- 13 hours ago
Independent Lens - Season 26 Episode 13- Bike Vessel
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#EnglishMovie #cdrama #drama #engsub #chinesedramaengsub #movieshortfull
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TVTranscript
00:00:00Oh
00:00:30this car right here is from 1995 the very first surgery that was the emergency surgery that they
00:00:41did this car is also from 1995 this is my second open-heart surgery
00:00:50this car here is where they open my chest I could always hear my
00:00:59chest pop like your ankles would pop one of the issues that they had with my third surgery is
00:01:09being able to harvest enough veins probably the scariest thing though was when they were preparing
00:01:21me for that surgery and my body rejected to die and I flatlined I was dead on the table at that
00:01:27point I needed to make a change my thought process was I'm not going out like this I'd rather go out
00:01:40exercising and being healthy than going downhill with more and more medications
00:01:57so
00:02:38First serve in 20 years.
00:02:47I was in a conversation with my son's fiance.
00:02:52She was talking about how she loved to play tennis.
00:02:55I play tennis. I used to play a lot of tennis.
00:02:58I'm sure I can hit the ball back and forth to you.
00:03:01Tennis was one of his sports, something that he played often when we were little kids.
00:03:06It's been a long time.
00:03:08You remember when you were really good at something, but age and time can remind you that you're not the same person anymore.
00:03:18With all the breathing and him, it was a wake-up call for him.
00:03:24I saw myself spiraling downhill with my health.
00:03:28I decided to do something about it, and I don't know what made me buy a bicycle, but I bought a bicycle.
00:03:33I walked to the bicycle shop, which was three miles away.
00:03:42Surprisingly, I wasn't really well received in the bike stores.
00:03:46I basically went in and said, hey, I'm looking for something in this price range.
00:03:50And they would basically say, we have nothing in that price range.
00:03:55I was really nervous.
00:03:56I'm like, what did I just do?
00:03:58I just spent all this money on this bike.
00:04:00I can't even ride at home.
00:04:02From that point on, three times a day, I would ride the bike around the block, which is a quarter of a mile.
00:04:09And that was a big achievement for me.
00:04:10I just kept riding, and I'm continuing to ride today.
00:04:20When I'm riding, it's a feeling that it's almost out of body.
00:04:27It's rhythmic.
00:04:28It's, I have no concept of time or space or how fast I'm pedaling or how fast we're going.
00:04:35I'm just in a groove, and we're just rolling.
00:04:40And I remember my quarter-mile rides where my legs are burning.
00:04:48And now when I ride, my body isn't ready to ride until I hit, like, mile 10.
00:04:55If I don't ride for two days, I literally go through withdrawals.
00:05:04Your last name?
00:05:05Seals.
00:05:08Or Donnie?
00:05:09This is the first time that I've gone a year without an appointment, which is big.
00:05:14Normally, I come every quarter.
00:05:15And then the last one, he said, hey, I'll see you in a year.
00:05:18I said, hey, sounds good.
00:05:22Donnie Lee Seals?
00:05:23Yes, ma'am.
00:05:24Hi, how are you?
00:05:25Pretty good.
00:05:25I come home one day, and I told mom, I was like, there's no way that I can have a heart
00:05:31problem with the hills that I climbed today.
00:05:34Found my cardiologist, and he said, Donnie, you don't need this medicine.
00:05:38So he slowly started taking me off pill by pill.
00:05:42It wasn't overnight.
00:05:43It was over a period of two years.
00:05:45It turned out to be about 20 pills a day to be able to stay on this earth.
00:05:48I was talking to mom, and I was concerned about the money that I was spending on bikes.
00:05:55And she made a comment that we spent more money on this medication than I'm spending on bikes.
00:06:02My cardiologist says my biking is my medication.
00:06:05So as long as I'm biking, I should never have to go back to this stuff.
00:06:09So I ride.
00:06:23Hey, ma'am.
00:06:24What up?
00:06:24Hold on.
00:06:26You got these loud blue.
00:06:28They look small.
00:06:29But you suppose they fit tight.
00:06:30They suppose they fit tight, though, right?
00:06:32Mm-hmm.
00:06:33It takes a long period.
00:06:35You got a feeling.
00:06:39There you go.
00:06:44You got it.
00:06:46It takes a long period.
00:06:48What?
00:06:50The cycling journey that my dad is on has really hit the entire family.
00:06:54My sister got a Peloton.
00:06:55My brother got a bike.
00:06:58It is February.
00:06:59I'm sorry, not February.
00:07:00August 5th, 2017.
00:07:04Mr. Seals and I are going on our first bike ride since I bought my new bike.
00:07:19Today, I am riding with Donnie Seals Sr.
00:07:22About to get a 35-mile ride in.
00:07:25We're about to head out on a path to a little different ride today.
00:07:28About to take this ride.
00:07:29I don't know where we're going, but he knows.
00:07:31We're about to go.
00:07:39Mr. Donnie Seals Sr. showing me what he's doing every day on a regular basis.
00:07:44You got me.
00:07:46I'm on that piece of bike, too.
00:07:48They are competitive, but they push each other in a good way.
00:07:52At 68, I'm enjoying where I'm at,
00:07:56because I could not even imagine doing what I'm going now
00:08:00five minutes ago.
00:08:01Do you feel better now?
00:08:02Oh, man.
00:08:03I feel the best I've heard.
00:08:04Oh, excuse me.
00:08:05The best I've felt, I don't know, since 20 years,
00:08:08more than that.
00:08:09My husband was excited for my son to get a bike.
00:08:12Now he's got a partner that they
00:08:15could do this journey together.
00:08:19Hey, man.
00:08:20What up, sir?
00:08:21Oh, wow.
00:08:22Did you see that link I sent you?
00:08:25Yeah, I did.
00:08:25There's a big difference in doing 100 one day
00:08:28and then doing 80 the next day.
00:08:30I don't think I'm ready for this, no.
00:08:32What's the distance from here to Carbondale?
00:08:35I'm not sure.
00:08:36That's under 400.
00:08:38It would have to be like a destination.
00:08:40It would have to be like Chicago to St. Louis.
00:08:42That's another option.
00:08:43Chicago to St. Louis.
00:08:51We're talking about a one-way trip, the destination from St. Louis to Chicago.
00:09:04Right.
00:09:05Do you think you can ride that?
00:09:07Uh, I have reservations.
00:09:09Okay.
00:09:10To do that in four days would be very aggressive for me.
00:09:14So from St. Louis to Springfield, 105 miles.
00:09:17Okay.
00:09:18Okay.
00:09:19So Springfield.
00:09:20Springfield to Bloomington, 66 miles.
00:09:23Okay.
00:09:24That's doable.
00:09:25Bloomington to Joliet.
00:09:26So that's 100 miles.
00:09:27Okay.
00:09:28Okay.
00:09:29And then Joliet to Chicago.
00:09:30That's like, I would say 40.
00:09:31That's 45 miles.
00:09:32I don't think Dad could have imagined riding this far.
00:09:36I think he really looked forward to it when his son came up with the idea, because my son
00:09:41is always thinking about, I call them crazy things, or things that seem impossible.
00:09:46You've never ridden a century before?
00:09:48No.
00:09:49As long as I've done a 66.
00:09:50Well, this is what we need to do between now and that trip.
00:09:54We need to ride at least three days in a row to see how your body's going to respond.
00:09:58Why are you keep saying me?
00:09:59My body, too.
00:10:00Okay.
00:10:01But you keep saying, let's see how you're going to respond.
00:10:05Well, look.
00:10:06How we're going, how our body...
00:10:08Mentally, I'm still 18, so...
00:10:10Yeah, but when you get on the bike and start doing 100 miles, your body will say you are
00:10:15not 18 anymore.
00:10:16That's true.
00:10:17I felt like this ride from St. Louis to Chicago was a good test to show my dad how far he had
00:10:22come.
00:10:33It was on a Christmas day.
00:10:36The weather was fantastic.
00:10:38I'll never forget, like 63, 64 degrees.
00:10:41Danny was a good golfer at the time, and I was a good golfer.
00:10:46And we enjoyed the game.
00:10:47So I'm like, hey, man, let's get the club and go to the golf course.
00:10:52Danny got up to the ball, swung.
00:10:55As soon as he hit the ball, he went down like somebody had shot him.
00:11:03And we was, like, nervous.
00:11:04We was like, hey, you all right?
00:11:06Got back up and he like, uh, yeah, I'm okay, man.
00:11:10I don't know what happened.
00:11:11I just...
00:11:12I just passed out.
00:11:14Later on that week, I think it was on a Tuesday before it really happened.
00:11:20He was in a meeting where he was about to get promoted to director.
00:11:25And I started getting this flush feeling like I had drank too much coffee.
00:11:29And I was telling one of the guys, man, I'm not feeling right.
00:11:32And he said, hey, let's go to the emergency room and I'll go with you.
00:11:34Today's ride was the beginning of the training for a ride from St. Louis to Chicago.
00:12:04I can't imagine doing 100.
00:12:12Oh, my God.
00:12:15This dude is already punking out.
00:12:17I have several concerns about the ride coming up.
00:12:19I've done a century before, but to do two centuries in a week is a concern.
