I'd like to see him throw it down-hill

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808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

Nice. He is an avid cyclist. I remember hearing a story once about him having a custom fabricated bike to fit him.
As a lover of the NBA and cycling-- Bill Walton fits right at the intersection of the Venn diagram of stuff that I love.

Zdeno Chara (6' 9") is also an avid cyclist, as recently as a few years ago would ride the entire TdF route as part of his off-season training. Explains in part why he is still playing at an elite level at age 41.

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

Read a couple articles and apparently it’s a lifelong thing for him. And I guess all that cycling has helped with his pain management from all his basketball injuries.

Sounds like Ray Allen. He didn't ride but kept his body in tip top shape when he played. He said he wanted to run the Boston Marathon after he retired, and I'd guess he'd do fairly well.

Ya, barley fits into his 71 VW van, the one he used to follow the Grateful Dead in. There is a really nice chapter in Tinley's book about pro athlete retirements on him. Chasing the Sunset or something like that? HE was a total lost soul once he was forced out of the game with injuries, so did what he did before he became a legendary basketball player, followed the Dead for a year with all the other Deadheads!!!!

There's a picture somewhere of 7'5" Serge Zwikker on his tri bike at White Lake Half. Now that was one hell of a head tube.

Hawaiian Airlines lost his bike a few years back:

https://www.si.com/...ng-hawaiian-airlines

One of my all-time favorite players. His bio is a great read. Cycling is a life long passion and was instrumental in his dealings with bouts of depression related to severe issues with his feet. A healthy Bill Walton is in the top 10-15 NBA players of all-time.

His bike is massive. I saw him on course when he rode the Tour of California TT earlier this year (the amateur version prior to the pro race). Unmistakable.

I met him once not long after he retired from the Celtics. Was in a small very crowded bar in Marblehead MA one night and he walked in, made his way to the bar and sat down next to a buddy of mine who was absolutely hammered. My friend offered to buy him a beer and asked if he needed a place to crash that night, while everyone else was staring in disbelief still processing the fact that Bill Walton had just walked in. Walton politely declined the offer of a place to stay.

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler