Kids and growing up

Our 3 boys have officially started their first day of school.  Mixed emotions as I am sure you all have as well.  Exciting to see them grow and develop physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually (our oldest just started seminary).  But man in many ways I would love to keep them young.  The lyrics to Forever Young by Rod Stewart come to mind:

"May the good Lord be with you down every road you roam...

And may sunshine and happiness surround you when you're far from home

And may you grow to be proud dignified and true

and do unto others as they'd have done to you
be courageous and be brave, and in my heart you'll always stay, forever young"

First Day of 6th Grade

First Day of 3rd Grade

Cayden Mountain Biking at Sundance (last day of summer before 9th Grade)

Pain and regret

Today I had the opportunity to ride in a chase vehicle during stage 1 of the Tour of Utah. It was intense. Those riders were flying. 87 miles and the elevation gain was quite intense. Were they in pain? I am sure they were. As I watched the lead riders I recalled what a friend of mine told me prior to an Ironman event. He said, "remember Joe, pain goes away but regret doesn't". The riders today were a great example of this. There was no giving up because things got tough. How often in life do we give up because the pain or challenges become too great? Pain goes away, regret doesn't.

Do we have limits?

A question that went through my mind several times yesterday.  I started my day in Park City Utah with several of my riding buddies.  We were part of a bike ride called, "The Ultimate Challenge".  It was a cycling event for citizens to help kick off the Tour of Utah professional bike race.

Before leaving I knew that I had 100 miles ahead of me with close to 10,000 feet of elevation climb.  The temperatures would range from low 40s leaving in the dark to upper 90s by the finish.  As I consider my emotions at the time and periodically throughout the event, a quote comes to my mind,

"The human body has limitations...the human spirit is boundless...your mind in other words is your most important muscle". - author unknown.

I knew that physically I was ready for this event but mentally I was struggling.  I believe the mental side of life is much of our challenge. We must remind ourselves constantly of our potential.  We may be ready physically but are we ready mentally and emotionally?

this ride called life...

An experience I had last summer...

I was cycling up the American Fork side of Alpine loop. I passed a group of riders and identified a friend of mine who went ahead with me. We spoke the rest of the way up the mountain together. We had great conversations getting caught up.

Towards the top, I noticed there was new pavement and then noticed someone had spray painted a message. I mentioned to my friend something like, "I can't believe someone would spray paint on the new pavement". He told me that the person who spray painted was with him and the other group that was right behind us. He went on to explain that the wife of one of the riders behind us had recently passed away. This was his ride he requested with his friends. The message was one of love and support from his friends to him. I was touched.

It made me realize that everyone has a story. That we need each other. That we can grow through one another. That we can be inspired by one another. That we can some times judge without knowing the full story. So here I am, around 1 year later sharing this story that inspired me and starting my blog...

welcome.

We live in an amazing world. We are surrounded by incredible people. I am blessed to travel the world and meet many people from many countries. I am constantly inspired by my experiences. We are meant to be around one another. Grow from one another. Help each other through this ride called life. I also believe that life is meant to be experienced. There is a quote that I love which sums up this point:

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: wow!!! What a ride!".

-author unknown-

welcome to my blog and Giddy'up!