Being vigilant about freedom
Just because freedom is a natural right as defined by our founders, doesn't mean it's guaranteed. We must be vigilant in protecting it. Free speech is one area we must pay attention to. Is it more important that we be able to say whatever we want, or that nobody says…
Being a good neighbor
If you want to live in a good neighborhood, first you have to be a good neighbor. Would your neighbors say you were a good neighbor? Why?
Sow, Reap
Cause, effect. There is always a relationship between responsibilities and benefits. If you don't plant, you don't harvest. You can tell what someone has been sowing, by looking at their relationships, income, and self-esteem. How about you?
What do YOU want to achieve?
To understand someone, however young they may be, we can look at what they want to achieve and how willing they are to pay the price to get it. Desire is the starting point of all achievement. Those with strong ambition and corresponding determination will bring forth what they want…
We're getting better all the time
2017 was the best year in human history. Fewer people were hungry, impoverished or illiterate. Fewer children died than ever. Every day the number of people living around the world on less than $2 a day goes down by 217,000. Every day 325,000 more people get electricity and 300,000 get…
I pick up trash
Litter drives me nuts. I could ignore it like everyone else. But I just can't. So, once in a while, I'll stop my truck and get out with a few garbage bags and walk along 1/4 mile on one side, cross the road and walk back to fill them up.…
Court the Angels
I believe there is a big bank account in the sky. Every time you do something good, especially for others, you make a deposit. Every time you do something bad, you make a withdrawal. In either case, it doesn't matter if anyone is watching. It all counts. So, when nobody…
Failed attempts to fly
I am struggling now. Three o’clock pm. The heat. The course drops into a dry river wash with deep sand with embedded boulders. Tree branches hang over from the left and right as the course winds like a snake. Great effort is required. Some riders are taken to the hospital…
The Gauntlet
The course wound left and right and left and right. Ruts from the four-wheeled vehicles dominated the path – one on the right and one on the left. These ruts were 12” to 18” deep. This means there was a hard berm in the middle as high, and the shoulders…
The Shadow of the Wall
“I am always doing that which I cannot do in order that may learn how to do it.” – Pablo Picasso I only had a handful of miles to go to see my van. But now that I was stopped at this Baja Pit under this pop up canopy, I…
Being vigilant about freedom
Just because freedom is a natural right as defined by our founders, doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed. We must be vigilant in protecting it.
Free speech is one area we must pay attention to. Is it more important that we be able to say whatever we want, or that nobody says anything that offends us?
If anyone can say “I am offended,” then the definition is subject to anyone’s interpretation; thus anyone can silence anyone. If we should be free to speak ourselves, then we must know that some will say things that we find offensive – or just plain rude, ignorant, stupid, and nonsensical. Should people be offensive or rude? No. But censoring speech is too high a personal price to pay.
Let’s protect free speech.
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Being a good neighbor
If you want to live in a good neighborhood, first you have to be a good neighbor.
Would your neighbors say you were a good neighbor?
Why?
Heck yeah! I do smokey burnouts when I leave the driveway and offer them a beer as soon as I see them coming up!
Ok, So, I don’t do that… much…
But I’m never home so… My lawn is mowed? AND I bring them cookies on holidays…
I am a naturally smiley quiet girl, and by quiet I mean that I keep my nose in a book most of the time but I act selfless in many instances, so being a good neighbor, since I lived in a couple different environments, means different things:
In the suburban area being a good neighbor means: I often house watch, spend a couple of days or nights sleeping at someones house while they are on vacation while I take care of their pets and water their plants. Help the old lady next door shovel the snow away from her driveway (it is good exercise).
In a city apartment complex being a good neighbor means: I water the plants hanging on the walls in the stairway, I sign for someones package or mail and deliver it later myself, help the elderly carry their groceries up the stairs.
In the country side being a good neighbor means: you offer a plate of food for whoever goes over to your house to visit, help them when they are stuck on the field or hand them a hand with a farm task or you give them a ride into the city or help them understand and fill out documents.
People and customs are different but just because someone lives in a poor more crowded neighborhood does not mean that they are not responsible for their own actions and environment.
Be a leader by example.
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Sow, Reap
Cause, effect.
There is always a relationship between responsibilities and benefits. If you don’t plant, you don’t harvest.
You can tell what someone has been sowing, by looking at their relationships, income, and self-esteem.
How about you?
Responsibilities and benefits made me think about the importance of sleep.
Neuroscientist, Matthew Walker, in his book called Why We Sleep states the following question:
Why are individuals so financially ruinous to the companies, and national economies, when they are under-slept?
An independent report by the RAND Corporation on the economic cost of insufficient sleep offers a sobering wake-up call for CFOs and CEOs. Individuals who sleep fewer than seven hours a night on average cause a staggering fiscal cost to their country, compared to employees who sleep more than eight hours each night.
Many companies are interested in enhancing key performance indicators (KPIs), or measurables, such as net revenue, goal accomplishment speed, or commercial success. Numerous employee traits determine these measures, but commonly they include: creativity, intelligence, motivation, effort, efficiency, effectiveness when working in groups, as well as emotional stability, sociability, and honesty.
All of these are systematically dismantled by insufficient sleep.
Proven scientific methods for enhancing sleep quantity and quality include exercise, keeping out electronic devices of the bedroom, and efficient bedroom climate control.
