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Submariners and Idaho Choppers

I was wearing my Idaho Sub 17 t-shirt at breakfast some day last week. Dave's parents, like many others before them, asked what the deal was with the shirt, which features a farmer riding a tractor flying a Sub 17 flag.

The shirt is a bit of Ironman iconoclasm for those of us who race in long triathlons for fun rather than for profit, Hawaii slots, or to improve our national rankings (ha). It acknowledges that finishing under the 17-hour time limit is a huge success. But Chuck and Nancy's curiosity was more likely piqued by the tractor, since they both grew up on farms and Chuck worked as a farm-equipment engineer for maybe 20 years. (Am I right, Chuck?)

The shirt gets interesting comments. In a restaurant in Dunsmuir, California -- on my way home from racing Ironman Coeur d'Alene, in fact -- I found myself chatting with a gentleman who had been a submariner in WWII. But my in-laws' remarks were the most unexpected yet.

Chuck: Nance, you know what kind of tractor that is?
Nancy: It's a Ferguson.

By golly, I think she's right.

December 1, 2005 9:50 AM