Every cause must have a reason. For the past five years the Terry Larrazabal Bike Festival has been in honor of a man who has lived in an unobtrusive way.

Born the eldest boy of a family of seven on April 4, 1938 to the late Potenciano Larrazabal and Aniceta Veloso, Terry, as he was fondly called, lived his life devoid of the glitter of fame and fortune of which his family was blessed. Wealth and honor never got the better of him. He lived a simple life, married in September 24, 1961 to an equally simple lady in the person of Adelina Yrastorza, he begot eight children whom he brought up frugally, instilling in them proper family values centering around family solidarity. He was a father overly generous to his children almost to a fault. He was a loving husband and a good provider to his family, being a sugar planter and a businessman in his own right.

This is funny. Absurd. Never done before. Crazy. But, if they’re able to perform what they’ve boldly promised to accomplish, it will be unprecedented. A first. Freakish. An act to prove that man, indeed, is starting to play God.

Have you heard this news before? Of China, with only 159 days left before the Beijing Olympics, spending $100 million annually and deploying 50,000 people to—believe it or not—keep rain away during the Olympic Opening Ceremony? That China is concocting a storm—yes, a real-life, but man-made, storm—to clear the skies of pollution?

This is no joke. It’s true.

My good friend from Australia, Graeme Mackinnon, sent this informative and yes, funny, comment. Note: I especially like his last-sentence suggestion! Hehe… Thanks, Graeme!

“John, I watched a tennis player chewing on a banana during a game and it got me thinking. So two years ago I decided to give it a try. I quietly gave my son Robert one before a game and I watched what happened. Put it this way it did not affect him adversely, so I decided to put the rest of the team on bananas for the rest of the season.

“The team that I was coaching was not an elite squad of players and many of them you would have to say were not adonis in their physical attributes. They would eat half a banana five to ten minutes before the start of the game and then consume the other half at half time. I expect a lot from the players and I drive them in the heat of the game to go for that extra effort when the occasion arises.