If you want to reap the full benefits of enjoying a tasty papaya, schedule 9 hours of sleep for each day and you will feel reborn and ready to rock or fly (depending on what the rest of your schedule says).
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What do YOU want to achieve?
To understand someone, however young they may be, we can look at what they want to achieve and how willing they are to pay the price to get it. Desire is the starting point of all achievement. Those with strong ambition and corresponding determination will bring forth what they want in the world. With no ambitions and no self-discipline, a person will not do much.
So – what do YOU clearly desire and are willing to pay the price to get?
Love this and all so true
What do I want to achieve?
Whatever I put down on my list will only be achieved with the cooperation of other people. Meaning, regardless how ambitions I feel or how self-disciplined I am if my surrounding, let say my in-laws, leave stuff constantly in the wrong place creating a mess than I have two options. I either spend the time to create harmony around me or I focus on my goals which could be hindered by the energy draining environment. So if I really think about it, creating harmony is really my only responsibility I constantly want to achieve.
Harmony is absolutely needed in anything you do or everywhere you go. Harmony is the rhythm of life.
Without harmony I can’t really achieve much or notice what I desire or have skills for.
Harmony also equals listening to yourself and your surrounding, the team, coworkers, strangers, family.
Harmony is recognizing and seeing yourself in the other person and helping each other.
So my personal answer to the question of what I want to achieve is: harmony.
Employment
This is a great ice breaker to use during employee reviews. It allows you to connect at a higher level with your staff. Thanks for the reminder. PS I want Andrea “Harmony” on my team!
Thank you for this Excellent reminder!
I’d like to be faster than Larry more often!!!!
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We're getting better all the time
2017 was the best year in human history. Fewer people were hungry, impoverished or illiterate. Fewer children died than ever. Every day the number of people living around the world on less than $2 a day goes down by 217,000. Every day 325,000 more people get electricity and 300,000 get clean drinking water.
As recently as 1960, the majority of humans had always been illiterate and in extreme poverty. It was the norm. Now fewer than 15% are illiterate and less than 10% live in extreme poverty. In 15 years, both will mostly be gone. After thousands of years, they are pretty much disappearing on our watch.
I feel great about that and lucky to be alive as it is happening.
How about you?
I have mixed feelings. A week ago I came back to America from my birth country (Romania) which for a long time was a communist corrupt country. The technological advancements are undeniable. There are a multitude of fancy new buildings being raised. Old buildings are renovated. The traffic flow and management are constantly upgraded. The advancements are great but the problems is that people forget or they (the younger generation) do not really appreciate or know how fortunate they are.
During my stay I did my best to drive my mom around because she does not drive. We visited the supermarkets many times. She picked up on my resentment and told me ‘You can’t be this sensitive, you need to learn to be like the others’.
I said Mom, there is nothing wrong with me. I just know how bad all these artificial perfumes and deodorants you spray around you are. (I studied the sciences, bio-chemistry, anatomy, physics, psychology…) You inhale the fumes of hairspray, the air fresheners, your skin and lungs absorb the chemicals and than you wonder why you got a headache or why you develop all sorts of health problems. Whats more, no one seems to care where the garbage goes. My Mom asked, Why do you care about that? Because I know that for a long time they buried the garbage underground and I read many articles about the garbage islands floating in the middle of the oceans. I care because it directly affects me, my life and my environment. That is one of the reasons I try to watch what and how much I consume. I know I am fortunate to have fresh food and shelter above my head. I also know that consuming equals expenses. The more I consume the higher my expenses are.
I am happy that I am alive and I felt great especially yesterday as I read all your individual post the way you contribute and try to make a difference in this world.
Thank you for fighting.
We truly are blessed to live in this age Larry. One example that we are getting better and living at an amazing time happened just yesterday. My daughter has Spinal Muscular Atrophy and is having stomach issues due to a compromised feeding tube location. We learned yesterday that she needed a specific surgery that had only been completed seven times and there was only one Dr in world who performed this surgery and he was working at our hospital, Johns Hopkins. Amazing times for sure.
Great change is made possible wen every one does dear part its a blessing for me to be a witness of this in hundreds of families we work with, some time it can take as long as 10 years of daily work to be successful both when one family that 5 years ago didn’t have electricity both now they are installing the electric post in front of dear home it bring joy to see the expectation in dear faces.
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I pick up trash
Litter drives me nuts. I could ignore it like everyone else. But I just can’t. So, once in a while, I’ll stop my truck and get out with a few garbage bags and walk along 1/4 mile on one side, cross the road and walk back to fill them up. It’s mostly beer cans and bottles, but there are coffee cups and booze bottles and all kinds of garbage.
I used to be angry – at the jerks who are throwing stuff out the window, and that I have to do this, and that nobody else does. All those ideas are certainly valid. But being angry is only hurting me. Instead, I just own it. It only takes 30 minutes on a weekend, and I do it when I have some open time. I listen to a podcast or audiobook when I’m out there, and I am getting some light exercise. (Watch out for the prickers!)
I just see it as me taking responsibility for what needs to be done in my community. When I drive along the road for the next few months, I take pride in the section I cleaned, and I feel good.
I have made a big change in how I think about cleaning up trash on the side of the road, and it made it a lot easier for me.
