The newly named 'Twilight Run' - Roosters and Jesus

There is a bike route that I know I can hit in the time right after work. Once I step out of my office First Round: brave the insane traffic that is my city and arrive safely home. T1: grab my bike, kit and head back out. Round Two is my actual bike ride. By the time I arrive the race is between me and the sun. The route I traditionally ride is a 15 mile out and back. Thus I have now dubbed it the “Twilight Run.” So the real question one must ask is how do roosters and Jesus fit into the mix?

Excellent Question! The sidebar to this is I need a camera that I can carry in on of my Jersey pockets. Posterity is not fond of those without cameras… Back to the roosters, about mile 2 there trail crosses a highway. One’s natural reaction is to slow down and look for cars. Mine too. On this particular evening there was a rooster chasing a chicken across the bike path. It was picture perfect. Rooster vs. Chicken.

Why is this odd? There are no farms that I know of nearby only a high school. Hmmm… Now onto how I might have met Jesus or at least one of his incarnations. Please note this is my introspection and not ment to offend.

Ok this part gets a little deep so---- I am at the end of my ride and the whole time I have been playing the fun game of can I catch the person I see ahead of me. Well my final challenge was a gentleman on a red road bike off in the distance. I am at the end of my ride so I drop the hammer a bit and go cruising around what I soon realize is an older African American gentleman riding a two decade old road bike, old bike lock chain included hanging off the frame, and I think there may have even been a wire mesh basket. Within moments I hear over my Ipod someone talking with me. The gentleman with no visible effort is right beside me talking at me. I pull an ear bud out and learn that he is re-riding the trail looking for the key to his car. Concerned, I begin to inquire about where he parked, where he thinks he may have lost it, etc. He assures me that he has a spare, but was just looking in case he stumbled across it. We ride together for a moment longer chat briefly and I wish him luck and I speed off again. I turn to go to my car and think maybe I should have offered him a ride? I look back at the trail and there is no man. I know many of friends would consider me a bit loco, but this one was out there for even me. It may seem odd, but growing up catholic and having the K-12 scars to prove it, just kidding about the scars, it almost seemed like a test. Will you snub the nice man, will you help him in his ‘needle in the haystack’ quest, and how will you react? How would you react? Ok so who know if the man was the son of God, but in reflection it did sort of feel like one of the big guys little tests. A big hmmmm

Between Roosters and Jesus it makes you step back and think about the people we meet and things we see. How we remember this journey and how we wish to be remembered.

One of my favorite quotes:
“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.” ~ Bruce Lee

Losing Clyde - The Begining

I don’t really want to be a Clyde (not that there is anything wrong with it – Insert Jerry Seinfeld voice) There are many extremely talented athletes who are in the Clydesdale category. I just happen to not want to be one of them….This is the story of my journey out of the Clydesdale ranks.

The Vitals:
Weight (lbs): 231
Converted to Kilo's: 104.73
Quartlet Index Body Fat %(BM): 29.64
Body Fat (scale) %: 28.5%

So what does it take to be a Clyde? According to the USTA

Article 3.2 Section b

Clydesdale/Athena Categories. The official minimum weight standard for this category is 200 pounds for
men, 150 pounds for women, to be monitored by the local race director.

Or you can be an actual horse,

The birth of our racing namesake (paraphrased from Wikipedia)

The Clydesdale is a breed of draft horse derived from the very hard-working farm horses of Clydesdale, Scotland, and named for that region. Thought to be over 300 years old, the breed was extensively used for pulling heavy loads in rural, industrial and urban settings, their common use extending into the 1960s when they were a still a familiar sight pulling the carts of milk and vegetable vendors.
The Clydesdale is thought to have arisen from the mid-18th century cross breeding of local mares with larger English and Flemish stock perhaps originally developed for use as warhorses.

But I digress,

My own personal journey to Clyde status has taken place over a number of years and is the result of poor diet and limited activity. I freely admit these things, however I also believe that I can reverse the process as well.

Only time will tell....