Abroad On A Bike With A Broad On A Bike

First things first. The disclaimer. My wife, Reina, came up with the title of this piece, and if she’s okay with it I think we can all be okay with it. Get it? Got it? Good!

Sometimes I’m riding a long and my brain is in hyperpercolation mode and the ideas for my Life Cycles blog just pile up on top of each other. It’s like there’s this Blog Angel whispering in my left ear, saying “You could write this . . . and this . . . and this  . . . and this . . . and this!  And then there’s my Novel Angel whispering in my right ear, “But what about me? You’ve got to give me some attention. You’ve got to finish restructuring so you can get that first rewrite underway. “You’ve got lots of ‘splainin’ to do, Lucy” (Sometimes my Novel Angel channels Ricky Ricardo.) So I guess I’m slipping into that tormented, conflicted writer thing. Hooray! Well, on with today’s blog. The novel will just have to wait, Ricky. But that's good news for those of you who have been asking where's my Life Cycles blog fix!

In the early 2000’s Reina and I were blessed to go on four biking trips abroad. We traveled with Vermont Bike Tours. This is an amazing company . . . totally ‘Top Drawer” in every respect. From the relationships with the other riders and the leaders, to the detailed work involved in hauling people and bikes around countries, to the selection of beautiful and unique lodging, to the locales for their tours our experience of this company was superb. Check them out at VERMONT BIKE TOURS

Our first tour in 2001 was the “Salzburg Sojourn”. You meet at the train station in Salzburg and they haul you up an alp and then for a week you ride down the alp. You start with a stunning short ride to the tallest waterfall in Europe, complete with cows standing around wearing cowbells. Then you follow a river down the mountain for days stopping at beautiful bed and breakfast inns. The Austrians have a respect and reverence for bikes that we don’t find in most places in the U.S. There were times when we were on a ten foot wide asphalt bike path traveling through pristine forests. There were many times when automobiles would pull off the road to let us go by. Reina and I had a rather rude reintroduction to cycling in America the next week when we were nearly run off the road at a major intersection by a crazed parent on the way to drop off a teenager at school!  The tour concluded with a delightful bike tour around the city of Salzburg including Mozart’s home, and various scenes used in the filming of the The Sound Of Music. 

In 2002 we toured Prince Edward Island off the coast of Nova Scotia. More beauty to be sure and a lovely places to stay on each overnight, but here’s a little heads up for you. Never ever go on a bike tour where the description in the catalog says something like “Revel in the beauty of the windswept shoreline!” The winds on PEI were relentless. It didn’t matter which way you went, you were headed into the wind. How could that be? It’s still baffles us today. The whole island was covered with wind, every hour of every day. On more than one occasion we were pedaling hard going downhill because the wind was blowing us back up the hill! One day we rode on a road that had trees on both sides. We sighed and said, “Finally, a wind break.” Oh no, by friends. It turned out to be a wind tunnel! Enough said.

In 2003 we traveled around the big island of Hawaii to celebrate Reina’s 50^th birthday in our 50^th state. Pretty fun most of the time. There was the day that they took us to a volcano. Here’s Reina’s account of that day . . .

“When I was on a cycling adventure in Hawaii, sweating and powering myself up that volcano-high hill, feeling the fire in my thighs and the burning of each and every one of my cell fibers, my mind reeling with every reason why I should quit, all of a sudden my best friend Jesus was cradled in behind me. Wow! He was so close I could feel Him. And then "whooooosh"! Something changed. His feet nudged under mine atop those pedals, providing a source of power that enabled me to gain renewed strength and energy. Then he just jumped off the bike and ran behind me, giving me that amazing push that propelled me up the steep incline. And then there he was again, sharing my seat, pressing, pushing, controlling those pedals.

But wait! We arrived. We had reached the top of that mountain peak. Would I be on my own now? Would I be left alone to simply coast down the hill at a leisurely pace?

As soon as the two of us reached the summit, the peak of that mighty hill that just a few minutes ago we just seemed to float up, Jesus was on the handle bars...no He was snuggled in behind me on that tiny little bike seat... either way, there we were, flying down the straightaway, legs extended side by side, almost perpendicular to the bike, toes pointed up, the breeze whipping under and around us, our mouths an open door to every tropical insect flying by, as together we squealed with joy and delight.