It may not be easy at first, but we can always choose our attitude.
What’s your thing?
I pick up trash at my son’s local street hockey rink. I have not witnessed one other parent picking up trash there and it is “their rink”, it makes me feel good too and I teach my children to do the same.
Love this! Gonna put a bag in my outback today
I love this, both the actual implementation and the lesson behind it.
I love this ! Not just the helping your Community idea, but the positive stress free thought of the task.
As you think, you become.
I pick up trash while kayaking and join in to the official river cleanup nearby in Shelton.
What’s my thing? I do not particularly enjoy clutter around me. I can ignore it or make peace with it but all it does is drains my energy. How often do you pick up trash in your own living quarters? How often do you get rid of unused items, organize drawers, cabinets, and closets? How often do you say I have way to much stuff?
I spent close to 2 months in Europe with a small backpack and a small shoulder bag. Laundry was done once every two weeks and I had plenty. More than enough. I came back to USA and even though I left my room neat and organized I realized I need to purge, organize and donate.
Simply life happy life.
Larry…my comment is just to say I love reading your daily blogs and hope you never stop sending them!
Thank you so much and I especially related to this article because I have done/felt the same!
I love this – I do it too and have taught my kids to do the same. Making “deposits”….
Grab abandoned shopping carts in parking lots and put them in their corral
Not quite the same but related to giving up time and anger. I am making a concentrated effort when driving. If I’m in the left lane and a jerk comes up fast behind me, usually flashing lights and occasionally hitting the horn, I’ve have given up the need t hold my own and stay there. That person is obviously in a hurry and willing to risk the drivers around him by being a bully. I just move over and I let it go. Even not calling him a bad name in my head. Letting go.
My thing is stream clean up!
When I am out fishing I carry a garbage bag in my vest and pick up trash left behind.
It makes me a little sad that others don’t value the resource the way I do, however it doesn’t take much effort and makes a big difference. It also enhances the next anglers experience.
My thing has been to trap, neuter, and release stray cats in my neighborhood. Like you, “I used to be angry.” I used to complain that a few people would feed the strays but that only “multiplied” the problem. Trapping is the only way to stop the process. Instead of being angry, I just started with one cat, then two, then three, and so it went. I even made new friends with neighbors around the area. One in particular offered to help me with the several traps I was trying to place strategically. He would call me at work to let me know when a cat was caught so that I could pick it up at the end of the day. A few animal shelters took the cats in and sent them to be neutered. Then they would either adopt them out or give them back to me to release. An incredibly kind friend of mine offered to pay for four kittens to be neutered before they were fostered and found forever homes. She did this in memory of her mother who loved animals. I’ve since offered to let anyone use our traps to catch any strays they may have in their neighborhoods. I’ve found it to be such an amazing joy to be able to change the lives of one cat at a time. On a side note, Charlie, one of our male strays is now a very grateful lap cat every evening and Nala, the mother of the four kittens lives conveniently in a heated cat shelter on our deck. The two pal around each day, but neither one strays off the property. Also, since both are fed extremely well, they do not bother the birds at our many bird feeders. Now that’s another “thing” my husband and I are into, but that’s another story…
I as well pick trash on a daily basis as our office and shop are at the end of the Fort Road aka long wind tunnel from the north ? But like you I get a warm fuzzy after doing it to go along with that feeling of civic pride ?
I volunteer on Wed nights and we cookout for people at our housing authority. For those that can’t make it physically we walk door to door and bring them food. It’s a pretty sketchy part of town. It’s amazing the conversations that we can get into sometimes… And for others, how upset they get at the chance for free food/cookout???. Most of them will probably live there the rest of their life and blame everyone else on their own circumstances, but if I can give direction or just an ear to listen, and a warm dinner, just maybe I can change 1.
Isn’t it amzing when people do something wrong it teaches us to always do the right thing!
“Time does not exist on its own, it is what happens in it that molds and shapes our life!”
good job Larry!!!
Thank you!
Thank you Larry for the reminder to do a little here and there to make a difference. I like to pick up plastic trash at the beach in Northern CA. where I live. There is always plenty of it and when my bag or box or maybe even a plastic jug that I have found is full of trash I feel great. Another thing I like to do when mountain biking my favorite trails is stop for a few minutes and pull up Scotch Broom, an invasive plant that seems to grow everywhere I ride. I’ve seen from my, and others efforts, native plants on the rebound and it shows we can make changes if we work at making them. Cheers!
I just make it a game….”What’s the drink of the week?” Lots of Bud Light being drank in TN!
That’s awesome. Love it!
I too am somewhat of a bug when it comes to litter. I have been known to ask people that have thrown trash out in front of me to please pick it up and place it in its proper place. This generally leads to several expletives and a few finger gestures, but it’s not angry I feel but sorrow that they don’t understand or feel the needs to maintain their space. I also understand that my OCD drives me to keep things clean, but I’m the first one to play in the mud and get as dirty as I can, but I can’t wait to get home and clean it all up and start it over again. Even my children have gazed out the window as we’ve driven through poverished neighborhoods and suggest we stop and get trash bags and help them clean it up. It’s difficult to explain to your children that in certain places you can engage neighborhood to follow through and in other neighborhoods you’re only making room for new trash.
