Reflections From A 60 Mile Bike Ride

Yep, the title is right.  I willingly went on a 60 mile bicycle ride from Avon, CO to Glenwood Springs, CO.  The ride consisted of 3 major segments.

Section 1: The Fun and Easy Downhill. The first section of the ride was scenic and mostly downhill.  Most importantly, I wasn’t tired yet.

Section 2: Why Am I Doing This? The middle section was by far the toughest.  Not only had fatigue set in and the scenery went from quaint mountain towns to ugly mining town (everything is uglier when you’re tired), but the trail (US Highway 6) ran on the right-hand side of Interstate 70.  Having cars and trucks zip right by you at 70 miles per hour makes you feel like you’re moving at a snail’s pace… which is about the worst motivation possible at that moment.

Section 3: Driven By The Bacon Cheeseburger. Glenwood Canyon is one of the most scenic, beautiful trails in the country.  Cliffs climb thousands of feet straight up into the sky on either side of you as a huge river rolls downhill alongside you.  Guess what defined this section of the ride for me: my desire for a bacon cheeseburger with guacamole.  That’s what kept me going.  Not the beauty and majesty of the canyon… not the glory of accomplishment… but the hunger in my belly that I knew could only be satisfied at the end of the trail.

It was a truly epic ride that left me pondering…

1.  Training and proper gear are key. One third of our biking party was my triathlon-running brother-in-law on his road bike.  The other 2-thirds of this crew consisted of me and my father-in-law, Orville, on our mountain bikes.  Now, don’t get me wrong, Orville and I are not couch potatoes – I’ve been training for a half-marathon in September and Orville plays on several softball teams and works out several times a week.

My father-in-law and I were smoked by the guy with the training and the right gear.  Pushing our mountain bikes and the knobby-dirt-loving trails over miles and miles of paved trail proves to be a huge, painful task for our non-bicycle-conditioned legs.  Not so for my well-geared brother-in-law.

Which brought me to the realization that …

2.  Un-Preparedness Leads to Struggle Rather than Enjoyment. There was so much beauty and potential fun moments that I could have appreciated a whole lot more if I wasn’t struggling for two thirds of the ride.  Yes, struggle makes us stronger. But how often do we experience struggle as a result of not being prepared?

The prolonged pedaling, fatigue, and hunger also revealed that…

3. Motivation Doesn’t Have To Be Noble. There is nothing noble about hunger.  It’s the most primal and basic a need we humans have.  That was the driving force within me.  I’m a pastor that loves the outdoors.  Shouldn’t I have been motivated by the natural beauty of God’s creation that surrounded me?  Absolutely!  The problem was that my natural self had taken over.  All I wanted was to finish the ride and taste the goodness of the bacon cheeseburger with guacamole.  And y’know what… I finished and it tasted great.

So how does that ride related to life for you and me?

• Which section of the ride do you find yourself in the various parts of your life?  Your job?  Your marriage?  Your walk with God?
• Are you prepared for the ride?  Have you taken time to rest and prepare for the challenges you’re facing right now?  For you Jesus followers, have you spent time preparing yourself by resting in him and reading his word?
• Are you motivated to finish?  The motivation doesn’t have to be noble.  It just has to get you across the finish line.

13 Adventures In 15 Days

Today I got to thinking about how awesome life here in Branson is. The awesome part comes as I stay open to Jesus and go through doors of adventure he presents. Here the 13 adventures I’ve had over the last 15 days.

1. Hiked to a Mountain Lion’s Kitchen Table a Second Time. Yep, the dogs and I found a place with a recently gnawed bone and a big pile of fresh big cat scat right next to it. I didn’t stay there very long. As if once wasn’t enough, the second time around I took my sister, a good friend, and 2 girls I was trying to convince to be our female sponsors for our adventure camping trip along. No one was eaten.

2. Mountain Biking at Night. I didn’t blog about this one, but I did talk about it in a recent sermon (listen to it or download it here ). Downhill, no visibility, rocky road, oak brush…. nuff said.

3. Worship Under the Stars. The night before we rafted, we were invited to join a college group for some music and worship around their campfire. It was breathtaking.

4. Whitewater Rafting. Blogged about this here.

5. Camping 15 feet from a raging river. Ditto on the last post.

6. Rock Climbing. Blogged about it here.

7. Hitch Hiking. I’m working on that blog right now. That whole day was crazy.

8. Hot Springs Swimming. Warm, fun, waiting for lost keys to show up…. oh no, I’m giving away details on the upcoming blog!

9. Horseback Riding. I helped gather a pasture of cows and calves with 2 of my favorite people on the planet: my cousin Dan and my Grandad Tanky.

10. Swashbuckling. I was Pirate Bones (the comic relief) and the game guy for our pirate-themed VBS, which was this past week. Talking in a pirate voice for 3 straight days will leave your throat trashed. It was awesome. Here’s a highlight video.

11. Standing next to 2 Kodiak Bears. They were dead. I got to visit a homestead where a friend had grown up. His father was a serious big game hunter and had an incredible trophy room. 2 Kodiak bears, a polar bear, a moose, several caribou, lots of antelope, a bull elk, and lots of knickknacks from traveling the world. That room had volumes of adventure stories to tell.

12. Wild Grass Fire Fighting. I just blogged about this here.

13. Cliff Diving. Today I made my first trip to Trinchera Falls: the local swimming hole and possible greatest kept secret on the planet. The swimming was phenomenal. There is an archaeological dig just up the creek if you want to see some ancient cave drawings. Oh yeah, and I jumped off a 25 foot cliff into the water.

Coming up in the next month: a 50-mile bike ride and adding a third little boy to the mix (in that order).

So who wants to move to Branson?

But really, location doesn’t matter if you’re open to adventures the Lord puts in your path. There will always be details to take care of and bills to pay. Take advantage of open doors and let God weave some wonderful memories for you. It’s quite a ride.

Loading Up My Quiver On the Tea Cup Ride

We’re about to shift from man-to-man defense to zone.

According to my brother-in-law (and father of of 3), that’s that way it works.  Other dads of three say the same thing… along with more gray hair, or increasing lack of hair or, or complaints about their membership fees to Starbucks anonymous (caffeine is one of God’s more wonderful gifts to mankind).

There’s still tons to get done… putting together bunk beds and convincing both older boys that they want to share a room now… getting the garden totally planted… writing grants for our local school… curing cancer.  Somehow it will all get done (I hope).  Having three little arrows in my quiver will be awesome.

In about 6 hours I’m leaving on a 4 day rafting and rock climbing trip with our teens from church.  Three nights in tents with no showers.  Hoo boy!  To top it all off, I went on a grueling/exhilerating/insane mountain bike last night with a buddy (so I’m really tired right now) and only got about three hours of sleep last night  (so I’m really tired right now) which is common for me before big trips like this.  Oh yeah, I have to go preach in a couple of hours from now.

Amidst all this chaos, I keep reminding myself of the counsel I’ve been giving several friends and community members over the last several weeks:  God is in complete control and everything that happens is part of His plan to mold us into who He wants us to be.

Good to remember during the Tea Cup Ride known as life.