For the last couple of years I have gone into Low Power Mode for the Tour de France – which is three weeks in July. Essentially I don’t do any training but I still respond to emails a couple of times a week etc. I watch it on TG4 where two fans basically talk and banter (as Gaeilge) about the Tour. In reality, it’s a long time since I did any sort of serious cycling – I feel terrified by the idea of doing it on Irish roads to be honest. So then I thought about – what have I observed/learned from watching the Tour.
Lots of ways to win
In the tour there are lots of ways to succeed – beyond winning the yellow jersey overall. You can read about the meaning of the different jerseys here. You can just complete the race – doing literally thousands of kilometres over 3 weeks is pretty impressive. You could win a stage or be placed on a stage or win points by sprinting or climbing mountains. So with Excel – you can set up ways to win for yourself in lots of ways – get a formula to work, google and practise how to do a particular thing, get a chart done.. Make success easy for yourself.
The effort is worth it
One of the daily prizes on the Tour is the Prix de la Combativité – which is for riders who simply GO FOR IT – who make a huge effort. They often do not win the stage and sometimes do not even get placed but they go for it. So could you just set aside 15 minutes (a “stage”) and just go for it in learning something in Excel – you might not think so but the effort will be worth it.
It’s in France – that’s all
One of my dreams is to – at some stage – live and work in France – if only for a short time. My son has a French girlfriend and – apparently – she doesn’t have a French chateau – which is a bit disappointing to be honest – I do ask him from time but there is something about France, the sound of French that delights me so watching the Tour reminds me of that dream and that it’s actually pretty do-able. What in Excel do you find do-able? and could you build on it?