Leadership Lessons from Biking

I wish it was not so rare, but there seems to be very few pastors that cycle.  This being the case, I find much affinity with other pastors who love to bike.

Almost 10 years ago, I met a Canadian pastor, Carey Nieuwhof, at a conference called Orange.  I really gleaned a lot of wisdom from his pastor’s roundtable group and have been following his church leadership blog ever since.  Much to my amazement, as I started taking up mountain biking, I noticed that he started throwing in comments about his love for biking.  It turns out that Carey is more of a roadie now, but I always perk up when he intertwines biking with his pastoral calling.

Here is an EXCELLENT article he posted today entitled, “12 Unpredictable Leadership Lessons I Learned From Cycling.”

Proud of Phil and Kelly Hatcher Racing Leadville 100

I am so proud of our Cape Fear SORBA club members, Phil and Kelly Hatcher, for working hard to qualify for this year’s Leadville 100 (LT100).  Phil and Kelly are very active members and I have been honored to be passed by them during many rides, Time Trials, and XC races.

Phil qualified for LT100 at this year’s  Austin Rattler 100 while Kelly missed qualification by one place.  Nonetheless, not taking rejection for a second time, Kelly trained even harder to clinch a LT100 spot (along with Phil’s extra 2014 spot) at the Wilmington Whiteface 100 several months later in New York.

The Hatcher’s are the first ever representatives for Wilmington, NC at the Leadville 100.  They are visible fruit of the growing mountain biking community here in Coastal North Carolina.  These kind of accomplishments make all the hard work of Cape Fear SORBA worthwhile.

The Star News has recognized the Hatcher’s massive achievement in the athletic world and printed a great story of their Leadville 100 adventure.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20130724/ARTICLES/130729799

I am proud to announce that Phil and Kelly had the time of their life traveling across the States to race this past weekend.  Although Kelly did not make the 60 mile cut-off, she claims it was the most fun she has had on a bike.  Phil finished in 9hrs 28mins and will be shooting for the sub 9hr belt buckle in 2014.

Brunswick Brawl 2013 Endurance Mountain Bike Race in Leland, NC

The Brunswick Brawl 2013 endurance mountain bike race at Brunswick Nature Park in Leland, NC is officially live for registration.  This race is sponsored by Visit Leland, NC and put on by volunteers from my local Cape Fear SORBA club.  Race date is Saturday, October 12th, 2013 with 6hr/3hr/1hr options.  Can’t wait to race it!  Race registration link.