Swimming achievement something to celebrate

Cal Ripkin's consecutive game record.

Lance Armstrong's string of Tour de France victories.

Eleven local swimmers cross Lake Pend Oreille in 17 hours.

OK, the swimming feat accomplished by Eric Ridgway and his merry band of swimmers last weekend might not be held up in the same light as the first two accomplishments in this editorial.

But the attempt is worth noting.

Ridgway, who is the organizer of the wildly successful Long Bridge Swim, had been hatching the plan to swim the lake for several years.

The swimmers were handpicked because it would take a special type of person to swim in a darkened lake at 2 a.m. after having no sleep.

Ridgway is a special man. He leads with the heart and pulls people along.

He also has a bit of P.T. Barnum in him.

He called the Bee two weeks ago to tip us off about the swimming adventure, swore us to secrecy and challenged us to have a few teasers to make people wonder what was going on.

Ridgway wanted a shot a completing this relay before a team of "real swimmers" got wind of what they were doing and beat them to it.

He and his team have the Buttonhook Bay to City Beach record right now and will always be the trailblazers.

Neil Armstrong will always be known as the first man to set foot on the moon.

Eric Ridgway will always be remembered as the guy who started the Long Bridge Swim and swam across the lake.

Well done!

? David Keyes is publisher of the Daily Bee.