Lessons from cycling with my 10-year-old son.

I've been cycling with my son for the past few years. It helps both of us to get out of the house, detach from our screens and enjoy the road. Bonding aside between a father and a son, we can all use a little exercise.

This past weekend as we were hitting the pavement, it dawned on me that there are a few lessons from cycling with my son that also rings true in my day to day work as a founder of several FinTech companies.

For those that follow us regularly, we have almost 50 employees spanning 3 states. The pace of our growth is unparalleled and our product, service and most importantly, our clients is what drives me and people at our firm to give it all every day to build the greater fintech ecosystem.

Now, here are a few lessons that I would like to share with you:

1. You won't know until you try. My son and I started riding when he turned 8. It's the daunting tasks for an 8-year-old riding on bike lanes in the open road where cars zoom past by at 40, 50 miles per hour. One might argue that it's dangerous for adults to ride along the open roads let alone an 8-year-old child, but he rather enjoys it. The initial fear dissipated shortly after we hit a fast downhill. Sometimes I am surprised and thrilled that he takes on a 20+ mile ride with me without hesitation. I guess you won't know until you try it. Sometimes we coddle our co-workers and employees, fearing that they would fail and get disappointed. I think we should give them the opportunity to fail, learn and be stronger for the better. Opportunities and training is the key to build a stronger bond.
2. Communication. We could never get it right on the first try, navigating a complex terrain over a 20-mile trail. Communication through body language, sign language and verbal communication with my son, sometimes a hundred feet behind me becomes vital for our safety and the safety of our fellow riders. Over-communication is the key. If he doesn't understand where I am going and where I am turning, both of us will get lost and our pace is destroyed while we wait for each other and trying to understand each other's intent. In my business life, I learned to communicate effectively and over-communicate to get over some of the most technical projects facing us daily. We have daily stand-ups and other check-ins to keep us on the right track. Especially when you are working in a remote team environment. Keeping an open channel of communication is the key to your team's success.
3. Come up and ride along. We often ride alongside each other to get a fresh perspective of each other's riding style and a visual inspection of safety equipment on our bike to make sure they are functioning as designed. We often go it alone at work to "get things done" but forget to check in with each other. Especially those that work to support you, bring them up and "ride-along" with them to get their perspective. Their vantage might identify your wrong form that might end up derailing the project. Get constant feedback but always keep your eyes on the prize as well. It's not a race to the top, it's teamwork. Everyone rides differently, each personal capacity is different. Learn and adapt to each other's style and you will go far.
4. Rest and hydrate. We routinely wolf down a 20 fl oz bottle on the bike. Water keeps us focused and provide us the energy to keep going. Stop, rest and hydrate not only provide momentary relief to our tired bodies but also give us time to reflect on how far we have come and the hills we've powered through. The "never enough" mentality is not sustainable and it's not healthy. Take a moment to reflect, take a different path that you've never been on. Rest and hydrate, then explore.

As we train towards our first 30-mile day, I want to write down these experience and lessons that I find valuable. I hope you enjoy them as well. See you on the road.

Tim