This is part 3 of my series on leadership. In this post and the previous I have been sharing what I’ve learned from several books including Simon Sinek’s Start With Why, Dan Pink’s Drive, and Liz Wiseman’s Multipliers. Click to read part 1 or part 2.

My journey in leadership has been a meandering path that started in high school.  As I continue to try to discover my why, my greater purpose in life, and how I will lead in that space, I thought I was look back on where I’ve been.  My first real leadership experience started at Shiloh Community Church.  I was part of the youth group at Shiloh.  Every summer the senior high youth would go on a 2 week bike trip through different destinations.

My first trip toured South Dakota and Ioawa.  On that trip I was just a passenger.  During my sophomore year we toured the lower peninsula of Michigan.  Again I was just a passenger, observing from the student leaders around me and my youth pastor Kendall Harger.  But while I was just a passenger, I was an actively engaged passenger.  Liz Wiseman talks a lot in her book Multipliers about the importance of engagement in developing your people.  Kendall was a multiplier and he knew how to engage even those who were not yet leaders.  He engaged us by pushing us to complete arduous feats like ride 100 miles on a bike in a single day.  He pushed us by encouraging us to serve the church and the community that was hosting us each night by sharing our testimonies and leading worship, even though we were dead tired.

On my third year we were gearing up for a tough trip through the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and Kentucky.  This was the year that I was no longer a passenger.  This year I was to be a group leader. Group leaders were student leaders who were assigned to shepherd a group of 5-6 other students on each day’s journey.  This student was resonsible for everyone’s safety and for keeping morale high in the group so that the group finishes together.  The morale part can be especially hard because each rider is at a different fitness level.  Some riders could ride all day going 14-16 miles per hour while others would struggle to maintain 10 miles per hour.  The group was only as fast or strong as it’s slowest rider.  It was a balancing act of encouraging the stronger riders to use their strength to encourage the weaker riders.  As a group leader I couldn’t let the strong riders go off ahead on their own, leaving the weaker riders alone fighting the wind.  If I did, I would have caused a lot of students to give up and not experiencing the accomplishment of overcomming.

I really appreciate Kendall giving me this opportunity.  It sparked my servant leadership attitude that I lead with everyday in my life.  I am always searching how I can get everyone’s best to work together to achieve the best out of the team.  Dan Pink wrote in his book Drive something especially profound about how my generation will seek validation.  He wrote,

“We’re designed to be active and engaged. And we know that the richest experiences in our lives aren’t when we’re clamoring for validation from others, but when we’re listening to our own voice— doing something that matters, doing it well, and doing it in the service of a cause larger than ourselves.”

I think I’m still in search of my cause that is larger than myself.  But I know my life has been and will continue to be filled with experiences where I was given the opportunity to serve a cause that had profound impacts.

We’re designed to be active and engaged. And we know that the richest experiences in our lives aren’t when we’re clamoring for validation from others, but when we’re listening to our own voice— doing something that matters, doing it well, and doing it in the service of a cause larger than ourselves.

  • Dan Pink
  • Drive

I hope that even just one student under my leadership experienced the feeling of finishing a tough physical challenge and was empowered to hunger for even more challenging feats.

This year I set a goal to ride my bike to work more often. During the month of May, National Bike Month, I rode to work 5 times, equaling over 125 miles on the bike.  I drive a pretty fuel efficient car, but I still was able to save almost $12 in gas.  But this isn’t the topic I want to write about.  Last Thursday (June 9, 2016) I set out to ride to work and my mind was racked by the events that happened just two days prior.

As I prepared to ride to work, my stream of conscious went something like this:


“Tomorrow’s going to be such a beautiful day,” I thought as I packed my pannier with work clothes preparing for my morning commute.  As I laid in bed, my mind kept pondering about the tragedy that struck Kalamazoo. “Why do things like this keep happening? That could have been me.  I’m kind of scared to ride tomorrow, but I don’t want to be.  I shouldn’t have to be afraid! I hope whoever did it, gets justice! I hope the families will be ok!”

The next morning I carried on to ride.  As I mounted my bike, I turned on my rear flashing LED light and sent my wife an eCrumb so she can know where I am while I ride.  It gives her a lot of peace of mind, and me as well as I have a medical condition. My stream of conscious continued to flow as it normally does . . . “Ahh, what a beautiful morning. The air smells amazing. It’s a little cold though.  I’m sure I’ll warm up soon enough.” I pulled out of the drive way and continued to ponder, “Hmm, sounds like a car is coming up. Man it sounds like it’s coming pretty fast.  Why do I feel so nervous? . . . Holy sh*&t! 5 people were killed by a truck!  This could be it!  Is this guy going to hit me?  Am I ready to die? Will my wife and two sons be ok without me?”  


Ironically, it was a red chevy pick-up truck that passed me, going a little too fast and driving a little too close, but without incident.  It was a blue chevy pick-up truck that struck all those cyclists.  From that point on, I was nervous every time I heard a car passing.  I could feel my hands begin to shake, and I instinctively veered as far to the right of the road as I could go without moving into the gravel shoulder.  This wasn’t normal behavior for me.  When riding on the road, the safest thing to do when a car is passing you is to hold your line and make your presence known.  By swerving I was increasing my chances of hitting a stray pothole, hitting some loose gravel or hitting the lip of the road where the asphalt lines up with the gravel.  Hitting any one of those things could result in a crash, with me lying in the road way waiting to  get run over by the next car.

Hmm, sounds like a car is coming up. Man it sounds like it’s coming pretty fast.  Why do I feel so nervous? . . . Holy sh*&t! 5 people were killed by a truck!  This could be it!  Is this guy going to hit me?  Am I ready to die? Will my wife and two sons be ok without me?