00:12:24I think it's a mental aspect that I have to get over.
00:12:27Sir, you are worsen.
00:12:30What?
00:12:32Ooh, you are flip floppy every other day.
00:12:36Okay, well, let's hold up then.
00:12:38That's what I'm saying.
00:12:39What did you want to say other than that you don't want to do it?
00:12:42I'm saying let's hold up.
00:12:44That is not why you text me.
00:12:46You're absolutely right.
00:12:47Oh, I know that.
00:12:49That's 100% correct.
00:12:57Sticky, watch.
00:12:58You see the cameras on me?
00:12:59You go like this,
00:13:01and you put your hands down,
00:13:03go like this,
00:13:04go like that,
00:13:05put your hands up,
00:13:07hands down.
00:13:08Okay, y'all ready?
00:13:09Here we go.
00:13:10My family in the late 80s consisted of my wife, Sharon.
00:13:19This is the night before Christmas at the Seals house.
00:13:25My son, Donnie Jr., and my daughter, Nicole.
00:13:39And Nicky's gonna give me a surprise camera, and I'll give you lucky rainbow rice.
00:13:49At the time that we were moving to Wheaton, Sharon was pregnant with her third child.
00:13:54You want to do a touchdown for me, man?
00:13:55You want to do a touchdown for me, man?
00:13:56Yeah.
00:13:57You want to do a touchdown for me this morning?
00:13:58All right.
00:13:59Yes, baby!
00:14:01All right.
00:14:02Financially, we were struggling a little bit, just trying to make it primarily from day to day.
00:14:07We felt that being in Wheaton in a primarily white environment was also good because we felt that would be the environment that they would be working in and be exposed to probably a lot of.
00:14:18Wheaton, Illinois was not a very diverse town.
00:14:22As I'm growing up in Wheaton, I didn't think about my blackness, but white kids in the neighborhood reminded me of my blackness, especially in school.
00:14:32Our family was friends with the few black families that were in the 10-mile radius, and the other two black families were both named Johnson.
00:14:50My father worked at IBM.
00:14:52And as a kid, that's really the extent of what I knew of his job.
00:14:55I became a software instructor for IBM teaching machine code, machine language to the people that actually wrote the code.
00:15:08We lived in a split-level house, and there was a computer room.
00:15:12And I would go into the room, and I would play pinball.
00:15:17In school, we had to write out these Bible verses.
00:15:22I loved the fact that I could go home and type them.
00:15:25And so, Dad would come down, sit up the computer.
00:15:27He was almost like he had to warm it up.
00:15:29Because you started, he's like, okay, I'll let you know when it's ready to go.
00:15:32And I think there's even a picture of me once we got a mouse.
00:15:36The mouse, she had to open up and take the ball out and clean because of all the lint.
00:15:40And sometimes, I was afraid I was misspelling a word.
00:15:43He's like, hey, don't worry about this.
00:15:45There's new technology on it called a spell check.
00:15:47Then it would print it out on a dot matrix printer.
00:15:52And that would take like 15, 20 minutes.
00:15:55I didn't know that he was a systems engineer.
00:15:57I didn't know that before he got to IBM, he worked at John Deere.
00:16:06At a young age, I don't think it ever crossed my mind whether he liked his job or not.
00:16:10He never said, I love my job. He never said, I don't like my job.
00:16:17When we first got married, I think it was just, I have to find something to provide for my family.
00:16:24So once he got the IBM job, I thought we had made it.
00:16:28But then the complaints started coming.
00:16:31Working at IBM was indicative of our society at that time.
00:16:39The racial environment, IBM mirrored our society.
00:16:52He often tells the story of this project he was working on where he had to figure out this code.
00:16:58And if he didn't figure out the code, he was going to be fired.
00:17:01And he worked all night.
00:17:02I think there were maybe an hour or two left before he had to deliver it.
00:17:06And he hadn't figured it out.
00:17:07And he called my mom, Sharon, to tell her that he was sorry.
00:17:11And when he was on the phone, he said, I got it.
00:17:13People put you in situations because they want you to fail.
00:17:16As soon as you figure out how to succeed in one area, they turn up the heat.
00:17:20We know that stress actually has a direct impact on heart health.
00:17:28Stress can also come from racism and discrimination.
00:17:32The discrimination that we experience or perceive directly correlates with stress,
00:17:38which raises certain chemicals in our body.
00:17:42So it causes our heart rates to get higher, causes our blood pressures to get higher,
00:17:46as if we are running away from a huge animal or a huge monster.
00:17:51Right now, I feel a little rundown, a little tired.
00:18:05I feel like I'm a little behind in my training for St. Louis.
00:18:09I physically am intimidated by it.
00:18:12This is my pre-meal.
00:18:15His biggest struggle to me is he mentally psychs himself out.
00:18:20I think he's scared to do it just because it's unknown.
00:18:37It's a big community, D.
00:18:39I felt like cycling could be a huge thing for my dad when he joined a club.
00:18:47My dad is really just an introvert.
00:18:49He doesn't really like being around people all that much.
00:18:52But cycling made him excited to be around people.
00:18:56That's a new jersey.
00:18:58Yeah.
00:18:59Oh, my goodness. It's so nice to see you.
00:19:01Who are you riding with today?
00:19:02I'm riding with John. We're riding the triple.
00:19:04Ah, wow.
00:19:06To see him jump into this new thing socially, it almost made like a new person.
00:19:11Hey, Eric. How you doing?
00:19:13What's up, Donny?
00:19:14How you doing, man?
00:19:15Hey, how about you start?
00:19:16Good. Real good.
00:19:17You guys cutting out? Look like you're ready to go.
00:19:19You guys cutting out pretty soon?
00:19:20Cycling is something that he could have done by himself.
00:19:23But I think he loved it so much, he wanted to join other people that were like him.
00:19:28We're going to ride from St. Louis to Chicago.
00:19:31The Route 66.
00:19:32Great.
00:19:33I'm doing good.
00:19:34I'm doing good.
00:19:35From when I first met you, you've tightened up.
00:19:38You've really done well.
00:19:39I've been...
00:19:40Yeah, thanks.
00:19:41And I think when I first met you, you were getting into biking.
00:19:44Right.
00:19:45To rejuvenate yourself after your life.
00:19:48I've had some medical issues and biking has turned it around quite a bit.
00:19:53It's good to see him socialize, though. I feel like a proud child.
00:19:56Hey, that's my group. That's my group.
00:20:00Hey, Eric. Eric.
00:20:02Now you're calling me up here.
00:20:03We're rolling.
00:20:04I feel out of shape. I'm tired. Try to stay with a fast group for about five miles.
00:20:17I'm not a pickle lover.
00:20:18I love pickles.
00:20:19But a pickle today versus that tree? Night and day, man.
00:20:22I just had three.
00:20:23Oh, okay.
00:20:24I'm gonna have two more before I lose.
00:20:25That salt.
00:20:26You know, that water you gave me is pure nasty.
00:20:27Oh, really?
00:20:28It's disgusting.
00:20:29It tastes like chalk.
00:20:30Did you shake it up?
00:20:31I figured you did.
00:20:32I gotta shake it up again?
00:20:33I'm not a pickle lover.
00:20:34I'm not a pickle lover.
00:20:35I'm not a pickle lover.
00:20:36I love pickles.
00:20:37But a pickle today versus that tree?
00:20:39Night and day, man.
00:20:40I just had three.
00:20:41Oh, okay.
00:20:42I'm gonna have two more before I lose.
00:20:45That salt.
00:20:46You know, that water you gave me is pure nasty.
00:20:49Oh, really?
00:20:50It's disgusting.
00:20:51It tastes like chalk.
00:20:53Did you shake it up?
00:20:55I figured you did.
00:20:58I gotta shake it up again?
00:21:00He didn't tell me there was instructions with the water.
00:21:12I'm dead tired.
00:21:14My ass hurts with this new seat.
00:21:18I can't feel between my joint and my joint.
00:21:22We just did the hard part.
00:21:26So you're coming from St. Louis and you're at mile 50.
00:21:31And you got...
00:21:32Keep going.
00:21:33You got 60 more to go.
00:21:40Sharon Seals.
00:21:41Yes.
00:21:42How do you feel about your husband?
00:21:43How old is he?
00:21:4467.
00:21:45And what's about to happen?
00:21:46He is going to get a tattoo.
00:21:49Men go through men life crisis.
00:21:51So I'm not surprised that he is doing this.
00:21:54It's a lot cheaper than getting a Maserati.
00:21:57Scar will be kind of like a line for it.
00:21:59So when I'm riding, you know, it'll be in my face.
00:22:02And it's for me.
00:22:03It's not for anybody else.
00:22:04It's a reminder to me that I need to continue to live this.
00:22:08Hey, how you doing?
00:22:09Hey, real good.
00:22:10Hey, real good.
00:22:11I have an appointment with Mano.
00:22:12Sounds good, man.
00:22:13Yeah.
00:22:14So I'll need to get your ID.
00:22:15Okay.
00:22:16I got to confirm your routine, man.
00:22:17You think?
00:22:19I ride my bike like this.
00:22:20So I'm thinking just about right there is good.
00:22:21Yeah.
00:22:22There we go.
00:22:23That's it.
