Life Lesson from the Trail #2: A Little Cow Bell Goes a Long Way

You may be acquainted with an old Saturday Night Live sketch featuring Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken, in which Walken is a music producer listening to Ferrell’s band record a song in the studio. The guitars and drums start and the song zips into a head-bopping groove when Ferrell, decked out in faded jeans and a ratty old t-shirt that doesn’t cover several inches of his hairy midriff, breaks out a large cow bell and begins clanging. Just as the cacophony is reaching an unbearable pitch, Walken comes out of the studio, halts the music, and says, “You know what this song needs? More cow bell!”

Like Walken in the make-believe recording studio on SNL, I spent a good deal of my ride at yesterday's LiveStrong Challenge craving the sound of more cow bell. Cheerers and random ride-watchers at various points along the 45-mile route I rode--some at official cheering stations, many sitting in chairs on their front porches or lawns--provided encouragement, ranging from clapping, waving, smiling, and enthusiastically yelling things like "Good job!", "You can do it!", and "You're doing great!" to handing out cups of cold water as we passed by. Some of them also rang cow bells as we approached and sped past, particularly on the final approach to the finish line, which was awash with cow bell-wielding fans. Ah, how the sound of that cow bell spurred me on! A few clangs of the cow bell or a few words of encouragement were sufficiently invigorating to get me to the next rest stop, the next downhill segment, or the next encounter with a well-wisher several miles later.

My legs were tired and aching when I hit the 35-mile mark--10 miles from the finish line and just one mile from the last rest stop. I crested the zillionth hill, at the top of which was a policeman directing traffic at the intersection of two country roads. He spotted me laboring up the hill, stopped traffic so I could cross safely, and, evidently seeing my fatigue, shouted, "You're almost there! You can do it! Just one more mile to the next rest stop and it's all downhill!" I was too out-of-breath to properly respond, but I think I managed a smile and a weak "Thank you," as I passed. That was all I needed--and exactly what I needed--to give me the energy to keep pedaling.

Not long after that, as I was getting ready to leave the last rest stop, I got a text message from Jenny, who runs marathons: "YOU CAN DO IT! I am so proud of you!" followed by "GO GO GO! Ride like the wind!!" Lots of cow bell in those brief messages. Just what I needed to get me through that last leg of the ride.

In life, as on the trail, a little encouragement goes a long way. I never actually considered not finishing my ride yesterday--I knew I could and would finish--but I did need those boosts to keep me going--to push me to go a little faster, pedal a little harder, really give my all. I think we could all benefit from a little more cow bell in our lives. Giving and receiving. So break out that cow bell and let's make some music.