Last night Doug and I were watching the replay of the first few days of the 109th edition of the Le Tour de France. This year’s race started in Copenhagen, Denmark and unfortunately, it had rained so the course was really wet. To add insult to injury, Stage 1 was an individual time-trial (8-ish miles); speed was of the essence, and that wasn’t easy given the wet surface and many bends and turns in the road. A number of the riders wiped-out—not a great way to start Day 1 of your 21 day cycling journey.

We continued to watch the replays of the first 5 days. The weather got better, the road got dryer, but the falling (and the crashing) continued. I was amazed at how quickly everyone got up. They didn’t spend much time at all mulling over what happened, they just got up and carried on. Of course that made me think about me and you!

Falling is a part of any bike race—it’s not necessary, but it’s a distinct possibility for sure. It hurts and the rider can definitely get injured, but no one chooses not to ride because they may fall. They ride despite the fact that they may fall. They know the risk and they courageously carry on. And they do so because the reward outweighs the risk. That should be us, too! There are risks to success—many! But if we don’t take any, that’s like one of these riders saying, “Thanks for the invite to the Le Tour de France, but I’m going to pass, I might fall.” Who says that? The answer is: NO ONE, EVER.

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!

Beth