I Think I Can, I Think I Can, I Know I Can

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Ever wonder what it might be like to appear on an episode of the ‘Real World?’ Well then you should come to leader training in Salt Lake City, where you will find yourself sharing space in a condo with 17 other awesome individuals. Luckily, Backroads looks for a certain type off personality in their candidates, so none of us are intentionally bringing drama to the table! Although, I have stirred the pot with my snoring and have switched off where and who I sleep with each night—“Who would have thought that little Keely could snore so loud?!”

Our first week of training went very well and I learned many new hard skills. It is very empowering to do hands on work like traying and racking bikes, hitching trailers, and being able to fix and/or replace most parts on a bike- the cable housing, brakes, chain, derailleur, seat post, and handlebars. We were told that guests will be most impressed by the males who can put out a beautiful picnic and make the spread look great, while the females will be admired for backing up a trailer with 24 bikes on top into a tiny, tiny parking space, while all the guests are watching of course!

Highlights: Starting our first day of training with a 17 mile group ride up Cottonwood Canyon and then to Sugarhouse for our FIRST Backroads picnic! Tomorrow we leave for our mock trip in Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, a place I have never been and am very excited to experience.

Lowlights: Not applicable.

Silver Lining: I do not know everything and will never pretend to know everything there is to know about the area I will be leading in! I would be lying if I didn’t say that I am incredibly nervous to stand up in front of a group of 26 guests and give a route talk, logistics talk, safety talk, bike demonstration, history lesson, or interpretive speech of the area. Yet, I think there is a huge difference between Leading and Knowing---the benefit being that guests do not reward knowing the name of every bridge; they reward the leader that helps them make choices and steer the general direction of a trip in a way that enhances their experiences.

I think the Silver Lining is Confidence in Yourself, no matter where you are in life, or what you may be doing.
May we remind ourselves from the get-go that you are good at what you do, that you will do a great job out there despite not having seen everything, or knowing everything. Rather, the most important part of any job and any new situation you find yourself in is connecting to people.

Confidence and connecting. Connecting and confidence. Build off the other and believe in yourself.

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