Okay, that’s the extent of my French.

Is anyone else a fan of the Tour de France?

For those who don’t know, it’s a three week bicycle race across, you guessed it, France. It is the race for these athletes, and winning the General Classification, the rider who has the lowest overall time after 20 stages of racing, is the crowning achievement for any of them and only a handful of the participants have a hope of achieving this dream. The rest of the participants (and there are nearly 200 altogether) are domestiques, the workers who help their team leader achieve his goal.

I’ve been watching this for about eight years now, thanks to my mom who got me hooked. It has always amazed me to watch these athletes.

There are the sprinters who sprint crazy fast for the finish line of the flat stages, flirting with disaster as they seek the stage win.

And then there are the climbers (these are the guys who have a chance of winning the GC) who propel themselves up the mountains at amazing speed. The mountain climbing has always impressed me the most, probably because it is something I consider impossible for someone like me.

The Tour ends Sunday (and now I’ll have a whole bunch of free time because it takes up a lot of hours watching this bike race) and the winners of all the different categories will be determined. As much as the winners have to be incredible athletes, I’ve noticed over the years that the teams with the best support to offer their leader produce the winners. No one man can win the race by himself.

That same concept can be related to our own lives. While each of us has to put in our own individual effort to achive our goals, alone it can be a challenging, or even impossible, task to complete.

Surrounding ourselves with supportive people and role models, while limiting our exposure to negative people, is key to being successful in your Eating for Energy journey, and anything else you may want to achieve.

I’m blessed with a supportive family. They are impressed that I can keep up the lifestyle changes I’ve made and they can see my results, which speak volumes. My dad is proud of me, and that means a great deal to me.

So I guess in my long-winded way, I’m asking: do you have any domestiques? The people in your life that support you and urge you forward; that pick you up when you fall and help you continue on even when you don’t want to.

I do, and I hope you do too.

As for bicycling, who knows, maybe a long term goal (as in next summer) can be bicycling up a hill near where I live. It is a far cry from one of the mountain passes in the Alps or Pyrenees, yet I know if I make it to the top it will be incredible. I suppose that would mean getting a bike (I don’t own one aside from the stationary bike sitting in my living room). Maybe I could borrow one.

The more specific long term goals I set, the more I have to look forward to and strive for. Something else to consider.

Nichole

PS – A Canadian is going to come in seventh overall in the Tour. Go Canada!

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