The Journey To 90 - Stronger Than Yesterday

03/16/2026

Cycling for the Mind — A Three-Post Excursion

Post 2: The Brain Chemistry of the Ride

I started riding a bike almost as far back as I can remember. It feels very natural to jump on and behind pedaling. I highly recommend it to everyone. It is a very fun way to get exercise with low impact - and- there are so many incredible benefits to the body!

When steady endurance movement begins — like cycling — the brain starts shifting its chemistry in several important ways.

Dopamine – Motivation and Reward

As the body settles into rhythmic effort, the brain releases dopamine.

Dopamine is the neurotransmitter tied to motivation, focus, and reward. It helps the brain recognize that what you are doing is meaningful and worth continuing.

This is one reason the first few miles can feel difficult — the system is still waking up.

But once dopamine rises, the brain begins reinforcing the behavior:

“Yes… keep doing this.”

⸻

Endorphins – Natural Pain Regulation

As effort continues, the brain releases endorphins.

Endorphins are natural opioid-like molecules that help regulate discomfort and physical stress.

They do two things at once:

• reduce the perception of pain
• create a subtle sense of well-being

This is part of what people refer to as the “runner’s high.”

Cyclists experience it too — especially during longer steady rides.

⸻

Serotonin – Emotional Stability

Rhythmic aerobic movement also supports serotonin regulation.

Serotonin influences:

• mood
• emotional balance
• anxiety regulation
• sleep cycles

As serotonin stabilizes, the mind often becomes less reactive and more grounded.

This is why a ride can turn a restless mind into a calm one.

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Cortisol – Stress Hormone Reduction

At the same time, regular aerobic movement helps regulate cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone.

When cortisol stays chronically elevated, the brain tends to remain in a threat-detection mode.

But rhythmic endurance exercise helps bring cortisol back toward a healthier range.

The nervous system shifts.

The body begins operating from calm awareness instead of stress vigilance.

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BDNF – Fertilizer for the Brain

And then there is BDNF — Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor.

BDNF helps neurons:

• grow
• repair
• form stronger connections

It is one of the most important molecules involved in learning, memory, and mental resilience.

Many neuroscientists consider aerobic exercise one of the most powerful ways to stimulate BDNF production.

In simple terms:

Movement helps the brain rewire itself for clarity and resilience.

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What This Means on the Road

All of these changes combine during a steady ride.

Dopamine improves focus.
Endorphins soften discomfort.
Serotonin stabilizes mood.
Cortisol drops.
BDNF strengthens the brain’s wiring.

And suddenly the rider feels something simple but profound:

Clear.
Calm.
Capable.

⸻

A quiet truth many cyclists discover -

The bicycle is not just training the body.

It is tuning the brain.

🚴‍♂️

Biking may not be for everyone. Movement is. Find your lane and keep going. We are on a journey…

The Journey To 90!

03/13/2026

Becoming Your Own Champion: The Mind – Excursion Post 1: The Bicycle Clears the Mind

It is no secret that I love cycling…particularly endurance road cycling. It all started the first time I sat on a bike, started pedaling, and rolled past mile 1. Anyone can start, and it is an activity that one can stay with for many decades.

There are several great exercise modes that promote great health. Often, a combo is best. If one bikes, they need to also do resistance training, not just for muscles but for bone density.

Cycling is one of the best low-impact exercises a person can do. One might say that stronger legs, burning calories, or better cardio are benefits— but that is only surface-level. Let’s dive deeper…

Somewhere after the first few miles, the noise fades.

The pedals settle into rhythm.
Breath finds its place.
The mind begins to breathe again.

I often refer to my love for “the rhythm of consistency”. I see all of my activities as having rhythm, just like consistent spinning pedals and piston-pumping legs.

Cycling has a quiet way of organizing things.

The steady turning of the cranks creates a rhythm that the nervous system recognizes.
Heart, lungs, and legs begin working together.
Thoughts begin doing the same.

Mental clutter slowly drifts away.

Problems that felt tangled begin to loosen.
Ideas appear without being forced. Solutions rise to the surface as if they had been waiting patiently for the mind to grow quiet enough to hear them.

This is where the ride becomes more than exercise.

It becomes clarity.

It becomes calm.

And sometimes, without realizing when it happens, the mind slips into something even deeper.

Flow.

A place where movement feels effortless, breathing feels natural, and the mind is no longer fighting itself.

Just riding.

Just thinking.

Just being.

The most beautiful flow I have experienced so far came on a late fall afternoon — about mile 48 and more than three hours into the ride.

The air was cool. The sun was getting lower, shining directly in front of me. Its warm glow bounced softly off the road ahead. I could feel that gentle warmth on the skin of my arms.

I glanced to the left… then to the right… taking in the landscape I was passing through. It was beautiful.

My legs kept turning in a steady cadence. The rhythm felt effortless. Natural. Like the road, the bike, and I had settled into the same conversation.

I soaked it all in.

Then I looked up at the sky — that deep, late-fall Central Texas blue.

I chuckled and shook my head, overwhelmed with gratitude for the ride… for the moment… for the simple gift of being there.

I looked up again and said out loud,

“Thank you, my God, for this moment.
For my health.
For sustaining me.
You are the Most High.”

When I recall or retell this, I have to add that I covered 12 miles unaware of how far I travelled or how much time had passed by. I describe it as “moving through time over miles without recognition”.

This was the most significant Flow experience to date, but I get there on almost every ride. Even short rides. This is more significant than one might think!