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Court the Angels
I believe there is a big bank account in the sky. Every time you do something good, especially for others, you make a deposit. Every time you do something bad, you make a withdrawal.
In either case, it doesn’t matter if anyone is watching. It all counts.
So, when nobody is looking, I sometimes do something good that nobody knows about except me. Will it buy me some protection or goodwill or luck another time or when I need it?
In my experience – yes.
How about you?
I believe in that so strongly. Good and bad karma. Keeping track is important.
I have helped many and been also helped by many. I believe strongly in that theory and although you are not looking for that when you do good time always brings it out and tells you later. Larry feelings are so very true.
Thank you Larry for this.
Angels are all around us, we are surrounded. When we need them the most they show up. They show up in different forms and they guide us. They hide and operate through every day people. Yes. Your heard me right. They tend to provide what we need instead of what we want. Their job is to help us stay on track and complete transforming individual journeys. But please do not let them fool you that they are special or magical. They are not. They are every day folks who fight daily with themselves. Through good or bad in one way or another they help us. Please reflect and identify events or people who helped you in an unconventional or conventional manner. Tell them in person, with written words, or a silent prayer how much they mean and how they helped you to get unstuck. They will hear, feel and know what lives in the depth of your hearts. A precious child. A child of love. Keep going, and thank you for fighting to build a better future.
I believe this to be true..
Excellent point. Building goodwill as a leader is invaluable.
I believe it 100% I was there at the right time and made a difference.
Hello Larry,
Thoroughly enjoy your daily insights! Regarding the idea of a “bank account in the sky” and “buying protection” by doing good deeds, I’m just curious what you base that upon?
Ps – really enjoyed the Baja series. Incredible effort!
I agree 100% Larry. There’s something special about giving and receiving a random act of kindness in an unkind world.
Hi Larry!
I believe the same thing. As the Bible tells us, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40, 45, NIV)
Whatever you may believe, helping others keeps the cycle revolving because there’s going to come a time in all of our lives that we’re going to need some sort of help at some point.
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Failed attempts to fly
I am struggling now. Three o’clock pm. The heat. The course drops into a dry river wash with deep sand with embedded boulders. Tree branches hang over from the left and right as the course winds like a snake. Great effort is required.
Some riders are taken to the hospital by their crews for dehydration.
I begin to see trash on the left. That’s good. I was going to meet my crew at the Loreto Dump at mile 831. Keep going. Finally, I see a dirt lot with chase vehicles. I see both white vans. Mercy.
I pull up and surrender the bike to them. I slowly survey my pinky. It’s not broken. I feel hotter now that I am stopped. Tanner holds an umbrella over me to shield the sun. I sit down. I am overheated again. Worn down. Fatigued.
I knew I had a big decision to make, and my team knew it too. We didn’t talk about it for a while.
I got up and studied the map on my GPS. I watched dust trails of buggies going by. I knew there was a huge rocky hill climb nearby, and I knew there was a paved road section where the spillways were. It was eight miles before the pavement though. If I could make it eight miles, I could coast the pavement without using much energy. But then the party would be over as there would be more rocky river crossings and 70 miles of sand whoops.
The next time I’d see my van was in 122 miles. That was very far. In my condition, that was very very far. It would get dark for the third time.
My bike on the stand, I stood alongside it and studied the GPS, and then looked to the horizon. Could this be it? I prepared for a year. Has it all come down to this time and this place? Tanner held the umbrella over me and knew the thought I was struggling with. Nobody influenced me. If I wanted to go on, they’d rally around me. If I didn’t, they’d do the same.
They waited…
My body had precious little left. I didn’t want to sit up straight or stand without leaning on something. The thought of riding even eight more miles to get to ten miles of pavement was daunting. 122 miles to see the van again? That was not smart. There was no way to finish in the 48-hour time limit now, and getting lost on my crew was not going to gain anyone anything.
I gazed at the nearby mountains. Last year I got to mile 600. The last two years the course was 822 miles and 855 miles respectively. I was standing at 831. Now I knew I could go this far. There was something satisfying in that.
I had raced for 37-1/2 hours and I would be awake for 42 hours. I had faced the wall yet again. This time, I was better, stronger, smarter. That’s what these attempts had done to me.
Why do I tell you this story? My personal mission statement is “an extraordinary life of shared experiences.” I’m no different than anyone else. I struggle. I search. If I have done anything right, if I have discovered anything about myself and therefore all human experience, my wish is to share and inspire and empower as many others as possible. Heaven knows I have learned so much from other people – those that have come before me and my contemporaries. If I can be part of the chain of people who pass on the human instruction manual to a fulfilling high-performance life, I am eager to do my part.
Emotion welling up inside me and my voice cracking, I softly admitted to my son, “I’m done.”
Great job Larry! And thank you for sharing your story .
Larry truly remarkable and inspiring. It is a great honor to work for a man with your drive and integrity.
I’m so glad you are willing to share and inspire and help empower others! We are a couple of the people benefiting from your generosity, and Maryanne and I “Thank You” Larry 🙂
Great Job Larry to you , your son and team
great story and was a pleasure reading
makes we want to be young again – not that I am conceding to being old – but every now and then my body does remind me about !
cya soon
Thanks for the story! Made an IMPACT!!
