Great Racin' with Bill Josler

I first met Bill Josler about 10 years ago on the Great Race. He was a fellow competitor and a nice guy – and a car guy. He and I were the only two teams in the race with open cars with female navigators, and believe me being in an open car for two weeks across the country for 4,200 miles on the nation’s backroads is tough. One day we were in the heat and humidity of the Deep South and a few days later we were crossing the Continental Divide at 10,000 feet above sea level in a driving hail storm about to freeze to death.

I didn’t really realize what an interesting man Bill Josler was until later. Sure, I knew he beat cancer (hence his Great Race team name: Borrowed Time), but I found out how interesting when I asked him if he would be back for the following year’s Great Race. “No,” he said. “I will be climbing Kilimanjaro.” And he did. Bill didn’t do the Great Race for a few years after that, choosing to do other adventures around the world. Earlier this year, Bill and one of my former navigators, Guy McDorr, entered the Great Race around the Great Lakes, and Bill got the Great Race fever again. He has already entered the 2013 event. But that hasn’t stopped his other adventures. I got a note from Bill today saying he is “leaving for Africa tomorrow morning… will be joining up with son Will to conquer Kilimanjaro first, then off to Zimbabwe, followed by a trip to the Victoria Falls area and possibly, time permitting, a safari.” Wow! One of the best things about being involved in the Great Race, other than the event itself, is the fantastic people you meet and friends you make. Bill is just one of the hundreds of interesting people you can meet on the Great Race too. Sign up today. --Jeff Stumb