What a rush! What a ride!

Jesus was my strength that day. He was and is my power every day. He loves to share my journey, support my challenges, and soar with me in every fun and beautiful moment in every day.”

Yeah, I know Reina should be the writer in the family, huh!

Then in 2004 we rode the Tuscan Coast. Nice enough ride with more extraordinary experiences and scenery, but the real revelation to us was two weeks after we returned a friend asked us to join him on a ride from Bonita to La Jolla. A 50 mile round trip from the inland area in the South County of San Diego to the North Coastal area of San Diego. Absolutely beautiful sunny blue day. Riding along the La Jolla coast and later sitting on the veranda of a restaurant overlooking one of the most scenic coastlines God has ever created, it dawned on us that we had spent thousands of dollars a few weeks before to travel to Italy and we had an even more enjoyable experience right in our own backyard. Sometimes you can go home again.

                   

When Passions Collide!

I love it when I can put together several things I love and wrap them into one big project. This blog is an example . . . writing about my life as seen through the lens of my cycling glasses and making connections to God at the same time.  

Five years ago I combined two of my passions, riding a bike and living a Christ-centered life. The result is San Diego’s Charitable Christian Cycling Group, Outspokin’ For Jesus!  (aka O4J)  This blog takes it a step further as I combine another passion of mine, writing.

San Diego had been named the best large city in the U.S. for cycling by BICYCLING magazine! (March, 2006) Indeed, San Diego County is the perfect place to enjoy cycling as a year round activity. It only rains 10 inches per year and 80% of that is between December and March. Average daytime temperature is 70 degrees throughout the year. Rides along the coast are among the most beautiful in the world! San Diego's terrain allows for all kinds of riding from very flat and easy to hilly and challenging. There are over two dozen national and international bicycle industry companies located in San Diego County. There are over 1400 miles of designated bike routes, paths, and trails in San Diego County. Einstein came up with the “theory of relativity” while riding a bike! What will you come up with?

Our charitable Christian cycling club engages in various activities enabling us to share our joy of biking and the spirit of Jesus Christ with others. Our club is open to all! We are Bible Believing Cyclists from across the San Diego County. There are no fees or dues, but you will need a bike! Our goal is making the world a better place on two wheels!

 

Here are some of our favorite club sayings. They kind of sum up what we’re all about!

Through our spokes . . . God speaks

Making The World A Better Place On Two Wheels

Ride To Eat . . . Eat To Ride

God is definitely at work in our midst! Take a look at some of the charity work we’ve done since January 7, 2006:

o   Created Outspokin’ For Jesus! teams to ride in the MS 150 Bay To Bay Bike Tours!  Our O4J teams raised $71,000 in the fight against Multiple Sclerosis over the past 3 years!

o   Sponsored our own charitable "Bikin' 4 Blankets" project, raising $4,645 for blankets. That's 660 life-saving blankets distributed to our mission in Tijuana, Mexico! (If you double-click on the filmstrip, the photos can be seen more easily!)
O4Jbikin4blankets.shutterfly.com

o   Donated 27 refurbished bikes to Family Resource Centers in Chula Vista and Rosarito!

o   Designed our own custom jerseys!

o   Participated as a team in Tour De Palm Springs, Tour De Poway, Rosarito-Ensenada, Midnight Madness, Southbay Expressway Grand Opening, and Four MS150 Bay To Bay Bike Tours!

o   Created our own ministry tract Keep Rolling With God!

o   Created booth display and materials to distribute at Cycle Eastlake & Bonitafest!

o   Adopted logo design for Outspokin’ For Jesus!

o   Completed trademark process for name and logo of Outspokin’ For Jesus!

o   Informed Public Works Department of mis-aligned grate on the Bayshore Bikeway.  Cyclists were in “grate danger” of getting a wheel caught!  The grate was replaced!

o   Conducted several mini-workshops and clinics on biking equipment, clothing, and accessories!

o   Created training accountability and training tips for MS Bay to Bay Bike Tour!

o   Promoted our ministry with Bike To Church Day!

o   Over 50 people have shared fun times and fellowship on the road!

You can learn a whole lot more about the fun we have at our website:

http://www.outspokin4jesus.com 

Like I said before, I love it when I can mix it up with a couple of things I love and the greater good is served as a result. I’m thinking that’s part of the plan He has for me. Very cool!

