Sunday October 12, 2003 7:31
PM
VIRGINIA CITY, Nev. (AP) - With names like ``Pee II'' and the ``Urinator,''
they rolled down the main drag of this old western town to cheering fans and
awe-struck visitors who questioned the locals' sanity.
Welcome to Virginia City's annual Outhouse Races. To the winner goes the
Royal Flush Trophy.
``It's bizarre,'' said Brett Coleman, 30, a financial manager from Seattle
visiting a friend in nearby Carson City.
``But it combines two popular things: restrooms and racing.''
Even organizer Lou Tassone admits the event is a bit odd.
``It's always been kind of a wacky, crazy thing,'' he told the Reno
Gazette-Journal.
The races began in 1999, when local business leaders first attached wheels to
the outdoor commodes. Twenty-two outhouses and portable toilets took part in the
competition Saturday and Sunday.
``I think its hilarious and you'd never see this done anywhere except
Virginia City, Nevada,'' said Bobbie Copeland, 53, a nurse from Carson City.
According to organizers, the event mimics the period in time decades ago when
Storey County banned the use of outhouses and citizens protested by putting
their outhouses on wheels and parading them down Main Street.
Each outhouse must be at least 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, contain a toilet
and toilet paper and have a maximum of three crew members to push it down the
street in the double elimination tournament. Those who fail to meet the weight
requirement suffer the ultimate penalty - walking two blocks through town
carrying a 50-pound sack of manure.
Motors, sails, dog teams and gas-assisted propulsion are prohibited.
The Royal Flush Trophy is a glass outhouse, but other prizes include a toilet
seat and bedpan.
Kevin Moore of Reno said he got strange looks when he took ``Flaming Butt
Hut'' for a test run down Stewart Street on Friday.
``The neighbors were like, `What in the hell are you doing?''' he said.
Moore, 24, the senior carpenter with Verdi-based Sierra Builders, designed
the outhouse for his company, which won first place the last two years.
He enjoys the event because, ``I can bring my own refrigerator and own beer
and drink in the street and not get arrested like in Reno.''
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