CULT OF JAMES

Ten miles on a bike. For McDonald’s breakfast. This is the most honest activity name I’ve ever logged because that is exactly what happened. The Egg McMuffin was the destination. The 10.35 miles were the cost of admission. “Eye of the Tiger” played twice — Strava doesn’t lie about that. System of a Down’s “Chop Suey!” hit mid-ride, which is…

Downtown Pensacola on a Thursday evening. 6.4 miles in 48 minutes — a leisure pace, not going fast, just going far. This is a different kind of ride than the 4 AM loops. This one has traffic lights and people and the particular chaos of Palafox Street in July. No music logged for this one. Just the sounds of the…

Same downtown ride, different Strava entry. GPS double-tracked again — same 6.4 miles, same 48 minutes, same Thursday evening. The only difference is 25 extra feet of elevation gain, which is Strava’s way of saying “I’m guessing.” Duplicate data aside, the ride still happened. One ride, two records, same legs doing the work. Sometimes the data is messier than the…

Ghost again. “Dance Macabre” into “Faith” into “Witch Image” — the Prequelle album was in heavy rotation this summer and I’m not going to pretend it wasn’t perfect for 5 AM cycling. Shorter ride today, just over two miles. Eleven minutes. The route got trimmed a little, or maybe I turned around earlier. Either way, still out there before the…

Morning ride. 2.2 miles, eleven minutes. Ghost again — five tracks crammed into a short loop because when you find the right soundtrack for July in Florida, you don’t change it. Quick and done. Legs moving before the brain catches up. The kind of ride where you’re back in the driveway before the coffee gets cold. STATS 🚴 Ride —…

Ghost again. “Dance Macabre” into “Faith” into “Witch Image” — the Prequelle album was basically my entire summer 2018 soundtrack. 4:38 AM, 2.18 miles, the shortest of these morning loops. Slightly shorter route or maybe I just turned around early. Either way, eleven minutes of pedaling in the dark with Tobias Forge singing about plagues and witchcraft. There’s something about…

Morning ride, Camila Cabello morning. Seven tracks, twelve minutes, 2.6 miles. The entire vibe shifted from Ghost’s darkness to pop in the July sun. Sometimes the shuffle knows something you don’t. Havana playing while pedaling through a Florida neighborhood is either perfect thematic alignment or cosmic comedy. Either way, the legs didn’t care what the ears were hearing. They just…

Saturday morning, 5:21 AM. The Camila Cabello phase. Don’t judge — or do, I don’t care. “All These Years” into “She Loves Control” into “Never Be the Same.” Pop music at dawn on a bicycle is its own kind of energy. Not complicated energy. Just the kind that gets you through 2.57 miles before the sun burns everything off. Same…

6:21 AM Saturday ride. The Camila Cabello phase, apparently — “All These Years,” “She Loves Control,” “Never Be the Same,” back to back to back. No judgment. The album is good and anyone who says otherwise hasn’t ridden a bike to it at dawn. Two and a half miles, twelve minutes, 44 feet of elevation. The exact same numbers as…

Strava says 0.85 miles in 4 minutes. The data’s glitched — GPS probably grabbed a chunk of the bike ride that happened at the same time. These things overlap sometimes when you’re switching between activities at 4 AM and your phone is doing its best. “Cirice” was still playing. Same Ghost, same darkness, same July morning that hasn’t decided to…