tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67928085551351927502024-03-18T20:17:00.234-07:00Life CyclesWriting A Life While Riding A Bikedirectoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-8059840559504589662014-11-05T14:13:00.001-08:002014-11-05T14:13:29.273-08:00Worship Is... What?!<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">WORSHIP IS . . . WHAT?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Two Scenarios: <o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Pastor
invites friend over to help out on Sunday morning<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Game
Time: “Make Some Noise”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">wor·ship <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Christian
worship joyfully ascribes all praise and honor, glory and power to the triune
God. In worship the people of God acknowledge God present in the world and in
their lives. As they respond to God’s claim and redemptive action in Jesus
Christ, believers are transformed and renewed. In worship the faithful offer
themselves to God and are equipped for God’s service in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Presbyterian Book of Order W-1.000000</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">wor·ship <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: rgb(232, 236, 245); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><b><i><span style="color: #717274; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">noun</span></i></b><span style="background: rgb(232, 236, 245); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="color: #717274; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">\</span><span style="color: #717274; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ˈ</span><span style="color: #717274; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">wər-shəp <b><i>also</i></b> </span><span style="color: #717274; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ˈ</span><span style="color: #717274; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">w</span><span style="color: #717274; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ȯ</span><span style="color: #717274; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">r-\</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">:
the act of showing respect and love for a god especially by praying with other
people who believe in the same god : the act of worshipping God or a god<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">: excessive admiration for someone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: right; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Merriam Webster
Dictionary<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">(Webster considered education
"useless without the Bible")</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Scary Stats: <o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">In a 1999 research
study by Barna Research Group, Ltd., disturbing statistics were discovered
regarding the worship experience of regular church attendees (NOT the
Poinsettia and Lily crowd!) in American churches. Results included:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">Ø<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Two
Thirds of faithful church-goers cannot give an adequate definition of worship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">Ø<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">One-Third
of church attending adults stated they have never experienced God’s presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">Ø<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">One-Half
of regular church attendees asserted they have not experienced God’s presence
in the last year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Biblical
understanding of worship: Worship is not
a suggestion it is an often repeated command. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> “Ascribe
to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord… (Psalm 29:2)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> “Worship
the Lord in the splendor of holiness…” (Psalm 96:9)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> “You
shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve” (Matthew 4:10)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> “<span style="background: #FAF9F6;">And all the angels were standing around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever
Amen." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> (Rev. 7:11-12)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> “Your kingdom come, Your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">First three of the
Ten Commandments are about worship:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You
shall have no other gods before Me.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You
shall not make idols.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You
shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Worship may be the
most important thing we teach and do since we will be doing it for all
eternity. It is one of our most important purposes in life as is an essential
part of our beingness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> “Worship is written upon the heart of man by
the hand of God… In a broad sense worship is inseparable from and is an
expression of life. It is not that man cannot live without worship, it is that
he cannot truly live without worship…man was made to worship as surely as he
was made to breathe. We may restrict the expression of worship for a season,
just as we may briefly hold our breath, but there is an inward craving for
worship that cannot be permanently stilled.”
- Judson Cornwall <i>The Practice of
Praise<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Worship challenges of
those who work at church on Sunday mornings.<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">The enemy of our
souls understands the priority of worship. The truth is that Satan will often
tempt you and me in the same way he did Jesus. If he cannot get us to worship
him, then he will do everything he can to keep us busy with mundane tasks,
problems in life, etc. He will even help keep us busy with church activities in
order to keep us from focusing on the Lord and worshipping Him. Do not fall for
his ploys. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> Worship. It is and always will be
our first priority.” - Tom Kraeuter <i>Worship Is… What?!<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">TABLE TALK . . .<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Discuss which of these worship experiences you can relate
to:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">It is the priority of your life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">It starts in your heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">It proceeds from heart to action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">It is a response to God, a giving to God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Your conscience has been quickened by the holiness of God<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Your mind is fed by the word of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">You heart is open to the love of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Your will is devoted to the purpose of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">What does your worship life look like on Sunday mornings? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Is there somewhere else, some other time you practice worshipping?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">How do you respond to traditional/liturgical elements of
worship? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> Do they have meaning for you, or are
you simply reciting familiar words?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> Does singing familiar hymns bring
you into a worshipful, heartfelt, honoring God, giving Him glory kind of
place?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> When the choir sings is it a worship
experience for you, or is it more like a performance to break up the service?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> Do you feel like you are brought
into the presence of God by the music?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> Do you wonder how many people stand
during worship due to peer pressure or because of genuine heartfelt worship?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FAF9F6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> Does the music portion of the
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gallery, book, performance, or film? Try to explain what happened to you and
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directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-15318708054991257802014-04-15T19:48:00.000-07:002014-04-15T19:48:38.868-07:00An All Y’All Anecdote<div class="post-entry" style="border: 0px; clear: both; color: #404040; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://ljpres.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tomb.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="tomb" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1442" height="320" src="http://ljpres.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tomb.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 5px 20px 20px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="237" /></a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-align: justify;">While on the LJPC Holy Land Tour last November led by Stan and Marie Beard, I often found myself in a state of wonder. Of the many magical moments that moved this old music man, none compared to an extraordinary event at the tomb where Jesus was taken following His crucifixion. Our group had just finished viewing the tomb and had gone to a shaded area on the grounds. Surrounded by olive trees, we reflected on what we had just experienced and prepared to take communion together.</span></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”</i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Stan had just finished reading Matthew 28: 5-7 when, as if on cue, a group of Christians under the canopy next to us began singing . . . in Korean. Although we didn’t understand their words, we knew ours by heart and without so much as a nod from anyone in our group we spontaneously joined them through the universal languages of music and Christianity. Truly an “All Y’All moment as we sang:</span></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I serve a risen Savior,<br />He’s in the world today,<br />I know that He is living,<br />Whatever men may say.<br />I see His hand of mercy,<br />I hear His voice of cheer,<br />And just the time I need Him<br />He’s always near.</i></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!<br />He walks with me and He talks with me<br />Along life’s narrow way.<br />He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!<br />You ask me how I know He lives:<br />He lives within my heart.</i></div>
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<a href="http://ljpres.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/nothere.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="nothere" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1443" height="203" src="http://ljpres.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/nothere.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 5px 20px 20px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit;">The vastness of the global Christian community overwhelmed me as East met West less than fifty feet apart. A ‘Divine Appointment’ such as this could only have been orchestrated by God Himself. If one little tumbler hadn’t clicked exactly at the right time in the complex itineraries of these two tour groups we would have never touched greatness in this extraordinary moment. Though normally separated by miles, cultural differences, and languages, we joined in the same place at the same time sharing our common faith in the risen Savior living in our hearts.</span></div>
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directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-56918366168409952582014-04-15T19:40:00.000-07:002014-04-15T19:49:55.703-07:00The Coolest Community . . . Forever!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="http://ljpres.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Mar-6-Ron-Bolles.jpg" style="background-color: #d5cdb8; border: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Mar-6-Ron-Bolles" class="alignright size-full wp-image-1304" src="http://ljpres.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Mar-6-Ron-Bolles.jpg" height="268" style="border: 4px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 5px 0px 20px 20px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="400" /></a><span style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">What’s the coolest community you’ve ever been in . . . Your neighborhood . . . Your workplace . . . Your school . . . Your growth group?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">For us as Christians, the greatest community possible is one that includes God. That’s right! Our almighty Father, the Creator of the entire universe, invites YOU and ME to be in community with HIM! How cool is that? In a world where increasingly many find community only on digital devices and gadgets, as believers we can skip right past the technology and go directly to the source of all that is or ever will be. God promises to be in community with each one of us.<i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.</i> Matthew 18:20 (NIV)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Did you ever notice that the word ‘unity’ is embedded in ‘community’? To be in unity we must have trust and love. That’s the endgame . . . creating unity with others and with God through following His invitation to spend time with Him. The challenging part as we commune with God is to de-clutter our minds, to be good listeners, intent on hearing that “still small voice”.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Here’s a Lenten challenge for you. Spend a minimum of four minutes a day in prayer with someone you love. Pray for each other. Pray for family members. Pray for friends, the church, the world, and then . . . listen. My wife and I have been doing this for some time. We believe this habit is deepening our relationships in the coolest community forever. (And yes, listening is the hardest part!)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Over the past 40 years I’ve been blessed to direct six church choirs. So many extraordinary moments made even more intense through God’s gift of music. Members of these choirs became close, like an extended family, oftentimes the ‘largest small group’ in the church. The root of the word “choir” in Hebrew comes from the ancient root that refers to community! It’s only natural for me to end this devotional with music. Please get together with one or more loved ones and listen to The Brilliance singing <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Breathe</i> at the link below. Let their song be your prayer to conclude today’s devotional while you listen for what God is saying to you! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7zQ6g-yy3M" style="border: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7zQ6g-yy3M</a></span></div>