00:22:24Good.
00:22:25That's it.
00:22:26I don't know what to expect in terms of this, but I'm relating this discomfort to my whole
00:22:39journey.
00:22:40Am I riding?
00:22:41The number one thing to do when getting it is just to relax.
00:22:44I guarantee he's been through much worse than anything you're going to feel tonight.
00:22:57Now right there, it's no, it's different pain.
00:23:00It's a different feeling.
00:23:05Did it take you back to your first surgery a little bit?
00:23:08Uh, no.
00:23:09It was a little more pain than this.
00:23:18With them checking out my heart with the angioplasty, my arteries ruptured.
00:23:23And from there, open heart surgery was mandatory because I was bleeding.
00:23:26I didn't understand that he was going to be rushed into surgery.
00:23:29I didn't understand the severity.
00:23:31There are things that stick out.
00:23:34Like the doctor saying to me, you over there crying, that's not going to help him.
00:23:39Right now, we need to get him to the operating room.
00:23:41So you need to get it together.
00:23:43Open heart surgery is them cracking your chest open,
00:23:48threatening it apart with the prongs and bypassing blocked arteries with other arteries that they have harvested from your body.
00:23:58Because I mean, Daniel probably at that time was only like, I want to say 41, 42, at the most 43.
00:24:05He was a very young man.
00:24:07There is no disease in the entire human body that produces a symptom in its earliest stage.
00:24:16That blood vessel blockage just wasn't there.
00:24:19It was everywhere.
00:24:21If it gets bad enough there, you get blockage enough to your brain.
00:24:26We call that a stroke.
00:24:27If it happens in the heart, we call that a heart attack.
00:24:30If it happens in the legs, we call it peripheral vascular disease.
00:24:33But it's all the same disease caused by the same problem.
00:24:38And none of the procedures that we do actually reverse that.
00:24:42We can make the blood pressure number better, but it doesn't mean the blood pressure's gone away.
00:24:47Down, come up a little bit, down, stop.
00:24:53Okay.
00:24:54Get back down.
00:24:55Okay.
00:24:56That's one.
00:24:57The deeper you go, the more you're going to engage all your muscles and your glutes.
00:25:00Oh, man.
00:25:01You feel that, right?
00:25:02Yeah.
00:25:03Good.
00:25:04Done.
00:25:05Keep your...
00:25:07You know what that is sad?
00:25:09Not in there, though.
00:25:17When I got out of the hospital, I was nowhere near where I am now in terms of my health.
00:25:27I was just pretty much surviving.
00:25:29The body adapts.
00:25:30It gets stronger.
00:25:31The more you work it, the better it likes it.
00:25:34Keep a positive attitude.
00:25:36Keep working at it.
00:25:37And here to come.
00:25:38Mr. Seals is here to pick me up for this Dayton trip.
00:25:45He is ready to go.
00:25:47I know he was ready at, like, 3 a.m., I bet.
00:25:52You ready?
00:25:53Me?
00:25:54Uh-huh.
00:25:55I don't know.
00:25:57Ask me that when we get over this first hill.
00:25:59I'm a little anxious for the day.
00:26:00Be happy.
00:26:01We wanted to get started and get rolling.
00:26:03No breakfast this morning.
00:26:04Cool, and I'm ready.
00:26:05I had some M&Ms and some pickles.
00:26:09About to get this ride in.
00:26:10I'm about to get this.
00:26:11What?
00:26:12About to get these 62, 65 miles in.
00:26:14I'm not up yet.
00:26:15He is up.
00:26:16He's up.
00:26:17He's up.
00:26:18He's up.
00:26:19He's up.
00:26:20He's up.
00:26:21He's up.
00:26:22He's up.
00:26:23He's up.
00:26:24He's up.
00:26:25He's up.
00:26:26He's up.
00:26:27He's up.
00:26:2825 miles in.
00:26:29I'm not up yet.
00:26:30He is.
00:26:31And I've had coffee.
00:26:32Geared up.
00:26:33Not quite matching how I want to, but I got my A5A 1906 on.
00:26:36I got blue shoes on, but we ain't gonna talk about that right now.
00:26:56Hey, now.
00:26:57Hello, gentlemen.
00:26:58Good.
00:26:59Hello.
00:27:00Yeah.
00:27:01It's all good.
00:27:02Good.
00:27:03It's all good.
00:27:04I hear you're a recovered cart person.
00:27:06Several times.
00:27:07It's incredible.
00:27:08Several times, yeah.
00:27:09That's amazing.
00:27:10Congratulations.
00:27:11Yeah, thanks.
00:27:12I was telling them about your story.
00:27:16The ride was, for me, it was tough.
00:27:19All right.
00:27:20Here we go.
00:27:21I'm pacing myself on this.
00:27:22So I think we have the beginning of that hill we was talking about.
00:27:24Let me shift gears.
00:27:25I think we have the beginning of that hill.
00:27:26I know.
00:27:27Okay.
00:27:28Oh, yeah.
00:27:29This is definitely the beginning of it.
00:27:30Hey.
00:27:31Good morning.
00:27:33Hey.
00:27:46Good morning.
00:27:47Hey.
00:27:48Good morning.
00:27:49All right, good morning.
00:27:59Hey, good morning.
00:28:02All right, man, let's roll.
00:28:04All right, let's go.
00:28:13Come back a little further.
00:28:15No power yet?
00:28:16No.
00:28:16You're supposed to get some from the food.
00:28:22We have about nine weeks before St. Louis.
00:28:25On a scale from one to ten, ten being I'm ready to do St. Louis, I'm saying I'm a two, maybe a three.
00:28:32I'm not ready right now.
00:28:34And that's the whole purpose of Joliet and Dayton, was to see where we're at.
00:28:39And now we have two months to get ready.
00:28:46It's 517, a little bit nowhere.
00:28:51This is the entire route to Chicago.
00:28:55It's going to be a tough four days, man.
00:28:56These are the tires I'm putting on, Continental 4,000.
00:29:11What is our longest?
00:29:12This is going to be 100-something.
00:29:13I was supposed to ride with my dad this morning, but I couldn't wake up.
00:29:24Right now, he's moving pretty nicely.
00:29:26How are you feeling?
00:29:27I'm tired.
00:29:28My bike got stolen yesterday.
00:29:30What?
00:29:30Oh, man.
00:29:32Yo, they got super flies out in the country.
00:29:35That's from a fly.
00:29:37I'm embracing the pain.
00:29:38I'm not avoiding the pain.
00:29:40The quality of life that I'm having now is so much better than what I had 20 years ago.
00:29:44So how am I supposed to know when you fall back?
00:29:46Watch him complain when he comes up.
00:29:48I can't imagine doing a century tomorrow.
00:29:50I cannot imagine it.
00:29:51I was kind of scary.
00:30:10I ain't going to lie.
00:30:11Thankfully, two guys grabbed my arms and pulled me up and dragged me out.
00:30:19Kind of busted up my knee.
00:30:21Okay, so tell me about your ride today.
00:30:30Looking so good.
00:30:31We are riding to DeKalb, 110 miles.
00:30:35You know I don't see you, don't you?
00:30:36110 miles.
00:30:39I'm so proud of him.
00:30:41All right, what should we look?
00:30:42Okay.
00:30:43Pray for me.
00:30:44Oh, yeah, I pray that y'all are going to have a safe trip.
00:30:46As long as y'all get along, I can't worry about nothing.
00:30:50We get along because we ain't going to be talking.
00:30:51Pretty much told me a whole bunch of rules when they ride.
00:30:56I'm like, ugh.
00:30:57I'm just trying to ride the bike.
00:30:58I ain't worried about cadence or zones or speed or anything.
00:31:03I'm just trying to ride the bike.
00:31:04All right, guys.
00:31:05Let's kind of run through an inventory real fast.
00:31:07Because this is a training ride, I want to limit the amount of conversation because you
00:31:12use a lot of energy when you're talking.
00:31:13He devised a plan where he's like, you're going to switch every five miles.
00:31:20I didn't hear you.
00:31:21How do I know if we're going too fast?
00:31:23I don't yell.
00:31:24Because the two of you all are training for the St. Louis route, I want you all to get
00:31:28used to doing the work.
00:31:30Because you're not going to have anybody helping you on the ride.
00:31:33Like, Donnie have a hard time drafting.
00:31:34Even when he drafts, he doesn't draft directly.
00:31:37He's off to the side.
00:31:39When you have a direct tailwind like that, you're not really benefiting from a draft.
00:31:45I didn't pull my section on that head.
00:31:47You worked on that five miles.
00:31:49When we were practicing, as we were training, I didn't realize that the biggest hurdle was
00:31:54actually going to be teamwork or cooperation with my own dad.
00:32:02Hey, y'all let me know.
00:32:03Otherwise, you're not pulling and you're pulling.
00:32:06You know what I'm saying?
00:32:07If you don't tell me to slow down when I'm up there, then it's just like, it defeats
00:32:10the purpose of you being up there.
00:32:11Let's slow down.
00:32:13Because then, you know what I'm saying?
00:32:14At least I'm struggling.
00:32:16I know, but I'm saying, if you don't communicate that, then I don't even know.
00:32:20You know what I'm saying?