Things I've Seen While Riding A Bike!

Gimme That Stat!  (To the music of the "Batman Theme" but with the word "Statman" playing in your head where "Batman" should be!)

In its first two weeks of publication online, this Life Cycles blog has had over 1125 pageviews!  It’s been seen in 7 countries including, Uganda, Ghana, Australia, United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, and the USA!

In the past 24 months I’ve climbed 214,813 feet on my bike.  That’s the equivalent of climbing the highest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest, over 7 times!

From 2001 to 2010 I have ridden over 25,000 miles on my bikes.  That’s the equivalent of riding around the globe at the equator!

And yet I begin and end most rides in my driveway. Some might say I’ve really gone nowhere. Others might say I’ve been everywhere. Here’s a partial list of the things I’ve seen while riding my bike on the road . . .

·       A beached whale

·       Lizards

·       Rabbits

·       Squirrels

·       A herd of deer

·       A pod of dolphins swimming in the surf

·       Hawks (one dropped a rat on the pavement right next to me.  Seriously, the rat went splat right next to me! What was that all about?)

·       A big spider dangling from my leg. (I got off the bike and did a spastic arachnoleptic dance at a major intersection.  Must have been a sight to see!)

·       A Kestrel

·       Thousands of screeching crows at sunrise

·       Sparrows

·       Pelicans

·       An owl flying silently alongside me (Very cool and Harry Potterish!)

·       A hive of bees on the road

·       Spider webs across the road

·       Dogs

·       Toddlers (Maybe the most dangerous and unpredictable animal to have in front of you!)

·       Pigeons

·       Seagulls

·       A Wolf (In the fog on a hill . . . I think we were both wondering who was faster!)

·       Coyotes

·       Terns

·       Herons

·       Cranes (God made and man made)

·       Pipe Organ Concerts

·       Three lanes of cars parked in traffic for a mile while I zoomed by in the bike lane

·       Lawn Bowling

·       Frisbee Golf

·       Olympian Archers, Rowers, Soccer Players, Track & Field athletes, etc.

·       BMX Competition in half huge halfpipes

·       Elizabethan Pageants

·       Musicians

·       Magicians

·       Art Shows

·       Farmer's Markets

·       Flea Markets

·       Sand Castle Competitions

·       Cinco de Mayo street fairs

·       An evangelism crusade with 40,000 people attending 

·       Portable toilet being dangled 25 floors above the street . . . See Is There A Toilet Over Your Head?

·       Wind in my face for 85 miles of a 107 mile ride!

·       25 mph winds in my face going uphill in the desert

·       Hobos in their homes

·       The asphalt up close and personal at 18 mph . . . See In The Blink Of An Eye

·       The side of a minivan up close and personal when the driver decided to turn in front of me into a driveway without signaling

·       The rear wheel of my bike passing my front wheel when I slammed on the brakes to avoid a driver turning across the lane in front of me. We didn’t collide but my heart pounded hard for the first two hours at work that day!

·       Hundreds of cyclists dismounting their bikes and walking past a life flight helicopter parked in the middle of the road picking up a rider who had suffered a heart attack on a strenuous hill

·       Shards of glass and metal in my tires

·       Illegal aliens running through a valley

·       A helicopter overhead looking for the illegal aliens running through a valley

·       Children yelling for candy from the cyclists in a road trip in Mexico

·       Acres of beautiful flowers planted by people

·       Acres of beautiful flowers planted by God

·       A real salt mine.  It’s been there since 1870.  Second oldest business in San Diego County still doing business the way they did 140 years ago!

·       Thick wet blinding fog

·       Relentless punishing wind

·       Soaking to the bone rain

·       Blistering wavy line heat

·       People in the desert riding cruisers with sandals and no water bottles or tire tools

·       Car parts

·       CD’s

·       Cell phone parts

·       Paraplegic Olympic cyclists with hand cycles going much faster than me

·       Waterfalls in Austria

·       The gazebo used in the movie The Sound Of Music

·       Volcanoes on the big island of Hawaii

·       Promising sunrises

·       Beautiful tranquil sunsets

·       The “House Of Green Gables” on Prince Edward Island

·       The Tuscan coast

·       The Southern California coast

·       The house where L. Frank Baum wrote The Wizard Of Oz

·       Victorian hotels and homes

·       Oldest pedestrian suspension bridge in San Diego

·       Bloodied riders climbing out of a ravine on a curve they had taken too fast

·       Old road kill

·       New road kill

·       Litter

·       Unparalleled views on sunny blue days

·       Amazing inline skaters who easily beat me to a checkpoint 25 miles into the hills!

