RBC is proud to be the title sponsor of the Whistler GranFondo, celebrating 10 years this year. 5000 cyclists rode this year.
I rode the Medio route this year; 55km, 850m in elevation, from Whistler to the incredibly beautiful Callaghan Valley and crossing the finish line in Whistler clocking my personal best time ever!
My associates, Ivan and Angel (her first Fondo) rode the full route, 122km, 1,900 m in elevation, from Stanley Park to Whistler. It was an incredible day, with perfect weather and a grand procession back to the cheering crowds at the finish line in Whistler Village.
Many of you know that I did not have a chance to train properly this year due to various life issues, but my most heart-warming moment was in August when my 14-year old son Brett volunteered to ride the Medio with me. He recruited 2 of his best buds to join in the fun and they rode e-bikes (new for 2019). Electric bikes are massively growing in popularity (especially in Europe) as the technology allows more and more people to become active, get into cycling and move around in healthy ways.
My 16-year old son Deion had a grand time volunteering at the RBC tent inside the Celebration Plaza handing out fresh water to all the finishers. There were 800 volunteers who made this event possible and I am proud to share that 250 of those 800 were RBC employees. Thanks for making this experience an amazing one for the community!
In this post, I would like to share a few similarities between this cycling experience and investing.
1. It’s a slow process, requires patience and sometimes tests our commitment! Getting to Whistler took time. It’s a tough race. Painful at times. Likewise, getting your investment portfolio from where it is to your desired wealth goals certainly isn’t going to happen overnight. It is a process that requires a lot of diligence, focus and persistence. As the old Chinese saying goes, the tallest pagoda started from the ground.
2. You will encounter rough patches! Uphills and downhills are a reality in both cycling and investing. There are, undoubtedly, good times and bad times throughout the journey. The key to overcoming the bad times is to remain positive! Nobody ever signed up to ride 122km from Stanley Park to Whistler thinking not able to complete it. On that same note, to be a successful long term investor is to be positive! It is pure mental torture to invest in the markets thinking that it will come crashing down.
3. The best time to attack is when others are in pain! The best time to leave your opponents in the dust is often when others are feeling the burn from the incline. The same principle applies to investing – when the pain gets to others during a market correction as best described by Warren Buffet, “Be greedy when others are fearful.”
4. It is about 1 team pushing 1 person up the podium! In the cycling world, a team of riders called domestiques work hard to shelter their team leader from wind resistance as close to the finish line as possible before the team leader sprints away from the rest of the peloton to the take glory home. These domestiques are specialists in different types of terrain – flat, hilly, windy or rainy conditions so that at any one point in time, the team leader will always have someone to do the hard work for him. This culture is no less different from what we do here at RBC Dominion Securities. You, our client, are the team leader. You, our clients, are our raison d’etre. We are the simply the domestiques that empower your success as an investor and get you to your financial goal. In our midst are Will & Estate Consultants like Melissa Nagelbach and Financial Planning Specialists like Yat-Sze Lo. Together, we walk together with you to achieve your financial goals so that you never have to walk alone.
5. It is worth it in the end! No other feeling can beat the sense of satisfaction you get when you cross the finish line. As you look back on the path that got you to where now stand, you will realize that you didn’t get here by luck. You pushed when others were unwilling to and you struck while others were fearful. The risks you took and the discipline you developed would make this a worthwhile journey and make you want to do this all over again.
I am looking forward to doing this again in 2020 and to clock-in an even better time! I hope you too will come along for the ride with me.