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Cycling great teams with Marin author for tale of ride against Parkinson’s by Jacquie Phe l an
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veryone has a book in him—or her— them and that they might avoid but the talkers will never take time to sit going out? down and write it, and the movers and It takes an unusually strong charshakers can’t control the pen acter to re-boot the or keyboard. self and learn to A three-year collaboration appreciate any and between champion bike racall daily victories. er (and engaging storyteller) Without using a sinDavis “Cash Register” Phingle Zen reference, in ney and Marin sportswriter Happiness of Pursuit Austin Murphy has yielded Phinney and Mura slim, very readable volume phy nail the essence titled The Happiness of Purof a well-lived life: suit: A Father’s Courage, a gratitude at one’s Son’s Love and Life’s Steepest portion. Climb. According to Allow me to unpack that psychologist Todd suitcase of a title: Kashdan, two simHappiness: Need I explain? ple processes— Pursuit: a former Olympic Davis Phinney, 51, became the first triggering intrigue American to win a stage at the Tour de track cycling specialty. It’s and sustaining France in 1986; he was diagnosed with interest—are a two-person chase in a at Parkinson’s in 2000. banked oval track, with each the heart of a fulrider on opposite sides of the oval. If both filling life. are top-notch and equally strong, it may be Davis Phinney’s name may not Davis’s son, Taylor, finished seventh in ‘individual pursuit’ at the 2008 impossible without a stopwatch to deterbe familiar to younger cyclists in Summer Olympics. mine who is moving faster, since neither the county—he was the Colorado catches the other. Taylor is Davis Phinney’s sprinter who reigned during the decade to, because all the glib mimicry and shaggy son, and pursuit was Taylor’s specialty—at between 1980 and 1990, and helped secure dog stories were left behind in the ’90s. A least until the kid become brilliant in everythe reputation of Americans in the global Parkinson’s disease “tribesman,” as Phinney puts it, has to measure out what he’s thing. Good thing, because the Olympics cycling pantheon before anygoing to say before he starts, and hope dumped the pursuit. one had heard of Mr. Armto fire on all syllables. Father: Damon Phinney, Davis’s “Damn strong. A book would be the Finicky” remote dad, who changed gears Through this absorbing perfect tool, if two sports midlife after prostate cancer, becoming an book, Phinney will serve as nuts could be cajoled into extrovert and growing close to the bikean inspiration to the roughly sitting still.... crazed Davis. Damon beat the disease for 10,000 daily cyclists in Marin For his own part, Murmore than a decade—unwittingly becomas well as its Parkinson’s sufphy had to maintain his ing a model of grace and courage for his ferers. (Never mind the close day job writing for Sports about-to-be-stricken son. to 250,000 Marinites who Illustrated while carving A son: Davis’s son Taylor came late to cywould benefit from cycling out time for interviews and cling, exploding onto the scene, born of a pair because humans evolved to travel with the ex-racer. of Olympic cycling greats (Connie Carpenter, move regularly, not sit.) Phinney calls the disease Davis’s wife and Taylor’s mom, comes in and Local sportswriter Mur“the body-snatcher,” and it’s out of focus throughout the book). The kid phy first met Phinney at not a bad reference, because it manages to exceed two of the most gifted rid- the 2005 Tour de France. really did seem as if something ers the USA ever produced. A couple of years later he sneaked in and replaced the Life’s steepest climb: early-onset Parkinson’s learned that Phinney was vital hard-charging man with a disease. Following his brilliant racing career, looking for a co-writer for his book. doddering version of himself. Phinney mastered television broadcasting, but Were it not for Mr. Murphy and his agent, As we see throughout the book, he puts was clobbered a few years into it by the incur- Phinney’s story might not have made it out the hard-won lessons he learned in racing able disease. The “fastest cat in the jungle” was of the gate. In American right back to work in suddenly fast-forwarded into very old age, publishing, a bike racer’s combating the disease, with no control over his muscles. tale about battling terrible The Happiness of and has become the Vicdisease is a tough sell if the Pursuit: A Father’s tor in Trifling Events. O O O O O O O O rider isn’t Lance. Courage, a Son’s Love That we could all find Murphy didn’t write and Life’s Steepest Climb A MILLION AMERICANS have Parkinson’s, such happiness. < precisely as Phinney By Davis Phinney and Austin and about a hundred thousand of them get speaks, so a lot of rewritJacquie Phelan is a member of the Murphy. Houghton Mifflin Harit in their prime. They shake. Their speech is ing had to occur. For that United States Bicycling Hall of Fame court. $25. slurred. They stumble. And people assume matter, Phinney himself and Mountain Biking Hall of Fame. they’re drunk. Is it any wonder people avoid Contact her at jacquie@batnet.com. doesn’t talk like he used