·       Absolutely drop dead gorgeous days

·       God’s creation laid out before me

Mountain Biking In 1887

What? Mountain Biking in 1887? Sure! We had mountains. We had bikes. A picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes as a writer doing research you come across the most interesting finds. For me, the picture below is a treasure.

  Edited from the image http://memory.loc.gov/master/pnp/cph/3g00000/3g03000/3g03000/3g03043u.tif found on the Library of Congress website.

Here’s the explanation of the picture from Wikipedia:  

"Bicycling", a ca.1887 color print showing one of the few ways in which it was socially acceptable for women to ride bicycles. The print shows a number of men riding big-wheel or "penny-farthing" bicycles, while a woman is riding a three-wheeled cycle, which appears to have little steering ability beyond manually braking one of the rear wheels slightly more than the other. The woman is probably riding in front partly for the reason that if she rode in back, the men would constantly have to be looking behind them, to make sure that they didn't quickly open up large gap by going much faster than she could.

Note how the man on the far right has his legs over the handlebars as he descends the hill to ensure that, should the large front wheel of the bicycle he is riding hit a rock, be caught in a rut or otherwise become unable to turn, he would be thrown off feet first, as opposed to head first ("taking a header") if seated with his feet on the pedals.

Tagging on to yesterday’s blog, I’ve often wondered “What Would Jesus Ride?” In the story, The Road Of Life, Jesus is riding a tandem bike; first as the Stoker in the back position, and then in the front position as Captain. That’s a wonderful image. We want Him to be the Captain of our lives.

But what if there wasn’t a tandem bike around? What would Jesus ride? Would he ride a mountain bike? A road bike? A BMX bike? A hybrid? An old beat up bike? A shiny new bike? A rowing bike? A track bike? A penny farthing? A recumbent bike? A touring bike? A sociable? An electric bike? A folding bike? An exercise bike? A stair-cycle? A conference bike?

Bikes . . . the creative mind of God shining through man’s inventions. Some of the bikes above you may have never heard of . . . like a conference bike where seven people face each other and ride and talk like in the photo below. Now there’s a piece of engineering! 

Photo and invention by Eric Staller

 Or how about the "Sociable"? A two person bike, but the two riders are side by side! 

Photo By Dale Hammerschmidt

Or how about a rowing bike? All the forward motion is done by pulling on the handlebar.

Photo by Richard Keatinge 

Or how about the recumbent bike? Every human powered vehicle speed record ever set has used the recumbent design. They were outlawed from the Tour De France back in the mid-1900's because they were too fast!

Public Domain  

Hmmmm . . . so many choices, and we've only scratched the surface of cycling!

So much creativity. 

What would Jesus Ride? 

Tell me what YOU think!

Jesus' Sandal On The Pedal

This is one of my favorite pieces of writing. Certainly it's an appropriate one to include in this blog about Writing A Life, While Riding A Bike.  

The Road Of Life may have first been quoted in the 1987 book, Holy Sweat, by Tim Hansel.  I came across it a couple of years ago when I started our Christian cycling club, "Outspokin' For Jesus!" It's a wonderful parable about trust, faith, living a full abundant life, and having a truly personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Yeah, I'm usually a little teary-eyed by the time I finish reading it. Trust doesn't always come easy for me.

Everywhere I've seen it on the Internet, its posted with the author unknown . . . apparently he or she wants it that way. May have something to do with giving gifts away. Still and all, I'd love to meet him or her someday and go for a bike ride together, just as a way of saying thanks. Enjoy the ride . . . Enjoy the road.  

 

The Road of Life

(Author Unknown)

 

At first, I saw God as my observer, my judge,
keeping track of the things I did wrong,
so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die.
He was out there sort of like a president.
I recognized his picture when I saw it,
but I really didn’t know him.