BRAVO Larry! What a great ride and I loved reading your writing about it . Amazing – can’t wait for next years !
Larry,
Thanks for the great read! I really thought you were going to complete the race. Helluva try anyway! Hope you and your team recover from the effort
And achieve your goal in the future.
Great story and inspirational, I am 52 and race Netra and GNCC Harescrambles and those are only 2 hour long races. To ride 830 miles in those conditions is amazing! thanks for sharing the story and Think Daily because it does motivate and educate me everyday.
I have been following this story. Wow! It seems almost inhuman for me to think I could do what you, and your son, did. But, if you can do this; it makes my little goals seem so easy. Larry you are an extraordinary dude. Some of your lessons have truly changed my life. For that, I thank you!
Amazing story of super achievement! I’m proud to know you!
Great job and story! I can’t even imagine how difficult it was. Thanks for sharing it. Jim
Larry,
What a great story and an amazing journey. It makes me proud to be working for a great leader and one that inspires all of us. God bless
Thanks for a very inspirational and challenging story. I really enjoyed the serial form – something special to read and look forward to everyday. And I really Appreciated the ending, it was very true, very human and very good!
Thank you so much for sharing, for being totally transparent, and for being encouraging in seeing the Big Picture! I’ve been riveted by your journey!
Larry,
I’m so proud of you and Tanner. It is a huge honor and a blessing to know people like you. Thank you for letting me and everyone else into your life! I cheered for you every day. You set an example for me and my team to strive towards. Thank You!
P.S. This is a story of you winning, because you beat your biggest competitor, yourself. Next time it’s the finish line.
Larry,
Incredible display of fortitude and resilience. The rest of us cannot imagine what you went through over this 40+ hour feat. So many things have to go right to finish a challenge like this and anyone who’s ever crashed a bike still remembers how painful it is. To endure what you did and be able to continue that far is incredible.
Pressing on would have been reckless. You made the right call and should be very proud of what you accomplished. Thanks for sharing and inspiring the rest of us to do something bigger!!
Wow Larry great writing about this awesome adventure. I look forward to the blog everyday but now it’s over, your Done. What’s next?
thanks for inviting us to join you on your adventure. an inspiration to the rest of us over 50
Larry,
I am inspired! I was not there physically, but through your words on the page, I experienced each moment mentally. Your impact is real and meaningful because you are sharing your Journey. Thanks for sharing the real story and not just the highlights. I am proud to call you my friend!
Congratulations Ironman #714 . . . That 831-mile adventure was no small feat! Were it not for that gas issue and 6 hour pause, I believe you would have finished and within the 48 hour limit. I’m quite certain many thousands of people who followed you in this race share that very same sentiment. Your determination and strength were unshakeable. And through it all, you choreographed a fantastic physical and emotional journey complete with sights and sounds, highs and lows, thorns and a single rose – the sweet smell of victory for achieving more than you dreamed possible. You adjusted your expectations brilliantly at each challenge, and guess what? You’re alive, you’re not in a hospital, and YOU decided when to call time (not the course, or mother nature, or anyone on your team). A very smart thing to do since your family, friends, and co-workers would much rather have 831-mile Ironman here with us, alive and well – that finish line would have looked very different from 6-feet under! We are all so blessed that you shared your journey with us – and I thank you for inspiring so many to find and achieve their own limitless dreams. You’re one of a kind Larry!
I looked forward to reading your blog every morning! Thank you for taking me on that journey of your experiences. Wow amazing just amazing! Go get it next year!
What an amazing adventure for you both (and your team). I followed you live online to see how you were doing in the race. It was though to even think as I went to bed, twice, that you were still on your bike racing through Baja. You are truly an inspiration and how you bring your personal experiences to life lessons drives the point home and makes it relatable. I have faith that you and Tanner will be back to Baja next year to put completing this race as a Father/Son combo on your life achievement list. I have a 2015 and 2016 Janesky Racing sticker on my desk and just need a 2017 to add to my collection. Thank you for sharing with us and good luck next year!
Larry, what an amazing story. Finish or no finish it was an incredible accomplishment. Congratulations and thanks for the inspiration
Dave
Phenomenal story
Well written, and glad you shared it.
I found myself looking for the daily email with the updates
Wooooow–amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Larry, you are the most bravest for what you accomplished, a great deal of hard work and energy, you made it farther then you did the year before that in it’s self is a feat many could not do. Your story had me at the edge of my seat every morning, with the feeling like I was there with you. Very proud of you and Tanner. You give other’s the inspiration that they can do anything if you just put your mind and soul into it. GREAT Job. Thanks for sharing your adventure. Susan
Larry, you are an inspiration! Great job!
It broke my heart reading the end. I knew it but felt the pain as if I were there. Thank you for the courage, to even attempt this , to follow through and then share the painful ending.
There was no quitting for you in the end. It was simple math. Not enough time and the danger to your health.
A triumph. That’s what I read.
Hey Ironman #714!
Thanks my friend for sharing your goals, dreams, thoughts, perspectives, experiences, victories, life lessons, mistakes, and yes even your failures. As you very well know, this race was not a failure it was a part of your journey towards excellence and you testing your mastery of the sport you love! It was practice, training, conditioning, learning. We learn and we grow. Proud of you! Thanks for the inspiration and for painting such a vivid picture with your words so that we who cared to follow you on this adventure could better understand what your Baha Race adventures are like. Amazing! I fully expect this is another case of TO BE CONTINUED… Great job!
