Queen of the tour…

The Tour de Isolation is complete. We raced for six weeks and eleven stages. The last ride was a Queen (the artist) focused playlist led by the lead Peloton instructor, Robin Arzon. The last song was appropriate – We are the Champions.

Are we ever.

The tour taught so much to those who gave her their attention. Emily taught us to stop making excuses and just keep showing up, even with a growing baby inside. Emily’s personal best was set in Stage Eleven. Think about that for awhile. What’s your excuse? Fritz is more than a watchman, we learned. He too had his best effort and result when the race was over, at least for him, and he powered through like a champion because he is one. The same can be said for Jon who started out with one of the lowest PWR (power to weight ratio’s) and ended up just outside the top ten. Progress over perfection people. It sounds good until you realize how hard it is to make progress doing hard things horribly to doing hard things well. Most quit. The tour extruded true champions.

The Littlest Fricker just keeps coming. He’s almost 64, the best home builder in our city, Pa to eight and Grandpa to many more, and one of the best friends a man could hope for. I’ll never forget him trying to catch me when my brakes when out on the top of a French mountain. He’s got guts, grit and gives more than he takes. And, of course, our daughter Krit. She came into the tour having just purchased the Peloton with her boyfriend Josh. He’s athletic and super strong. She’s beautiful and looks like you could push her over with ease. Josh is as he appears; Krit, not so much. You see, friend, the tour extruded her beast mode. She pushed herself to the point of nearly blacking out on the bike. She went head down and mashed her pedals without even having clipped in. Yes, that’s correct. She rode the entire tour in tennis shoes on top of her pedals. I kept telling her to go out and buy some shoes so she could clip in. Nope. She wouldn’t have it. She learned that she can do more than she thinks. As a father, there’s not much more satisfying.

I could go on but I’ll stop. The tour was amazing because the people who played are amazing. At BTL, we believe that together we transform. Always together. Everyday, I test our hypothesis in the real world. My belief has only deepened. We are the champions of the world, friend. Who makes you do what you can? Who are you pulling up the hard climb? Do not try to go it a lone. You are designed for all one – one L of a difference. Good.

Live hard. Love harder…