00:32:22I'm trying to stay on the wheel, but...
00:32:25You hear what I just said, sir?
00:32:27That hurt you.
00:32:29Go ahead and catch the drive.
00:32:30All right, so what I did here is sort of an experiment, and I let it go because I wanted
00:32:39it to be a teachable moment.
00:32:41Once you set a pace, the person that's leading the group, at that point, you're in control.
00:32:46How you doing?
00:32:47My legs are hurting right now.
00:32:49Because every time I get in the front, you he-man and say, ooh, let me get in the front.
00:32:53Yeah.
00:32:54No, I'm just trying to share the pace on that headwind.
00:32:57I know it's tough.
00:32:59Yeah, but you ain't even letting him get five miles in before you jump.
00:33:01Yeah, he's jumping so early.
00:33:03Make sure y'all sharing the load.
00:33:04You ain't sharing the load if you keep jumping.
00:33:07And you definitely ain't sharing the load if he's fresher than you right now.
00:33:09And I wanted to hear Mike tell my dad that, because my dad won't listen to me, but he'll
00:33:13listen to Mike.
00:33:14So I'm like, you know what?
00:33:16If he says it, then it'll be good.
00:33:17So I'm going to just be quiet.
00:33:18I'm going to play my role.
00:33:22My son and my husband have a strong personality.
00:33:26And when they clash, they go separate.
00:33:29And my thoughts were, oh my goodness, they've gotten into it.
00:33:34And dad went his way, and Eric went his way.
00:33:37I got to step over here to this man.
00:33:42Donny Seals Sr., a.k.a. He-Man, decides that he wants to do his own thing.
00:33:46So he starts going out faster.
00:33:48And I'm just like, yo, this is not the pace we talked about.
00:33:50I tell him about it while we ride.
00:33:52I'm like, you okay?
00:33:53Yeah, I'm fine.
00:33:54You know what I'm saying?
00:33:54Because, you know, you can't tell a father nothing.
00:33:56It's just like, this would be a lot easier if we do it together.
00:34:00But he's not on that right now.
00:34:01So I'm not going to embarrass him, because he's out here with other people.
00:34:06I'm not going to lie.
00:34:07I'm like, you shouldn't want to ever cuss the father out.
00:34:09But I want to cuss him out right now, because he's really pissing me off.
00:34:13Yo, mile 85.
00:34:14I'm done with this.
00:34:16Almost 90.
00:34:18I'm so tired.
00:34:20My dad straight up left me.
00:34:23After I pulled the group for damn near 75 miles, now they all fresh.
00:34:29And I'm slacking back here.
00:34:31And they all left me.
00:34:33But when they slowed down, I would slow down so that they can get my draft.
00:34:39But do they do that for me?
00:34:41Hey, look.
00:35:05Hey, good morning, Tom.
00:35:06Good morning.
00:35:16Oh, it wasn't tight enough.
00:35:18No.
00:35:19I am looking primarily for any adjustments that need to be done.
00:35:23Worn out parts.
00:35:25Just the basic stuff that for a long ride like this, you got to depend on.
00:35:29I think what's going on here is this is just worn.
00:35:36So all I did was take the front end up.
00:35:39Anytime you're trying to do 60 to 100 miles, that's a long way for the human body.
00:35:45You got to be able to rely on your equipment.
00:35:47All the training that they've done leading up to this has built them up so that they can handle 6 to 10 hours on the road.
00:35:56And then just to be able to believe your bicycle's not going to fall apart on you.
00:36:02You said you were going to put some different type of tires on you?
00:36:05I had the Gator Skins to take with us.
00:36:07I'm going to leave these on and hopefully nothing will happen.
00:36:10But I got the Gator Skins, which will fit your bike and my bike.
00:36:19No, your audio is connecting.
00:36:21You're not connected yet.
00:36:22There's a prompt that says connect your audio.
00:36:26All right.
00:36:26So check this out.
00:36:28Day two goes right through downtown.
00:36:32Tomorrow we're leaving for our ride from St. Louis to Chicago
00:36:34as a celebration for my dad's five years of transformation, purchasing a bike, changing his life.
00:36:45In a tube and tools.
00:36:48Just in case we break down.
00:36:50I got my CO2 cartridges.
00:36:52I don't know if the weather's going to get cold.
00:36:54Like cold in the morning.
00:36:56What is that?
00:36:57These are arm warmers.
00:36:59Oh.
00:36:59So I just take them off in the middle of the day if it gets too hot.
00:37:02But you can only wear that with one jersey.
00:37:04Why?
00:37:06Because it matches.
00:37:09Thankfully, my dad is an overpacker.
00:37:12I'm mostly focusing on the things that are going to be on my bike and the clothes that are going to be on my back.
00:37:17I would typically pack triple that just for the amount of days you're going.
00:37:22Triple that?
00:37:24I'm not working.
00:37:25I'm riding.
00:37:25I know.
00:37:26To accomplish this ride is very important to me.
00:37:29It's just because of where I've come.
00:37:30I have to look back at five years ago and see where I was.
00:37:33And the fact that I'm riding from St. Louis to Chicago, it was not something that I would even dream of.
00:37:40Does this match?
00:37:42That technically goes.
00:37:43They have found what's bonding them together in a hobby sort of way.
00:37:50I think when you work together, ride together, you find a commonality with family members when you find things that you have in common.
00:37:58I'm excited to ride with my dad.
00:38:11I'm glad that we're going through this challenge together.
00:38:15Throughout the trip, I constantly was thinking about you're riding with the version of yourself 30 years later.
00:38:21My thoughts go all over.
00:38:24I was thinking about St. Louis and enjoyed being with my son, thinking about how blessed I am just to be able to do it.
00:38:33Oh!
00:38:35It's crazy.
00:38:41Wow.
00:38:43This is amazing.
00:38:44It's a good starting point.
00:38:46Yeah, it is.
00:38:47About to start day one.
00:38:49First day is going to be about a hundred and some miles.
00:38:52I'm anxious.
00:38:53I'm ready to go.
00:38:54A little nervous about the unknown because I've never ridden this route, obviously.
00:38:57I'm excited.
00:38:59All right, sir.
00:39:09Living St. Louis was interesting when we had our route all set.
00:39:13It's kind of confusing.
00:39:15Just keep going.
00:39:16It's definitely this way.
00:39:18A hundred percent.
00:39:20Wait, wait, wait.
00:39:22Is that it?
00:39:24No, we're way, uh, we're way off.
00:39:28It's way, way up there.
00:39:32We got two tenths of a mile and we take a right.
00:39:37Yeah, so let's just go up on the street.
00:39:39Oh, okay.
00:39:40So right now, we can't even get out of St. Louis.
00:39:42All the trails, all the trails are blocked.
00:39:46You know, in theory, when you're creating your route, doing it from a digital map, but then there's the real world stretch of path.
00:39:57Is this it right here?
00:39:58So it took us a little maneuvering to get on the path and then be able to go across the bridge.
00:40:06McKinley Bridge.
00:40:07Well, let's hope that's the hardest part of the route for the next four days.
00:40:11Most confusing part, anyway.
00:40:12Most confusing part, getting out of St. Louis.
00:40:15Leaving Missouri.
00:40:17Leaving Missouri.
00:40:20Almost made it to Illinois.
00:40:21I believe anywhere I want to go.
00:40:40I believe the places that I want to see.
00:40:45I've got the driving time for you to live this life.
00:40:52I'm stronger than I think.
00:40:54And the journey's up to me.
00:40:58We kicking it up a little bit.
00:41:00Oh, am I?
00:41:00Yeah.
00:41:01No, slow me down, man.
00:41:03We ain't getting anywhere today.
00:41:04We're not going to break too long, because we learned that if you take long breaks, one, it makes the ride take forever, and two, you start to get cold.
00:41:19I'm good on water.
00:41:21You haven't been drinking?
00:41:22Barely.
00:41:23Yeah, I'm going to get some water.
00:41:24That pickle juice, though.
00:41:25That pickle juice hit.
00:41:28That pickle juice?
00:41:29That's crazier than a shot.
00:41:30It hit my chest harder than any vodka, any tequila, anything I've ever taken.
00:41:34Let me take a shot of my Jack Daniels real quick.
00:41:43Woo!
00:41:44Early on, I said I know how I feel after mile 10.
00:41:48Eric is going a little fast at times, but...
00:41:51You told me to slow down.
00:41:52It's all good.
00:41:54It's all good.
00:41:54You told me to slow down?
00:41:55No, it was just that incline.
00:41:56Okay.
00:41:57No, still, you can tell me to slow down.
00:41:59Yeah, the 1315 we're riding is good.
00:42:01So what are we?
00:42:02Mile 24.
00:42:05Ooh, you are checking a lot for us not hitting 50 yet.
00:42:07He doesn't like it when I see we're mile 10 in.
00:42:10I said 99 to go.
00:42:11I think it was three months later.
00:42:29I was back at work.
00:42:30I was still complaining of cardiovascular sensations.
00:42:33He's intuitive with his body, and he said something's not right.
00:42:38And when he complained to his doctor about that, he gave him some flip answer.
00:42:44Well, we open you up like a chicken.
00:42:45What do you expect?
00:42:47I was constantly told that it was post-surgical pain that I was feeling.
