CULT OF JAMES

A third of a mile. Twenty-one minutes. January evening in the dark. This wasn’t exercise. This was getting off the couch and walking to the end of the street and back because the alternative was not moving at all. Paleskin in the earbuds — one song for the whole walk. Some days showing up is the entire workout. This was…

Almost hit ten. Ended at 9.9 miles, sixty-three minutes on the bike, and Ghost playing the entire time. Ten tracks of Tobias Forge carrying me through the last Florida heat of September. There’s something about Ghost on a long ride — the theatrical builds match the pace changes, the heavy drops land when the legs are burning, and Papa Emeritus…

Ten miles for a McMuffin. That was the deal. Breakfast had to be earned on a Saturday morning in July, Florida heat already building by 8 AM, and the only currency accepted was sweat. Armin van Buuren and Martin Garrix on the speakers — proper trance and EDM for a proper distance. Hi-Lo dropping bass while the miles dropped behind….

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 —…

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…

Morning ride. Ghost again. Five tracks, twelve minutes, the same 2.6-mile loop that the legs know by muscle memory now. July 12th, two days after the last one, same route, same band, same heat. Consistency isn’t exciting. It’s not supposed to be. It’s supposed to be there when the exciting stuff isn’t. STATS 🚴 Ride — Morning ride 📏 2.60…

Morning ride with the strangest playlist of the summer. David Bowie, a-ha, Eddie Money. The shuffle reached back to the ’80s like it knew something about the rider the algorithm shouldn’t. 2.6 miles, thirteen minutes. Take On Me playing while taking on the same loop. Under Pressure while the Florida morning pressed down. Baby Hold On while holding on to…

Gatorade run. 5.5 miles to Circle K and back because hydration is a lifestyle and sometimes that lifestyle requires a bicycle and eleven songs. The Golden State Sunshine Singers, Thin White Ziggy, The Punk Rock Movement — a cover band playlist for a cover story. Nobody rides five miles for Gatorade. You ride five miles because the body needs to…

Evening run. 0.7 miles. Fifteen minutes. PreFeKt in the ears — one track for a short loop in the July dark. Not every run needs a story. Some runs are just runs. Shoes on, door open, move, come back. Done. STATS 🏃 Walk — Evening Run 📏 0.70 mi  |  ⏱ 15 min ⚡ 21:25/mi View on Strava → LISTENING…

The Parkland lowlands trail — the 1.9-mile section. Twenty-eight minutes on the bike through actual terrain instead of neighborhood loops. PreFeKt again, one song stretched across almost two miles of trail. 3.7 miles total with the ride out and back. The trail section is the payoff — different surface, different scenery, different relationship with the handlebars. The rest is just…