I grew up in a family of alcoholics. They all lived way longer than they deserved. When I watched Frank Shorter win the 1972 Olympic Marathon a lightbulb went off in my head just as it did in the heads of millions of others. Shorter was the Moses of modern fitness and Bill Rogers was the Jesus. Cycling came later because it is a European sport like baseball is American. When I first started running in 1973 people would stop and ask if I wanted a ride. I lost 25 pounds the first year I ran and never looked back. By the way if you want to get faster on hills with your bike drink two beers instead of four and skip that dish of ice cream.