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directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-54036303132085608432011-09-30T13:14:00.000-07:002011-09-30T13:14:05.254-07:00I Got Knocked Off My Bike By A Truck Today!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Out for a ride today . . . riding safe . . . riding smart . . . riding with Jesus as usual. I've ridden over 30,000 miles on the roads over the past dozen years. Today was different.<br />
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Despite my brightly colored jersey, bright red bike, and bright flashing tail light, a driver in a large pick up truck apparently did not 'see' me or perhaps thought she could "beat me" and turned into a driveway in front of me, knocking me off my bike. Note in the photo below . . . I call it "The Scene Of The Crime" . . . that there is a solid white line indicating the bike lane that I was in at the time. <br />
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Cyclists: It's just paint on pavement. It will not protect you in your bike shorts from 3000 pound vehicles. It is not a concrete barrier that will cause cars and trucks to be deflected away from your right of way. The law may be on your side, but a truck can be on your side even faster! Ride safe. Ride smart. Please share your thoughts and comments below.<br />
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Drivers: Please watch out for people riding bikes on the roads. Please share the road with courtesy and grace toward cyclists. You are surrounded by tons of metal, plastic, rubber, seatbelts, airbags, glass, etc. Cyclists are wearing little more than their underwear. Drive safe. Drive smart. Please share your thoughts and comments below.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60Sk7WeYUciKrl7i9gpnzRCXrp9QeE0Yfj6su2wNwMmb5RqhU4DUA7DYRBJUo4bYTJm5ZHd1Qz9faPQjLnBQr-LaZsatynqWb-zQZF0FPvAfmTk2A_sUUw66Cz6dH6W5LlQpgVjyisyk/s1600/Scene+Of+The+Crime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60Sk7WeYUciKrl7i9gpnzRCXrp9QeE0Yfj6su2wNwMmb5RqhU4DUA7DYRBJUo4bYTJm5ZHd1Qz9faPQjLnBQr-LaZsatynqWb-zQZF0FPvAfmTk2A_sUUw66Cz6dH6W5LlQpgVjyisyk/s640/Scene+Of+The+Crime.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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P.S. I appear to be fine. My bike appears to be fine. Good thing I was riding with Jesus!directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-21301859287648533992011-06-10T08:52:00.000-07:002011-06-11T07:37:25.789-07:00I Get More Green Lights When I Read The Bible!<div style="text-align: justify;"><style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Okay, maybe not really. But life does seem to flow much easier for me when I’m in the word. My road of life seems a bit smoother with a peace and prosperity in my soul that passes all my understanding. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">One of the regular readers of this blog asked the question some time ago, are these literal or metaphorical experiences? The answer is both. My job is not to convert. Only God can do that. I am simply sharing my observations, my take, my spin, (see what I did there?), on life and what makes it meaningful. I simply share what's been pressed on my heart to write. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Speaking of some time ago, although I haven’t written on this blog for several months due to deadlines on a book my wife and I were writing as well as lots of consultant work, the number of hits on this blog has continued to rise. We’re up to 3,600 viewers from 45 countries around the world. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">What if someone reads this blog who isn’t a follower of Christ? Hallelujah! I hope they do! Not being a follower of Christ doesn't mean that a person can't be a follower of this blog. Since we're all made differently with our own purpose and plan, each person will have their own 'take away' from these blog pieces. To be honest, I've wrestled with this a lot since starting this blog. Toeing the line between being too preachy, too teachy, or just plain banal. I have so much to learn about this craft and how to appeal with artistry and insight to the largest number of folks in the fewest, choicest words.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">One of my frequent bike rides is to the beach. There’s a mural on the side of a building depicting the resurrection scene but with modern day people from all walks of life attending. There is a reflection on a scripture reference at the bottom of the mural “For those who have not read the word this is foolishness. For those who have read the word they know it is the power of God.” . . . 1 Cor 3:18-23</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">That would be my challenge to anyone reading this blog. STOP READING THIS BLOG AND READ THE BIBLE EACH DAY INSTEAD! Come on . . . is there really a choice between reading my word and God's word? Seriously, read the whole Bible cover to cover. As the history and mystery of several thousand years written by 40 authors unfolds you’ll be amazed at how it all applies to your life. Issues that the children of God were dealing with 5000 years ago are still being dealt with in our world today. We don’t want to offend anyone by saying the G word, or the J word, or the C word. Think that’s new? Read about when the exiles were returning to Jerusalem. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">My experience of reading the Bible cover to cover was that my life was forever changed. The timeless truth of the WORD shared directly from the Creator of the Universe. Absolutely mindblowing, heartblowing, soulblowing stuff. Make a bold commitment. Take the challenge and read it for yourself and see what your experience is. Find a Bible-based church family to join. Ask questions. Get into a small group or Bible study. You may find there are more green lights in your life!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">As always I invite your comments below.</span></div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-23462046209580310302011-01-30T06:57:00.000-08:002011-07-08T08:30:12.640-07:00Choose And Move!Sometimes I think I wait too long.<br />
The paralysis of analysis.<br />
Or just plain procrastination.<br />
Or too many things on my plate. (And no, getting a bigger plate hasn't helped!)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I recently got a new pair of pedals for my bike. I've ridden with clip-in pedals for the past 7 years. I can't seem to get a straight answer on how long these pedals are supposed to last, but I'm thinking 17,000 miles was stretching it a bit. The deal with clip-in pedals is that the rider is directly connected to the bike. A little daunting at first when you realize that you are "As One" with the bike. It is truly a marriage of muscle and machine.The power transfer increases dramatically because you are not simply pushing down on the pedals (like when you were a kid), but you are also pulling back through part of the pedal stroke so you ride further, faster, stronger, etc. Ah, engineering. Gotta love it!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMTSDqBzpb4Tr3EDRcbvXPIWc6x3U7pe4yFWVYDqxSnIZ4mqKVHWxw08z_NdfyQefhvA5MA9PXHhjgBKTwt6Oav1jtoYazZeEAP3uSA3zJWallMq3uetN7nkk5IMK_rLtPc8mJOTsyGV0/s1600/SPD+Pedal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMTSDqBzpb4Tr3EDRcbvXPIWc6x3U7pe4yFWVYDqxSnIZ4mqKVHWxw08z_NdfyQefhvA5MA9PXHhjgBKTwt6Oav1jtoYazZeEAP3uSA3zJWallMq3uetN7nkk5IMK_rLtPc8mJOTsyGV0/s400/SPD+Pedal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Trouble is, my pedals were really old and I had worn them down to a point where my knees were being affected because they were slightly out of proper alignment. My tibia was actually rotating out of place and causing tarsals in my foot to get out of whack. (Yeah, "whack" is the medical term!)</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhojijKBVExP0sMW_d1-FaxEh9WDeyz8lfA08S1vwmR5d_xFWbGtd305mDYVPwO4_jwKmNTAThLnMpp0-yz1g3xhmH4nznQGfLUfDyB9E-U0z9lEiyrvvTnV0fVlLImiHE405CzQch1ed8/s1600/Knee+Rotation+On+Clipless+Pedal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhojijKBVExP0sMW_d1-FaxEh9WDeyz8lfA08S1vwmR5d_xFWbGtd305mDYVPwO4_jwKmNTAThLnMpp0-yz1g3xhmH4nznQGfLUfDyB9E-U0z9lEiyrvvTnV0fVlLImiHE405CzQch1ed8/s640/Knee+Rotation+On+Clipless+Pedal.jpg" width="363" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> You see the pedal is connected to the foot bone and . . .</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The foot bone connected to the (pause) leg-bone,</div>The leg bone connected to the (pause) knee bone,<br />
The knee bone connected to the (pause) thigh bone,<br />
The thigh bone connected to the (pause) back bone,<br />
The back bone connected to the (pause) neck bone,<br />
The neck bone connected to the (pause) head bone,<br />
Oh hear the word of the Lord!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">ALL TOGETHER NOW!</div><br />
Dem bones, dem bones gonna RIDE a-roun'<br />
Dem bones, dem bones gonna RIDE a-roun'<br />
Dem bones, dem bones gonna RIDE a-roun'<br />
Oh hear the word of the Lord<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">But I digress . . . </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The point of all this is that as soon as I went for a ride on my little red bike with the newly replaced pedals, I felt like I was on a brand new bike. The power transfer from me to the bike was much improved and gone was the looseness in the old pedals that had probably caused my knee problems. (Let's sing the song again!) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">So it's my head bone I'm really talking about here. How often in life do I <b>not</b><i> </i>choose AND move? For whatever reason, rationale, or excuse, I sometimes fail to act. You see, choosing a path is one thing. Going down that path is another thing. In cycling vernacular it's where "The rubber meets the road." In church they might say, "Putting feet on your prayers." In writing they might say, "Putting wings on your words". (I made that last one up!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">You see, it's developing that culture of "AND" in yourself AND in others. Empowering yourself to move forward (like on a bike), AND empowering others to move forward with you. Could be your spouse. Could be your children. Could be your students. Could be your neighbors. Could be your colleagues. Could be your friends. Could be your small group. Could be your accountability partner. Could be countless unseen, unknown people on down the road of your eternal life. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">All those 'coulds' and 'ands' in life add up, don't they? The powerful, imaginative, loving people God created us to be can only be unleashed to roll down the road of life if we are truly connected (like a cyclist to his bike), to who God designed us to be, AND to the Creator himself.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Did you pick up on the 'ands' in that verse? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I choose to move AND be connected 'as one' to God. </div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-5096676226733546562011-01-07T06:37:00.000-08:002011-01-08T17:31:08.065-08:00Pictures Of My HeroYesterday I rode my bike out to our church to ask a question about the Children's Ministry. When I pulled open the main door our Worship Pastor, Steve, put a video camera in my face and asked me who my hero was. Standing there with my helmet on and my bike in hand, I answered without any hesitation. (I think if there's any hesitation involved it may be later on when the pastors are contemplating which 'video interviews' to cut from the upcoming message series on Heroes. The thought of putting me up on two 10' by 10' screens wearing that much spandex is downright scary. Probably just as well that I end up on the 'cutting room floor'.)<br />
<br />
Back to the story. So I'm asked who is your hero and I quickly skip through all the athletes, astronauts, action figures, military leaders, world leaders and spiritual leaders, and went straight to somebody I knew really well . . . my mom.<br />
<br />
My dad skedaddled, (funny how "dad" is in the middle of that word!), when he decided marriage wasn't a good fit for him. My mom packed up the car with her mother, me, and whatever else she could fit into a navy blue 1949 Ford and drove from El Paso to San Diego at the ripe old age of twenty-two. Just to make sure we're clear here, Mom was twenty-two. I wasn't even two. She had no friends, no relatives, no job in San Diego. She had visited once with my Dad and thought it looked like a nice place to live. There was a great zoo you could take a kid to. 1950 was a different time. She was a courageous young lady. Mom had dropped out of college to get married and bounced around the country with my Dad as he worked his way through a series of jobs as an engineer.<br />
