Terrell Mathews had never ridden a bicycle more than a couple of miles at a time – on flat ground while riding a beach cruiser, no less.
So when he decided to join colleagues for a London-to-Paris charity ride, he got busy training. The 41-year-old senior marketing manager at Torrance analytical chemistry firm Phenomenex Inc. often pedaled to work from his San Pedro home, and took long rides along the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers.
“I thought I was really prepared,” said Matthews, who joined nine colleagues to raise money for outdoor education program Outward Bound a few weeks ago. “It was so hard. My legs were so sore.”
But the most trying part was getting lost. Several times. At one point between London and Portsmouth, Mathews and two co-workers accidentally ended up on a freeway.
“We couldn’t stop once we got on,” he said. “We were hugging the left-hand shoulder going as fast as we could until finally there was a shoulder where we could pull off.”
As a result, the 234-mile journey became 279 miles long.
Aside from completing the challenge and bonding with colleagues – most of them from Phenomenex’s European offices, and all of them in their 20s and 30s – Mathews said his greatest achievement was being the first to finish four separate segments.
“They inspired me as the oldest guy in the group to keep coming in ahead of them,” he said.
Still on Record Run
The most successful songwriter since John Lennon and Paul McCartney is living in relative anonymity in Beverly Hills.
You might not know the name Max Martin but you certainly know the songs he has written or co-written in the last two decades, such as “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry, “Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears and “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together” by Taylor Swift.
The Swedish hit maker, now living on the old James Coburn estate and boasting a reported net worth of $250 million, is closing in on a piece of music business history.
His 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard chart put him behind only Lennon (with 26) and McCartney (32) on the all-time list. Since he’s just 44, Martin has time on his side to take the title.
Speaking of titles, Martin was just voted Swede of the Year by ex-pat group Swedes Worldwide.
Kerstin Alm of the L.A. chapter said, “He deserves it and proves there’s more to Swedish music than just ABBA.”
Receiving the prize, Martin said success in songwriting requires what any other success takes: “Concentration, hard work and very long, tough hours.”
Staff reporters Marni Usheroff and Sandro Monetti contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
