On the Road, On the Path


 "On the Road, On the Path"

August 10, 2026 

I was in the car on Thursday with Kona. We were going to get ourselves a cheeseburger and me a Coke Zero. This is typical after a bike ride. I was thinking about how I had spent my last week: working out and editing my work.  

Then the phone call with my cycling coach, Jen, replayed in my head. That I could be ready to chase a dream by next summer. That freaked me out, but fantastically. I was ready to get back into the game of triathlon and push the limits of my body. It was going to take hard work and dedication, but I was back, baby! 

It was then that my face split with a smile that was so big, I could not contain it if I had wanted to. It was at that very moment that I realized one thing. I was living my dream. Can you believe it? Do you have any idea how powerful that feeling is?

After 27 years of doing battle with the voices in my head. Trying to prove to whomever I could that I was not lazy. It was at that very moment that the voices in my head stopped. It had all come full circle. I was no longer Billy b, the lazy kid from Terre Haute. No, I was Billy b, athlete and writer.

The power that gives you. The confidence. I can’t even tell you. I knew at that moment that the path in front of me was clear. It was time for me to become the man I was born to be. The man who I knew I could be. 

Now is not the time to go into the specifics. They will come out in the weeks and months to come as I continue to chase dreams and live a life less ordinary.          

This excitement, I followed up with a great ride on Sunday. Crop Circle to Campus would be my loop; that much I knew. Hitting Tramway, which meant picking up another hill or two, was a bonus. My next ride is flat, so I was supposed to stay flat, but this is Southern Indiana, and one thing we have in abundance is hills. So, I ended up climbing over 2000 feet, but I felt great. It was a fantastic 3:44-minute ride, and almost 40 miles. 

What a great way to end the week that helped me realize I was “On the Path!” 

Research into tri’s, and distances is on my forecast for this week. As are locations! 

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