Kenny just left Rush Springs, Oklahoma. He and his son, dalton, went out for a short trip in the motorhome to see the new property his mother and father just bought. On his way out of town yesterday, he did a duathlon in Norman. When he originally drove out there, he was not expecting to do a race. He had his rode bike, CLIF BAR cycling kits, and a pair of trianing shoes.
What was different about this event than others in the past? No bikini, no fancy aero bars, and clod hoppers instead of light Avias. Kenny went out to the barn and cut some pvc pipe, got some hose clamps, making his own aero bars! Talk about old schooling it. He rode his Sledgehammer and ran his NB 1300’s to a 3rd.
I did the Draper Lake Du yesterday and saw the RV and Clif Bar kit. Thought it was Kenny but was not sure. Wish I had inroduced myself as he is someone I always wanted to meet.
Will admit when I saw the mountain “tricked out” was little dubious who it was. Great story to tell the kids.
Kenny is such a class act. I had to cancel my Brazil '04 plans due to my art gallery purchase being finalized 2 weeks before the race. I had inquired with his company to handle my travel plans but had not officially booked it and money had not yet changed hands.
So one day in April I my cell phone rings and it’s Kenny Souza. He asked me if I was ‘in or out’ for Brazil and I told him regretably I was out due to this last minute deal. I fully expected the call to end at that point but he very politely asked about my career change and about my training plans and life in general. He was 100% positive and up-beat and offered me nothing but encouragement. We had maybe a 15 minute phone conversation about those things as well as the IM Brazil course and the city of Florianapolis.
He couldn’t have been nicer, and I didn’t for a second think of the call as a ‘sales’ call.
Are you sure this is the same Kenny Souza that we are talking about? He works for CLIF BAR. I am not sure CLIF is is in the travel business. Maybe he has been moonlighting and trying to save for a pair of aero bars!
I think we have a “Ken Glah” vs “Kenny Souza” mix up.
Although, they both did (and at last look Ken stlll does) sport some rather “extreme” mullets… maybe they are the same people, just dual personalities, one that puts on a fake mustache to distinguish himself from the other…
I thought of you and Kenny last Saturday on my long ride (well short ride for you guys,70 miles). Earlier had seen dude riding near town with big handlebar bag. I thought, what’s that for? Later, I stopped at gas station for water and gatoraid. Dude with handlebar bag pulls up (9:30 am), walks out of store with plastic bag, and unloads six pack of miller lite into handlebar bag. He’s also drinking a beer in paper sack and offers me one. I tell him no thanks cause I’ve been getting dizzy just from the heat lately here in Alabama. I rode with him a while, he’s a decent rider (though overweight with, guess what, beer belly) and he probably rode 50 plus miles that morning. That was a first time I met someone who drank beer while riding – for a second when I saw the guy unloading the beer, I wondered if it was you or Kenny in town, but then realized you’d be drinking tequila, not beer.
Also saw a puppy in the gas station that was supposedly a fox-chihuahua mix.
Ok, no burritos, mountain lion attacled people, bears, or old cranky website publishers with weird cycling style, but for this homeboy in Birmingham, Alabama, it was a interesting day.
Sorry 'bout that. I am claiming a mix of insomnia and blondness. Besides that was so last year. Try asking me who I talked to last week and I just might be more accurate. I’m sure Souza is a real sweetheart too.
I did the Du on Sunday and was suprised to see Kenny there. It was my first time meeting him and he was very nice and approachable. I didn’t realize it was him when I met him. We were camping out in the same campground and I had my entire camping gear stolen so the day of the race I was speaking with him about suspects in the area. He rode a strong bike but with some speed work and run endurance I think he could be competitive again. I didn’t have the heart to tell him he is one of the reasons I wanted to get into multisport more than ten years ago. I remember checking out his book on duathlon training from our school library and seeing the only other person who checked it out was a teammate of mine from the xc team who incidentally went on to run in the olympic trials and numerous titles. Hands down, Kenny is one of the nicest guys in the sport. I think it speaks volumes of his personality that he is still enjoying the sport and sharing his knowledge despite slowing down.
My brother had cut out one of his covers from triathlete magazine years back when he had a speedo on, long sideburns, and the long hair, and cut off Kenny’s head and put a picture of his head on his body. Thank God he grew up fairly normal after that incident.