Sometimes, I don't even need to get on the bicycle to get a good lesson from it.
Last night, I checked the tread on my tires. Wow. I still have knobs, but they aren't knobby anymore. More like bumpy. Chunks of the knobs are no longer there. I don't think they grip anymore; rather, they mildly resist sliding.
Obvious decision: Change the tires. I wasn't sure if I was going to ride to work this morning, but I thought it made sense, and would take 15 minutes, maybe. I flipped the bike upside down, and took off both wheels. I got the tires off, removed the old tires, and put on new ones. Very pretty and clean and with well-defined bumps. I pumped up the tires, and prepared to put the wheels back on the bike. Putting on the rear wheel, I was having a challenge getting it into the dropouts. That wasn't unusual: What was unusual was: the derailleur and derailleur hanger were no longer attached to the bike. Ack! Okay, throw it in reverse, and see what happened.
I was missing one screw, and the other had come unthreaded, but was still on the hanger. I don't know if this had happened as a result of my crash in November (that story gets its own post). But one thing seemed apparent: the back of my bike was held together by a stack of parts. The quick release held the derailleur hanger (mostly) in place. When I removed the wheel, everything came apart.
I received two lessons from this one. First of all, I want to examine what is holding me and my life together. Am I leaning on a stack of worldly things that, if a single item is removed, everything else falls apart? Or, am I really and truly relying on the immovable Rock?
The other, more obvious one, was that I contemplated riding at all. If I rode, there would be no way that I could go to my son's Bible Olympics today across town. I knew my wife wouldn't be able to be there for the whole thing, so he may have won, or not, but wouldn't have a parent to share the moment with. He had practiced a bunch. And here I was, ready to ride my bike to take care of my own wishes instead. I have plenty of opportunities to ride. To make this extra clear, when I had the bike kind of assembled, still missing a screw, one of the tubes had gone flat overnight. I got the point, finally.
I went to the Bible Olympics. Only two kids got all the verses correct. My son was one of them, and I got to hug him. I am thankful for my bike's mechanical failures.
I hope I can save my bike more damage and remember this lesson.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
A jump of certain (or not so certain) doom!
I'm realizing I should post some pictures with my posts. For example, I was riding this morning before church in an area where folks have built up some jumps of varying sizes. As previously stated, I'm not that jumpy, yet. I'd like to be comfortable in the air, though. I saw a jump, and thought I should try going over it. Maybe get a little bit of air. Then I saw another jump, parallel to the first one I saw, and considered going over it instead. "Ah," I said, "I dare not. I have no idea what is on the other side."
WHAM! No, I didn't crash. I had one of those moments where God made something extra clear to me. This jump was an object lesson for me. Too often, I dare not, because I have no idea what is on the other side. I exercise more caution than I ought. I'm not saying I should blindly tear down every trail without fear. I am saying that if God wants me to ride down a trail, I should ride down that trail. It's not the trail that matters, it's my listening to and obeying God.
In 2 Timothy 1:7. Paul writes, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." I often succumb to timidity. In Joshua 1:9, an angel of the Lord says to Joshua, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Of course, I needn't beat myself up about this. If Joshua, the General of the entire Army of Israel, and their leader, needs to be told to be courageous, I might need such encouragement as well.
Oh, in case you wondered, it was completely safe on the back side of the jump, and I never really left the ground anyway. I'd love to share a picture of the front and back side of the jump. Still learning, I suppose.
God, I ask that you would direct my pedal strokes, where you want me to climb I will climb, and where you want me to descend, I will descend.
WHAM! No, I didn't crash. I had one of those moments where God made something extra clear to me. This jump was an object lesson for me. Too often, I dare not, because I have no idea what is on the other side. I exercise more caution than I ought. I'm not saying I should blindly tear down every trail without fear. I am saying that if God wants me to ride down a trail, I should ride down that trail. It's not the trail that matters, it's my listening to and obeying God.
In 2 Timothy 1:7. Paul writes, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." I often succumb to timidity. In Joshua 1:9, an angel of the Lord says to Joshua, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Of course, I needn't beat myself up about this. If Joshua, the General of the entire Army of Israel, and their leader, needs to be told to be courageous, I might need such encouragement as well.
Oh, in case you wondered, it was completely safe on the back side of the jump, and I never really left the ground anyway. I'd love to share a picture of the front and back side of the jump. Still learning, I suppose.
God, I ask that you would direct my pedal strokes, where you want me to climb I will climb, and where you want me to descend, I will descend.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Everlasting Joy
I'm a mountain biker. I am quite passionate about it. I'm not the fastest, or the most skilled, or even the most willing to risk life and limb.
When I ride, I view it as an opportunity to talk to God and to listen to Him. Don't get me wrong: it isn't that I enter this perfect Christian state of prayer; plenty of times my mind is on other things, such as "Look, a bunny!" or "Branch! Duck! Parry!" or "I'm really tired" or even "Wheeeee!!!"
I had a ride that was much of that last one. I was having such fun. Pure enjoyment. I started wishing it would never end. But I knew it would, either the joy or the ride. That's when it rang clear: I should be seeking my joy from a source that is never ending.
In Romans 14:17, the Bible says, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." I would say it is also not a matter of riding my bike. In 1 Timothy it says, "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." I really am not as godly as I want to be, but I sure see it's value.
So, here I am, laying it out there for those four people who stumble across this blog due to a typo or some other bizarre reason: I am going to be seeking godliness by making sure that my mountain bike is a tool, not a source. I will have fun on my rides, but those rides will not be the source of my Joy.
The real question: Will I keep blogging for more than one month? The last time I blogged for more than a month was six years ago, and that one had an obvious ending. I tried to revive it, but it kept waning. So, we'll see what happens. I think I'll keep at it this time, God willing.
When I ride, I view it as an opportunity to talk to God and to listen to Him. Don't get me wrong: it isn't that I enter this perfect Christian state of prayer; plenty of times my mind is on other things, such as "Look, a bunny!" or "Branch! Duck! Parry!" or "I'm really tired" or even "Wheeeee!!!"
I had a ride that was much of that last one. I was having such fun. Pure enjoyment. I started wishing it would never end. But I knew it would, either the joy or the ride. That's when it rang clear: I should be seeking my joy from a source that is never ending.
In Romans 14:17, the Bible says, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." I would say it is also not a matter of riding my bike. In 1 Timothy it says, "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." I really am not as godly as I want to be, but I sure see it's value.
So, here I am, laying it out there for those four people who stumble across this blog due to a typo or some other bizarre reason: I am going to be seeking godliness by making sure that my mountain bike is a tool, not a source. I will have fun on my rides, but those rides will not be the source of my Joy.
The real question: Will I keep blogging for more than one month? The last time I blogged for more than a month was six years ago, and that one had an obvious ending. I tried to revive it, but it kept waning. So, we'll see what happens. I think I'll keep at it this time, God willing.
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