A short, first-person spoken reflection by Chad Silverstein (Day 128) recounting a grueling 10-day cycling trip in France where he nearly collapsed while climbing mountains. He emphasizes the impact one supportive person (Chet) can have, the importance of sensing when others need help, and balancing pushing limits with avoiding burnout.
Chapters
There's a day in the book when Chet talks about something regarding Derp's not dying. It was something about when we went to France and we're riding our bikes. When I read the day in the book, day 128, it took me right back to when I was in France with Chet and a bunch of other guys, and we were climbing mountains on our bike for 10 straight days, and I literally thought I was going to die. I mean, it was probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. And I've done some hard things, and it is amazing how one person can make all the difference. I remember Chet came back down as I was pedaling up about 2 mph. Not even as soon as we hit the mountain and start going up, everybody took off. And I'm at the bottom, just kind of going for hours. And, you know, it was a poison and wine experience for sure, because you get to the top and it's unbelievable. But I remember questioning so many times up that mountain, what the heck am I doing and why am I doing this? And didn't think I could finish it. And I remember when Chet came down to get me and, you know, he picked me back up. You know, everybody needs someone in their life to pick them up. And timing has a lot to do with that. You have to tune in and know when people around you are hurting, when they need to pick me up, when they need the. The kick in the ass. And I think, you know, a great leader can sense that about the people that they are around. And, you know, you're lucky if you have a few. I'm blessed to have more than a few, and hopefully you do as well. If not, you got to find them, you got to be one to another in order for them to be one for you. And you can always do more than you think. Always. And you also, you have to know when to stop. You do. You have to know when out to burn the oil too much, because you could really burn out, and life's too short to burn out. So finding that delicate on this side of chaos and this side of the challenge zone, it's not easy. It's not easy. You have to really understand yourself, to be able to gauge where you're at when you're there, and then occasionally have someone help you along the way.
