"Every conversation is an opportunity"

A good friend of mine often says, "Every conversation is an opportunity:" an opportunity to learn something, an opportunity to encourage someone, and if you are like my salesman friend, maybe even an opportunity to sell something. In my case, I recently had an opportunity to meet someone and be inspired.

On Saturday, I met Gunnar as our cycling journeys converged briefly along Herald Road.  Herald Road is a hilly beast of a thing out in the country north of Stouffville, which is where I call home.   Gunnar hails from Denmark originally but now calls Alliston, Ontario home. We were on different bikes and were travelling with different purposes but united in our love of the sport. 

I was enjoying the hills when I encountered him. (Enjoying hills?!? It's a sickness some of us cyclists get. My sickness began in the mountain trails near Calgary over 20 years ago. It became more intense when I started mountain bike racing upon moving to the Stouffville area. Sadly, my condition has degraded even further in the past five or six years with my need to now assault hills of the paved variety too...but I digress...back to Gunnar.)

As I approached him from behind, I could clearly see that he was not going to be "assaulting" the hill. In fact, I was curious to see if he could even make it up. His heavily loaded bike stood in stark contrast to the many bikes I had encountered earlier that morning. Most riders were mounted on ultra-light road racers with the odd one on a hybrid or mountain bike. But not Gunnar. He sat perched on a full-fledge touring bike outfitted with lights, mirrors, a bar bag, front and rear panniers, and a rack stacked high with tent and sleeping bag. Of this one thing I was quite confident: the ride up the hill would be far less enjoyable for him than me.

Not unexpectedly, he stopped part way up. Remembering my friend's saying about conversations and opportunities, I pulled along side. I also wanted to see if he needed help. (It's another "sickness" of mine: if I see a cyclist in possible distress -- whether I'm on my bike or in my car -- I stop to see if I can lend a hand. I've met a few a interesting people as a result. "Every conversation is an opportunity"...)

Gunnar was fine. Alliston was now 58 kilometers in his rear-view mirror and he still had 20 more kilometers to round out Saturday's journey. He expected his destination of Montreal to be a week down the road. He was simply pacing himself. As we chatted further, I learned that he tries to do a trip like this once every year. Remarkable really, because Gunnar is well along in years. Although I didn't ask him, I would guess he is in his 70s, having taken up cycling in his retirement years!

I love to ride but I have never contemplated such an ambitious journey. With Gunnar as my inspiration, that other famous saying rings in my ears: "it's never too late to start!"

My thanks to Gunnar for the new challenge. And thanks to my salesman friend for the reminder that every conversation really is an opportunity. In this case, an opportunity to be inspired!