Personal Bests and The Power of Alone Time and Data

Good afternoon from Italy.

Today we climbed Monte Grappa. It was intense and considering I am in good shape, healthy and the weather not terrible, I would say it was the hardest climb of my life. I am thrilled and exhausted.

Strava tells me that it is the 3rd most elevation I have ever logged on a ride…

The difference of this ride is the short amount of miles it took to climb the 6,000 feet. We had some 17-20 percent inclines.

I would not even attempt these climbs without the incredible support team of Biko. There are so many things that can go wrong from mechanical to weather to body fueling…

The climb took me about 160 minutes (three stops for water refill and some goop for fuel). The Tour De France champion Tadej Pogacar did this same exact ride in 51 minutes! Having this context because of Strava is really incredible and fascinating. These pro cyclists are not human.

All my buddies on the trip are data geeks. They know their heart rate and power output every second. I on the other hand just mentally figure out how long I will be sitting on the bike to get to the top and go. For the geeks Strava is nirvana. I only post my rides so I don’t pay Strava. It drives me nuts though as a founder myself, investor and Strava user that they do not get me to pay. Today they alerted me about the climb being my third best…why not connect me to a Strava store - or of course I am thinking about DSTNC our portfolio company and let me spend money on myself with special offers on ecommerce collabs. Get me to pay/spend. I am captive!

Because I don’t listen to music or care about my vitals, I sit on my bike, get in the zone and slip away into my own thoughts. I imagine for some that can be dangerous to have all that alone time, but I do my best thinking about my work, goals, problems and strategy for our companies. Today was no different and I feel mentally rejuvenated. Now I will go about my day pestering founders and teams.

Have a great day.