It has been a few weeks since returning from my 8-day cycling trip.

It was an immersive experience riding 790 miles from Cedar City, Utah to Pueblo, CO over major mountain peaks and riding 26 miles up Pikes Peak to over 14,100 ft. on the final day for a total of 840 miles.

The one word I continue to have running through my head is: teamwork.

The teamwork is what made it so memorable and frankly, achievable. The first two days I had my wife, JP, and my father taking turns riding with me and helping pass many miles as I rode 100 miles a day.

Jason, my lifelong friend, arrived for days 3 through 7 and we covered nearly 600 miles together in 5 days.

We did it, unexpectedly with a lot of teamwork. We found I could draft behind him and take off a significant burden of pedaling by staying about 18 inches behind his tire. This enabled me to cover up to 140 miles a day and be strong for the many mountain climbs that could last 4-7 hours at a time.

My father, whose nickname is Billy, was officially called Rattlesnake Billy as he fully embraced the wild west.

He did an incredible job supporting us throughout the ride and energizing us at every stop as we caught up to him in the RV. He worked on the mechanics, restocking food/drinks, finding campsites, and gave us a chance to recharge in the evenings so we could wake up feeling like "we get to do this" each morning.

As you read this about family, friendship, and teamwork, does someone come to mind that has been your help recently and made a difference?

If so, make sure they know. The encouragement means so much!