Notes from Steve

A bunch of us did the “frozen” ride in Des Moines on 2/24/24.  It was somewhat cold – but for February, it was beautiful and warm.  A great time was had by all.  10 years ago – I would have looked at an article like this and thought, “These people are crazy.”  This last year, the word tribe has been used (by others, I’m sure, but mostly me) a lot – this crew, plus others, defines tribe and team in another way for me.  It’s kind of the biking and exercise but more so – it’s people who genuinely care for each other, laugh together, and hang out doing weird things (frozen rides and RAGBRAI - the hottest, hilliest, longest … bleh) together.  I said it’s like partying on the Titanic as it’s going down.  This tribe would be singing with the band as the ship was sinking.  
 
A couple of friends were talking to me recently about stress and anxiety.  I challenged them to look at the situation in their life differently - from another angle.  We talked, and I said if you focus on the potential negatives of a situation and not on the blessings that you received before, during, and after (all the knowledge, experience, and healing), you’ll end up with additional, unnecessary stress.  The word “FEAR” can be defined in a lot of ways, but one way I like is “false events appearing real.”  I told my friends that if you obsess over the bad stuff that potentially could or will happen, not about what’s going on right now or what great things could happen in the future – it can be depressing.
 
If when I’m riding, I freak out about all the bad stuff that could be in my path – ice, rocks, geese*, dogs, my age, other people on the trail … I’ll be paralyzed, and I’ll have to stop and lay down.  But if I focus on my tribe, the beautiful day, and the fact that I’m still rocking on the bike at 59 … I’ll smile and dance until the band is done.  
 
*Geese are real threats and give me anxiety all the time – I go really fast past them.