Eventually as the ride went on, my nerves calmed and I made it to work as I always do.  I reminded myself how blessed I was for the opportunity to ride a bike and enjoy God’s beautiful creation without a windshield in front of my face.  I reminded myself that  I will never be too afraid to ride my bike.  No person, no matter how stupid or reckless they are, has the right to take away my passion.  I will never give in to fear.  But I also reminded myself that I need to be more vigilant and more careful.  While I am a cyclist, I am also a motorist.  Given the right circumstances, it could have been me who hit a cyclist.  While I try to give the utmost respect to cyclists on the road while I’m driving, I do give into the temptation of distracted driving from time to time.  There are a few things we all need to keep in mind as responsible road users.

Firstly, for motorists, know that cyclists have all the rights and responsibilities of using a public road just as a motorist.  Cyclists pay taxes and have just as much of a need for the road way.  Taken directly out of the Michigan vehicle code, here are a few relevant road laws to be aware of:

  • MVC 257.657 states: “Each person riding a bicycle . . . upon a roadway has all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this chapter . . .” There are special provisions for bicycles limiting certain behavior for safety. This includes:
  • (MVC 257.660a) A person operating a bicycle upon a highway or street at less than the existing speed of traffic shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except as follows:
    • “When overtaking and passing another bicycle or any other vehicle proceeding in the same direction.”
    • “When preparing to turn left.”
    • “When conditions make the right-hand edge of the roadway unsafe or reasonably unusable by bicycles, including, but not limited to, surface hazards, an uneven roadway surface, drain openings, debris, parked or moving vehicles or bicycles, pedestrians, animals, or other obstacles, or if the lane is too narrow to permit a vehicle to safely overtake and pass a bicycle.”
    • “When operating a bicycle in a lane in which the
      traffic is turning right but the individual intends to go straight through the intersection.”
    • “When operating a bicycle upon a 1-way highway or street that has 2 or more marked traffic lanes, in which case the individual may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of that roadway as practicable.”
  • When passing a cyclist motorists must take due care.  MVC 257.627 states: ” . . . Motorists must have their vehicle under control when following bicyclist to be able to react safely if the bicyclist has to make an emergency maneuver.”

Michigan bike laws can be found in the Michigan Vehicle Code.  I wanted to emphasize the bit about riding as far to the right as possible, as many drivers seem to get enraged by cyclists who “ride in the middle of the lane.”  Just know that they aren’t doing it to piss you off.  They are doing it for their safety!

A person operating a bicycle upon a highway or street at less than the existing speed of traffic shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except as follows: When conditions make the right-hand edge of the roadway unsafe or reasonably unusable by bicycles, including, but not limited to, surface hazards, an uneven roadway surface, drain openings, debris, parked or moving vehicles or bicycles, pedestrians, animals, or other obstacles, or if the lane is too narrow to permit a vehicle to safely overtake and pass a bicycle.

One of the most dangerous things I see while riding is motorists trying to pass me when oncoming traffic is present.  This is dangerous, this is illegal. Don’t do it!  Slow down, wait for traffic to clear, and pass safely.  I guarantee that you will be safely around me in less than a minute.

One good thing that will hopefully come out of this incident (that’s another thing, a car hitting a cyclist is not an accident.  It’s a serious crash that should have serious consequences for the driver.) is the introduction of vulnerable road user laws in Michigan.  This type of legislation has been proposed in Michigan before and voted down.  But since the tragedy in Kalamazoo a new bill has been fast tracked.  According to the Detroit Free Press the new legislation, if enacted, will make it a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison for a driver who causes  death to vulnerable road users including cyclists, pedestrians, or people in wheelchairs.  This is important, because under current law a motorist who kills a cyclist must be proven to have extreme negligence in order to experience any severe consequences.  It is not uncommon for motorists who kill cyclists to get off with a mere traffic violation or a few community service hours.  The proposed bill is SB1029 and the relevant sections state:

“A person who commits a moving violation that has criminal penalties and as a result causes injury to a VULNERABLE ROADWAY USER OR person operating an implement of husbandry on a highway in compliance with this act is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or both.”

“A person who commits a moving violation that has criminal penalties and as a result causes death to a VULNERABLE ROADWAY USER OR person operating an implement of husbandry on a highway in compliance with this act is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 15 years or a fine of not more than $7,500.00, or both.”

I really could go on and on about laws and cycling incidents, but if there is just one thing to remember after what happened in Kalamazoo it’s that we as humans have a responsibility to watch out for each other.  We must practice grace and humility.  We must learn to slow down and put others before ourselves.  We must remember that any one of the 5 people that were killed while riding their bicycle could have been you, it could have been your son or daughter, your wife, your husband, or your dad.  Is getting to work 30 seconds faster or driving home before you sobered up more important than their lives?

CrankPunk.com just wrote a refreshingly honest article about a phenomenon where amateur cyclists and thus corporate sponsors are still ardently endorsing confessed dopers like Levi Leipheimer.  After reading CrankPunk’s Gran Fondos & Dopers do you think it is still ethical for us as both fans and participants in the sport of cycling to support these riders who have dirtied the water?

Armstrong’s continuing his grand apology tour.  He recently met with his former soigneur Emma O’Riley, who was one of the firsts to speak out about doping on the USPS Team.  Much to my surprise she’s actually upset about Armstrong being the face of this doping war.  And despite all the harm Armstrong has done to her, she is meeting with him to encourage the sport to move on from Armstrong and root out the problem’s many other facets like corruption in the governing body and other big teams. (more…)