00:42:52I was positive that it was not.
00:42:54He came into my room, and he just said, they're going to have to cut on me again.
00:42:58I worked at Outback Steakhouse.
00:43:00The night of the surgery, I told the manager that night.
00:43:03I'm like, hey, I don't think I can work tonight.
00:43:05The next day, Outback sent a bunch of food to my house.
00:43:10But all the food that Outback Steakhouse sent was food that we shouldn't have been eating.
00:43:15You know, the bloomin' onions, cheeseburgers, steaks, fries.
00:43:18Their hearts were in the right place.
00:43:19But that wasn't a good gift.
00:43:23We started a search for another cardiologist.
00:43:28He always felt like something wasn't right at that first hospital.
00:43:32There's a lot of good reasons why sometimes the black community does not trust healthcare systems.
00:43:39And it goes all the way back to when the very first enslaved African was brought to this country,
00:43:45where there was intentional medical neglect in order to oppress them.
00:43:51So various different medical care was withheld, even when the slaves were sick.
00:43:56They were placed in squalor conditions so that they couldn't be as strong
00:44:02in order to potentially fight back against the white masters, but strong enough to go and work.
00:44:08The issue around, you know, black men and distrust of the healthcare system
00:44:13has some really strong and well-known historical underpinnings.
00:44:17Oftentimes we think first of Tuskegee and the syphilis experiments.
00:44:21Essentially African-American men were allowed to have syphilis and not undergo treatment.
00:44:27At that time, it was done by highly educated scientists and physicians.
00:44:33But I think it goes beyond that.
00:44:34I think the distrust now comes from our inability to deliver high-quality healthcare services
00:44:40to everybody equitably.
00:44:41When folks go into the hospital and they literally are treated differently.
00:44:45When they go into the hospital and they tend to die at higher rates.
00:44:49When we live seven years younger than any other racial and ethnic group,
00:44:54including black women, then yeah, I mean,
00:44:56you're not going to trust a system that produces those outcomes.
00:44:59I chose to have the break as far into the ride as I could.
00:45:15So we had our break at mile 80, which is really deep into the ride.
00:45:20Put your mask on.
00:45:21Hmm?
00:45:22You don't want you to have your mask on?
00:45:24Nobody else does.
00:45:26What's that got to do with anything?
00:45:29Can't have it on to eat, huh?
00:45:31Can't have it on to eat.
00:45:32You're not eating.
00:45:33I'm out of gas.
00:45:35All out?
00:45:35Yeah, I have nothing.
00:45:37It's kind of hitting me that we're really doing this thing.
00:45:39Even though I'm tired, I mean, we've got three more days.
00:45:43There's always a range for me where I'm just like,
00:45:45I don't want to do this anymore.
00:45:47Yeah, when you get to the point you just want to go.
00:45:52That's how I get it.
00:45:52I ask myself like 20 times, like, why did I come up with this idea?
00:45:55Oh, that beer looks good.
00:45:58All right.
00:46:00Can you get back to the hotel first?
00:46:02I'm sorry.
00:46:03This dude.
00:46:04Maybe I get a shot when I get to the hotel.
00:46:06Give me a shot of tequila.
00:46:07That's the first thing I'm going to do.
00:46:09I'm going to go to the bar, and I'm going to get me a shot of tequila.
00:46:12A double shot.
00:46:18How's it going?
00:46:19It's going pretty good.
00:46:21Looks like it's not raining, though.
00:46:23Yeah, I know I'm going to get wet today.
00:46:24What is your next stop?
00:46:26Springfield.
00:46:27Springfield, that's a good place, though.
00:46:29Yeah.
00:46:29Stay overnight.
00:46:30Hey, ladies, thanks for everything.
00:46:31Appreciate it.
00:46:32Yes, have a beautiful journey.
00:46:42Watch your dog.
00:46:43Watch your dog.
00:46:44Dog, dog.
00:46:54You already boo-hoo already.
00:47:06Oh, you want me to fall.
00:47:08Fall from the top.
00:47:10They want me to drop.
00:47:11They want me to stop.
00:47:13They want me to go.
00:47:14Already hard that I'm on.
00:47:17This is my longest century.
00:47:22Positive is this was the longest day.
00:47:24I'm concerned about day three.
00:47:25Day three, we ride a century again.
00:47:27Now, this picture is after my surgery.
00:47:42Boy, I'm looking at my stomach.
00:47:43It's pretty big.
00:47:45Glenn Thomas died of a heart attack shortly after this.
00:47:49Recovery for open heart surgery is a long recovery.
00:47:53I was on a lot of medication.
00:47:55They felt that the blood flow going from one chamber to the heart to the next was not sufficient.
00:48:01And that was one of the reasons that I was labeled disabled and was not able to go back to work.
00:48:08His temperament was a little bit more impatient.
00:48:13I was always butting heads with my dad.
00:48:16He would be quick to get angry about things.
00:48:18And I remember my mom coming to me and saying, hey, your dad has just been through something really serious.
00:48:23You need to be patient.
00:48:25I resented the fact that my dad was sick.
00:48:27I'm like, he can't be.
00:48:28He's not that sick.
00:48:30I feel bad thinking about that now.
00:48:31But because he probably was very sick and very weak.
00:48:35I remember when they called to say that he had to return all of his equipment.
00:48:41So he went to work after the first surgery, but because he wasn't fully healed, he wasn't working full days.
00:48:49To know my dad's his note, he's very upfront and blunt, like ripped a Band-Aid right off type person.
00:48:54And so I had walked in the door from school and he's at the top of the stairs.
00:48:59He goes, hey, D, I was fired from my job today.
00:49:02I don't have a job anymore.
00:49:03The way that it was positioned to us as children was he was going into retirement.
00:49:11He wasn't even 50, I think, at the time.
00:49:14So I'm like, okay, that doesn't fully make sense.
00:49:16My doctor, who supported me very well, he called me one day.
00:49:21He said, Donnie, the disability asked me, when are you going to die?
00:49:26Because you're living beyond their expectation.
00:49:29They had an option to buy me off entirely.
00:49:34They decided not to do that because they thought I would die before I reached 65 anyway.
00:49:41So they were betting on me dying and they were asking my doctor, why was I still alive?
00:49:46I am a living testimony
00:49:54Could have been dead and gone
00:49:59But Lord, you let me live on
00:50:05I am a living testimony
00:50:18I am a living testimony
00:50:22Well, I could have been dead and gone
00:50:26But now you let me give on
00:50:31I thank you, Lord, I'm still alive
00:50:37They're that low?
00:50:49Oh, better find out now
00:50:52My dad's like, make sure you bring your pump
00:50:55I'm like, why can't you bring your pump?
00:50:57He's like, I gave it to you
00:50:58It's like, sounds about right
00:51:00Oh, well, I don't even know where to start talking about day two
00:51:11Come on, legs, wake up
00:51:13You ain't done a mile yet
00:51:15I was concerned at that time because my dad was really dragging ass
00:51:20Go back
00:51:20Come on, man
00:51:22If you struggling, there's no point in you pulling right now, you know what I'm saying?
00:51:30All right, don't get mad about it
00:51:31I'm not mad
00:51:32I feel like, I mean, I'm not
00:51:34But I feel like I'm at the age where I can at least disagree with my father and he'll think about it
00:51:39This is our stop right up here
00:51:41Eric won't let me get in front of him
00:51:48I have to stay behind him
00:51:50It won't be like that all day
00:51:52All right, you ready?
00:51:56Rolling
00:51:56Left
00:52:00I thought we'd go straight
00:52:02Oh, it's saying left
00:52:04Yeah
00:52:04I thought this was the road
00:52:07Oh, up here
00:52:09Yeah, okay
00:52:11Oh
00:52:13That glass right there
00:52:17Sounded like a truck breaking
00:52:22You want me to do it?
00:52:24Uh, I'm gonna need some help for sure
00:52:26And at that point, I remembered, I'm like, he asked me to bring tubes and tires and tools
00:52:33And I told him I did, but I forgot
00:52:34What do you got in your bag?
00:52:37Uh, no, you got the tubes
00:52:40You don't have any tubes?
00:52:43Uh, I don't know, I didn't check
00:52:46No, this is all empty
00:52:47You don't
00:52:48Man, we're
00:52:50We're
00:52:52That's not good
00:52:54Is there a bite?
00:52:56Do you have any CO2s?
00:52:57I have nothing
00:52:58I had filled the tires up with a CO2
00:53:02He was unhappy with how that felt
00:53:05And he took a regular pump and started pumping it up
00:53:08PSI's not supposed to be passed
00:53:10I think it said 75 PSI
00:53:13But I've definitely been feeling it up to 100
00:53:15Look at that tire, that's really tight
00:53:18You got the cap for it?
00:53:23That's not good
00:53:30That tire's gone
00:53:31Tire's gone?
