Put Me In Coach, I’m Ready to Teach

As you may know, Dude Abikes has been happily unemployed since November 1st.  He stays busy biking, walking, yoga-ing and of course blogging.  To keep the gummint offa his back, he does job search activities.  Today there were three, the most interesting of which was a “speed coaching session.”  I biked 8 miles to the Domain, a collection of pricey apartments and even pricier shops.  A Dude ain’t fancy, but doesn’t mind if others are.

A handful of people gathered in to WeWork, a co-working and meeting space. to hear a presentation, meet the coaches, and then spend some time with one discussing our goals, hopes, dreams, obstacles and the like.  It was free, there was fruit, cheese, nuts and such, and we each got a free book.  Mine was Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, an antiquated but still classic self-help guide that I’ve never read but will now.  Pretty cool stuff for a cold Thursday afternoon.

Book on bike trainer.

The idea of coaching is not new to me, but it keeps coming up.  Like a low-quality fish oil pill.  Recently I’ve been besieged with coaches at the weekly job club I attend all trying to sell me their services.  So I was skeptical, but not without reason.  These folks are simply promoting their business looking for clients, and were more than happy to chat and give some advice whether I signed them up or not.  I sat down with Dr. Fred Blum of Energy Rich Living.  Hmmm… there’s that word rich again.

Fred is a fellow member of the tribe of Israel (A Dude is proud of his heritage but never really practiced), former chiropractor and wearer of several things on his wrist including a black band with white letters that say “GET SHIT DONE.”  He emanates a kind of energy that seems authentic but not over the top.  He encouraged me to envision what I would be celebrating at the end of the year.  Which fancy restaurant I’d be at, who with, and what I’d be celebrating.  Yum.

Coach:  Purse Brand, 90’s TV Show, or a Person Who Will Help You Change Your Life?

Somewhere on the internet it says every major successful person has a coach behind them.  Even other coaches.  Fred hired one for an insane amount of money.  Growing up, I had soccer coaches, teachers, Boy Scout leaders, my Grandmother, and a Big Brother to advise and root me on.  But except for college, as an adult I’ve never really had an advisor, supporter, mentor, cheerleader, drill sargeant-type person on Team A Dude.  While many people have been awesome along the way of this bike journey (thanks if you’re one), I wonder if I’m missing out on something.  Certainly I could use a coach to make me a better biker.

The answer is:  there is no good reason why I can’t offer this service to people.  There are things to learn for sure, like how to teach, liability, and also clients to find, marketing, pricing, etc.  — basically some obstacles to work through.  Sometimes I think of challenges like a hilly bike ride.  Just another thing to get over.  And if I’ve done something hard on a bike (which I most definitely have — I climbed 240,000 feet of elevation since I began tracking it with GPS app Strava, which is 45 miles uphill), I can do it in other areas of my life too.  The skills learned while biking are transferable to other disciplines.  There are already safe cycling classes and the League Cycling Instructor certification I could look into doing.

Coach Dude Has a Nice Ring to It

The question is, would anyone Hire a Dude? ™  I’ve been mentioning this idea to people the last few days.  So far those who have bikes but don’t ride them, or used to have a bike but don’t now, think it would be valuable to have someone coach them on what to do to bike safely, where to go, how to have fun and get exercise.  There’s a little sadness that they stopped, but also a glimmer in their eye when they imagine themselves on a bike.

Hmmm… there’s a glimmer in my eye now too.  Anyone like to answer these questions?

1.  Anyone out there doing this and if so, how did you do it and how’s it going?
2.  Would you Hire a Dude™ to be your bike coach? 
3.  What would the value of such a service be to you?

Email me at A Dude Abikes AT gmail if you might be interested and live in Austin, Texas, USA.

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