Jewett Pattee’s trainees, affectionately known as the “Jujubes,” help the octogenarian get equipped for last Tuesday’s race.
By Steven Piper
Editorial Intern
Despite once being an alcoholic with arthritis and diabetes, 85-year-old Long Beach resident Jewett Pattee finished a Senior Olympics cycling 5K time trial in 14 minutes and 8 seconds. “These are the short races!but I’m happy with my time,” Pattee said Tuesday. “I am going to do tomorrow’s 10K ride too.”
The time trials at El Dorado Park are leading up to the 2009 National Senior Games in Palo Alto, which are expected to draw 13,500 athletes.
Also a World War II veteran, Pattee spent many of his post-war years drinking and smoking. At about age 50, he decided to change his habits. Having witnessed other family members suffer from an overly inactive lifestyle, Pattee decided he did not want to follow the same path.
He pursued and achieved a healthier lifestyle by running, fencing and race walking before two hip replacements compelled him to take up cycling at age 62. Since then, Pattee has had two more hip replacements and continues to train on his bicycle.
Among Pattee’s numerous athletic accomplishments is the completion of five Ride Across America races. The race goes from Irvine to Savannah, Georgia. According to Pattee, who was also the captain of Team Secure Horizons, the race at that time was the longest in the world at a distance of about 2,690 miles. With all its members above the age of 50, Team Secure Horizons was the first masters team to finish the race. “I was 70 at the time,” Pattee said.
“We crossed the Rockies and even Wolf Creek Pass,” he said. Pattee said the pass has an elevation of about 11,500 feet. “The weather was variable too. One time we hit a squall.”
Accompanying Pattee at the time trial were his trainees, endearingly known as the “Jujubes” — a play on words with his first name. “I want to thank you all for being here— my fan club,” Pattee said.
Katherine Kearney started riding and training with Pattee 20 years ago. “The two of us would meet here (El Dorado Park) for years!there would be ten of us to go riding usually.” Kearney said that Pattee and his loyal “Jujubes” are trying to train in Signal Hill on Thursdays to train for a challenge ride in Silver Lake, which, she says, has the steepest street in Los Angeles County.
Despite training on hills, Pattee did not have to worry about biking up them for Wednesday’s 10K time trial since El Dorado Park is essentially flat.
Events for this year, which is a non-qualifying year for the National Games, will continue throughout the month, ending on June 28.
Cynthia Rosedale, state Olympics coordinator, expressed positive thoughts about the future of the cycling events. “We have taken the games to greater heights. We have doubled the number of riders compared to two years ago.”
There were 62 riders total for Tuesday’s events, including 10 women and 52 men.
