8/24 ~ Venice Beach

1995 USAIDS 5,000
(20th Anniversary Special)
Post #65: 
[Excerpts from AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM STORY accompany each photo, edited to show real names.]

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Picture #177

[ With only a planned week left for my excursion, Venice Beach (aka Muscle Beach) was the setting for my bicycle stint on the APLA commercial. We anticipated an all-day event, but the camera crew knew precisely what they wanted, so the shoot took just over an hour and wrapped up after take seven. I bicycled up and down the same segment of pavement over and over. It was not quite like going around the redwood tree, but it was exciting, none the less. ] (Picture from August 24, 1995)

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Picture #178

[ Since there was so much budgeted time left, we resolved to try out rollerblading.  Carl was a wiz on wheels . . . ] (Picture from August 24, 1995)
— with Lebman Carl

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Picture #179

[ . . . but I didn’t find balance long enough to hit the strip. Wouldn’t you expect more from a biker? Embarrassed, I opted instead to cruise the full length of the paved beach trail on the “dream machine” twelve miles north to Malibu, back to Venice Beach, then seven miles south and returning again, of course. Added to commercial miles, I could knock off fifty additional miles from the “make-up” list. There were volleyball tournaments, rollerblading championships, joggers (one of which I swear was Jason Priestley of 90210), jugglers, jet skiers, wind and board surfers, and magicians and musicians of every variety, most showing a serious amount of beautifully bronzed skin! There was also an endless array of shops, vendors, eateries, games, and odd-ball rides with thousands of explorers walking, biking or swimming. It was a sandy beach, carnival, gymnasium, concert, and three-ring circus all rolled into one. There’s nothing like it elsewhere in the world. While cycling Venice Beach, I lapped up endless salty drops of Pacific sights and sun, a kaleidoscope of colors and shades with perfumed and aromatic smells against a backdrop of royal blue, surfers, jet skis, sail boats, and yachts—I was in biker’s heaven. ] (Picture from August 24, 1995)