PORT ANGELES — Wrestling monstrous and not-so-nimble buses through a course of orange cones is not as easy as these “cowboys” make it look.
The second annual Olympic Peninsula Regional Roadeo — in which bus drivers show off their driving and safety skills — attracted 17 drivers from Clallam, Jefferson and Grays Harbor counties Sunday to the course at Clallam Transit on West Lauridsen Boulevard in Port Angeles.
A four-year veteran of the roadeo, Jefferson Transit driver Lloyd Eisenmen, placed first place overall.
He just returned last month from placing sixth in an international competition, but he said that didn’t make it any easier.
“If you watch all the other guys, you’re wondering about what you could do or could have done, and if you don’t, all you think about is how they are doing,” he said.
“Neither way really works.
And, he noted, “The waiting never gets any better.”
He managed to drive his 30-footer around the course in 6 minutes and 25 seconds, going around cones, backing up, moving forward and going through a narrowing pathway, among other obstacles.
His time wasn’t the fastest overall — another driver finished in 4 minutes, 55 seconds.
But the number of cones touched or knocked over also affects the score.
Larry Estes, a Clallam Transit driver, finished second.
Last year, Estes earned the Rookie of the Year prize.
Darrell Finley, a Jefferson Transit driver in the smaller, 25-foot bus category, won third place.
Course marshal Mike Pollack said the main point of the competition is to improve safety.
“The course really helps drivers to learn where their vehicle is and what it is touching.
“That is one of the best ways to improve driver safety.”
“After the safety thing, of course, the second element of this is the camaraderie and fun,” Pollack said.
Each county will decide whether or not to send its top drivers to the Washington State Public Transportation Roadeo on Sept. 18 and 19.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
