Backflip

A few weekends ago I spend a few days in Michigan on the annual Tour of Leelanau. It’s a week where a few friends from my church and I head up to Leelanau County in Michigan and spend a few days riding our bikes around, camping and eating great food. It was 4 days with 2 1/2 days. We went around 200 miles. The trip was great, lots of fun. Some observations that hit me while riding are below:

Independence – 2 days into the riding I realized that I had nothing to prove and that I should be comfortable with myself. Go at my own pace and enjoy myself. Before this moment I was unconsciously pushing myself past my limits in an effort to impress those I was with and to not get shown up. Thankfully I realized this is dumb, and was able to take it easy for the rest of the trip.

Diversity is healthy – the trip consisted of the following professions – Architect, Electronic Device Salesman, Teacher, Engineer, Welding Manager, Student, Consultant, Quality Expert, Plastics Salesman, Business Owner, IT professional, Duck Farmer, Parks Manager, Arborist, and a Data Architect. While it’s not the most diverse group in the world it was still an interesting conglomerate of different people. While I normally see these people on a weekly basis it was great to spend a weekend with them and to see a bit of how they see the world.

Going along with the above point. It’s very interesting to see how different group dynamics work. How there is strength and confidence in numbers but also pressures and expectations. At one point in the trip my friend Dan and I got separated from the group and then partially lost. This actually turned out to be one of the best parts of the trip. We just biked around at a leisurely pace. This made me realize how rushed I felt when I was with the group. Similar to the independence piece above, I was letting the group will effect how I was enjoying the trip. It was well within my power to go at my own pace and my own time but I was feeling rushed with the group. So it was nice to be split off from it for a while.

Physical and mental hardships are opportunities to grow. Perseverance, mind over matter, confidence and fighting through the pain are all good lessons to learn. At one point on the second day I was alone, out of water, unsure of how far I had to travel, tired and hungry. Looking back it’s hard to capture the moment but it was pretty intense. I had the choice to stop and get help (call the truck to come and get me) or to keep going. I decided to keep going and even though I got slower and slower, I made it to the next town, food and rest. It sounds like a simple life lesson, but it’s been a while since I’ve been pushed in such a way and it felt great to work through the hardship and emerge victorious on the other end.

I had a great time in Michigan hanging out with the guys. I neglected to take many pictures because 2 photographers were riding, however if I run across some good pics I’ll post ‘em.

In other news, I have a girlfriend (for realz this time). Her name is Steph and she is great. I also just started on a billing project and it’s working with folks I’ve had the pleasure of working with in the past which is great. It’s a 6 month gig so I’ll be there for the long haul which is excellent. I’ll let ya know how it’s treatin’ me.