Today I will be participating in a bike rise sponsored by the good folks at The Marker (www.themarker.com or in Hebrew www.themarker.co.il)), who have put together "Business on Wheels," a kind of networking event for people who want to combine their love of biking, business, and protection of the environment. It will be a off-road ride and gathering in the Modi'in area, where the Macabees were based some time ago.
The event got me thinking about the connection between start-up life and biking (for more on this line of thinking see my friend Richard Dale's blog, www.venturecyclist.blogspot.com).
This is not a stretch...I believe they are very much connected. I used to run, now I mainly bike. Besides the obvious additional pounding that running inflicts (which at a ripe old age of 37 I already start to think about), running is a lot like trading -- you stop, you lose. You can't leave the screen as a "serious" trader, no just going off to enjoy a sunny day. I asked a friend of mine, who deals in distressed debt and other forms of financial alchemy I do not understand at all, if he wanted to join me on a bike ride. he looked up from his Bloomberg screens long enough to say, "Not during the day." But that, I explained to him, is when the views are best.
When running, there is no stopping, even going downhill is still one foot in front of the other. In biking, there are times when you can coast, when you can look around the world and breathe a little. Running a start-up is similar. There are extremely serious uphills, days when you need to pound away, working around the clock. But then there are the moments of rest, to grab the team and go jeeping in the desert.
I would burn out as a trader, locked every day to staring at a bunch of screens. I need that ebb and flow.
I will report more later on the networking aspect of today...
And for those celebrating Thanksgiving, say a special prayer for the rest of us.
Oh, here is the creative for today's ride:
I totally relate to the concept and don't think it's a stretch at all. As a matter of fact, I think that that the linkage between recreational activities and the professional persona is a very tight one, specifically when it comes to sports. My personal favorite activity is running (8-9k 3 times a week). The specific blend and level of self discipline, steady high adrenaline and sense of accomplishment works best for me. I also found out that you can always find ways to improve your running and your results which is a tasteful twist of competitive challenge. I used to do sprinting and weightlifting, I don't anymore. It has too much of a hysteric mindset and I couldn't sustain it as a favorite sport. Maybe it has to do with reaching my mid 30s or with the changing focus in life, probably a bit of both.
But let's look at the broader picture. I have a good friend who's a founding CEO of a deep-tech pharma start up. He's addicted to rock climbing. No need to major in psychology to figure that one out. Another is an up and coming lawyer who plays basketball (to win!) in the "sportek" twice a week. Need I say more?
I wonder what my sport of choice in, say, 10 years from now. I really think I can dig wind surfing, so I will look to try that when my knees start sending annoying messages. I haven't biked too much in my life, to be honest, but I can imagine there is a wide range of flavors to it, so that can become a good option as well.
Posted by: Aner Ravon | November 23, 2006 at 02:59 PM