<br />
She quickly found work in San Diego, soon bought a home and showered a whole lot of love on our tiny little family of three generations. Yes, I was raised by two women. Men, if you ever get into a game of "Battle Of The Sexes" you definitely want me on your team. I know way too many answers on those female cards! <br />
<br />
Carving out a living in the 1950's wasn't easy for a single mom. This was way before the "Women's Lib" movement of the late 1960's. She complained about doing the same work as a man and getting paid less for it. But being the head of the family she had to be first and foremost a problem solver. So she took on a second job, running her own business teaching piano in the evenings. Soon she had a full 'studio' of kids and was putting on annual recitals.<br />
<br />
There was always a shortage of money. Mom spent hours budgeting to make the ends meet, but through it all there never was a lack of love. Not only did she shower love on me, but she also shared with me the great loves of her life: God, family and music. Those loves and values became so central to my being that to this day, sixty years later, I look back and see how those things are the solid foundation upon which my life has been built. Dragging up a kid with a passion for God, family and music . . . not a bad way to go! You did good, mom. Real good.<br />
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Oh, she also instilled in me her love of riding. When she was a kid growing up in southeastern Colorado it was riding horses. As a teenager, she became a state champion trick rider. That was just before the high school Principal came to call her out of class and tell her that her dad had been killed in a plane crash. He was an avid pilot and apparently some kid working at the airport had filled the gas tank with water instead of gas. Hard to believe, huh? Small town. Small airport. 1943. I guess it could happen. <br />
<br />
So for me, growing up in the city, she instilled the love of riding a bike. We lived a pretty hardscrabble life, but somehow she found the money to help put me through college and then ten years later she put herself through college, meanwhile adopting a baby out of an orphanage in Tijuana. Single women in the 1960's had a hard time adopting a child on this side of the border.<br />
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But the first big expense I remember was my shiny red Schwinn bike. With that bike, mom taught me that persistence and hard work always paid off. There wasn't money to buy training wheels for that bike. I'd like to say I had to learn the hard way, riding it by myself, but the black and white picture at the top of this blog of me riding that bike doesn't show the back end of the bike. The truth is my mom was there, running down the street right behind me, keeping me upright, steering me in the right direction, giving me the support I needed to move forward. Yeah, she kept on doing that as I was growing up.<br />
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Okay, I'm getting a little misty here as I write this. I guess I've needed to write this down for some time. Time to lighten up a little bit. Mom also had a great sense of humor. That lives on in her son, too. In case you missed last month's blog piece, <b><i>When Bears Talk,</i></b> it's still posted here. It's a four minute animation script I wrote to promote our annual Christmas concert at our church. Check it out, the early reviews are already in. Mark said it was <b>"Comedy Genius"</b>. Max said it was <b>"Golden Globe"</b> material. Heather said it was <b>"Riveting"</b>. Cathy and Gina both agreed it was <b>"Hilarious"</b>. Dave said it had <b>"Oscar Potential"</b> (Animated Short). Andria said it was <b>"Awesome, Too Funny"</b>. John said it was <b>"Not Boring"</b>. (You'll have to watch it to understand that last review!)<br />
<br />
Mom passed away after her second bout with cancer in 1990 at the way too young age of 62. I'm 62 now. Below are a few pictures of my hero. You can see her halo in one of them.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-p1l-VI1XyDOYBUuYqjv2kKuHNFBdsdkcgAxTlRtQ0McRAf8aWPh3wcGTCtl1SNqyUQD4FzbUDDs-qra89dy8-8zSUZUyb7LfUBOOtIgO3P5yuJEVUDg5nkLghU7VG7dk05miNJTaYU/s400/Mom+and+Ron+1948.jpg" width="400" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mom and I in 1948 in El Paso, Texas. That love you see in her face . . . </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">it was was always there throughout my life. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(I'm thinkin' those are my diapers on the clothesline!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKU9MvKGY9xTEje7Us-D_2GY4uBTOvNZB-ZEaHwkl_hUNRzIry8hPX4bnrhO929sgQ8m1CFvSUsfTc_6PrCvFUbuT5OpvWY3OVRiseh-PCtWQh8OdcFhW6XWBpyTloYSC7Snkhev5g8ms/s1600/Our+Tiny+Family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKU9MvKGY9xTEje7Us-D_2GY4uBTOvNZB-ZEaHwkl_hUNRzIry8hPX4bnrhO929sgQ8m1CFvSUsfTc_6PrCvFUbuT5OpvWY3OVRiseh-PCtWQh8OdcFhW6XWBpyTloYSC7Snkhev5g8ms/s320/Our+Tiny+Family.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Our tiny family, Thanksgiving, 1952</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGKVKaWk98QWUmLwzVf4v0Dcxk3ksCQegYgbuuxvGaZVSnUouG-C1xDz8rNhiszFFV_F6EcUCl-IMcOhduL9NFBOfdURKikMiBvs8NJlGRpDypnc0GWZ2GZprMNO-b4rf8Zt2olBiGJTk/s1600/Ron+%2526+Mom+at+the+Zoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGKVKaWk98QWUmLwzVf4v0Dcxk3ksCQegYgbuuxvGaZVSnUouG-C1xDz8rNhiszFFV_F6EcUCl-IMcOhduL9NFBOfdURKikMiBvs8NJlGRpDypnc0GWZ2GZprMNO-b4rf8Zt2olBiGJTk/s320/Ron+%2526+Mom+at+the+Zoo.jpg" width="196" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Mom and me by a camel at the San Diego Zoo on my birthday, 1954</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2anEcnYpwN2H0yOuwEkK9aMANBIi-pe6jSkv6LazngbiNyrsUCUoHSF8F6geGBwMAI-Gxtu1F6SZLBmgZX5fD-rOz19EW4ylLl6LGS54qE1FcV2tKZ8n2SI0KPgPkp3EDZtMYqd-7cgE/s1600/Mom%2527s+Halo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2anEcnYpwN2H0yOuwEkK9aMANBIi-pe6jSkv6LazngbiNyrsUCUoHSF8F6geGBwMAI-Gxtu1F6SZLBmgZX5fD-rOz19EW4ylLl6LGS54qE1FcV2tKZ8n2SI0KPgPkp3EDZtMYqd-7cgE/s320/Mom%2527s+Halo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Mom at work at San Diego State University, 1975</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhimRwGWlcXd-AeX9XSTXS1klvON6YvuysQqGTe8c-s-1rrhZeX8_tmV3raVM12jH7ryAI0-jWsWgEpVosQlEoyAz87P3Zvdi4pDGc-ukFBQii944kPKoz5D5WNPubXB3IfESFwW9Cw_7U/s1600/Nana%2527s+75th+Birthday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhimRwGWlcXd-AeX9XSTXS1klvON6YvuysQqGTe8c-s-1rrhZeX8_tmV3raVM12jH7ryAI0-jWsWgEpVosQlEoyAz87P3Zvdi4pDGc-ukFBQii944kPKoz5D5WNPubXB3IfESFwW9Cw_7U/s400/Nana%2527s+75th+Birthday.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The women in my life on my grandmother's 75th birthday in 1979</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">L-R: My Mom, My Nana, My new bride Reina, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My adopted sister, Jodee (being tickled by Reina)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohRjuitjpIgtR9261lpyKeG4UAVD6PqAnGhoSz5byrs1PlN3B1fbr-uuFmL1hTmdxk-Z0L03eh_ZpljNC4qGHBqSB-h3hQRyxPeNffzLL_cOZKa_wzVTDn-dT-kYVzTxwisz-PQz7aAg/s1600/Mom+and+Gina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohRjuitjpIgtR9261lpyKeG4UAVD6PqAnGhoSz5byrs1PlN3B1fbr-uuFmL1hTmdxk-Z0L03eh_ZpljNC4qGHBqSB-h3hQRyxPeNffzLL_cOZKa_wzVTDn-dT-kYVzTxwisz-PQz7aAg/s640/Mom+and+Gina.jpg" width="443" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Mom and her first grandchild, Gina, 1982</div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-38324026853184342532010-12-16T00:15:00.000-08:002011-01-30T15:30:07.201-08:00When Bears Talk<span style="font-size: small;">Who knew that if bears could talk, they would sound like the navigation systems on your bikes and in your cars? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Okay, so maybe it has very little to do with riding a bike, but I did think up most of the plot while riding a bike! Check it out. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll say, this guy should be a screenwriter! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Click on the link below and turn up your sound!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyihqIZwyw8"><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyihqIZwyw8</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Ride Safe!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Ride Smart!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Ride With Jesus!</span><br />
<br />
<div style="color: red; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="color: black;">Ron</span> </b></i></div><i><span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>><></b></span><b style="color: red;"><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">O O</span></b></i>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-60622124727766936992010-11-05T09:18:00.000-07:002010-11-05T15:03:00.611-07:00I May Have Died Last Summer<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">A few months ago I had a setback in my bike riding schedule. In the middle of the night I had a nocturnal seizure. I had never had any kind of seizure before. After spazzing out for a few seconds, I was not “present” for about 10-15 minutes according to my wife, Reina. Apparently there were family members and paramedics scurrying around our bedroom and I was lying on my side in bed with my eyes open, but I wasn’t really there. It was like the lights were on, but no one was home. After spending the rest of the night in the emergency room and having a complete battery of eight tests that all came out normal, I was told by my general practitioner and my neurologist that these things happen from time to time, and sometimes we never know the cause. Then they put me on a medication to prevent another seizure from happening. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Ten weeks later I had to take a behind the wheel driver’s test. Haven’t done that in 46 years! Sitting in the chair next to all the nervous teenagers for two hours I was thinking about what a great state we live in where a guy has a lapse of consciousness and the Department of Motor Vehicles does it’s due diligence by giving me a behind the wheel driving test . . . TEN WEEKS LATER! Ah, the bureaucracy of it all. I’m just sayin’! I passed my driver’s test with flying colors by the way, so I guess I’m good to go on a bike, too!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">But here’s the really good part. Brace yourself. My wife was amazed at the fact that all these people are fussing around in our bedroom at ‘oh-dark-thirty’ in the morning, and I’m just sitting there with this peaceful expression on my face. (I’m guessing she’s thinking I wouldn’t normally act that way). But here’s the wondrous thing. All the time that this commotion was going on, I wasn’t there. I have this vivid recollection of having spent that time in a meadow or a field. I remember being encouraged to lie down and rest in the field by someone. I felt it was a male presence that was with me. I felt safe. I felt great peace lying on my side in the tall yellow grass with a warm gentle breeze blowing. After awhile, at the urging of the male presence, I got up and left this peaceful place, this private reverie, and woke up in an ambulance on my way to the hospital. Now I’m thinking that it was Jesus who was with me in the pasture. But it could have been Jesus, the paramedic.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">A few months later I happened across one of my earliest favorite scriptures. One I had memorized as a child long ago. The Twenty-Third Psalm:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.</span></i></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.</span></i></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.</span></i></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.</span></i></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; </span></i></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">my cup runneth over.</span></i></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.</span></i></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Okay so I’m old enough to have memorized it in the King James Version, and the pastures were yellow in my experience and not green, but hey, I live in San Diego and that’s what our pastures look like in the summertime!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Or is it that I live in His kingdom and this experience was simply a gentle reminder?</span>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-74771376835524966142010-10-29T10:01:00.000-07:002010-10-30T07:52:00.111-07:00Sometimes The Tiniest Thing . . .<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> . . . can stop our forward motion. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">On a road bike with skinny tires we’re talking about the sharp pointy tip of a thorn, or maybe a tiny shard of glass. Could be a rusty sliver of metal. Things not seen can derail your progress. Do you have a plan for going on down the road?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">We usually see the big things in life. We plan for them. We make detours. We go around brick walls, and brick buildings. We weave our way around waterways. But tiny unseen things can change the course of our lives. A cancerous cell. A virus. A fertilized egg. A look. A comment.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">It could be a thought planted in your brain. By God. By Satan.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">How do we do get ourselves back on course? How do we draw ourselves back into proper alignment? Some lean on their own understanding. Some lean on God. Some lean on the wisdom of others. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Picture yourself reading a book, holding it in your hands. Go ahead, put your hands up like a book in front of you. In your left hand are all the pages you’ve read. In your right hand are all the pages you have yet to read. