Chasing Sunsets...ch 1.

"I once rode a bike from Miami to Key West."

I figured that would be a really cool thing to say and apparently so did a great friend of mine named Barrett. So we decided that over New Years we would embark upon the 160 mile bike ride from my house near the University of Miami to Key West and back. Here is kind of how it went.

After spending a few days in Tallahassee paying my respects to Bobby Bowden Field at FSU and spending a few laughs with my other most favorite person in the world I headed down to Plant City, Florida to pick up Barrett and begin our adventure. Barrett is one of the most amazing people that I currently know. He is completely fearless and inspires everyone he meets. People fight for his time and focus and friendship as if he's a rockstar rather than a guy getting his PHD and used to teach agriculture in middle school. He truly is a man that knows a thousand people but calls only a few friends. I am blessed that he calls me a friend and that I consider him a brother. I can count on him for anything.

I had been fighting holiday traffic the entire way and was relieved when I exited off of I75 near Zephyrhills, Florida. It was pitch dark and I wondered why in the world they didn't have any street lights. Almost intuitively my phone rang and Barretts voice came spilling out of it.

"Jake, where you at man?"

"I just exited I75 so I'll be there in no time."

"Awesome! Man I'm excited to see you. Hey I'm going to Carrabas to pick-up some dinner what do you want me to get you?"

"Ummm whatever man, how long is that going to take I just took my exit so I'll be there really soon."

"Don't worry I'll be back before you get here,"

Although I didn't say anything I doubted highly that Barrett would arrive home before me but after 45 minutes of driving through tiny country towns on REALLY confusing, speed restricted country highways I arrived in Plant City and pulled up the driveway to Barretts parents house. This was the first time that I had ever met Barretts friends and family. They are about as relaxed and welcoming as a family could ever be. Barretts sister was staying with them for a few days with her son and daughter who stole the hearts of anyone to pass through the door. Barretts Mom was a gracious loving, quick-witted lady who, upon my arrival, reconfigured the household sleeping arrangements to account for one more. Barrett treats his Dad like he was his best friend and just one of the guys, they camp together, watch football together, counsel people together, hangout with all of Barretts friends together, tell dirty jokes together, they have a very cool relationship. After dinner Chad came over. I've never met Chad but Barrett speaks of him a lot and told me to contact him for training tips when I decided to run a marathon. Chad and I have emailed each other a few times but it was great to finally meet the man behind the facebook profile.

Chad is a pretty amazing guy. A little over a year ago he was diagnosed with cancer and underwent a pretty aggressive batch of chemotherapy yet continued to train for and compete in a number of triathlons during it. About a year after his cancer went into remission Chad completed his first Iron Man Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii. An Iron Man consists of a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride followed by a full 26.2 mile marathon. Chad completed the Iron Man after nursing 3 flat tires in a time of around 15 hours. Can you imagine pushing your body to its extreme for over 15 hours? Most people are bearly awake for 15 hours in a day! Like I said chad is a pretty amazing guy. He is not tall or bound in muscle or has the looks of a male model. He's a gentle, well-mannered, kinda average guy but when asked about the Iron Man or his battle with cancer he just kinda of shrugs them off as if to say, "Yeah, I went through that but it's no big thing." Talking with Chad for a few minutes I realized that Chad genuinely believes that he can achieve whatever he wants. There is nothing that can hold him back. But he doesn't boast it, he quietly yet confidently knows that it is true but chooses to keep it to himself.

The three of us sat on Barretts sofa talking about God and life and marathons and biking from Miami to Key West. We asked questions like, "Where would you look for scripture to help you decide whether to take your dying grandmother off of life support or not." or, "If a gay couple get married, adopt a child and 15 years later one of them comes to know Jesus, would you tell them their family and their love for one another is OK or not OK?" and, "How does Urban Mayer's leave of absence effect the Gators 2010 recruiting class?" We laughed and joked for a while and we got real serious for a while. Barrett and I laughed about how unprepared for our trip we were but how it really wasn't that big of a deal and should be relatively easy. We still hadn't decided where we were going to sleep on our trip but Barrett was bringing a tent and figured we could always camp behind a building or by a bush somewhere, which to him seemed completely reasonable, but to me was a little uncomfortable but made the whole thing far more adventurous so I was OK with it. We sat and talked and grew together as friends. Good conversation has a tendency to mature friendships quickly. As time went by Chad decided to stay the night rather than drive home so I stayed in the kids playroom on an inflatable mattress while Chad slept opposite me in a child's safety bed. After stumbling over a few Thomas the train toys and over-sized puzzle pieces I found my way to my bed and while staring up at a poster of all of the disney princesses I couldn't help but think of our conversation and of Chad and Barrett and what remarkable guys they are. I fell asleep feeling inspired. Not by books or songs or bible verses but inspired by people. People I know. People I call friends. I remember thinking, "These are Barretts friends, these are the people who he surrounds himself with." And, "Why don't I know people like this?"