TULSA, Okla. — I have been an avid cyclist for close to 30 years now. I still love it as much as ever; however, at 60-plus, the legs are a little slower than they used to be. I guess it just allows me to enjoy the fun a little longer than before.
Being from Tulsa, I am considered a flatlander and a lowlander. We don’t have many hills and are at a low elevation.
This year, I decided to take part in a long bike ride over the Colorado Rockies — 120 miles of pure fun. We have hills in Tulsa. I thought, there can’t be a big difference between climbing a hill that is a half-mile long or one that is 15 miles long. Piece of cake.
Well, 55 miles in, I had passed through one mountain pass and was 5 miles from the next summit. I was sitting at a rest stop thinking there is no way I can get back on that bike and there were 65 miles to go.
I was just about to drop a pin to send to my wife so she would know exactly where to pick me up, and please bring oxygen when you come, since I haven’t taken a deep breath in 55 miles. The air is sure thin in the Rockies. That is when I overheard two other riders talking.
One of them was in the exact shape I was in. I’m done, and it’s time for the ride to be over. His friend told him that all they needed to do was ride the next 5 miles to the summit. Then they would have 30 miles of downhill with no pedaling. The next summit wasn’t as steep as that one was, and when they crossed it, it was all downhill to finish.
I don’t know if he convinced his friend to get back on the bike, but he convinced me. Of course, 5 miles when you are on some flat ground cruising at 20 miles per hour doesn’t take long to cover. Five miles when you are climbing about 4 miles per hour takes well over an hour.
I did everything I could to get to the top of the summit. I rode until my leg cramps wouldn’t let me ride anymore, walked until the cramps went away, then back on the bike to start the whole sequence again. But I made it to the top.
The guy was right, somewhere in the white-knuckle downhill (we lowlanders hate long downhills as much as we hate long climbs) between the adrenaline of the high-speed pace and all the supplements I had taken at the rest stop, my legs came back stronger than ever. The next 60 miles were a piece of cake. I just had to make it through those first 5 miles.
Making improvements in laundry operations works the exact same way. We had a consultant come in one time, and without looking at our setup, delivery schedules, or any part of our operation, say they could raise our pounds per operator hour (PPOH) by 40 pounds.
We got zero buy-in from any of the management. The distance was too far, the mountain too high. We were already doing everything we could. If we had started the conversation off with wanting to raise the PPOH 2 pounds per operator hour this month, we would have gotten full buy-in from everyone.
The key to making improvements in the process is making small, realistic goals to be achieved.
You must see a small hill to climb that you know you can make. After that win, the next hills will be easier to climb. You have to conquer changes one mountain at a time.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].