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Now picture holding the book of your life. In your left hand is the written record of all that has gone on in your life. The roads you’ve traveled. The path you’ve taken. The family, loved ones, friends, colleagues, employers, and neighbors, who have in part shaped your life and who you are. The choices you’ve made. The decisions you’ve made. It’s all written in the book. In your right hand is the rest of your life. The pages are all blank. The roads and paths you haven’t ridden on yet. The choices and non-choices that will create the landscape of the remainder of your life. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">It’s all about the choices you’ve made about how to handle those big things and those tiny things that come up as you ride down your road of life. What’s your plan for the twists and turns in your road of life? How will you get around the big boulders and the tiny shards of glass in the road? How will you negotiate the parts of your road where gravity is your friend and the parts where gravity is your worst enemy? How will you handle the wind at your back? How will you handle the wind trying to blow you back? Are you ready for the wet and slippery passages? What will sustain you in the searing draining dry hot times? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Who will you lean on? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Where will you turn for help?</span></div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-40222035960104663692010-10-28T08:09:00.000-07:002010-12-12T07:38:20.501-08:00Riding Between The Lines . . .<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Marching Ants</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Contribute</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Power </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Donate</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Rainbow</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Give</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Dotted</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Bestow</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Fence</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Serve</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Marching Soldiers</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Support</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">In The Sand</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Provide</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Border</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Help</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Furrow</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Volunteer</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Groove</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Share</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Railroad Tracks</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Assist</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">School Children</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Teach</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Wiggly</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Connect</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Broken</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Commit</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Solid</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Celebrate</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Marching Band</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Endorse</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Traffic</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Believe</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">In The Concrete</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Love</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Checkout</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div></div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-27180891077699067322010-10-14T08:24:00.000-07:002010-11-21T16:14:43.332-08:00The Road Les Traveled<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">My apologies to Robert Frost, but I have a friend named Les who had a singular view of life. Les loved bikes. He viewed life through the lens of biking. He loved biking as a child. He loved biking as an adult.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">He loved long rides and short rides. He loved commuting to his job on his bike. Les loved weekend rides, riding to school, or just a quick spin around the block. He believed that no matter how or when or where or with whom he rode his bike, biking made him happy and was great for his health, his community and the environment we all share. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Les believed that bikes not only carry us from point A to point B, but they also help us avoid high gas prices, make our air cleaner and our roads less congested. Les believed that bikes fill our lives with adventure and excitement, relaxing our minds and energizing our souls.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Les loved to ride with friends and Les loved to ride by himself. When he rode by himself, he often tried to ride stronger, faster, better, smarter. Les knew that one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor. He knew there would always be stronger faster riders than he. But he also knew there would always be slower weaker riders than he. There would always be those with less experience and talent and those with more experience and talent. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Les always pushed the limits when he rode his bike. He tried to beat his previous times on routes that he often rode. Beating other people wasn’t important. Beating himself was what mattered. Improving his performance was what counted. Complacency was the enemy of progress in his mind.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The way Les felt about bikes, the way he loved bikes, was the way he felt about life and loved life. He believed God designed each of us to be brilliant. He wanted to use all the gifts and talents God had given him all the time. He believed that if he didn’t dream big, he was insulting God. He knew that even if it appeared to others that he was riding alone, he really wasn’t. Jesus was always with him. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">His practiced passion for pedaling carried over into other areas of his life. He loved creating and accomplishing. He loved sharing and teaching. He loved leading but he was an excellent follower as well. He loved giving and knew that in giving he received so much more in return. Les believed in standing up for what he believed in, even if it meant he was unpopular.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Les knew in his heart of hearts that relationships were the most important things in his life. His relationship with his parents, his wife, his children, his colleagues, his friends and even with God sometimes took a backseat to the pursuit of his dreams. But Les knew in the end it was the relationships he had developed throughout his life that mattered most . . . especially his relationship with Jesus Christ.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Les is gone now . . . </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">. . . out on a ride.</span></div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-61195460895684074962010-10-10T05:36:00.000-07:002011-01-29T18:28:33.739-08:00Obstacles Attract<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It all starts with a boy and his little red bike.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBWd4durSzjFFIvsVVANACazhLCT9uGsWKRCMaMypjwLrsTklPHYBxU0CMZFRdx2GAzdmkQ8oWB-3dIarTYjNeAZgOwB_Z0RtuDZA6awDPZJ2JElxyxhmzn12S2pZsfxAQsj3ss2eIqg/s1600/IMG_20101008_131337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBWd4durSzjFFIvsVVANACazhLCT9uGsWKRCMaMypjwLrsTklPHYBxU0CMZFRdx2GAzdmkQ8oWB-3dIarTYjNeAZgOwB_Z0RtuDZA6awDPZJ2JElxyxhmzn12S2pZsfxAQsj3ss2eIqg/s400/IMG_20101008_131337.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We're going to bump into all kinds of things in today's blog, folks. So, "Obstacles Attract" huh well that's a fine howdy do. What in the world are we talking about? Here's an example to get us started:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAz3UpMDUIwJ3mwDxkXlGmebeIgOp8gBLFMrOSjybjbKy7SZbrxhinkt6p0oB2Ff-krsSE-pMGIvdUmK7mgFGMa5LNhiBPyEhmhwk62vN9IttG0dSHgpGZOEsjjI4QDznpx9jD0dsyUa4/s1600/Bird+Apparition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAz3UpMDUIwJ3mwDxkXlGmebeIgOp8gBLFMrOSjybjbKy7SZbrxhinkt6p0oB2Ff-krsSE-pMGIvdUmK7mgFGMa5LNhiBPyEhmhwk62vN9IttG0dSHgpGZOEsjjI4QDznpx9jD0dsyUa4/s400/Bird+Apparition.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A bird flew into our family room window a few days ago. He left this imprint on our window.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">When our Compassionate Samurai friend John saw the photo he was moved. <i>"Wow! That is surreal, sad, and beautiful, all at the same time."</i> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our friend Robert explained, <i>"They make stickers that are barely visible to the human eye but birds can see to prevent this from happening. We need to use them because we have so many feeders in our yard. Typically its when a hawk comes by to eat one of the birds, they fly off in panic not really paying attention where they are going."</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I said, <i>"Seeing it in person makes even more of an 'impression'! We never did find the bird, but he left tiny footprints on our hearts."</i></span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">So what are we talking about today? The obstacles in our life and what we attract. Are we actually 'obstacle attractors' and what do we do with the obstacle when we attract it? Are there things that appear to be obstacles in one dimension but actually aren't when viewed through a different lens? How do we approach obstacles in the flow of our lives?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">For instance, yesterday I was riding my bike. (Go figure!) It's a beautiful sunny blue, drop dead gorgeous, burn your drawers at a hundred yards, kind of a day. All right, a picture is worth a thousand descriptive words that I can come up with . . .</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnAaHa5XRgjtHKurvtjdyVHMo0NdY-RpIkluMZKBzaaqerMzkBMVN05wPLzyPFLWlGFPZz8OuqdJ3RG-wB4By-2HJmZ3NoTjBDBrTD8YxljU4xQDH9Yj5bYgPfAlZPrAPEYd_MJtgI4M/s1600/Ron+In+IB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnAaHa5XRgjtHKurvtjdyVHMo0NdY-RpIkluMZKBzaaqerMzkBMVN05wPLzyPFLWlGFPZz8OuqdJ3RG-wB4By-2HJmZ3NoTjBDBrTD8YxljU4xQDH9Yj5bYgPfAlZPrAPEYd_MJtgI4M/s400/Ron+In+IB.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">So I set out to ride my bike for 70 miles, training for next weekend's MS150 Bay To Bay Tour . . . Nope! You're not too late you can still help me help others by donating <a href="http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/CASBikeEvents?px=8416759&pg=personal&fr_id=14192">HERE!</a> I'll do the riding from Irvine to San Diego. You do the donating! Deal? Did you know 200 people are diagnosed with MS in the U.S. each week? Talk about overcoming obstacles! I'm trying to raise $2000 that will buy four lightweight wheelchairs for individuals who have MS. So far I've raised enough for three wheelchairs and maybe one footrest.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cAFRZohUKig/TLGqtfQx7LI/AAAAAAAAANU/LeJy88aoGyE/s1600/05377005000-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cAFRZohUKig/TLGqtfQx7LI/AAAAAAAAANU/LeJy88aoGyE/s400/05377005000-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">So I'm out doing this good thing. Being healthy. Being green. Being charitable. I'm in the bike lane approaching a corner and this guy comes up behind me and honks and yells. I look in my rearview helmet mirror (See above), and I don't recognize his 1971 "Anti-EstablishMint" Green Ford Maverick. So this isn't some buddy of mine honking to say 'Howdy".</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Now in the state of California the Department Of Motor Vehicles says I have the same right to be in that bike lane that has become a right turn lane as he does. Some painter paid by the Golden State painted a wide stripe on the pavement for me to ride in that lane. It dawns on me that the guy behind me is honking and yelling for me to get out of his way. I'm thinking would he be doing this if I were in a car in that same turn lane/bike lane? I'm moving along at a pretty good clip toward the corner 50 feet away when a beer bottle sails past my head. Yeah, a beer bottle! I turn right at the corner. He turns right calls me a fag, shows me his gnarly middle finger, and continues yelling epithets as he goes on down the road. </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">When I'm out riding my bike I try to be aware of everything around me in what I call "The Flow". The Flow has all kinds of elements of which I'm just a tiny part. There are cyclists, skaters, pedestrians, dogs, children, cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, all moving in The Flow. Every now and then you get something in The Flow that is a disruption. An obstacle. Clearly I was an obstacle to this drunk driver. I'm thinking to myself. It really takes a much better person than me to not respond in anger to a disturbance in The Flow like that.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Then I start extrapolating into what obstacles does he attract in his life? Sometimes I get very philosophical when I ride. Sometimes I get very angry. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Okay, so I'm not Gandhi on a bike.