Since 1912 tens of thousands of people have gathered in San Francisco to see the world's largest footrace, as more than 70,000 costume-clad runners and walkers traverse the 8 or so miles from the Bay side of the city, across to the Pacific Ocean.
Well this is what the tourist book says on the Bay to Breakers event ..... what Richard and I witnessed was something a little more interesting .....
The serious runners went off first, and we thought that this was going to be a bit boring, then came the rest of the bunch. It must be something about the climate in California
, but the natives seem to try and find any excuse to take their clothes off, and parade their bits for all to see. Now I'm not a prude, but there is something a little unnerving about walking next to a man, proudly swinging his John Thomas for all he's worth. You can't help it, but we got some old fashioned looks as we began pointing and exclaiming to each other at the size, colour and shape as they came into view. One particular one looked like he'd dipped it in white paint!
Some of the costumes and themes were very funny though ..... I particularly admired the guy who was dressed in white, with a waste paper basket on his head with the word "Women" written on the front. He was carrying a toilet seat with him and a roll of loo paper. At regular intervals he would squat down, place the toilet seat on his lap, and hold the loo roll to the side ...... I didn't see any ladies take him up on his offer, but full marks for effort!
Talking of toilets ...... there had been a news report that 'public urinating would not be tolerated at this year's event.' Ha!!!! It was happening all over the place. One poor creature jumped off her push bike, muted a "really sorry", then proceeded to pull down her pants and squat under an adjacent tree to where we were lounging in the sun. Some five minutes later, the poor girl was still squatting .....
Great event!
