These three Mikes, picked at random, all live in the South
Valley but have different stories. One loves motorcycles, one sings
with a well-known local quartet and the other drives a sleek red
car
As regular readers know, we have this theory: Everyone has something noteworthy about them. We proved the theory earlier this month by picking a random name – Sue – and looking up three ladies by that name in the phone book. Each had a unique story. Today, we continue proving the theory with another name, again choosing people at random from the phone book.
Here are three very different stories about a guy named Mike.
Mike Allen of Gilroy
Chances are good you’ve seen Mike Allen before. For the past nine years, he’s been performing all over the South Valley as the baritone in Garlic City Harmony, a barbershop quartet of locals who sing at various civic events, including, most notably, the Garlic Festival.
“We do old doo-wop music, that sort of stuff,” Allen, 59, said. “We do it because we love to sing and be out among the people around town. We just love to do it, and we’ve done it for years and years.”
When Allen isn’t singing with the group, he’s singing in the choir at Saint Mary’s Church or, at times, with the Gavilan College choir.
When he’s not singing, Allen is running his San Jose pool and spa business, doing church activities, or playing tennis with the same group he’s been playing with for the past 25 years.
Allen has many hobbies and accomplishments, but one thing stands out as his greatest pride: his family.
“My crowning achievement in life is that I married the right woman, had two great sons, got them both educated and out of the house,” he said.
Allen met his wife, Carol, when they were neighbors in an apartment complex in Santa Clara.
“We were neighbors, but we actually met playing touch football in the park next to our building,” Allen explained. “She caught my eye.”
It took Allen several weeks to gather the courage to ask his future wife on a date, but he finally managed to ask her out for pizza.
“Until then, I had to watch her walk by my window with all her other dates,” he recalled, laughing. “That’s agonizing, isn’t it?”
The couple married two years later, and Allen is happy to report his wife still catches his eye.
Mike Conti of Morgan Hill
Mike Conti is a busy man. He’s into running and weight lifting, hunting wild boar, operating his home-run consulting business, and working his day job as a consultant for a medical device company in Fremont. The weekends are dedicated to spending time with his wife, Jodi, and their three children, Jimmy, Greg and Kathryn.
And then there’s the baby of the family: Conti’s 2000 Dodge Viper, a bright red beauty with white racing stripes.
“I had to do a big sales pitch to get the wife to agree, but I do amateur racing at Laguna Seca and Thunder Hill,” Conti, 45, said. “I’ve had the car since 2001, but I’ve really only been racing it for about a year. It’s great.”
As an amateur racer, Conti doesn’t go as fast as the pros in their specialized cars, but he can still hit about 140 mph on a straight-away at Laguna Seca, he said.
“If I had a long enough straight-away, the car is good for 190 mph,” Conti said of his car. “You can take classes at Laguna Seca, and they teach you vehicle dynamics of a car, how to deal with front drive and rear drive, and the right line to take through curves.”
Though he doesn’t like to drive the Viper in the rain, Conti said he likes to drive it at least once a week and to race it as often as he can.
“I like racing because I like the speed – it’s such an adrenaline rush,” he said. “And if you’re going to go fast in a car like that, the track is the best place to do it rather than on the street.”
Mike Schurig of Hollister
Mike Schurig is a true Renaissance man, accomplished in both the arts and sciences and plenty of things in between. The Colorado native and former family bike shop chain owner moved to Hollister in 2000, and the city hasn’t been the same since.
“When I moved here, I was looking for other opportunities and trying to decide what to do,” Schurig, 46, said. “I was designing Web sites for other bike shops when I talked to a teacher friend of mine who suggested I try teaching myself. I really liked that idea.”
So, Schurig started substitute teaching math at San Benito High School, and eventually got hired permanently as an accounting, marketing and computer applications teacher.
“I’d taken a lot of computer classes when I got my degree and I had a lot of network experience, so it ended up being a good match,” said Schurig, who is currently working on his master’s degree. “I think I’m popular with the students. I try to keep the atmosphere relaxed, and I try to connect with students in the classroom. I also try to make it fun and come up with new teaching ideas.”
Schurig is also the girl’s varsity soccer team coach at San Benito.
“Coaching has become something of a passion of mine,” he said. “You not only get to coach soccer, you get to help young people develop into better individuals and grow toward their futures. I get a lot out of coaching.”
When he isn’t at school, Schurig – a self-proclaimed ham – is pursuing other interests, such as acting.
“I got offered a paid extra role in Starship Troopers that I had to turn down, but I was in the film Asteroids, and I’ve done a lot of community plays,” he said. “I’ve also done air jam performances here at school for the last three years. Last year I got first place for dressing up as Elvis with the wig and everything and singing to my daughter’s dog on stage.”
Schurig also owns a sail boat and Harley Davidson motorcycle, which he said he drives whenever he gets the chance.
“I couldn’t really own a motorcycle in Colorado because the riding season is so short,” said Schurig, donning a surfboard and motorcycle-print button-down shirt. “But, it’s something I’d always thought about. Living here in Hollister with the rally and seeing other people with their bikes, I definitely got the itch. So, I took some classes at Gavilan and learned to ride, shopped around for a bike, and I’ve been enjoying it for the last seven months.”