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It's like we were in two totally different dimensions. A choir directing book writing friend of mine, (who knew there were two of us?), has written two books in a series he's doing exploring dimensions existing in the same place at the same time. At that moment in my bike ride, I felt like one of the characters in his first book, <i><b>Dimensions: The Wheat Field</b></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBc-U_s3f5Txo6crI3pn6UmQBfHlwkDyZ7kq1ljauDc-RoLOi8ynpUBokdqzOTkcfAzh7JbnFWC3bB-dQXJoWmiTMXeVF4m-I-bvcAa9VoV_8QjJRmmyli00cwbPlskzjA4IHjBAXm1fg/s1600/Wheat+Field.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBc-U_s3f5Txo6crI3pn6UmQBfHlwkDyZ7kq1ljauDc-RoLOi8ynpUBokdqzOTkcfAzh7JbnFWC3bB-dQXJoWmiTMXeVF4m-I-bvcAa9VoV_8QjJRmmyli00cwbPlskzjA4IHjBAXm1fg/s400/Wheat+Field.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It's a good read that will get your mind percolating! Once you're hooked on the idea, get Dave's second book, <i><b>Dimensions II: The Plethora. </b></i>It's scheduled to be released in November of 2010. Check it out at <a href="http://www.davewillert.com/">this website!</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPcveS2Nh9y1yBg6PQAwajXyrjnXeKjiVC_f74QWeNjPYJgDHtHzghneXTuWY3YddPBEwHo3_wSh0N2wOtvzi4zBw-Ws3hL6WlEdWaw_Gz31TvY-zUV4xIs58tHvOA1S8jxnhE-q3Z6I/s1600/The+Plethora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPcveS2Nh9y1yBg6PQAwajXyrjnXeKjiVC_f74QWeNjPYJgDHtHzghneXTuWY3YddPBEwHo3_wSh0N2wOtvzi4zBw-Ws3hL6WlEdWaw_Gz31TvY-zUV4xIs58tHvOA1S8jxnhE-q3Z6I/s400/The+Plethora.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Fast forward about three miles. If you're having trouble picturing where I am, I'll map it out for ya! <a href="http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Tour-De-South-Bay">CLICK HERE!</a> This is my famous "Tour De South Bay" route that I created for my <i><b><a href="http://www.outspokin4jesus.com/O4J/Welcome.html">Outspokin' For Jesus!</a> </b></i>Christian cycling club. Join us sometime! Its a really cool bunch of people! So, I'm doing a twenty mile longer version that will take me all the way out to the tip of Coronado Island. But I digress. I'm up in the top center area of the route on the map, and there's this car coming up very slowly behind me. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It's an old Datsun 240Z. I'm thinking "Does everybody drive cars from the 1970's in this neighborhood?" It's black with blacked out windows and an engine that has a full-throated rumbling sound. He's coming up really slowly, like eerie ominous behind me. Now after my last experience, I'm thinking what is <i>this guy</i> doing? I feel like Dennis Weaver in the Steven Spielberg's first movie, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067023/"><i><b>Duel</b></i></a>. Only I've got this creepy black 240Z behind me and not an ugly massive tanker truck!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3KWWwgXjwGrPVT9B1r60xgWwf5KlmN2UebjASRCnBfXq0FJTAHr5LHfgUWd7te0X8ymqwms03Wr1Hicmu9iTAVaBVFKTJ1aQxdt-USF1A1S9L_JykReYVSHQfKRuR6ge_QrA3ZGMois/s1600/Ugly+Tanker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3KWWwgXjwGrPVT9B1r60xgWwf5KlmN2UebjASRCnBfXq0FJTAHr5LHfgUWd7te0X8ymqwms03Wr1Hicmu9iTAVaBVFKTJ1aQxdt-USF1A1S9L_JykReYVSHQfKRuR6ge_QrA3ZGMois/s400/Ugly+Tanker.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">So we get to top of this hill and he's still hovering, loitering behind me. I make a left hand turn and he follows me very slowly. There's no traffic in the oncoming lane, so he moves way over to his left and passes me very slowly giving me a very comfortable wide berth. Once he's safely past me, he takes off. He was simply existing in The Flow with me as a kind, courteous considerate driver. We're in the same dimension, existing peacefully. What a refreshing change from the first guy in the old Maverick.Two totally different ways for a person to deal with an obstacle in their path. To be honest, I'd say 98% of the drivers out there are very conscientious about those of us on two wheels. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Speaking of two wheels . . . It's an eerie experience to be dropped off on a bus in Irvine at Oh-Dark-Thirty in the morning and realize that the only way back home is two skinny wheels and a 4 inch seat over the next two days. Did I mention you can still donate to my charity ride for MS . . . <a href="http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/CASBikeEvents?px=8416759&pg=personal&fr_id=14192">HERE?</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">So I'm going along with The Flow, and get another three or four miles down the road. I ride through an intersection and this car on my right runs the red light and makes a right turn coming precariously close to my back wheel. I glance back quickly to see if I'm nuts or if I still had a green light. I did. I then look at the teenage girl talking on her cell phone driving the car that had almost hit me. She's oblivious. She's in a full metal jacket weighing maybe 4000 pounds and I'm in a jersey and my ever stylish spandex shorts. Clearly there's no contest here, if we collide I lose. She turns left at the next corner into the mall probably to hook up with her friends. I'm thinking she still doesn't know how close she came to hooking up with the back wheel of my bike! Two dimensions at the same time in the same place . . . again. Drunk driver or dialing driver either way it's the wrong place for me on my little red bike. Am I the obstacle or are they the obstacle? Sometimes dimensions and obstacles are nothing more than puzzles and shadows to be figured out.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSUgpOHzct2otWdhBuZDzCLRbl2hWaAfi94XV_UdnkVG7YoUZl8Q6iiw-mOqzND1FIkw9bWXheAhzqyfd1Vp7K7mgtTetwZcOYDMqBj2ttrkEy9clUgZ-HbCL9J6WLauZNxRQ1uUsZTA/s1600/IMG_20101008_130341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSUgpOHzct2otWdhBuZDzCLRbl2hWaAfi94XV_UdnkVG7YoUZl8Q6iiw-mOqzND1FIkw9bWXheAhzqyfd1Vp7K7mgtTetwZcOYDMqBj2ttrkEy9clUgZ-HbCL9J6WLauZNxRQ1uUsZTA/s400/IMG_20101008_130341.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Those of you who know me know I love the arts. I see them as a bridge between heaven and earth. The emotional swelling in the throat, witnessing the fantasy of creation, experiencing the emotion and flow of a musical masterwork. I think they're all glimpses of heaven.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Along the ride there are lots of pieces of public art. Not necessarily things that make your soul leap with wonder, but more like things that make you say "cool". Like this sculpture piece, <i><b>Banner Art</b></i> by John Banks. I'm now miles away from the near misses I shared with you earlier. I'm out on the coast in Imperial Beach. So I ask you, is this art?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2L2uKrk5gfhfSz5s5_W4f38J9Mp1gjkgUKmHpPNM-9bMl8oQPKvQ-SkmqJdZ6X3psPPZ_SjB4_n7I3M_UQZLXglkMi0VPehudCylX-8Ze_pTzuNya1SkyqkxWSIWT3AgpupgBz4CkY8/s1600/banner-art-IMG_0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2L2uKrk5gfhfSz5s5_W4f38J9Mp1gjkgUKmHpPNM-9bMl8oQPKvQ-SkmqJdZ6X3psPPZ_SjB4_n7I3M_UQZLXglkMi0VPehudCylX-8Ze_pTzuNya1SkyqkxWSIWT3AgpupgBz4CkY8/s640/banner-art-IMG_0009.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It may be an obstacle to you to see this as art. It may be up to debate until you see it from another angle. Dare I say another dimension?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmucRPnssd5RkJovVxRJ77A34YhuAZY8-y4ZpZFw_ZwkMvhVIqzWQFv9hVFcpmSgongW7TPee6GYMxIynH7s6ysCwA8d8tYi7g0ByJwtWeaCBk3e4TE5pWI8ewqr5AcgoX81rHvDOB7Qs/s1600/ART.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmucRPnssd5RkJovVxRJ77A34YhuAZY8-y4ZpZFw_ZwkMvhVIqzWQFv9hVFcpmSgongW7TPee6GYMxIynH7s6ysCwA8d8tYi7g0ByJwtWeaCBk3e4TE5pWI8ewqr5AcgoX81rHvDOB7Qs/s640/ART.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Viewed from this angle, clearly it's "ART". Okay, so points for clever if not classic, but clearly, dimensions and angles can be hurdles or obstacles to our understanding. It reminds me of First Corinthians 1:18 (NCV) <i>The teaching about the cross is foolishness to those who are being lost, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. </i>Those who believe by faith they are saved, live life and view life through a different lens than those who are not believers. Again, living in the same space at the same time, but in different dimensions. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Well, I'm ending this piece on a happier note than I started, huh! A metaphor for life? Our paths are always filled with ups and downs and boulders and borders, and dimensions and angles, obstacles, and moments of 'flow', artistry and amazement. Sometimes frozen on a piece of glass. Sometimes a fleeting sensation in our heart. There will always be obstacles in our lives. It's how we deal with them, that defines our life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I leave you with another of my favorite pieces of public art along my bike ride. This one is called <i><b>My Bike</b></i> by Amos Robinson. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-KRqk-_ZZ9RUYHboduFjIjBqs-hge078LPYRpORt-mIzmVVbuLQHBf0UfoXGkWfRbNjgdmM4ANCMHVS0DRMOQCDL4_S689fdS2sHL7uwDoV_caRnVJCnooeRxb3fbpY4BCICjqUICEI/s1600/IMG_0242_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-KRqk-_ZZ9RUYHboduFjIjBqs-hge078LPYRpORt-mIzmVVbuLQHBf0UfoXGkWfRbNjgdmM4ANCMHVS0DRMOQCDL4_S689fdS2sHL7uwDoV_caRnVJCnooeRxb3fbpY4BCICjqUICEI/s640/IMG_0242_1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Yep! It's a red bike. Just like mine. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ars Longa, Vita Brevis.</span>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-64905370475742639952010-10-07T06:04:00.000-07:002011-06-25T11:53:44.040-07:00Ron’s Theory Of Relativity (Go ahead click on it, you know you’re curious!)<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">It’s said that Einstein thought of his theory of relativity while riding a bike. Guess what? I thought of my theory of relativity on a bike, too! How cool is that? Mine’s a lot simpler without all the mathematical formulas and stuff. Ready? Wait for it . . . Wait for it . . . Okay, here it is: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“<b><i>The Longer You Ride, The Stronger You Ride”</i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">That’s it. Complete. The whole nutshell. The whole Enchilada. Okay, Okay, Okay. Here’s how it works . . . </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">In 1996 I was surprised to see the parent of one of my choir kids on a bike at a concert we did on the bay front. We were about six miles from his house and I asked incredulously, “Did you ride your bike down here?” I was a bit amazed. I looked down at my middle age spread that was slowly developing and asked Roger (the biking parent), all kinds of questions. The next week I went out and bought a bike. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Fast forward 14 years and 27,000 miles later . . . </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">It’s all relative don’t you see? For cyclists reading this, you totally get it. The rest of you will just have to believe me. If I ride 12 miles and I’m exhausted, but the next time out I ride 15 miles, then the 12 miles doesn’t seem nearly so far. And if I ride 20 miles the next time, the 12 mile distance becomes even easier. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">When I first ride out to Coronado Island from my house after not riding for a while, I get pretty tired. From my driveway to the tip of the island is 40.26 miles roundtrip. After I’ve done that a couple of times it gets easier and I lengthen the distance and ride to La Jolla. 50 miles roundtrip. Then I go from my home further up the coast to Del Mar. 70 miles roundtrip. Ultimately I ride along the coast to Carlsbad. 100 miles roundtrip. Now you’re either getting tired reading this, or incredulous, or you’re already starting to feel the effect of <i>Ron’s Theory Of Relativity</i> as your mind expands.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Each time I add distance, the old distance which seemed so far at the time, becomes easier. If I’m riding 100 miles its not unusual to think to myself, “Wow, that 50 miles just flew by!” But if I’m on a 50 mile ride. Then the mindset shifts and at the end of 50 miles I’m thinking, “Whew! That was a long way!” See your mind automatically works out <i>Ron’s Theory Of Relativity</i> each time you ride.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Or each time you do anything else in your life. Say you’re raising money for a bike ride. That first $500 may seem like a bunch to get together, but once that’s under your belt, the next $500 comes easier. And the next . . . you get it. Remember Roger and the 12 mile bike trip? That seems easy now doesn’t it? That’s my theory of relativity and I’m stickin’ to it. I’ve applied it in so many areas of my life. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">If I’m rehearsing my choir and we’ve got 150 pages of music to learn, that seems insurmountable at that first rehearsal. But then five rehearsals later and we’re on page 108, and the insurmountable becomes surmountable. The unthinkable becomes thinkable. The undoable becomes doable. The unsingable becomes singable, ad infinitum. Ad infinitum . . . see that’s my theory kicking in!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">We used to travel a lot with our high school show choirs. We went to 17 countries on 4 continents over the years. We performed at all four Disney properties (at that time), around the world. I remember my 25<sup>th</sup> year directing at that school. (Talk about <i>Ron’s Theory Of Relativity</i>. When you’re in year one. It seems like a really long year. But by year 25, you really have no idea where the time went!) Anyway, it was the beginning of the school year and I went to the copy room to make some copies. A bright perky young teacher asked me what my goals and objectives were for the year. (Only a bright, perky, young teacher would use language like that!) I told her that my choir had performed at three of the four Disney properties around the world and this year we were going to perform at the fourth property in Japan. She looked at me with puzzled wide eyes. Her jaw gaped open. She sighed and looked back down at the copier and muttered something about her plan was to get her kids ready to pass the next chapter test. