At 43, Donnie Seals Sr. confronted a grim fact—his coronary heart, weakened by way of pressure and an dangerous way of life, required open-heart surgical operation following a coronary heart assault. Via 50, he had gone through two extra surgical procedures, together with a quintuple bypass. Weighed down by way of greater than 20 day-to-day medicines and the looming danger of extra procedures, he knew one thing needed to trade.
The surprising answer? A bicycle. What started as tentative rides across the block just about 15 years after his closing open-heart surgical operation would evolve right into a 350-mile adventure around the huge American Midwest — person who remodeled his well being and bolstered Seals Sr.’s bond along with his son.
“I have no idea why I chose biking,” Seals Sr., who can be 73 this 12 months, tells Biking Weekly with amusing. “But man, it was the best decision I’ve ever made. Biking saved me.”
A Vessel for Exchange
(Symbol credit score: Timothy M. Schmidt)
Seals Sr.’s access into biking used to be anything else however glamorous. It used to be gradual, tedious and humbling. After spending just about 15 years depending on medicines to stay his coronary heart in take a look at, in his mid-60s, Seals Sr. made up our minds to depend on two wheels as a substitute.
“My first rides were a quarter mile, just around my block,” Seals Sr. says. “That’s all I could do to start. Then, I linked up with a local cycling club and started doing 20-mile rides with them. Eventually, I did my first century with the club. By then, I was hooked. I’m not fast, but I can ride all day.”
As Seals Sr. noticed his cardiovascular well being start to strengthen, he got here to a startling realisation: His son, Eric D. Seals used to be heading down the similar bad trail as he’d been..
“[Eric and I] both played football and we have the same body type, which made us athletic back when we were in our prime, but can become unhealthy if you don’t maintain it,” Seals Sr. says. “He is also a workaholic like I was, and I felt he hadn’t fully made a commitment to his health, so I suggested we ride together, and it’s made us even closer.”
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Biking temporarily changed into a shared hobby, bettering their well being and strengthening their bond. Via 2021, each father and son had hugely advanced their cardiovascular health, and so they sought after to mark the transformation with one thing large and symbolic.
The solution? A 350-mile direction from St. Louis to Chicago alongside the mythical Course 66, one of the most unique highways within the U.S. Referred to as the “Mother Road,” Course 66 used to be as soon as the principle artery for travellers chasing new alternatives within the West. For almost a century, it symbolised freedom, resilience and the American spirit. For the Seals father and son duo, it symbolises a brand new, fitter, long run.
The date used to be set for the autumn of 2021. It could be a four-day adventure finishing in Chicago on Exertions Day. Seals Sr. could be 69 years outdated, and his son could be 35.
“I couldn’t have made the journey without Eric”
(Symbol credit score: Timothy M. Schmidt)
For almost a 12 months, the duo devoted themselves to getting ready for the journey. They joined membership rides, finished indoor coaching periods and adopted a strict coaching regime.
Because the experience took form, Seals., proprietor of the manufacturing corporate Digifé, noticed a possibility to show his father’s transformation into one thing larger. He envisioned a documentary —Motorbike Vessel— that may chronicle Seals Sr.’s adventure from a coronary heart well being scare to coronary heart well being suggest.
And so a movie group adopted the pair as they made their means north from St. Louis to Chicago by way of the Course 66 motorbike trail.
“Eric and I have had a much closer bond ever since we did that bike ride together,” Seals Sr. says. “I’m very proud of him and I could not have made the journey without him.”
The pair’s longest day within the saddle used to be at the 3rd day once they racked up 111 miles, with a lot of it right into a 12mph headwind.
“I bragged to Eric before we set out that we were probably going to have a tailwind the entire way to Chicago,” Seals Sr. says with amusing. “And that third day ended up being brutal with the headwind. But I’ll tell you what: Eric pulled for the full 111 miles.”
The duo had been plagued by way of the everyday bicycle owner’s pains –flat tyres, headwinds, drained our bodies– however Seals Sr. says not anything compares to the meditative state they felt once they discovered a just right groove.
“There were sections on the route where we felt great and were rolling and were in almost a meditative state, that was one of my favourite parts,” Seals Sr. says. “My other favourite part of the journey was when we got close enough to Chicago to smell the cit,y and I knew I’d be in my bed that night.”
On account of Seals Sr.’s dedication to health thru biking, his drugs requirement reduced from greater than 20 medicines an afternoon to simply two in step with day on the time of the point-to-point experience.
“I’ll ride with you”
(Symbol credit score: Timothy M. Schmidt)
Now, 4 years after his epic Midwest biking expedition, Seals Sr. can nonetheless be discovered pedalling maximum days of the week. Even if Seals Sr.’s son Eric is busy along with his manufacturing corporate, he can nonetheless be discovered using along with his dad when time lets in.
“I once said to my wife that I felt guilty for spending so much time and money on my bikes,” Seals Sr. says. “And she made the statement to me that at one point in my life, we were spending more on my heart medications than we ever did on my bikes. And that affirmed to me that cycling is my medication.”
Seals Sr. has turn out to be a fierce suggest for brand new cyclists within the Chicago space.
“You don’t have to ‘get in shape’ before you can ride,” Seals Sr. says. “I’ll ride with you, even if it’s just around the block. Let’s just get off the couch and put down the potato chips. It doesn’t matter to me how far we go.”
Seals Sr. leaves other people with a sobering, mild nudge about pursuing well being: “People like to say that tomorrow is not promised,” Seals Sr. says. “I’m here to tell you that today is not promised… find something that you love – walking, cycling, pickleball – and just do it. And if you love it, you’ll continue to do it.”
The Motorbike Vessel documentary premieres on PBS on February 24, 2025. Take a look at your native PBS listings for precise air occasions.
Center illness is the main reason for demise within the U.S., claiming over 600,000 lives every 12 months. The easiest way to battle again is to get shifting. Common bodily task can lend a hand give a boost to your coronary heart, decrease blood power and strengthen total well being. Biking is a brilliant choice—it’s minimal impact, simple at the joints, and a very good means to spice up cardiovascular health whilst exploring the outside. Now not everybody can or desires to experience 350 miles, however each mile counts.
