Just another day in the office

I saw a really cool thing yesterday afternoon.

We had a group of children and their parents, numbering around 40, take a tour of our factory at the end of the day. They are all on a cycling team which runs criterium practices on the road loop here in our business park. As they returned to the front office after touring the factory, Jared Graves happened to be hanging out working on his laptop.

The throng was introduced to Grubby (Yeti's nickname for Jared) and he began fielding questions from adults and children. This is nothing special or unusual (to us). Grubby is here at the factory every few months. He is a friend of ours and has stayed at my house for extended periods of time. He has been on the Yeti Factory Race team for several years and is always a contender for the podium in DH, 4X and Dual Slalom events. In August, he heads off to China to represent Austrailia during the inaugural Olympic BMX race.

Wait.

The Olympics.

Grubby, to us, is just another one of the guys. He rides faster than all of us but we laugh, kid around, talk trash and wrestle with him. We forget that he is one of the elite few who has the opportunity to compete at the highest level. In the eyes of this tour group, Grubby is a demigod.

I stood at the back of the group to listen and watch. When they finished and went on their way, I walked over to Grubby and thanked him for being so friendly and accessible. We talked about how even he forgets what being an Olympian means to so many people.

As I left our office, I was reflecting on how incredible it is to have an Olympian in our midst. And I overheard parents who were still outside our office effusively gushing over what an incredible experience they were just witness to. I was left with the thought that while it was just another day in the office for me, it was a day that may define the athletic aspirations for the children who had a chance to sit and talk with a young man who has Olympic gold within his reach.