Perimeter Profile: Dorian Townsend

Monday, April 9th, 2012

Quest for the Quad Crown Award

Perimeter Bicycling bestows Crown Award certificates upon cyclists who complete two or more Perimeter Bicycling Association of America, Inc. events in a calendar year: El Tour de Mesa (70-mile event); Tour of the Tucson Mountains (73-mile event); Cochise County Cycling Classic (the 234, 157 or 92-mile event); and El Tour de Tucson (111-mile event). Cyclists completing two of the perimeters receive the Double Crown Award; cyclists completing three of the perimeters receive the Triple Crown Award; and cyclists completing four of the perimeters receive the Quad Crown Award.

For Dorian Townsend, 27, of Phoenix, Arizona, Perimeter Bicycling events provide personal challenge as well as the opportunity to support causes important to her. Bicycling has also helped her recover his health after a mysterious illness in 2006-2008 dramatically reduced her muscle ability to 20% of normal.

In 2009, as a newly-minted PhD in Russian Studies from the University of South Wales in Australia, Townsend began bicycling to work and back to health. She commuted 10 miles each way to her job as an AmeriCorps VISTA national service worker in Tucson, running the Mentoring Partnership of Arizona, a program that provides support to mentoring programs throughout the state.

With her solid base of commuting miles, Townsend entered her first El Tour de Tucson in 2009. Moved by the story of Wes Simpson, a grieving father who lost his premature baby, Townsend joined 3,000 Miles for Babies in 2010 – an organization Simpson established to raise funds for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Diamond Children’s Hospital at University of Arizona Medical Center.

When Townsend moved to Phoenix, she continued pedaling perimeters. Last year she was pleasantly surprised to received the Double Crown Award certificate for her completion of El Tour de Mesa and El Tour de Tucson – she did not know Crown Awards existed.

Goal-oriented, Townsend made a list of things she hopes to achieve before she turns 30 — the Perimeter Bicycling Quad Crown Award is on her “To Do List” for this year. Townsend continues commute by bike to her current job as grants manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona. In the weeks ahead, give Dorian the thumbs up when you see her at El Tour de Mesa and Tour of the Tucson Mountains! You, too, can join Perimeter royalty, and rock a Crown Award of your own!

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