But later on when I met Jesus,
it seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride.
But it was a tandem bike,
and I noticed that Jesus was in the back helping me pedal.
I don’t know just when it was
that he suggested we change places,
but life has not been the same since.
When I had control, I knew the way.
It was rather boring, but predictable ...
It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when he took the lead,
He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains,
and through rocky places at breakneck speeds.
It was all I could do to hang on!
Even though it looked like madness,
He said, “Pedal!”
I worried and was anxious and asked,
“Where are you taking me?”
He laughed and didn’t answer,
and I started to learn trust.
I forgot my boring life
and entered into the adventure.
And when I’d say, “I’m scared,”
He’d lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed,
gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy.
They gave me gifts to take on my journey,
my Lord’s and mine.

And we were off again.
He said, “Give the gifts away,
they’re extra baggage, too much weight.”
So I did, to the people we met,
and I found that in giving I received,
and still our burden was light.
I didn’t trust him at first,
to control my life.
I thought he’d wreck it.
But he knows bike secrets,
knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,
knows how to jump to clear high rocks,
knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.

And I’m learning to shut up and pedal,
in the strangest places.
And I’m beginning to enjoy the view
and the cool breeze on my face
with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.

And when I’m sure I just can’t do anymore,
He just smiles and says ... "Pedal!"

Phun With Photos!

Speaking of colorful ideas!  My old buddy, David, played around with my photo and came up with his own interpretation, adding a few highlights and some color here and there. I like it. We really did have color in those days, we just weren't so good at recording it!

Below is another vintage photo of a guy on a bike. One of my favorites. It was taken in Santa Barbara of a guy named Albert. Someone recently said of my blog, "I can't believe you think of all these things while riding your bike." 

I guess I'm not the only one who thinks while he's riding a bike. I certainly wouldn't put myself in the same class as Albert. Albert was a lot smarter than me. "I thought of that while riding my bike," said Albert Einstein, on his theory of relativity.  Another of his famous quotes also could be the subtitle of this blog. "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving."  

Time to go for a ride with my Christian cycling club, Outspokin' For Jesus!  I've got some thinking and 'balancing' to do!

In The Blink Of An Idea

Last Spring I wrote a novel. 81,052 words. 289 pages in 7 weeks using the SOTP model - Seat Of The Pants. I’m inspired. I’m passionate. I’m writing purely from the heart. The story is just pouring out of me. This is a great book. I’m disciplined. I’m on task. I finish the novel.

Six weeks later I go to a Christian Writing Conference and I discover that the book I had written by the seat of my pants, is pretty darn engaging. At this kind of conference you get to ‘pitch’ your idea to agents, publishers, authors, etc. Four out of five people I pitch it to want me to send them more. But over the four-day conference I realize the book is nowhere near being ready to be seen by professionals in the field. I go back and kindly thank each one for their request to see more of my work, but I share that I have learned so much at the conference that I need to spend some more time with it before sending it to them to review. I had discovered that my seat of the pants approach was . . . well, let’s just say I had been wearing the wrong pants! Or maybe I was sitting in the wrong seat! My book was pretty heavily plot driven as opposed to character driven.

So I go back to square one, and start restructuring the book, but it’s a really slow, distracted process. Then I have the cycling accident that I described a couple of blogs ago, In The Blink Of An Eye. While I’m resting up after the accident I suddenly get the blink of an idea to write this blog. Try my hand at writing a little non-fiction. So my writing career takes on a whole new direction. It doesn’t have to look a certain way, right?

Ten days later I discover there’s a “Stats” tab on this website. Being the analytical type I start to revel in all the stuff I can see. I can see that there have been over 700 pageviews of my blogs. I can see how many times each of my blogs have been viewed. I can see they have been viewed in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Uganda. I can see that 37% are browsing with Internet Explorer, 28% are using Firefox, and 20% are using Safari. I can see that 52% are using Windows and 38% are using Macintosh platforms. I can see that 196 viewers have been referred from Facebook. I’m starting to think if I dig deep enough into this “Big Brother” pile of stats I’ll be able to see what people are wearing when they’re reading my blogs!

The point of all this simply is that sometimes you’re riding along, going down the road of life in a certain direction and then all the sudden you change course. It could be slamming down on the pavement at 18 mph In The Blink Of An Eye that causes you to change directions. Or it could be that still small voice whispering in your ear.