You left me with many cliff-hangers as I read about this perilous journey. All I can say is – you WON! You gave it your all and shared your wisdom along the way. Your Dad is looking down at you and beaming with pride. We are all proud of you Larry!
Larry,
Thank you for sharing your “human” experience! I looked forward to the next post throughout this story.I laughed and cried and everything in between. Your story inspires me to challenge myself and to keep going as hard as it is at times. You may not have finished the race this time but you won the journey!
Cheers!
Incredible. I am so impressed not only that you did it, but to have that journey with your son is an experience that cannot be put into words I am sure. Regardless of your actual ranking at the end, I would say you came out on top.
Great job.
Larry,
Thanks so much for taking on the adventure and sharing it with us. Truly inspiring and motivating! I found myself looking very forward to each next post. The challenge and experience chosen by yourself, Tanner and your trusted team is something remarkable.
Congratulations and well done!
(I think I will go dust off my woods bike)
Congratulations, Larry! This was a story of strength, courage and perseverance…….there was no failure here. Thank you for sharing!
Well as an onlooker to this incredible story it is so great to actually read it and remember the whole thing as it played out .Larry and Tanner are incredible humans in terrific shape and condition able to do things many have failed .They have the gold metal from me.This story is certainly not embellished at all .
Larry very well written and thanks for the memories
Great Story, Very much enjoyed following it. Congrats on making it to 831!
First I wanted to thank you for pouring your life in others life’s I had a funny feeling I felt like if I was running the race and for some reason I wanted you to continue but I understand that you it was time to stop. May God bless you
Roberto Taton
Awesome
Terrific
Inspiring
Unreal
Heartfelt
Amazing
I look forward to the next time I see to say thanks for a great read, and for insite on perseverance and self motivation.
Mike
I turned 69 while you were on your trip, I really enjoyed reading your experience of your trip. It motivated me to get excited about the challenges I face in business. Your moment by moment experience was interesting and book Quality. I can’ wait to here more about your recovery.
Awesome effort, congratulations! Really enjoyed the daily updates and look forward to next year. I am sure the third time will be a success! All the best!
Congratulations Larry! You still did an amazing thing in trying. Nothing can ever be achieved without first trying. I for one, think you are crazy for trying this, but I’m very impressed and inspired by your experience. thanks for sharing.
Wow.
Those three letters describe what I have been following for months. The story and the daily inspirations.
And though I have never met you, I am sure it describes you as a person also.
Wow.
Great story! Very moving and inspiring. I long to do something like that. Thank you for the story and the knowledge, I look forward to the blogs everyday.??
Wonderful story which I enjoyed sharing with friends. The obstacles that you had to deal with inspire us .Look forward to another movie? Thank you
Hi Larry
Great story! Something tells me you and Tanner are not done with that challenge yet.
Impressive Larry, just impressive!,
Another fantastic adventure my good sir! Thank you being an inspirational spirit. When I met you in 2008 during sales camp I knew you were different from every other corporate owner I had ever met or worked for. I was 100% right. Thank you for all that you do and are. My employment at on of your franchises was brief but you…you have changed my perspective forever. Thank you I hope our paths cross again so I can tell you this face to face.
-Lawrence B
Benicia CA USA
Great job Larry and Tanner! Your hard work and commitment is very inspiring and thank you for the great storytelling. I really enjoyed it he story and appreciate all you do!
Thanks for the inspiration. I do enough backcountry riding myself (in much smaller doses!) to appreciate at least a little bit the magnitude of this undertaking. Your story makes me think that there are no hills I’m currently facing that cannot be climbed.
Paul
Thank you for sharing your story yet again. We saw “Into the Dust” about your first race and enjoyed this one as well through your descriptive words. Your messages of challenge and triumph connect us all in the journey of life!
Larry,
Thank you for living a shared life. What you accomplish is incredible and inspiring. I was motivated and inspired throughout your saga and appreciate the way you wrote it and the time that took, and yes what it took physically and mentally in Baja, wow.
Your sharing it with the world in the way you do with accomplishment and humility is the most inspiring part of all. That gives me something bigger to aspire to every day. It’s clearly not about you as an individual, but you as an expression of whats possible for everyone. Your mission expressed. Thanks for that, it makes a huge impact!
Congratulations on an amazing accomplishment Larry. You are an inspiration to me. Thank you for sharing your story and your gift of story telling. I’ve enjoyed reading every one of them!
Just finished the story Larry. The grit and drive you and Tanner exude is inspiring. Everything happens for a reason. Next year you will be stronger, faster and in the best shape of your life. The finish line is in sight.
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The Gauntlet
The course wound left and right and left and right. Ruts from the four-wheeled vehicles dominated the path – one on the right and one on the left. These ruts were 12” to 18” deep. This means there was a hard berm in the middle as high, and the shoulders of the course were that high too. Up on the shoulder were cactus and hostile brush, often hanging over the course.
