

Golfer scores ace, wins car

Jay Wiggs has had an incredible year out on the links.

After working with his friend David Reeves to raise over $5,000 for breast cancer research in a marathon round of golf last July, the 50-year-old member of the Meadowmeer board of trustees scored his second hole-in-one of the year.

Instead of the traditional round of drinks that accompanies a hole-in-one, this time it came with a brand-new car.

Wiggs accomplished the feat at the annual Meadowmeer Member-Guest Tournament last weekend during the hole-in-one contest.

He barely missed it on the first day of the tournament at the eighth hole, but on the second day, Wiggs used his Hogan Hybrid 3-wood and nailed it on the par-3, 165-yard hole.

Marty Blanchard, a regional sales representative from BMW in Seattle and a fellow island resident, awarded Wiggs a 2006 BMW Z-4 Roadster with a free 30-month lease.

It’s the fourth ace of Wiggs’ career.

Swimmers sharp in relays

The relay teams for the Bainbridge girls swim and dive team are in midseason form.

The 200-medley relay team of Isabel Williams, Julie Pendleton, Tessa Griffin and April Isa scored a state-qualifying time of 1:58.14 at their meet against Camas last Friday.

The 200-medley relay team of Williams, Pendleton, India Wade and Griffin scored a state-qualifying time of 1:57.35 in their dualchampionship series meet against Snohomish on Tuesday.

The foursome of Griffin, Isa Pendleton and Beall also had a state-qualifying time of 1:44.92 in the 200 freestyle relay on Tuesday, while the 400-freestyle relay team of Kristine Valdez, Wade, Williams and Beall had a state qualifying time of 3:54.02 on Friday as well.

The 400-freestyle relay team of Wade, Valdez, Williams and Beall put forth a state-qualifying time of 3:45.57 last Tuesday.

Pendleton had a state time of 2:19.09 in the 200 individual medley last Friday and a time of 2:16.60 in the 200 IM Tuesday.

Williams put forth several state qualifying times over the past two meets, including a time of 1:00.16 in the 100 butterfly last Friday, a time of 1:02.62 in the 100 backstroke on Friday as well and a time of 1:01.88 in the 100 backstroke last Tuesday.

Beall had a state qualifying time of 55.88 in the 100 freestyle last Friday.

She also had a state qualifying time of 2:02.55 in the 200 yard freestyle on Tuesday.

The Spartans defeated Camas 96-87 but lost to Snohomish 84-81.

Bainbridge also came in first at the 21st annual Spartan Relays last Saturday with 58 points.

Their next meet is Tuesday when they host Port Angeles.

Golfers win early matches

The Bainbridge golf teams are taking care of business so far in Metro League play.

The boys golf team defeated Eastside Catholic and West Seattle Monday at Wing Point.

Kyle Hurt and Stefan Richardson of Eastide were medalists with a one under 34, as the Spartans scored 105 Stableford points.

The boys dropped their road match to O’Dea and Eastside Catholic on Wednesday.

Jamie Neill led the Spartans with a one over 37.

The girls defeated Eastside Catholic and West Seattle on Tuesday at Wing Point. Katie Saucier was the medalist with 44 points.

On Thursday, the girls won a close match with Holy Names giving them chase.

Saucier was the medalist with 41 points.

The boys are at home on Monday against Bishop Blanchet, while the girls host Blanchet on Tuesday.

Tee times are 3 p.m. for both teams.