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">My theory of choir directing was that the more performances we did, the higher the comfort level of the performers and consequently their excellence as performers would also rise. By the end of the first semester we had done more performances than most choirs did in a year. So when the choir festival competitions came around in the second semester, we had a tremendous advantage over other choirs. The more you perform the better you perform. The longer you ride the stronger you ride. It’s that simple. Yeah, that’s it folks . . . the secret to my choir’s success over the 25 years I spent directing choirs at one local high school. 444 awards later, not only my mind, but the minds of the kids, the parents, the school, the community, the other choirs, even the festival judges, had all reset themselves. The expectations were high. <i>Ron’s Theory Of Relativity</i> had kicked into high gear.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">So let’s bring this full circle. Let’s get back to putting in the miles. With my choirs some years we went to great lengths, (see what I did there?), to make <i>Ron’s Theory Of Relativity</i> a reality for our students. We traveled. At first it was from San Diego to Los Angeles. Then we went to Reno, Nevada. Winning that competition set us up to go to the world’s largest festival in The Netherlands, and the world’s best known festival in Montreaux, Switzerland. See how the mind expands? You haven’t even been on the trips, but just reading about it you can see the possibilities. And when we returned from two weeks overseas, the choir was unbeatable!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The trips were always a highlight. The choir would bond together on a trip in ways that they never would by going to the elementary school down the street to do an assembly. We transcended being an ensemble, being a team, to being a family. Oh we still did those local elementary school and women’s club shows too, that’s what created the measuring stick for that theory of relativity thing. That’s what gave us perspective. But the longer trips, the longer measuring sticks, those were life changing. Those created the memories of a lifetime. Those put our show choir on the map. (See what I did there?) The doors that were opened to us through music were truly amazing. And we’re not just talking about “Magic Kingdom” doors here. Performing in all those Disney properties; performing in the Sydney Opera House; performing on the same stage as Duke Ellington; performing twice in the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.; being the first high school show choir from the United States to perform in the People’s Republic Of China. Seeing the Coliseum, Performing in the glowworm caves in New Zealand, Performing in the rain on the streets of Paris, Performing in the Montreaux Jazz Festival, Seeing the Great Wall Of China. We’re talking about Holland, Switzerland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Wales, Scotland, England, Italy, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand and of course all over the U.S.A. Always huge memories . . . the longer the trip the stronger the troupe. The longer you ride, the stronger you ride.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">I’m guessing you’ve experienced <i>Ron’s Theory Of Relativity</i> while reading this. Maybe just because of the length of this piece, or maybe your mind has expanded as the miles I’ve mentioned have expanded. Some miles on bikes, some on buses . . . it’s all relative. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">I believe our ultimate relativity experience is the time we spend on this mortal coil, versus the totality of our eternal life. The life we live on this side of eternity, however long it may seem, is infinitely small when compared to the limitless sky of an eternal life. How are you spending life on earth? Do you see your life as Teilhard De Chardin saw life . . . "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Do you start each day asking how you can be the biggest blessing to someone else? Try that for a week. Your sense of relativity, importance, significance, purpose, and meaning will all expand. I guarantee it.</span></div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-54108479434253645432010-09-30T08:16:00.000-07:002010-09-30T15:37:54.243-07:00Abroad On A Bike With A Broad On A Bike<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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 <b><i>Blog Angel</i></b> whispering in my left ear, saying “You could write this . . . and this . . . and this . . . and this . . . and this! And then there’s my <b><i>Novel Angel</i></b> 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 <b><i>Novel Angel</i> </b>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 <i><b>Life Cycles</b></i> blog fix!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">In the early 2000’s Reina and I were blessed to go on four biking trips abroad. We traveled with <b>Vermont Bike Tours. </b>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 <a href="http://www.vbt.com/biking.aspx%20">VERMONT BIKE TOURS</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Our first tour in 2001 was the <i>“Salzburg Sojourn</i>”. 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 <i>The Sound Of Music.</i> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">In 2003 we traveled around the big island of Hawaii to celebrate Reina’s 50<sup>th</sup> birthday in our 50<sup>th</sup> 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 . . . </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“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. <br />
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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? <br />
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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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">What a rush! What a ride!<br />
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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.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Yeah, I know Reina should be the writer in the family, huh!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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.</span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-8715076188316042472010-09-22T17:46:00.000-07:002010-09-22T17:46:04.528-07:00When Passions Collide!<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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, <b><i>Outspokin’ For Jesus!<span> </span></i></b>(aka O4J)<span> </span>This blog takes it a step further as I combine another passion of mine, writing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
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?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
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!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFCblcyzuOKC7CkSCuTbGf38ZNeQ2rvRq8xiaoEor2-WXg3wQMeMKUA3eFNC3wdfjEua8-GE1IonK97uwysRVKc_BR6ZWjLp0SkLpxgkvhvMwG1ca-_SIfRhSfhT1cV2RQWmnidSjkYXg/s1600/shapeimage_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFCblcyzuOKC7CkSCuTbGf38ZNeQ2rvRq8xiaoEor2-WXg3wQMeMKUA3eFNC3wdfjEua8-GE1IonK97uwysRVKc_BR6ZWjLp0SkLpxgkvhvMwG1ca-_SIfRhSfhT1cV2RQWmnidSjkYXg/s320/shapeimage_1.png" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span> <table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
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</tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div><br clear="all" /> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Here are some of our favorite club sayings. They kind of sum up what we’re all about!</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Through our spokes . . . God speaks</span></i></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Making The World A Better Place On Two Wheels</span></i></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ride To Eat . . . Eat To Ride</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></i></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">God is definitely at work in our midst! Take a look at some of the charity work we’ve done since January 7, 2006:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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!)<br />
<a href="http://o4jbikin4blankets.shutterfly.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">O4Jbikin4blankets.shutterfly.com</span></a><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Donated 27 refurbished bikes to Family Resource Centers in Chula Vista and Rosarito!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Designed our own custom jerseys!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Created our own ministry tract <b><i>Keep Rolling With God!</i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Created booth display and materials to distribute at Cycle Eastlake & Bonitafest!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Adopted logo design for Outspokin’ For Jesus!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Completed trademark process for name and logo of Outspokin’ For Jesus!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Conducted several mini-workshops and clinics on biking equipment, clothing, and accessories!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Created training accountability and training tips for MS Bay to Bay Bike Tour!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Promoted our ministry with Bike To Church Day!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span>o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Over 50 people have shared fun times and fellowship on the road!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">You can learn a whole lot more about the fun we have at our website: </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> <style>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.outspokin4jesus.com/">http://www.outspokin4jesus.com</a></span> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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!</span></div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-70453986445237191392010-09-21T12:03:00.000-07:002010-09-21T12:21:07.751-07:00Things I've Seen While Riding A Bike!<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><i><b>Gimme That Stat!</b> </i>(To the music of the "Batman Theme" but with the word "Statman" playing in your head where "Batman" should be!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">In its first two weeks of publication online, this <b><i>Life Cycles </i></b>blog has had over <b>1125 pageviews</b>! It’s been seen in<b> 7</b> <b>countries</b> including, <span style="color: black;">Uganda, Ghana, Australia</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black;">, United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, and the USA!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">In the past <b>24 months I’ve climbed 214,813 feet</b> on my bike. That’s the equivalent of climbing the highest mountain in the world, <b>Mt. Everest, over 7 times!</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">From <b>2001 to 2010 I have ridden over 25,000 miles</b> on my bikes. That’s the <b>equivalent of riding around the globe at the equator!</b></span></div><style>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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 . . .</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">A beached whale </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Lizards </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Rabbits </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Squirrels </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">A herd of deer </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">A pod of dolphins swimming in the surf </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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?) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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!) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">A Kestrel </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Thousands of screeching crows at sunrise</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Sparrows </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Pelicans </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">An owl flying silently alongside me (Very cool and Harry Potterish!) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">A hive of bees on the road </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Spider webs across the road </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Dogs </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Toddlers (Maybe the most dangerous and unpredictable animal to have in front of you!) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Pigeons </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Seagulls</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">A Wolf (In the fog on a hill . . . I think we were both wondering who was faster!) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Coyotes </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Terns</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Herons</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Cranes (God made and man made) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Pipe Organ Concerts </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Three lanes of cars parked in traffic for a mile while I zoomed by in the bike lane </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Lawn Bowling </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Frisbee Golf</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Olympian Archers, Rowers, Soccer Players, Track & Field athletes, etc.