Those of you following this blog are going to know that I’m going to say it’s that Ghostwriter and Ghost Rider thing at work in me once again. Guiding my life, directing my purpose, giving me hope each day.

Where Two Or More Are Gathered On The Internet

The afternoon of my cycling accident, (see my In The Blink Of An Eye blog), I’m lying in bed with ice packs on five places on my body and bandages on six places. I’ve counted and recounted the 12 places total where there is no longer any skin. I read somewhere that our bodies replace one billion cells each hour. I figure my body is working overtime.

Facebook is an online party and I tend to live my life out at that party. It’s my own personal reality show. So I posted a notice about my biking accident and a flood of comments show up in my mailbox. Some are sympathetic. Some are comical. Some are prayers for my return to full health. I start contemplating contemporary versions of familiar Bible verses, like: “Where two or more are gathered on the internet, ‘there am I.”  (See my What If God Were On Facebook? blog). There’s a whole virtual church praying and caring for each other on Facebook.

Just to give you an idea of the breadth, depth, and power of cyberspace support I received, here are a few examples of how my social media community kicked into high gear . . .

“We need to design a costume for you. One with lots of padding!” (Delia)

“Good news Ron, that you are doing well, but listen, I know I can talk to my grandson to let you use his trike.  It’s a lot safer to ride!  All kidding aside stay safer! I’ve seen your exercise room in your home. May not be such a bad idea to use that exercycle in there. At least there are no train tracks and Reina will know where you are, where you are going and where you have been! Saves Reina doing the picking up "Humpty Dumpty" routine, huh!....Bahaha!”  (George) 

“Keep the tires down and the handlebar up...sort of a NASCAR for cycling thingy.” (Brian)

 “Ohhh...yikes...ouch! I can vividly picture this happening, just like a bad movie! So glad you weren't seriously hurt and let the healing begin.” (Terri)

“That deserves a frozen yogurt with extra sprinkles~praise!” (Delia)

“WOW. Glad you are relatively OK” (Mark)

“My horses don't trip on railroad tracks. People tell me horses are dangerous. I see you guys flying down hills with those cute little tight pants. Snicker, tee hee!” (Vicki)

“Wow Ron. You are working those angels overtime! Take care of yourself! Glad you are ok.” (Lisa)

“So glad you are OK Ron and love that you found blessings in your mishap!! Sorry to hear about your bike.” (Kim)

“My goodness, Ron. I'm so sorry you got hurt. I know you'll be sore for a while. Take care. Thank the Good Lord you didn't get hurt any worse.” (Ginny)

“You know I was pretty much amazed by you in high school (we won't state how long ago that was), but I am continuously and joyously amazed at you now that I am grown up (HA HA!!!) Your gifts are many and you are blessed because you are a BLESSING! Thank you for still sharing your gifts!”   PS. 63 miles on a bike ... are you kidding me? Amazing!” (Karen)

“Perhaps you should have stopped @ 62 miles! LOL” (Jan)

“Sudden stops with high inertia are not good!” (Jim)

“Ouch!” (Venus)

“You've been thrown a couple of "curve balls" here lately. So glad you are okay. Could the silver lining be that now you might get a new bike?” (Barbara)

“Be careful when crossing railroad tracks!” (Ellen)

“Wow! How scary! Super glad you are ok!”  (Melissa)

“Glad U R OK”  (Troy)

“Sorry I am just now realizing to say I am glad you are ok! Take Care!”  (Dale)

“Glad you are ok! Love your take on it.”  (Srta)

“Glad you are okay - be CAREFUL . . .”    (Karyn)

“Ouch! Feel better soon!”  (Jennifer)

“If it doesn't kill you, it only makes you stronger! Really glad you're okay, Ron (that feels weird to call you that). Didn't want you to think I took the fall lightly. Hope everything heals well too!”  (Mackie)

“Sorry to hear that. I'm sure relieved you didn't have more serious issues. However 10 + skidmarks ain't nothing pretty. 8-( Take it easy man!  I'm really happy your alright Mr. Bolles. Make sure you take good care of your wounds. Infection can enter the body even with the smallest of cuts. So please take care. God Bless & Goodnight!”  (Erica)

 “Ron - You are amazing!”  (Bonnie)

“Oh no! I'm glad you're all right, but still.... :(   (Andria)

“Oh my! What a scare... I'm glad your ok :)    (Lucia)

“Glad you’re relatively okay”  (Midge)

“Glad you are OK, heal fast, two weeks until our first choir practice”   (Leonard)

“I am impressed by your attitude and am glad our creator had you cradled, but take it easy! You still have a lot of music and blessings to offer!!!”  (Cecelia)

And one of my favorite comments when someone saw me bandaged up the next day . . . 