00:53:32Yeah, that was way too tight
00:53:35It was way too tight
00:53:38Okay, I heard you
00:53:39My son
00:53:42I kept telling him that these tires don't take
00:53:45I think he was trying to put 95 PSI in him
00:53:51No, you blew out the sidewall
00:53:52I'm saying I know it's 100 though
00:53:55I don't think it's a
00:53:58That's why I'm trying to look
00:54:00PSI
00:54:01Ooh, 70
00:54:0270
00:54:03Ooh
00:54:04Way off
00:54:05Yeah
00:54:05Okay, so now we're fixing our second flat
00:54:08But we got a little concern
00:54:09Because now we're running out of inner tubes and CO2
00:54:14Nice, Superman
00:54:15Well, thanks for fixing my tires, sir
00:54:39You notice you didn't get, you're getting it now
00:55:05You notice you didn't get any, I told you so
00:55:07That, that counts as that
00:55:10I know it does
00:55:10I'm doing it now
00:55:12I'm about to say, it counts if you say I didn't say it
00:55:15It counts if you say I didn't, you know
00:55:16I know it
00:55:17But I'm saying it now versus 15 miles ago
00:55:20That guy drinking a beer in the restaurant last night
00:55:24It looked good, didn't it?
00:55:25Oh man, that hurt
00:55:26I tell you what, I didn't get my tequila
00:55:28I'm gonna go, when I get home, I'm gonna buy me
00:55:30A bottle of tequila
00:55:32I'm gonna get a bag of limes
00:55:35And I'm gonna get
00:55:38At home
00:55:40In my chair
00:55:41I can't get the song Laffy Taffy out of my head
00:55:43There's this white cognac that I like too
00:55:48So for the last 10 miles
00:55:49I've been singing Laffy Taffy in my head
00:55:51And it's really annoying
00:55:52I don't know what I want to do when I get home
00:55:55I just want to be home though
00:55:56Excuse me
00:55:57I thought back about how my grandfather died
00:56:06My wife's father died
00:56:09My father, some of his sisters
00:56:11And heart disease was very, very prevalent in our family
00:56:15The first to pass was his oldest sister
00:56:19She fell dead in the church
00:56:20Had a heart attack
00:56:21Died immediately
00:56:22My father died with a torn aorta
00:56:25Two years later, Fanny passed away
00:56:27Then the only one left was Donnie and his sister Lottie
00:56:30And last year, Lottie had a number of health issues
00:56:36Losing my sister just recently
00:56:49A couple weeks ago
00:56:50Has been tough
00:56:52I'm the last person out of my immediate family
00:56:54Out of that household
00:56:55We got
00:56:57Anna Lowry's right here
00:56:59H.E. Matt is here
00:57:01And Lottie on the other side
00:57:03My sister, who just recently passed
00:57:16Had all the complications
00:57:17She had heart problems
00:57:19She was on dialysis
00:57:20Her body was just shutting down
00:57:22At this point, it is our duty
00:57:24To commit her body back to the ground
00:57:28From when it has come
00:57:30Right there
00:57:33Dad, 19 years ago
00:57:38So they're both in there
00:57:39Dad's in first
00:57:40Mom's in behind
00:57:41No, man
00:57:43I appreciate your day, Horace
00:57:44It's a tough day, man
00:57:46Yeah
00:57:46We had a candid conversation
00:57:49About her health
00:57:51And what she needs to do
00:57:52To continue to be here
00:57:54And it was not heard
00:57:57And she passed
00:57:58A couple weeks ago
00:57:59So the way we ate
00:58:20Before surgery
00:58:21Is slightly horrific
00:58:23High-fat foods
00:58:29Smoking
00:58:30Bacon
00:58:30Eggs
00:58:31Pork
00:58:32Cheese
00:58:33Bob Evans sausage
00:58:35Whole milk
00:58:36I drank milk like I drank water
00:58:37My father, Donnie
00:58:40My brother, Eric
00:58:42And I loved liverwurst
00:58:43At least every Friday
00:58:44Or every other Friday
00:58:45We had to order into Rosatis
00:58:47And there wasn't a vegetable
00:58:48That didn't contain meat
00:58:50You'd be like
00:58:50Oh, do you eat meat and vegetables?
00:58:51I was like, I mean, I didn't realize
00:58:53That they came separately
00:58:53I ate chitlins
00:58:54I remember sitting on his lap
00:58:56And he would put a little bit
00:58:58Of hot sauce
00:58:58That were maybe freshly
00:59:00Slaughtered early that morning
00:59:02My favorite time is breakfast
00:59:05And that comes from my father
00:59:07Before they would go to the fields
00:59:09They would eat a very good breakfast
00:59:11We love our black traditions
00:59:14But we also have to understand
00:59:16Where it comes from
00:59:17There's the pre-slavery set of foods
00:59:19Such as black-eyed peas
00:59:21And greens
00:59:22And sweet potatoes
00:59:23That we actually brought over
00:59:24From the continent of Africa
00:59:26But a lot of our foods
00:59:27And a lot of our food habits
00:59:30Have to do as part of slavery
00:59:32In order to not only oppress
00:59:34But also to keep the energy
00:59:36Of the slaves up
00:59:37As they're doing all this manual labor
00:59:39Was to make sure that they were consuming
00:59:41A high-calorie diet
00:59:44So you can take a small piece of meat
00:59:46But if you put breading and coating
00:59:48And frying it
00:59:49That's going to raise the calorie intake
00:59:51Right?
00:59:51So you can have more energy
00:59:52To try to burn that off
00:59:53And it's actually led to
00:59:56A lot of significant health problems today
00:59:58We're no longer enslaved physically
01:00:00But now we have to make sure
01:00:02We're not enslaved mentally as well
01:00:04That was a tough section
01:00:06Yeah, it was
01:00:08Yeah
01:00:08Long, slow hills
01:00:11We're biking from St. Louis to Chicago
01:00:15And it is a good trip
01:00:19This is about halfway mark for us
01:00:20We left
01:00:22St. Louis
01:00:23There you go
01:00:24There you go
01:00:25We left Springfield
01:00:26This morning
01:00:28How old did you feel, mind you ask?
01:00:30Uh, 69
01:00:31There it is
01:00:34Yeah, yeah
01:00:35You got to keep moving
01:00:35Oh, man
01:00:36Yeah
01:00:37A bad storm south of us, eh?
01:00:40Yep
01:00:40She said one of the worst storms
01:00:41She's came through
01:00:42What?
01:00:43Yeah
01:00:43What kind of storm was that?
01:00:46That's what the lady just told me
01:00:47One of the worst storms
01:00:49When it was an old
01:00:49Yeah, when it was an old lady
01:00:50Oh, so it's got to be true
01:00:53We are almost in Bloomington
01:01:06We are almost in Bloomington
01:01:20We don't have any more breaks at this point
01:01:22And it's now just, uh, I don't feel like riding
01:01:25It's time to get home
01:01:26I got a flat
01:01:29Are you kidding me?
01:01:30Yeah
01:01:31Oh, man
01:01:34No, it's flat
01:01:35Yeah
01:01:36All right
01:01:38Let's just do it right here
01:01:39I told my dad
01:01:40He was just, like, another flat
01:01:42I'm like, yeah, man
01:01:43I'm not doing it on purpose
01:01:44I'm not looking for the glass
01:01:45This happens, Eric
01:01:47He's not doing anything wrong in riding
01:01:50He needs to understand tire pressure
01:01:52So that he doesn't blow up tires
01:01:54Oh, that's not in
01:02:00Close it, close it
01:02:01Oh
01:02:02Oh, it's cold
01:02:04Yeah, I learned that
01:02:05Positive about riding with him
01:02:10On a trip like this
01:02:11Is you have an onboard
01:02:12I say it like a joke mechanic
01:02:14But you do
01:02:15You paranoid now?
01:02:17Hell yeah
01:02:17If we put the gator bags on there
01:02:21You're not going to get a flat
01:02:23Sheesh
01:02:33Day two
01:02:35I think about at least 20 times my dad said we have to find a bike shop
01:02:39As soon as we get back to the hotel, we'll look it up
01:02:41He's like, no, but we have to find a bike shop
01:02:43Will Dick's Sporting's good work?
01:02:45Maybe not
01:02:46We want to call in first
01:02:48There's a Walmart Supercent and the Tessie Cycle Shop
01:02:51We can roll
01:02:52If we're going to go, we're going to go right now
01:02:54Yeah
01:02:54Hey, good
01:02:58How y'all doing?
01:03:00Blessed
01:03:00Awesome
01:03:02Yes, we are
01:03:04Yes, we are
01:03:04We're looking for some inner tubes
01:03:06What size are you needing?
01:03:07How long are the stems on what you have?
01:03:09How long do you need them to be?
01:03:1162
01:03:1262?
01:03:13I got four 60s
01:03:15How many?
01:03:16Let me get four
01:03:16He's very particular on what brand and what size stem
01:03:20He's like, what size is your stem?
01:03:22I'm like, I don't even know what a stem is
01:03:23I don't know what you're talking about
01:03:24Where are you guys coming from?
01:03:26St. Louis?
01:03:27St. Louis
01:03:27Where are you going?
