I had one of those unique opportunities to combine several of my passions in the unlikeliest of all places, Moab, Utah.
One of my dear clients from North Carolina sent me an invite to join the Roll with Bob Roll cycling event in Moab this November. I try to avoid putting labels on people but my aforementioned client is also a card carrying bike geek and this was an epic gathering of other bike geeks in the Utah desert. The headlining geek was a guy named Bob Roll, affectionately known as “Bobke” to cyclists around the world. Bob is a former pro cyclist from the early years with the 7 Eleven Cycling team that Greg Lamond made famous. If you know Bob today it would likely be from his commentating on the Tour de France broadcast every July. He is a character and a great story teller. He can also still ride a bike as I learned the hard way. I was spit off the back of his group to enjoy a solo ride along the Colorado River.
Other than that ego bruise, the weekend was a great glimpse into some of the brightest minds in the sport talking about health, longevity, and technology. My summation, sleep, exercise and nutrition is what moves the health needle as I move into the 4th quarter of life.
As experienced in my real estate career, I was reminded that it is never too late to learn and improve and humility is always lurking. My mountain ride was led by Laurie Brandt, a former Leadville 100 race winner and women’s course record holder. I happened to be in a few of the race years that she won and was quick to remind her that she needed riders like me to beat in order to win. As I was riding up a technical section of classic Moab rock, she started yelling at me, “keep your head up!” She was absolutely correct as I was staring at my front tire instead of looking at the trail. It is amazing what a change of perspective does. Instead of staring at the nastiness in front of me, I looked up to see the bigger picture and rode over the obstacles. I brought that lesson home with me along with the reminder that 1. I am a bike geek, 2. I like other bike geeks, 3. Most bike geeks are faster and better riders than I, 4. Nobody cares about numbers 1-3.
If you read this far, next year's date is November 6-9, 2025. They also have options for runners, hikers, kids and spouses.
