This evening as I pulled my rig into my home terminal I was happy to be off the road for the evening, yet I go back on the road tomorrow. I was feeling a little fatigued as I downshifted to third gear and pulled into the drive which circles around the terminal to my dock. All of our trucks but one, had already come in from the road which only serves to remind me how far I travel every time I pull away from the dock. Two to three trips for nine hundred fifty miles and one solo trip on Wednesday for just under six hundred miles.

As I passed down the line of parked rigs and trailers to door twelve I began getting antsy to just get out of the drivers seat to stretch my legs and then pack out my road gear onto my Harley to get home. But first I had to complete all my mileage and post trip inspection documentation and then log out of the electronic logging system. As it goes sometimes, a driver no matter how good at backing into tight spaces, will have troubles backing into the home dock. I had to do two pull ups this evening when normally I back in with no pull ups to adjust, or only one at the most. This whole scenario only took maybe a couple extra minutes, but after eighteen hours in the truck it seemed like an eternity. Especially when you are itching to get home for the evening.

Once I had my rig parked, I jumped out and ran to the back of the trailer where I kicked a wheel chock under a tire. I retrieved my gear from the cab and strolled down to the motorcycle parking area where my Iron Sled was parked under a canopy. I placed some of my stuff in a saddle bag and then strapped the rest to the sissy bar nice and tight so as to not lose any of it on the trip home.

I swung a leg over to straddle my hog, then slid on my sunglasses while hitting the starter button. I love the sound of that big V Twin motor rumbling to life through my Reinhart Racing exhaust pipes. That twin cam motor rumbling loudly out of the pipes is music to my ears as I squeeze in the clutch and drop the shifter down one into first gear and head out towards Interstate 435 where I rolled on the throttle hard and speed shifted through the gears until I was running ninety five miles per hour as I merged onto the highway. Once in traffic I throttled back to seventy miles per hour and made the decision to use Kansas Highway 5 to get home. Highway 5 is a nice tree lined road with rolling hills and great curves for cornering, just a tremendous amount of fun on a bike. Hammering the gas and leaning far down into the curves first to the right, then to the left, then hard again to the right twisting the throttle wide open in the straight aways. Occasionally getting down low enough to drag my foot boards on the asphalt. I really have to admit that at almost fifty five years of age, and having ridden motorcycles since I was eight years old, I still get the same thrill and sense of excitement I did as a kid when I was turned lose on my grand parents farm on our little Honda 100. Being a biker really is something in your blood. I was born to ride.

Once I rolled into town it was decision time as to what to have for dinner. A easy and lazy choice would be to stop at any of the many fast food choke and pukes on our main drag. I could choose between any number of McGreasey Burger and fries or the Sonic $5 bagged lunch special which is just another cheap ass hamburger and greasy fries with a sugary drink for close to a ten dollar bill no matter where I stopped. Or, I could have stopped for a pizza and beer and really loaded up on carbs which would only to serve to fuck up how I feel the rest of the night. But, here is the deal, I am honestly a Health FREAK, with all caps intended. I live my life where I honestly consider the impact of everything which passes my through my lips to my gullet. In life, we are given one body to get through it with. No fucking do overs allowed when you jack it up. I will be fifty five years old in a couple months and while I am not old, I am also no spring chicken who should be trying to get away with as much stupidity as possible. I love life as I live it. I would not change a damn thing. I have had my ups and downs as most good folk have, but never the less I have always fought hard through my difficulties in life to only come back out the other side even stronger than before entering the abyss of turmoil. People look at me like I have a third eye in my forehead when I do not want to go out to eat with them or when I turn down alcoholic beverages at social functions. While I appreciate the friendly gestures, what I do not appreciate is the way some will act all insulted when you will not indulge shit food with them or a couple pitchers of beer. Hell, I even love a good cold beer occasionally, but I only have a couple on my terms when i am damn good and ready. Maybe even a couple shots of moonshine over ice too, if I am in the mood. But, it is actually very seldom that I do any of this as my health is first and foremost in importance over anything else in life.

I have had a second chance at life after suffering a spinal injury in August 2009. I blew out a disk at L5 S1 which the first course of action was a prescription to the narcotic Hydrocodone and muscle relaxers to ease the pain until I could undergo epidural injections into my spine. These were fairly painful and after the third injection my pain specialist referred me to a neurosurgeon for spinal surgery. Once I had underwent the knife, I was sent home with a prescription to a large bottle of Oxycodone with refills. And once my refills had been filled, my doctor still kept having new refills authorized until the day I realized I was no longer a functioning human, but a full blown fucking opiate addict. I never saw the addiction coming as I really did not like the way the drugs made me feel. Nor did I realize that remaining in constant pain was just one of many symptoms of addiction. My injury left me with a permanently damaged sciatic nerve that causes me chronic pain daily which I have just learned to live with. It keeps my ego in check in the weight room when lifting heavy weights. This injury caused my right foot to trail off and drag when I walked which it took me an entire year of constant thought and effort to learn to walk normal again. When because of the pain of the chronic pain my doctor made the suggestion I go on full and permanent disability, I fired her that day and never went back. I made a choice to get my life back one way or the other and went home and detoxed from opiates without medical supervision. It was a week of pure living hell which I tried to hide from my family, but it was the best choice I could make for my self. All this to circle back around to choices we make to either improve or destroy our selves with bad health and dietary habits.

Tonight, instead of eating garbage from a fast food joint, I went home and prepared an eight ounce cod fillet seasoned with Cajon seasonings which I plated over a bed of lettuce and drizzled with a berry vinaigrette. All of which totaled 282 calories for 6g fat, 0g carbs and 28g protein for the fish. Or 4 Weight Watchers points for the salad dressing. After being on the road, this meal only took me about ten minutes at best to prepare at a cost of less than $5.

After my dinner, I made another good choice for my health and wellness. Instead of taking a hot bath and relaxing in front of the boob tube, I lace up my sneakers and took a brisk three mile walk through the Leavenworth VA grounds. It would have been easy to veg out, but that is not near as rewarding as good exercise is to the body and soul.

As much as I hate the substandard care we Veterans receive from the VA, I also understand it is a system that is a poorly managed political football that is overwhelmed by patients. But, I do love walking and running on their grounds as it is a peaceful place with old historic buildings which after years of neglect are begging to be refurbished into offices and education centers.

The bottom line is we are what we eat and our bodies reflect if we exercise or live as lazy ass couch potatoes. Don’t want to look like a cream puff, stop eating the damn cream puffs and get your ass up and move even when you do not feel like it. It is about choices we make. Hell, some of my best weight lifting sessions where I hit new personal records in the amount of weight lifted or reps/sets achieved have come when I least felt like lifting the iron. You have choices in life. Choose wisely friends. Be in control of your body as it is not always your friend as if you let it control you, it damn sure will. Eat enough Oreo’s and chocolate milk and your body is not going to let you off the couch.