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">BMX Competition in half huge halfpipes </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Elizabethan Pageants </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Musicians </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Magicians </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Art Shows </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Farmer's Markets </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Flea Markets</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Sand Castle Competitions </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Cinco de Mayo street fairs </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">An evangelism crusade with 40,000 people attending </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Portable toilet being dangled 25 floors above the street . . . See <a href="http://ronbolles.blogspot.com/2010/09/is-there-toilet-over-your-head.html"><i><b>Is There A Toilet Over Your Head? </b></i></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Wind in my face for 85 miles of a 107 mile ride! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">25 mph winds in my face going uphill in the desert </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Hobos in their homes </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The asphalt up close and personal at 18 mph . . . See<i><b> <a href="http://ronbolles.blogspot.com/2010/09/in-blink-of-eye.html">In The Blink Of An Eye</a> </b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The side of a minivan up close and personal when the driver decided to turn in front of me into a driveway without signaling </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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 </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Shards of glass and metal in my tires </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Illegal aliens running through a valley </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">A helicopter overhead looking for the illegal aliens running through a valley </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Children yelling for candy from the cyclists in a road trip in Mexico </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Acres of beautiful flowers planted by people </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Acres of beautiful flowers planted by God </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Thick wet blinding fog </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Relentless punishing wind </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Soaking to the bone rain </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Blistering wavy line heat </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">People in the desert riding cruisers with sandals and no water bottles or tire tools </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Car parts</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">CD’s</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Cell phone parts</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Paraplegic Olympic cyclists with hand cycles going much faster than me</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Waterfalls in Austria</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The gazebo used in the movie <i>The Sound Of Music</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Volcanoes on the big island of Hawaii</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Promising sunrises</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Beautiful tranquil sunsets</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The “House Of Green Gables” on Prince Edward Island</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The Tuscan coast</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The Southern California coast</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The house where L. Frank Baum wrote <i>The Wizard Of Oz</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Victorian hotels and homes</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Oldest pedestrian suspension bridge in San Diego</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Bloodied riders climbing out of a ravine on a curve they had taken too fast </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Old road kill </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">New road kill </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Litter </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Unparalleled views on sunny blue days </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Amazing inline skaters who easily beat me to a checkpoint 25 miles into the hills! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Absolutely drop dead gorgeous days </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">God’s creation laid out before me</span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-47691340716056023882010-09-20T08:30:00.000-07:002010-09-20T08:35:35.065-07:00Mountain Biking In 1887<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">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.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVgJ0xKBpwppHmpqmdcyYSvzz_hwvfCQueu5scRWbUIUxIPth1qtXoLCrir4wZ73bO80oiNtuPEpj4qF3Wj65bbQP__dtuh960nLX3mfl_ss8KPZALCw9-d33KqIRPc5vkYeOusWWp_A/s1600/Bicycling-ca1887-bigwheelers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVgJ0xKBpwppHmpqmdcyYSvzz_hwvfCQueu5scRWbUIUxIPth1qtXoLCrir4wZ73bO80oiNtuPEpj4qF3Wj65bbQP__dtuh960nLX3mfl_ss8KPZALCw9-d33KqIRPc5vkYeOusWWp_A/s640/Bicycling-ca1887-bigwheelers.jpg" width="462" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Edited from the image <a href="http://memory.loc.gov/master/pnp/cph/3g00000/3g03000/3g03000/3g03043u.tif">http://memory.loc.gov/master/pnp/cph/3g00000/3g03000/3g03000/3g03043u.tif</a> found on the Library of Congress website.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></b><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Here’s the explanation of the picture from Wikipedia: </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">"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.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">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.</span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Tagging on to yesterday’s blog, I’ve often wondered “What Would Jesus Ride?” In the story, <b><i>The Road Of Life</i></b><i>,</i> 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. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">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?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">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! </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftZp6XpQ-rH2dYTP5MIEUleU_5zcJjOsPtKdMZPuZR6GdndEHcxglc3YQof0Hrh-9h6kQrLve5PlMajae4bj3jqjZOc_PmOeZ1shvOeunDmb4V1CNlp5L-BufJjZ_rIYBEBFJ5yLAx1I/s1600/600px-ConferenceBike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftZp6XpQ-rH2dYTP5MIEUleU_5zcJjOsPtKdMZPuZR6GdndEHcxglc3YQof0Hrh-9h6kQrLve5PlMajae4bj3jqjZOc_PmOeZ1shvOeunDmb4V1CNlp5L-BufJjZ_rIYBEBFJ5yLAx1I/s400/600px-ConferenceBike.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"> Or how about the "Sociable"? A two person bike, but the two riders are side by side! </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljSouI6PPuJDqI76_eiof6ylYk1TFVqJbfx_oAFNDKj7jdXHa982qEeSDjDIH93T1axyCrysOu1cJJFTDF9myFadhvLLS0tO2LcWHXp5aENvx-DHPAaYAC78AZTRzX7nqxcIA_IUytFs/s1600/Sociable_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljSouI6PPuJDqI76_eiof6ylYk1TFVqJbfx_oAFNDKj7jdXHa982qEeSDjDIH93T1axyCrysOu1cJJFTDF9myFadhvLLS0tO2LcWHXp5aENvx-DHPAaYAC78AZTRzX7nqxcIA_IUytFs/s400/Sociable_1.jpg" width="293" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Photo By Dale Hammerschmidt</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Or how about a rowing bike? All the forward motion is done by pulling on the handlebar.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgx9i5DwYnPeUQ3WPGniVL0RhcJN5FhqYLyBkMuE82nlwYm7rCOTpIySa7N2zaGoZqlmG7tMsWA0sUkEkkG_gteaBb7Ks-WX-w0iBTceunhxI1kJ5pe9Tsz1il4ZCRhZZ1kzf-8M2-yk/s1600/Rowing+Bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgx9i5DwYnPeUQ3WPGniVL0RhcJN5FhqYLyBkMuE82nlwYm7rCOTpIySa7N2zaGoZqlmG7tMsWA0sUkEkkG_gteaBb7Ks-WX-w0iBTceunhxI1kJ5pe9Tsz1il4ZCRhZZ1kzf-8M2-yk/s400/Rowing+Bike.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by Richard Keatinge</span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">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!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZLGl759008ZOjY_tHllqn2-CeZhlFb1fUlfR55SeVcdQ-5sZyFyKhRkX_pvmVxau3En1FqJKgF4r4ONJPRDys9XQM0n-hahtkK_V0DJX5BvJkkWtuKjVbc4qwanXLjly_j6o6gWpZQA/s1600/V2fairing2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZLGl759008ZOjY_tHllqn2-CeZhlFb1fUlfR55SeVcdQ-5sZyFyKhRkX_pvmVxau3En1FqJKgF4r4ONJPRDys9XQM0n-hahtkK_V0DJX5BvJkkWtuKjVbc4qwanXLjly_j6o6gWpZQA/s400/V2fairing2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Public Domain </span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Hmmmm . . . so many choices, and we've only scratched the surface of cycling!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">So much creativity. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">What <i>would </i>Jesus Ride? </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Tell me what YOU think<b>!</b></span></span><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></b></div><div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-49393624535159313332010-09-19T08:14:00.000-07:002010-09-19T08:16:58.582-07:00Jesus' Sandal On The Pedal<h1 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is one of my favorite pieces of writing. Certainly it's an appropriate one to include in this blog about <i>Writing A Life, While Riding A Bike.</i> </span></h1><h1 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>The Road Of Life</b></i> may have first been quoted in the 1987 book, <i><b>Holy Swea</b>t</i>, by Tim Hansel. I came across it a couple of years ago when I started our Christian cycling club, <i>"Outspokin' For Jesus!"</i> 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.</span></h1><h1 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">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. </span></h1><h1 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1><h1 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">The Road of Life</h1><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Author Unknown)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At first, I saw God as my observer, my judge,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> keeping track of the things I did wrong,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> He was out there sort of like a president.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I recognized his picture when I saw it,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> but I really didn’t know him.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> But later on when I met Jesus,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> it seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> But it was a tandem bike,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> and I noticed that Jesus was in the back helping me pedal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I don’t know just when it was</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> that he suggested we change places,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> but life has not been the same since.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> When I had control, I knew the way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> It was rather boring, but predictable ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> It was the shortest distance between two points.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> But when he took the lead,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> and through rocky places at breakneck speeds.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> It was all I could do to hang on!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Even though it looked like madness,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> He said, “Pedal!”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I worried and was anxious and asked,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> “Where are you taking me?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> He laughed and didn’t answer,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> and I started to learn trust.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I forgot my boring life</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> and entered into the adventure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> And when I’d say, “I’m scared,”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> He’d lean back and touch my hand.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> He took me to people with gifts that I needed,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> They gave me gifts to take on my journey,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> my Lord’s and mine.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> And we were off again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> He said, “Give the gifts away,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> they’re extra baggage, too much weight.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> So I did, to the people we met,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> and I found that in giving I received,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> and still our burden was light.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I didn’t trust him at first,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> to control my life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I thought he’d wreck it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> But he knows bike secrets,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> knows how to jump to clear high rocks,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> And I’m learning to shut up and pedal,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> in the strangest places.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> And I’m beginning to enjoy the view</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> and the cool breeze on my face</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> And when I’m sure I just can’t do anymore,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> He just smiles and says ... "Pedal!"</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<pre></pre>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-24157122530265648772010-09-18T07:20:00.000-07:002010-09-18T14:40:20.763-07:00Phun With Photos!<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">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!</span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipR9UgURt6QonmI-WaveYGV4pEW1hc1gSEAn_ecA_OsIo-zdfG4GeDP0qRaPnuwcMLv-_mNhsADfyTYHg_XEF4Dbwmc0VX6SXfYt1FZMDzaRmf-CKSiVFlLbbGu_0L3-xywDoVpms_le4/s1600/Ron's+Colorized+55+Schwinn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipR9UgURt6QonmI-WaveYGV4pEW1hc1gSEAn_ecA_OsIo-zdfG4GeDP0qRaPnuwcMLv-_mNhsADfyTYHg_XEF4Dbwmc0VX6SXfYt1FZMDzaRmf-CKSiVFlLbbGu_0L3-xywDoVpms_le4/s400/Ron's+Colorized+55+Schwinn.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">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." </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">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. "</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I thought of that while riding my bike," said Albert Einstein, on his theory of relativity. <span style="font-size: small;">Another of his famous quotes also could be the subtitle of this blog. </span></span><style>
