This Competition Has a Little Something for Almost Anyone

The spirit of international competition moves into the outdoor sporting world when the fourth NIKE World Masters Games begin Sunday at Portland, Ore., and surrounding sites.

With 25 sports from golf and soccer to windsurfing and water rafting, the games bring together amateur athletes from all over the world every four years.

Anyone can compete in the games, as long as they register on time and meet the minimum age requirement, which is 30 for most events.

This year, 12,000 athletes from more than 100 countries will be competing.

And some of the most interesting stories from this year’s games involve Los Angeles-area athletes.

For instance, William Dehn, 75, of Costa Mesa will compete in one of the more outdoor-oriented events, windsurfing. It’s a sport Dehn didn’t even try until he was a senior citizen.

“I’ve been windsurfing for 15 years,” Dehn said. “One day at Club Med in Cancun [Mexico], I went with three friends to lunch and saw some guy windsurfing.

“I thought if he could do it, I could do it.”

And he since has done it often, windsurfing two or three times a week.

While Dehn will be racing against people of all age groups from all over the world, he will be specifically competing in the 75-and-up age group.

Joining Dehn on the water will be Mary and Robert Perrot, a husband-wife rowing team from Seal Beach.

Racing together in a four-person shell, the Perrots have been looking forward to Portland since the day the site was announced.

“We usually go to the U.S. Masters, and when we saw the World Games were in Portland, we immediately said, ‘We have to go there,’ ” Mary said.

And although Mary will be trying to win, family life keeps things in perspective for her.

“We have a 5-year-old son and we’re usually worrying about him while he’s on the shore, hoping someone’s watching him,” she said.

The games last through Aug. 22 and can be followed on the World Wide Web at https://www.worldmasters.org

PEDALERS’ PARADISE

For biking enthusiasts, big things are happening this weekend in Las Vegas at the 17th Annual Interbike International Bike Expo.

Though it is a trade show and not open to the public, it won’t be long until most products being shown at the expo will be in stores.

And some of the innovations have roots in Southern California.

GT, headquartered in Santa Ana, will introduce the i-Drive, a mechanism that isolates the pedals from the suspension, allowing for a smoother ride on rough terrain.

“The i-Drive allows you to climb up hills as if you were on a paved road,” GT media liaison Steve Blick said. “This is the smoothest-riding bike we’ve ever made.”

The six bikes with i-Drive start at $899 and can cost up to $4,000 for the professional model, he said.

The professional model’s weight is another advantage, Blick said. It weighs 25 pounds with the i-Drive. The average professional bike weighs 27 1/2 to 28 pounds, according to Blick.

Another company, Shimano, will introduce the Auto-D, according to Frank Cioffi, who does press relations for Laguna Beach-based Interbike.

“They don’t often admit it, but the biggest problem most bike riders have is shifting,” Cioffi said.

To alleviate that, the Auto-D is an electronic automatic shifting mechanism.

“The Auto-D will be the ultimate in simplicity for bike riders,” Cioffi said.

However, bikes with Auto-D won’t be in stores until early next year and will sell for $450-$1,000, according to Bruce Galloway, a spokesman for Shimano .

Plus, Giant Bicycles, a Los Angeles company, will introduce its new three-bike line. Giant will also introduce the carbon-fiber MC Team Bike, which, at 2.8 pounds, is the lightest mountain bike frame. The full bike weighs 22 pounds.

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Pete Thomas is on vacation.