01:03:28Chicago
01:03:29Wow
01:03:29We can have up to six flats
01:03:31And we should be good
01:03:32And we ain't gonna need to use any of them
01:03:34No
01:03:35I'm calling it right now
01:03:36You guys won't use any of these
01:03:38Sir, thank you very much
01:03:39I appreciate your help
01:03:40Right, say
01:03:40All right, thank you
01:03:41When we were kids, we weren't thinking about health
01:03:53Mom and dad's biggest thing back then was eat all your food
01:03:57It was never about the type of food you're eating
01:03:59It's just like, make sure you're taking advantage of the food that we're providing you
01:04:03Eric, look at that
01:04:04If we're not eating things that come out of the ground
01:04:08More than the stuff that walks on it, flies over it, slithers in it, or swims in it
01:04:13If you're eating things and you open that label and you look at that label
01:04:17And there are words you can't pronounce
01:04:19You probably shouldn't be eating that
01:04:21To having now huge television sets
01:04:24And there is a 60-inch burger staring you in the face
01:04:29And all you gotta do is get on your phone
01:04:32And call many of these delivery services that will bring it to your house
01:04:37You gotta remember, those are all outlets to sell you something
01:04:41But it's also an outlet to get you to buy these products that are gonna accelerate your death
01:04:49Yeah, those are soft
01:04:52So we need to fill them up
01:04:53We need to get
01:04:54The pump?
01:04:56Yeah
01:04:56You need air
01:04:58You don't
01:04:58CO2 is only gonna last
01:05:00For like 24 hours
01:05:02You should be able to make it to
01:05:04The stop
01:05:06The make is not what I'm about right now
01:05:09Eric, I'm gonna let you dictate this, man
01:05:11I want to
01:05:12I know you're gonna fuss at me when I say this
01:05:14But I would like to knock it back a notch today
01:05:18So you're telling yourself that?
01:05:21See, I told you he was gonna fuss tonight
01:05:25No, I'm just saying
01:05:27Because when we go faster, it's when you're in front
01:05:29It's like you're trying to get after it
01:05:31That's my 95 PSI like I like
01:05:35I'm gonna do a little bit more
01:05:39Jelliet, here we come
01:05:44Tire's flat
01:06:02It might just be
01:06:04Yes
01:06:05Another flat tire
01:06:07Let me see how flat it is
01:06:11Oh, yes
01:06:13That's a flat
01:06:13That's a flat
01:06:14Yeah
01:06:15Let's change it
01:06:16You think it's the tire or the tube?
01:06:18It's gotta be the tire, man
01:06:19I
01:06:20You know, both tires going flat like this
01:06:23Well, the first one doesn't count
01:06:25I mean
01:06:26Oh, I'm gonna show you how to do it
01:06:28CO2 is unique when filling a tire
01:06:34Because it will only keep your tire full for so long
01:06:37And those small cartridges
01:06:38They're good enough to fill one bite tire
01:06:41What do you think?
01:06:42I think it's good
01:06:42Okay
01:06:43All right
01:06:44And we are back at it
01:06:48Four flat
01:06:49Still 150, 60 miles to go
01:06:52Is it bad I don't want my bike to touch the ground no more?
01:06:58Maybe there was something still in that tire
01:07:02You know?
01:07:04A piece of glass or something?
01:07:05Yeah
01:07:06Would it be in the tire or in the tube?
01:07:09Well, if it's inside the tire, then it's gonna eventually puncture the tube
01:07:12The tube
01:07:13So it can still be in there now?
01:07:16Yeah
01:07:16You're flat?
01:07:17Huh?
01:07:18You're flat?
01:07:19Am I?
01:07:20Yep
01:07:21So we take this tire off and we're gonna put that same tire like that on the front
01:07:40Get a little further off the highway, man, these cars are coming pretty quick
01:07:43There, huh?
01:07:44Look at that
01:07:45What?
01:07:46That's a piece of glass
01:07:48Wow
01:07:49That was a piece of glass
01:07:50Man, you're finding everything
01:07:51Clearly
01:07:52And see hindsight, this is what I should have did with the tire
01:07:55I feel that thickness
01:07:56Yeah
01:07:57Yeah
01:07:58Yeah
01:07:59All right, what do you need me to do?
01:08:00Uh
01:08:01Stay out of your way?
01:08:02Yeah
01:08:03Okay
01:08:04Day three, barely even in 10 miles
01:08:06Either those tires are trash or I don't know how to ride a bike
01:08:10We're gonna get going so we can save the rest of this trip
01:08:40I got a flat
01:08:46What?
01:08:47What?
01:08:57What's going on?
01:08:59What are we missing?
01:09:01That's not possible
01:09:07I don't know what's going on, Eric
01:09:09We've done everything we can do
01:09:11We got a tube, so let's
01:09:13We got the pump, so let's
01:09:18What did I do with the tube?
01:09:20I don't know
01:09:21I'm losing it, Eric
01:09:23I had the tube in my hand
01:09:25You losing it
01:09:30And you pumped it up before
01:09:32So is that being the tire?
01:09:34No, don't put that in yet
01:09:36I don't want to go through this again
01:09:38What?
01:09:39Can you flip the tire inside out or something?
01:09:42I know that's the new tire
01:09:43Is it the rim?
01:09:44Yes sir, I was looking
01:09:45It's gotta be the rim or something
01:09:47I'm so tired of this
01:09:49We can't find out what's going on
01:09:51Put a new tire on
01:09:53We checked the rim, we checked the inside of the tire
01:09:56I don't know what else to do
01:09:58You want to put those glitter skins on?
01:10:02I just want to get something that doesn't go flat
01:10:05Let's get a new tube
01:10:06We should still keep one of these though
01:10:09No, let's keep a new one
01:10:10Why keep that open?
01:10:11Yes, sir
01:10:12Thankfully my dad was like, hey, we're gonna do this
01:10:15Put the new tire on
01:10:17We're gonna get
01:10:18You know, this tire's a lot thicker
01:10:19He's like, check out how thick this tire is
01:10:22I'm like, bro, I don't care
01:10:23Like, I can't tell the difference
01:10:25Oh man, I don't want to get on this bike no more
01:10:27We were like two and a half hours into the ride
01:10:32So we had 91 miles to go
01:10:40My grandmother was making, I think it was neck bones
01:10:43And I said, Grandma, well, I don't eat red meat or pork anymore
01:10:47And she's like, but you can have some neck bones
01:10:49The notion of the two of those not being able to cohabitate
01:10:53She couldn't conceive that
01:10:55And it was an offense
01:10:57You show how you care by the food that you make
01:11:01When we changed our lifestyle
01:11:03Our extended families looked at us side-eye
01:11:07In their mind, you don't have to do all that
01:11:10We feel sorry for you, Sharon
01:11:12But I was okay
01:11:14Because I wanted something bigger than food
01:11:19I wanted him
01:11:21I just wanted to stay in the shade
01:11:33That was a little stretch
01:11:35If the rest of it's like that, I'm in trouble
01:11:38Don't feel good? Tired?
01:11:40The wind is getting the best of me
01:11:42We're riding kind of into a headwind that's about 12 miles an hour
01:11:49Tough riding
01:11:50At this point, we've kind of thrown out the timing
01:11:54Before we're like, we need to make it here by this time
01:11:57And go this fast
01:11:58That all went out the window
01:12:00Even though he's a little bit tired, we have been riding better together
01:12:03I couldn't do this ride by myself
01:12:05It's back to being a team
01:12:07You know, I'm bringing the mechanical part to it
01:12:10That's keeping us going
01:12:11And he's bringing his physical strength
01:12:14Have you looked at the route at all? Huh?
01:12:16Have you looked at the route at all?
01:12:18No
01:12:19I'm wondering if we could just get on this path right here
01:12:22Let's do it
01:12:24But I don't know where it leads
01:12:26I mean, I'm thinking we're going through the city
01:12:28I mean, coming back to the
01:12:29I mean, we can look on the map real quick
01:12:31But
01:12:32Bro, I don't
01:12:33I
01:12:34I don't care
01:12:35I'm laughing at myself
01:12:36Because I remember
01:12:37Eric asked me early on
01:12:39Do I think I'm going to make this trip?
01:12:41He said, 100%
01:12:43Right now, it's not 100%
01:12:46I'm not going to quit
01:12:47But it's not 100%
01:12:52Day 3, we built up so much
01:12:55So looking at the schedule and the route
01:12:58Knowing that day 3 was another century
01:13:00We felt that that was going to be
01:13:02Probably the most difficult day
01:13:05Let's see if there's shade on the other side of the building
01:13:12We started in St. Louis
01:13:14And we're going back to Chicago in four days
01:13:16That's like some intense ride, man
01:13:18Listen, I'll trade you my bike for your truck
01:13:21We started in Bloomington
01:13:23And we'll be in Joliet tonight
01:13:25Okay
01:13:26We're actually headed that way
01:13:29Nice
01:13:30From Joliet, so
01:13:31You'll get there a lot faster than we will
01:13:33Yeah, I think
01:13:34I'll get there in about an hour
01:13:36I'm not lying when I tell people
01:13:38I'll trade with them right now
01:13:39I would so happily get in a truck or a car
01:13:43Of a random person
01:13:45Whatever we cycle, most people are genuinely interested
01:13:50And they always send well wishes
01:13:52The opposite of that though
01:13:54All of these small towns that I ride through
01:13:56I feel uncomfortable in
01:13:57I haven't
01:13:58No, one person definitely yelled
01:14:01Get off the road nigga
01:14:02With the ER though, so you wouldn't say that
01:14:05What that immediately makes me think about
01:14:07Is that people who are white that cycle
01:14:09Never think about this
01:14:10As a black person
01:14:11Every small town I go into
01:14:13The first thing I think about is
01:14:16I know people are looking at me like
01:14:18Why are you here?