“Thriller video audition coming up?”  (Steve)

In The Blink Of An Eye

I could have titled this “Humpty Dumpty went on a ride. Humpty Dumpty had a big slide!”

A month ago I had a pretty serious accident on my bicycle. I was by myself in the 63rd mile of a bike ride when the front wheel of my bike gets caught in a railroad track and in the blink of an eye I switch from vertical to horizontal at 18 miles per hour. Now I learned long ago as a little kid that riding a bike vertically is a much better way to go down the street than riding it horizontally. Keep the handlebar up and the tires down.

What was I doing riding along a railroad track? Well, it’s an old remnant of a track that I’m guessing was laid down in the late 1800’s and is mostly buried in the asphalt. I was in a heavy industrial area and I had a choice to make. Take my chance with a semi truck that was backing out of a driveway or slip into the lane with the partially buried railroad track.

I’m not quite sure how far I skidded but I counted 12 spots (there’s that analytical OCD thing again!) where I no longer had skin! The amazing thing was that I had no broken bones. Seriously, for someone my age to hit the pavement at that speed wearing little more than underwear (you know what us bikers wear!), it's a miracle that I didn't get a much bigger hurt. Several of my friends have ended up with broken collar bones, arms, wrists, etc. The trick is that you’re supposed to go down with the bike and not put your hands or feet out to try and break the fall. That’s when you end up with broken bones.

Now understand I’m not saying I meant to go down with the bike. It just happened so fast that I don’t think I had a choice. As I hit the pavement I had one of those slow motion moments of crisis clarity where I literally felt the hand of God cradle me the moment I hit the ground. There was this peaceful soft voice in my head saying “This is going to hurt, but you’ll be okay. I’m here with you.” The Holy Ghost Rider was with me again. (See yesterday’s blog). In that instant I relearn that HIS grace is sufficient for me!

Its as if sometimes God has to slam me into the pavement at 18 mph to get my attention. So I understand that he wants me to trust him. So I remember that he loves me. So I experience firsthand the power that he put into my being. So I remember again that he has always been faithful. So I relearn that His grace is sufficient for me. To realize what Francis Chan says . . .  

"When you pray, your prayers are heard by the same God who answered Moses' prayers for water in the desert, the same God who gave Abraham and his barren wife a son, and the same God who made the slave Joseph second in power only to Pharaoh" (Who are we to think that God can no longer perform these miracles in our own life? He IS still that BIG and that GREAT!)

In an instant I pick myself up off the asphalt along with the pieces of my bike that have gone flying and this 'good Samaritan' nearby takes me in to a metal shop and helps me get cleaned up. He finds some first aid cream for the big wounds and makes sure I’m okay. Shakily I get on the bike (gotta get back on and ride, right?), and I go along for nearly a mile before having to shift gears. That’s when I realize the bike isn’t going to get me home. This ride is over. Going from 18 miles per hour vertically to 0 miles per hour horizontally is pretty tough on a bike, too.

I put in a call to my chauffeur-concierge doctor-wife, Reina, and I tell her “I’m done. Can you come pick me up at the Nature Center?” Now this is very unusual for me. I ride over 3000 miles a year and very rarely do I ever call Reina to come pick me up. It was 95 degrees that day and she figures after five hours of riding I’m half-baked. (Well, maybe I am half-baked, but that’s another blog!)  She arrives about 20 minutes later and sees the blood pouring down my leg and the tears on my face.

So why had I cried while I was sitting at the bus stop waiting for her to come pick me up? Probably lots of reasons. The emotional and physical trauma. My bike that I’ve ridden over 16,000 miles is thrashed. My body hurts. I’m not able to finish what I started out to do . . . all that. But mostly, because I realize that I am blessed beyond measure.

Then I do one of those ‘guy things’. Reina is holding me, comforting me, and I tell her, “This is going to sound crazy to you, but we have to drive straight to the bike store to see if they can fix my bike!”