Pedal Anyway (The Friday Ficks S6 E13)

As a kid in Berlin, Connecticut, I used to watch an Amtrak train called the “Montrealer” roar

through town, heading north toward a place that felt exotic and unreachable. Years later, I

registered for a 400+ mile cycling event from Connecticut to Montreal - three days, 22,000 feet of climbing, four states, one international border.

When the website asked “Convinced you can do this?” I hit the orange REGISTER button.

Then, after cheekily naming my road bike the “Montrealer,” the work began. Early

mornings. Solo rides. Rain. Wind. Hills. Over 2,000 training miles with nearly 73,000 feet of

climbing. Like a doctor once told me, you can’t fake a stress test. And you can’t fake preparation. I controlled what I could: effort, recovery, nutrition, mindset.

What I couldn’t control? A pandemic-driven border closure.

Two hours after a 63-mile training ride in cold, sloppy rain, the email arrived: the event was

cancelled. No start line. No finish line. No Montreal.

Was I disappointed? Of course.

Was the effort wasted? Not a chance.

Here’s what I learned: the event is not the reward. The becoming is. The discipline. The

solitude. The quiet confidence that comes from doing hard things when no one is watching. The

expanded capacity you didn’t know you had.

Leadership is no different. Projects get canceled. Deals fall through. Timelines shift. Borders close.

But the growth? That’s banked.

If a setback has detoured you recently, don’t confuse delay with defeat. The miles you’re logging right now - physically, professionally, emotionally - are building something in you that no cancellation can erase.

My Montrealer hasn’t crossed the border yet.

But I’m stronger because I tried.

Pedal anyway.

Own the day. Own the weekend.

Carl