01:14:19The thing that bothered me the most about the ride today was
01:14:34The horizon disappeared
01:14:36And I know that we were still going past that point
01:14:39The ride today was
01:14:45I'm going to say
01:14:46My toughest ride to date
01:14:47And I've been riding five years
01:14:48If you look at the averages
01:14:58Someone will say
01:14:59Man, they only rode 11-12 miles an hour
01:15:02But that was 11-12 miles an hour
01:15:04And a 12 mile an hour headway
01:15:07Today's ride was not as bad as I thought it was going to be
01:15:14Part of it is because
01:15:15Me and my dad are riding better together
01:15:17We are listening to each other
01:15:19And we really got to the point where the wind was so harsh
01:15:22That it was much easier for us to ride together than ride apart
01:15:25I'm going to kick my butt
01:15:27100.2 miles
01:15:30You want to shake my hand?
01:15:33Yeah, day three
01:15:38Never again
01:15:40All right, Mr. Seals
01:15:50We're just doing 70, right?
01:15:5270 what?
01:15:53Pounds
01:15:54Oh, I'm about to say we are not doing 70 miles
01:15:5670 miles
01:15:57I had 68
01:15:58And I am doing 68 today
01:16:00It's day four
01:16:01I can't express how excited I am to be at the end of it
01:16:06I couldn't imagine getting to day four when we planned this and making the routes
01:16:09Well, sir, you must be growing because four days ago you were in St. Louis
01:16:13Then you were in Springfield
01:16:14Then you were in Bloomington
01:16:15Now you're in Joliet
01:16:16Don't say Bloomington
01:16:17That's a bad word
01:16:18And tomorrow you're going to be at home
01:16:21I'm going to be at home tonight
01:16:23Okay
01:16:24Woo, day four
01:16:26I couldn't have made yesterday without you, son
01:16:31Well, I appreciate that
01:16:33Clearly I couldn't have because
01:16:34Mr. Fix It over here
01:16:37I had a bad time yesterday
01:16:39You have your ups and downs while you ride
01:16:42I do
01:16:43But the funny thing is if you go down
01:16:46That's not the end of it
01:16:47Like it's like you're regenerating
01:16:50Well, believe it or not
01:16:51I think Mike's century that he sent us on
01:16:53Prepared us for a lot of stuff
01:16:55Doing those centuries were imperative
01:16:57We will pass at least 100 barbecues in Chicago
01:17:00Oh, yeah
01:17:02Might make me miss that pork a little bit
01:17:13So I'm going to do your best
01:17:14But the more of you
01:17:15Didn't have to take us off
01:17:16We can't get the price
01:17:17Don't buy it
01:17:18You can't pay for it
01:17:19We can't pay off
01:17:20All that means
01:17:21That's our choice
01:17:22I'm going to talk to you
01:17:23But the more of you
01:17:24In the right
01:17:25You can't pay off
01:17:26It's a good number
01:17:27To make your decisions
01:17:28If you do
01:17:29The more of you
01:17:30The more of you
01:17:31It's a good number
01:17:32That we're going to be
01:17:33That's why
01:17:34What's going to do
01:17:35With you
01:17:36To make your decisions
01:17:37We can't take them
01:17:38At least
01:17:39You can't take
01:17:40This is a good
01:17:41All right, we're going to go after this car because they're going to be coming sooner
01:17:58than later.
01:17:59So after this car right here, okay?
01:18:03All right, got to go, got to go, got to go, got to go.
01:18:09There is no perfect time to start focusing on your health, and there's never too late
01:18:16a time to start.
01:18:17It's only difficult because there's no money in healthy people.
01:18:21Healthy people, if their blood pressures are normal, they don't need blood pressure medicines.
01:18:25If they don't have blockages in their arteries that cause strokes and heart attacks, they
01:18:29don't need to see cardiologists to have stents put in them.
01:18:32We don't need anything special.
01:18:34This you got to change first.
01:18:36If you change your mind, you'll change the direction of your mind.
01:18:4345 in.
01:18:44Another, what, 18 to go then?
01:18:48I guess I'm trying to pick it up now because once we get on the lake, we won't be able to
01:18:55do it, yeah.
01:18:5630, 40 miles into the ride, Erica's saying we need to ride 13 if we're going to get there
01:19:01on time.
01:19:25The lakefront, I'm not a big fan of, not a fear, but I knew what I was going to encounter.
01:19:32Heads up, man.
01:19:34Hey!
01:19:35Just the smell of the holiday, the grills going, people out celebrating.
01:19:43Oh, man.
01:19:44I was at home.
01:19:45All of a sudden we're riding 16, 18.
01:19:52What the heck is going on?
01:19:54Why are we riding so fast?
01:19:55I'll take a ride up here.
01:19:56Right here?
01:19:57Yeah.
01:19:58Take a right, take a right, take a right.
01:20:03Hey!
01:20:06Feels the deal!
01:20:11Feels the deal!
01:20:21Feels the deal!
01:20:26Feels the deal!
01:20:30I can see the emotion is emanating from every pore in his being.
01:20:56The race meant more in terms of his ability to set a goal and achieve it.
01:21:01I don't know what to say. This is very too much.
01:21:05Congratulations, sir.
01:21:07It just took me several minutes to compose myself.
01:21:10I'm realizing I did this thing. We finished it.
01:21:14You did it! You did it!
01:21:16That moment of arrival that he had accomplished 350 miles, 350 miles, 350 miles.
01:21:31What an accomplishment.
01:21:33They were there with signs. My grandkids were there. Friends were there.
01:21:37It was very, very overwhelming. I couldn't control myself.
01:21:40I kind of broke down and got emotional, which is unusual.
01:21:44Wow. This is too much.
01:21:46Not Eric. Not Eric.
01:21:47My husband is not the kind of person that liked a lot of attention.
01:21:51A person that is very subdued, very quiet, to be very emotional was very heartfelt.
01:21:58This was something for the books.
01:22:00Y'all work hard on this.
01:22:01Excuse me. What about you, y'all?
01:22:03I went from riding my bike around the block, winded, legs burning, to riding from St. Louis to Chicago.
01:22:12With him doing the cycling thing now, it's like the old dining that I used to know.
01:22:17To go to show you, that's what good exercise and good eating would do for your body.
01:22:22The pivot or the catalyst in someone's life, people feel as though it has to happen at a certain age.
01:22:28I think he's a living witness that you can turn things around at any time.
01:22:33He went from an insane amount of pills, and now he's doing 150 to 200 miles a week.
01:22:39So if he can do that at almost 70 years old, what is your excuse?
01:22:43A lot of people will talk to me and say, Donnie, I want to do something, but I can't do what you're doing.
01:22:49And my comment is, you don't have to do what I'm doing.
01:22:52Find something that you enjoy and do it.
01:22:55When I chose cycling, you may choose something else.
01:22:58But regardless of what you choose, find something that you enjoy and do it.
01:23:15Hey, man.
01:23:16What's going on, superstar?
01:23:18I just did a recovery ride.
01:23:21I feel so much better after.
01:23:23Do it.
01:23:25You want to go do it again?
01:23:28It.
01:23:30You want to do the ride again?
01:23:33Say what?
01:23:35Yeah.
01:23:36Hell no.
01:23:39Hell no.
01:23:407 days in a week.
01:23:42Eat a steak.
01:23:43Every plate is a feast.
01:23:45Watch your weight.
01:23:46No mistakes in the least.
01:23:47Or else you too will dig a grave with your teeth.
01:23:50I wish that I could fit in these expensive jeans.
01:23:52A waistline that'll rip the seams.
01:23:54And pharmaceuticals that sit between your heart medicine.
01:23:57Cough medicine.
01:23:58Blood thinners and antihistamines.
01:24:00Pat, wish that I could fit in these expensive jeans.
01:24:02I don't like this cut.
01:24:03It's like the Lord got my order wrong.
01:24:053 a.m.
01:24:06Stress eating.
01:24:07Laying down on it.
01:24:08Now your blood sugar is borderline border long.
01:24:10Seen them rise.
01:24:11I seen them fall.
01:24:12I seen the dreams of fiends.
01:24:13And scenes of war inside my mind.
01:24:15It ain't nothing serene.
01:24:17It's called blackness.
01:24:18The most expensive jeans of all.
01:24:21Okay.
01:24:22I see.
01:24:23I see.
01:24:24Alright.
01:24:26We need to go over family history.
01:24:32Perfect.
01:24:33My judgment dress is completely idle.
01:24:38Okay.
01:24:39I'm won!
01:24:40I'll watch it before.
01:24:41He embr researcher.
01:24:42Bye.
01:24:43Bye.
01:24:44Ready.
01:24:45..
01:24:46Bye.
01:24:47Bye.
01:24:48Pure love.
01:24:49And one of those things you can notice like...
01:24:51...
01:24:53nonparexifed respect.
01:24:55Send them to me this dude's baby tag,
01:24:59but have them besoin in order.
01:25:01A budget type be said.
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