Rebecca’s Private Idaho
My summer out west continues. I’ve left Colorado and am a bit northwest in the land known for potatoes.
On a blisteringly cold morning in November of last year, I met Rebecca Rusch at a hotel lobby in Ketchum, Idaho. This was the final stop in the Eyes Up | Maxxis interview series. Rebecca is an extraordinary person with an incredible athletic and philanthropic resume. She’s also notably kind and down to earth despite her background and prominence in the athletic world. We had an awesome conversation and, before we parted ways, she kindly extended an offer to participate in her annual gravel cycling race called Rebecca’s Private Idaho the following August (now) and to use the event as a platform to promote the Eyes Up mission. With nothing on my calendar at that point, I decided to go for it.
So, tomorrow is the first day of the first bike race of my life. I feel quite fortunate to have the opportunity to ride my bike in the mountains of Idaho in a spectacular setting in this four-day, three-stage race. This event has been on the horizon for so long that it’s felt nebulous and surreal. Now that it’s actually happening, I feel excited to dive into it and see what happens.
Competitive play is something standard adult life lacks. It doesn’t exist unless one intentionally adds it back in through races, club sports leagues, or playing games with friends.
While I have never participated in a cycling race, I have raced in a few triathlons since 2019 and they are a hoot. I am not used to being in a competitive environment and it’s something I enjoy and could use more of. Since the days in high school where I had a competitive outlet through a club basketball program, the opportunities for competition have been limited to 5k races, an indoor soccer league, and the small handful of triathlons I have completed.
Competitive play is something standard adult life lacks. It doesn’t exist unless one intentionally adds it back in through races, club sports leagues, or playing games with friends. Earlier this summer, I played Spikeball with some friends one evening and it re-opened a channel inside me that goes untouched by most aspects of life. It’s a feeling that is unlike any other achieved through my standard physical activities. Cycling, running, and a good old fashioned weight workout all release endorphins and feel fantastic in their own rite. But what’s released when playing a physically demanding game with others is different more satisfying. This type of shared experience brings out a spirit of camaraderie and motivation to succeed while using our brains in a unique way.
I am not sure if races are my ideal scenario for scratching the itch of playful competition because the team element is not quite there. In a bike race, the competition is you, by yourself, against the field. There is no one to help or get help from. In this way, races can feel somewhat isolating. It’s surely more exciting than going out for a ride solo, but it doesn’t evoke the same emotions as an activity where you are helping achieve the group goal of winning.
I am excited for the new experience of riding in a place in which I have spent very little time in a new format. Since the race takes place over four days of varying lengths totaling about 200 miles, there’s a lot of new ground to soak in and enjoy. Because this is a one-off race and not a future career of mine, I plan to enjoy riding my bike first and foremost and will exert a challenging level of effort short of the point of total suffering. The primary goal is to have fun with a new group of people in a beautiful environment.
The secondary goal is to use Rebecca’s event as a platform for helping do good. So, part of my time both on and off the bike will be spent documenting the event and engaging with various participants to gather a variety of perspectives on distracted driving, digital wellness, and the beauty of being outside. I don’t know what the end result will be, but it will be interesting to see where it goes. Stay tuned!
Perhaps the most invigorating aspect of attending this race is that both core elements of the event make me uncomfortable. I have never raced a bike (let alone racing on dirt in multiple stages) before in my life. I have also never attended an event with the intention of using it to create a video to promote the Eyes Up mission. It’s a bit nerve racking and I am excited to lean into both sources of discomfort and see what happens.
Much of the past three months have been uncomfortable at a low-level. I have existed in a transient fashion in various homes and accommodations while navigating my next career move and trying to get an authentic sense of the people and places I’ve been living in. There have been moments where it’s been challenging to be alone and to stay motivated without many outside factors guiding my path or creating urgency. This race will be a pivot to a different type of unease, one that I am looking forward to. What a neat opportunity to share a sport I love while working on advancing the mission I have been working on for over two years now.
As I get ready to ride, I am feeling grateful and excited to take on a different sort of mission-based work that remains true to the Eyes Up mission. It’s never easy to be uncomfortable. However, it gets easier to trust discomfort when we learn to accept the feeling and embrace whatever comes of it. When we do that, we build an archive of past experiences of growth from being in that state of discomfort. We can then use that archive to reassure us that all will be okay.
Thank you for reading! Be safe and have a great two weeks. Next time, I will be writing from Connecticut! Imagine that.
-Ben Grannis
#EyesUp
