Okay, call me insane. "Stupid is as stupid does." Last Saturday I rode in the Wichita Falls Hotter Than Hell 100 mile bike ride. It's actually 102 miles but they give you the last 2 miles for free! I had never ridden further than 72 miles until Saturday and the difference between 72 and 100 is huge! The good news was the weather for the 7:00 a.m. start was perfect at 70 degrees. The bad news was when I drug my bike seat across the finish line at 3:30 it was closer to 100 degrees. I was fortunate to ride with 8 other friends (who I also do triathlons with during the year) and thought I would share some truths I discovered and tips to lead by. Here goes...
- "A journey of a 100 miles starts with a single spin on the bike." If I had focused on the full 100 miles from the very beginning I think it would have overwhelmed me. I know especially toward the end with only 10 left I really had to focus on going only 1 mile at a time. When it comes to making big transitions, big changes in life, in business, or with people, don't let the size or magnitude of the event or change overwhelm you. Start with "eating the elephant one bite at a time."
- "If you don't know where you're going, you're lost." Believe me, I knew exactly where I was going; do you think I'm that crazy? I looked at the map several times to make sure I knew where I was going, I didn't want to spend any more time on the bike than necessary. Those who "fail to plan, plan to fail." Many times, change efforts fail because people are not sure of the plan nor of what it will look like when they arrive at their final destination. It's your responsibility as a leader to "paint a picture of exactly what that will look like as if they were watching it on television" so they understand.
- "Everything looks hard in the midst of trials." The couple who rode with us, Scott and Michelle, bless their hearts had 4 flats on their bikes within 20 miles. Four flats! And these flats were during the heat of the day. Trials will come especially when you're trying to make changes and each time the trials come there will be an invitation to quit. The loser is not the man who gets knocked down but the one who stays down.
- "It's amazing what you can achieve when you don't care who gets the credit." We were a team and there was no 'I' in teamwork Saturday. We started together, stopped at rest stops together, encouraged one another, exchanged tire tubes, drafted off one another, and finished together. No one was left to themselves. Leadership begins with character and a big dose of humility in order to work together successfully.
- It began with a goal in mind, but more importantly a direction. Goals are one thing, a direction is entirely different. Goals can be static whereas direction is fluid. Riding 100 miles was on my bucket list of 100 things I want to do before I die (inspired by the movie Bucket List, 2007). But as much as it was a goal, it's only one among many things I want to accomplish (direction). What's your goal? More importantly in what direction are you headed?
"One thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and straining for what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal..." (note, it's about direction in achieving the goal).
So, there you go. Hotter N Hell 2010 is in the bag. But shoot me if I decide to do it again before next August....here's a photo of motley crew at the end of the race.
rb
(scroll to the right to see the rest of the biker gang :)
Posted on
Tue, August 31, 2010
by Ron Beasley
filed under