03/13/2026

My evening recovery/healing TKR ritual. It settles today’s activities and preps for tomorrow:
Heating pad 10 min.
Stationary bike ride 15 - 30 min (depending on the day).
Red light therapy 20 min.
Icing 20 min.

This keeps me moving forward in an exceptional way. I whole heartedly endorse it!

Hey let me know your experience with any or all of this. One friend recently expressed how she loved red light therapy.

Now for a hot cup of Beam Dream brownie. Then turn out the lights…the party’s over.

03/12/2026

Recently someone asked me in a Facebook health group:

“If you could give one sentence about the success of the journey you’re on, what would it be?”

I didn’t have to think long.

My answer was simple.

“Never negotiate with a negative thought.”

Because the mind is where every journey is either strengthened…or quietly abandoned.

It is where the battle is won or lost.

Negative thoughts will always show up:
Fatigue.
Doubt.
Excuses.
Fear.

That’s normal. It’s part of being human.

But the mistake many people make is engaging them in conversation.

They start negotiating.

“Maybe I’ll start tomorrow.”
“Maybe today is not the day.”
“Maybe this is too hard.”

The moment you begin negotiating with a negative thought, you’ve already given it power.

Motivation comes and goes like the weather.
Discipline is the decision to move forward anyway.

Champions learn something different.

They recognize the thought…and keep moving forward anyway.

Not because the road is easy.

But because the mind has already decided the direction. And once the mind decides…the body follows.

03/11/2026

Yesterday was a bit wet so I postponed my first ride post TKR. 8 weeks ago my daughter brought me home from the hospital. I had hoped to ride 1 mile. Maybe 3 if everything was good. I almost did 5.

I could have gone longer but wisdom says “there are more days ahead.”

…and so it begins…

Stronger Than Yesterday

03/10/2026

Tomorrow is my 8 week post TKR anniversary. I am hoping to celebrate it with a short road bike ride. If it is not raining I will do that. Who knows, I might ride in the rain. Well - not really.

My last ride of 2025 was 91 miles. The first on my new knee will be 1. Maybe 3 if everything is good. Not disappointing at all though. This is how it starts. If I am able to get back to 91 this year, it all begins with this first mile.

Do you have a goal? All you have to do is decide, commit and get into action.

Get that first “mile” in.

Let’s goooooooo!

03/08/2026

Becoming Your Own Champion – Part 1: Health

The food we eat today is our body tomorrow.

That is not philosophy.
That is biology.

For years I managed chronic metabolic disease.

My doctors helped stabilize me.
They prescribed medication that got me off the merry-go-round.
And I am grateful for that.

But no one ever said, “We can cure this.”

They managed it.

We live in the age of “Managed Healthcare”.

I had to decide whether I would manage it forever…or change its direction.

Medication steadied the ship.

But I changed what entered my body.

I changed the fuel.
I changed the rhythm.
I changed the inflammation.
I changed the inputs.

And slowly, the trajectory changed.

Health is not something handed to you.
It is something built.

Becoming your own champion does not mean rejecting medicine.
It means participating in your recovery.
It means understanding that what you eat today becomes the cells you live in tomorrow.

No one can make that decision for you.

If there is even a small voice inside you that wonders whether your tomorrow could look different…

Step toward it.

Where will you be tomorrow if you start today?

Become a champion for your own health.

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The Journey To 90 “PHILosophy” is to choose to live Stronger Than Yesterday.

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03/07/2026

If you started today…where might you be tomorrow?

03/07/2026

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03/02/2026

The Eyes of a Champion

In his eyes lives the Competitor —
forged by conflict, fed by challenge,
steady beneath the roar.

A thousand years of winning courses through his veins. He does not blink. He does not flinch. He does not turn from adversity nor retreat from battle.

A true Champion.
One purpose. One goal.

Victory!

I took this photo a few years ago at Sherwood Forest Faire. He walked right up to me after the jousting event ended. Oh yes he did indeed win it.

I know he could not see me the way we understand sight — yet I was seen. By a fellow competitor.

In him I saw myself. I love winning way more than I fear losing. Like him, my will is aligned in seeking victory and steadily I move forward accordingly.

In the eyes of this Champion I saw a kindred spirit. An inspiration.

Love winning in your lives, my friends. Seek the victory.

- The Journey To 90 -

02/27/2026

I will walk this Journey To 90 until my legs fail. And if that happens I will dig my fingers in the sand and pull myself forward with my hands.

Dramatic?
Not really.
I am committed.

Forward is the only direction…I will never stop!

- The Journey To 90…Stronger Than Yesterday -

02/25/2026

Vitamin G

Of all the vitamins we take, this one may have the greatest impact on the body.

Best of all…it’s free!

“What is this Vitamin G you speak of, sir?”

Gratitude.

I recently heard Ben Azadi talk about it — not as a metaphor, but as physiology.

A spirit of gratitude can:
• Lower blood pressure and heart rate
• Improve sleep
• Boost the immune system
• Reduce stress, anxiety, and depression
• Increase dopamine and serotonin — the neurotransmitters tied to happiness and well-being

Read that again.

Lower blood pressure?
Better sleep?
Stronger immune system?
Better brain chemistry?

Are you kidding me?

No.

Hands up — who needs some of that?

“Nah, I’m good.” - said no one.

And here’s the kicker:

It costs nothing.
No prescription.
No co-pay.
No subscription.

Just intention.

Slow down, my friends. Consume some.
Take it daily and watch what happens.

Vitamin G.
Getcha some!