Last week I was cycling with a good friend of mine, who influenced my love for cycling. We had a two and a half hour ride of two tails. The first 20 miles went smooth - fast, enjoyable with medium effort required to get to the turnaround point. The back half kicked my ass. Because of headwinds, there was a 8-mph loss and a major change in effort required as we peddled through the wind.
The good news for me was I was able to draft my friend. Moreover, he also drafted me in the course of cycling.
Drafting is an important technique in cycling. As the lead bicyclist moves through the wind he creates a turbulent vortex behind himself. As you follow closely behind and move into the wind behind the front cyclist, you gain an advantage. Basically, you have less wind to contend with.
As I peddled along in appreciation of my friend for helping me get through the second half of the ride, I landed on the thought of vulnerability and the importance of raising your hand when you need help?
Why do leaders and in many cases, men fail to ask for help? Why do they have a hard time admitting they are in need of someone to draft much like we do in cycling?
How many times have you heard someone say, “I got this”? In reality, those are the three worst words we say to ourselves. I know from personal experience; this lone ranger approach ends poorly. This is because sometimes when we say this, we really cannot handle things on our own. At least, not easily anyway.
With everything we have to balance – faith, finances, health, family and friends, marriage, personal development, fun and recreation, and career how can we possibly go at it alone? Trying to go at it alone is a common reason for business and career failures.
Top groups I draft on a regular basis to make sure I can take on the headwinds in life are listed below -
1- Close friends. Much like my riding buddy, we openly talked about issues in our lives and how we are dealing with it. The best part is we are in two totally different professions and that is one reason we support each other so well. We are curious and ask really good questions to one another.
2- Men Group– each Tuesday morning at 6 am,I spend an hour with a group of men from church. This has been life changing for me. Grounded in faith we openly talk about life. Thanks to a strong group of men, we push on each other – HARD. Equally, we support by using power questions, accountability and support. The transformations we have made is real.
3- A Coach– Two years ago, I hired and maintained an executive coach. As a result, I am now working on my coaching certification. This one is easy. I appreciate having someone in my corner. A coach who is curious, listens, asks great questions and calls BS when I need it.
4- Fitness community– Ironically the week I wrote this blog, it was my third workout of the week with a different friend. I swam, ran and cycled with three different friends. To put icing on the cake, the following day, I had a 5K planned with my wife. Talk about support from others!
The irony of drafting
Surprisingly drafting not only helps the bicyclist following the leader, but the lead cyclist gains an advantage as well. So, two people who are drafting can put out less energy than two individuals (who are not drafting).
Whose wheel are you drafting and who is drafting yours?