A motorcycle needs to lean to turn. If you are in the right rut, you can turn left ok because you lean over the middle of the course. But after every left, there is a right turn. Now you are in the wrong rut because you have to lean toward the shoulder and cactus of every variety, like Stegosaurus tails, preventing you from leaning that way. You had to jump the berm to get in the outside rut. This was no easy feat in many places. You’d get your front wheel up the berm and falling into the opposite rut, while your rear wheel tracked the old rut. With great skill, you can be successful most of the time. But a 99.9 percent success ratio had me crashing three times – once pretty hard.
It was a crash I knew I would have avoided had I been fresh. When I went to pick up my bike, I knew my strength was waning. The front wheel was up on the high shoulder against a tree. The rear wheel far lower down in a deep silty rut. I stood alongside the bike and heaved it up. When I got it vertical, I dropped my helmet down on the seat and tried to catch my breath out of the 100-degree air that was filled with my own dust. Sweat stung my eyes inside my goggles.
Around here, Jeff Benrud crashed in the silt and the handlebars slammed his knee brace. He thought he had broken his leg.
There were miles of this kind of road. No civilian vehicle could ever make it through. I’m fighting for every 100 yards now…and I have hundreds of miles to go.
I remounted and got out of my awkward position before any truck or buggy ran me over. I had water, and I was grateful for it now. I had learned a trick from one of the other guys. When you reach for your hydration tube hanging over your shoulder, the first swig is as hot as the air. But when you are done drinking, if you blow the fluid back into the bladder it stays cool on your back.
I push on. I am proud of my performance because no one part of my body gave up before other parts. I wore down evenly. But now, all parts were diminishing.
The course crossed a rocky riverbed. I pulled over and got off. Just for a couple minutes. A buggy approaches and storms by.
Rick Thornton, my pre-run buddy, got Rhabdomyolysis – a condition caused by extreme physical exercise where the muscles break down and result in clogging the kidneys. Rick saw yellow like he was looking into the sun. He withdrew from the race and was taken to the hospital.
The course opens up wider and turns left. I look ahead and I’m astonished. I knew this area would be silty from looking at it during pre-running. But this was sheer mass destruction. From a barbed wire fence on the left, 150 yards wide to a line of trees and pipe organ cactus on the right, it is a sea of silt. When a vehicle sees silt ruts, the best option is to take a virgin line around it. When everyone does that, there are no virgin lines left. They take existing lines and take their chances. Mash the gas pedal down and don’t stop. There are dig holes where race vehicles have been stuck. It looks like a trench warfare zone.
I study the scene and figure out the best strategy. I choose extreme left along the barbed wire fence. I jump over a big sewer pipe to get there – only to find it was as deep and shot as the field. I have little choice now that I am in it and cut across the whole field of deep ruts to go extreme right. I make it, and go what may have seemed off course, picking my way very slowly through the cactus trees – anything to avoid the motorcycle eating landscape to my left.
I judge when the landscape must have changed and emerge from the desert “forest” and re-engage with the course. This is real work now. The course has more gauntlets coming. A steep hill climb – narrow and twisty. More silt ruts. I recall why I hated this section so much.
Then the course drops into a rocky riverbed – not to cross, but to follow. Bowling ball size rocks, and nothing but them (no dirt) tests a motorcycle. Bump, bump, bump, bump – forever. Two men are standing ahead on course. Something’s up. As I approach, they point to the right, and up. I turn to follow the course and immediately go up a very steep hill climb hidden in the trees. It’s very steep and very long and twists and turns. Do I have the energy for this?
Back down as steep as it went up, and back into the riverbed. More variation. I see an Ironman bike and rider taking a break on the side of the riverbed. I keep going.
In a right turn, I catch my right pinky on a branch that had been sawn off, and it rips it back. It felt broken, but I didn’t want to stop and look. My glove was ripped, and blood soaked through. There’s nothing I could do. I don’t really need a pinky to ride. Keep going.
I am struggling now…
Gauntlet is a word I had to look up therefore it became the word of the day.
Gauntlet – an armored glove, as worn by medieval knights (historical)
I also pulled out a tape measurer to have a better idea of how long/deep 12″ – 18″ is. My jaw dropped in horror because I realized the length between my elbow and wrist is only 9″.
Ok, I thought as I looked at the marks smiling, now I know, but one question remained. Can I jump 4 sets of 10 12″ to 18″ high? I am not a Baja rider pushed to my limits so I do not have any valid excuse not to complete 4 set of 10 reps of any choosen excercise even though I do not particularly enjoy jumping (right ACL reconstruction). Thank you Larry and Tanner for the motivation …
Hello Larry, I am thrilled with your ability to shear your experience, your difficulty how you use it to encourage people.
I personally want to thank you, your inputs bring strength and wisdom, may God continue to bless and use you
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The Shadow of the Wall
“I am always doing that which I cannot do in order that may learn how to do it.” – Pablo Picasso
I only had a handful of miles to go to see my van. But now that I was stopped at this Baja Pit under this pop up canopy, I realized I was seriously overheated and dehydrated. The workers at the pit were awesome to me. They gave me water and a banana and a wet washcloth. I wiped my face and neck down and it felt like first aid. I took five minutes – maybe ten. I thanked my new friends, and headed out on course. A blistering hot, rocky, white-with-sun course.
If I didn’t know I’d see my crew soon, I’d have stayed there longer. Another fifteen minutes and I see a flagman and cones ahead – the physical checkpoint. Thank God. I rolled in slow between the cones and came to a complete stop. They wrote down my race number. “Get it right boys – 714x is here, at mile 784!”.
Just as I started again I saw a half dozen faces I knew. My crew! They pointed to where I should pull over. I dismounted, happy to see them. They hadn’t seen me in 13 hours, and didn’t really know if I was dead or alive. They looked relieved.
They were baking in the heat too. I got my pack off, then my wind proof jacket. Then my pullover. Evaporative cooling – sweet relief. My face was red, and I was down a few quarts. Since I saw them last I nearly got hypothermia, and now I was wiped out from the heat.
It’s hard to describe how great it was to see them. Tanner looked very concerned about me. John rubbed my traps and arms. I got some cold Chia drink and food in me. Chad and Omar changed the rear wheel and checked the oil. There wasn’t much for the mechanics to do, as I had not crashed the bike since I saw them last.
I told them about what happened as I rehabilitated. I started to feel better as my body cooled some. We put a Tanner’s water bladder in my pack and filled it – lots of ice too. I changed helmets, goggles, jersey and gloves, put my pack on, and mounted my trusty motorcycle. Trevor changed my helmet camera batteries and memory card. I felt good….compared to how I felt 20 minutes ago that is. I had a job to do and so long as I was able, I was going to do it. Only 339 miles to go. It was a little past noon, and I had been in the race for 35 hours.
I know what’s coming. During pre-running it was the hardest most technical section of the course. I told Tanner about it 10 times since pre-running when he sat in the truck with a swollen ankle and foot.
I asked Tanner what the math was for me finishing in time. He said “Don’t worry about it. You only have to go 43 miles” (to the next van stop). I knew this meant they damn well figured the math and it was becoming nearly impossible to finish in time.
I told Tanner this section was 43 miles of hell. “Don’t be surprised if it takes me three hours to get there.” He said “Just give me ten miles, four reps”. Ok, I thought. That’s what I’ll do. Ten miles. I can go ten miles.
He was right. When we have a huge task ahead of us that seems insurmountable, just break it down into small doable steps, and do first things first. That’s all you can do.
I took off out of there with authority. The bike sounded great. I had been up for 39-1/2 hours and only had caffeine once. The caffeine put me on a roller coaster I did not like. It was long gone out of me and I didn’t want anymore. Amazingly I didn’t feel sleepy. What I was beginning to feel was exhaustion.
I was controlling the bike well, but the pain was in my face now. Arms, shoulders, traps, back, knees and my butt. They all performed spectacularly so far. But they were all sending me a message – “Hello. Umm, when is this going to end?”
I was beaten down by a long war, and the 43 mile dragon was in front of me – in 100 degree heat no less.
Now was the time. When the needle is on empty, transcend the definition. Perhaps it is hard to understand, but I had worked so hard and so long to come within the shadow of the wall, and now I would be able to see what I could do…
A lot of this story makes me remember to not Fear, which makes me think of Frank Herbert’s quote from his book “Dune”.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
Thanks So Much for another Great Story Larry!
Larry, no matter how this ends, thanks for letting me ride with you.
I love this blog more and more and I enjoy reading the readers comments. I learn so much from your additions and presentation of different perspectives. We all fear fear. But what is fear? Is fear a memory? Is fear an internal state of turmoil? Is fear a reaction to our surrounding? Is fear an acceptance of pre programmed limitations and social missconceptions? Feeling fear is normal but failing to recognize it and step above it equals with giving away your soul, your power to create, to form and manifest what you want to feel and see in the world.
I see your blog at work and have enjoyed reading it. Please add me to your mailing list!
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Strongly agree!! It concerns me that some of our institutions of higher learning, places where ideas, both good and bad should be debated, have chosen to raise up a generation of children who believe that we should have “safe” places where they are not exposed to any thoughts that run contrary to their personal opinions. And this generation will be the leaders of our country in the next decade or so.
Absolutely! If we want the freedom to be able to say what we want, then we must allow others to say what they feel also, without getting offended just because we may disagree.
Political correctness is killing free speech and this will be the death of freedom if the safe space crowd has their way!I pray they don’t.
I do not know about many of you but as a younger eastern european woman with a distinctive accent, often in a managerial position, I had my fair share of opportunities requiring to exercise patience and tolerance towards other coworkers and their self expression.
When I read today’s post the first thought that came to my mind was that I do not express my appreciation and gratitude towards my environment often enough.
Self expression is self expression but the choice of delivery and path of action is always ours. We will never agree 100% on everything. We will not.
But,
We can agree on having the same physical needs and main characteristics. We can agree on having the opportunity to make a difference and change the things that do not fit us or help us grow and build a healthier environment and life style.
Thank you for all your kindness and for helping each other in your unique way to make a difference, let that be handing out meals, pulling over on the highway to let the speedier drivers pass by, going over to the neighbors with cookies or writing and encouraging to think.
We all have the power to make a difference.
Perfect
Free speech is free speech, after that is meaning making machines. “Being” offended, hurt, loved, empowered, educated – we have free will to take what we want from it.
Totally agree with all the previous comments.
We have been heading down a path that will destroy this country.
We can never stop saying “Merry Christmas “, “God Bless
America” etc. if the unique American culture is to remain.
Keep spreading the word.