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</style><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving." </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNpI_x9ta9crtAlum7021pjdLOBmxhirYBtlK6T0WbnXA-A3skE02TIO_W5Mze3RbL7h5jvqS42nV_I0uUncNvrhZ17d-XiqDF_C4NDnG6S9znMZevAbiHXxrIVSI5wztx8Kx7noSn3fM/s1600/einstein-velo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNpI_x9ta9crtAlum7021pjdLOBmxhirYBtlK6T0WbnXA-A3skE02TIO_W5Mze3RbL7h5jvqS42nV_I0uUncNvrhZ17d-XiqDF_C4NDnG6S9znMZevAbiHXxrIVSI5wztx8Kx7noSn3fM/s640/einstein-velo.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Time to go for a ride with my Christian cycling club, <i><b><a href="http://www.outspokin4jesus.com/">Outspokin' For Jesus!</a> </b></i>I've got some thinking and 'balancing' to do!</span>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-63670675662804980682010-09-17T07:12:00.000-07:002010-09-18T16:13:48.122-07:00In The Blink Of An Idea<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Last Spring I wrote a novel. 81,052 words. 289 pages in 7 weeks using the SOTP model - <i>Seat Of The Pants</i>. 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.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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 <i>seat of the pants </i>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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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, <a href="http://ronbolles.blogspot.com/2010/09/in-blink-of-eye.html"><i><b>In The Blink Of An Eye.</b></i></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i> </i></b></span>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? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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 <a href="http://ronbolles.blogspot.com/2010/09/in-blink-of-eye.html"><i><b>In The Blink Of An Eye</b></i></a> <b><i></i></b>that causes you to change directions. Or it could be that still small voice whispering in your ear. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Those of you following this blog are going to know that I’m going to say it’s that <a href="http://ronbolles.blogspot.com/2010/09/ghostwriter-and-ghost-rider.html"><b><i>Ghostwriter and Ghost Rider</i></b></a> thing at work in me once again. Guiding my life, directing my purpose, giving me hope each day.</span></div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-24998199981031838632010-09-16T09:08:00.000-07:002010-09-17T07:43:05.747-07:00Where Two Or More Are Gathered On The Internet<style>
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</style> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The afternoon of my cycling accident, (see my <b><a href="http://ronbolles.blogspot.com/2010/09/in-blink-of-eye.html"><i>In The Blink Of An Eye</i></a> </b>blog), I’m lying in bed with ice packs on five places on my body and bandages on six places</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">. I’ve counted and recounted the </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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: <i>“Where two or more are gathered on the internet, ‘there am I.”</i> (See my <b><a href="http://ronbolles.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-if-god-was-on-facebook.html"><i>What If God Were On Facebook?</i></a> </b>blog). There’s a whole virtual church praying and caring for each other on Facebook.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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 . . . </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“We need to design a costume for you. One with lots of padding!” (Delia)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“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! </span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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) </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Keep the tires down and the handlebar up...sort of a NASCAR for cycling thingy.” (Brian)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> “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)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“That deserves a frozen yogurt with extra sprinkles~praise!” (Delia)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“WOW. Glad you are relatively OK” (Mark)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“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)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Wow Ron. You are working those angels overtime! Take care of yourself! Glad you are ok.” (Lisa)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“So glad you are OK Ron and love that you found blessings in your mishap!! Sorry to hear about your bike.” (Kim)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“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)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“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)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Perhaps you should have stopped @ 62 miles! LOL” (Jan)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Sudden stops with high inertia are not good!” (Jim)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Ouch!” (Venus)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“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)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Be careful when crossing railroad tracks!” (Ellen)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Wow! How scary! Super glad you are ok!” (Melissa)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Glad U R OK” (Troy)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Sorry I am just now realizing to say I am glad you are ok! Take Care!” (Dale)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Glad you are ok! Love your take on it.” (Srta)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><u><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“</span></u></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Glad you are okay - be CAREFUL . . .” (Karyn)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Ouch! Feel better soon!” (Jennifer)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“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)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“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)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> “Ron - You are amazing!” (Bonnie)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“</span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Oh no! I'm glad you're all right, but still.... :( (Andria)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Oh my! What a scare... I'm glad your ok :) (Lucia)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Glad you’re relatively okay” (Midge)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Glad you are OK, heal fast, two weeks until our first choir practice” (Leonard)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“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)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">And one of my favorite comments when someone saw me bandaged up the next day . . .</span><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“</span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Thriller video audition coming up?” (Steve)</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-85377038706166899012010-09-15T07:10:00.000-07:002010-09-16T08:11:07.563-07:00In The Blink Of An Eye<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">I could have titled this <i>“Humpty Dumpty went on a ride. Humpty Dumpty had a big slide!”</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">A month ago I had a pretty serious accident on my bicycle. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal;">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 . . . </span></b><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">"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!)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Going from 18 miles per hour vertically to 0 miles per hour horizontally is pretty tough on a bike, too. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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 <b>I am blessed beyond measure</b>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">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!”</span></div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-75014817835179898962010-09-14T11:31:00.000-07:002010-09-14T16:51:52.680-07:00Ghostwriter and Ghost Rider<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> Just a short, singular thought today but it sets up several concepts I’ll be talking about in the next couple of blogs. First things, first. This blog is called <b><i>Life Cycles </i></b>and carries the subtitle <b><i>Writing A Life While Riding A Bike.</i></b> “Why, how clever!” you say. </span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> So I’m thinking about this as I ride my bike today and it occurs to me that a</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> <b>ghostwriter</b> is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Get it? Got it? Good! Now stay with me on this.</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> When I say <b>Ghost Rider</b> two things come to most people’s minds. The famous line from the 1986 movie, <b><i>Topgun</i></b> . . .</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> Maverick: Tower, this is Ghost rider requesting a flyby.<br />
Air Boss Johnson: That’s a negative Ghost rider, the pattern is full.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> Or the other thing that comes to many people's minds is the <b><i>Marvel Comics</i></b> superhero <b><i>Ghost Rider</i></b> featured twenty-one years later in the movie of the same name. In the movie version, stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze gives up his soul to become a hellblazing vigilante, to fight against power hungry Blackheart, the son of the devil himself. Gotta love the forthrightness of the graphic novel medium!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> Ahh, but that's not what comes to my mind. (You knew that was coming, right?) Here’s my take on it, a third thing comes to my mind. (Remember, your first answer may not be your best answer!) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> If I’ve accepted Christ as my savior and the Holy Ghost is therefore living in me, then it follows that </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">the Holy Ghost is ever present with me. He (or She) is always around. He/She writes with me. He/She rides with me. I’m never alone. I am a new being in Christ and my thoughts and actions are shared, impacted, designed, influenced, controlled, inspired, ad infinitum by the one and only Holy Ghost. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> So as a writer and a rider I have an ever-present companion. A ghost writer <i><b>and</b></i> a ghost rider. Stay tuned. We’ll see how this plays out in my next few blogs!</span></div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6792808555135192750.post-38416136237937914782010-09-13T07:45:00.000-07:002010-09-13T07:45:43.017-07:00Mars And Venus Go For A Bike Ride<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">In 2002, my wife Reina and I decided to do the <i>MS150 Bay To Bay Bike Tour</i> to help provide funds to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. It was a two-day event. There was sixty miles of riding the first day; an overnight in a hotel; a party at the overnight site; and forty more miles of riding the second day. The ride down the Southern California coast was beautiful. The event was very organized and well supported. We had a great time. She’s smiling in the picture, right?</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWUm_zitcRCX97ZJf02Hx4dcP2t1VCI8skkvOqm8E1BFRq2abJ6ICUdRdTa_1aRgpRUs7xn4s2GAGq0fh_IOlMMZTfFuK3Esg1WGAzxOoyPMQ3JGkKZct6MG3AbL7miZlPhbAFxl0pDs/s1600/MS150R&R2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWUm_zitcRCX97ZJf02Hx4dcP2t1VCI8skkvOqm8E1BFRq2abJ6ICUdRdTa_1aRgpRUs7xn4s2GAGq0fh_IOlMMZTfFuK3Esg1WGAzxOoyPMQ3JGkKZct6MG3AbL7miZlPhbAFxl0pDs/s640/MS150R&R2002.jpg" width="502" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">So a year goes by, and I say to Reina, “Remember that <i>Bay To Bay Bike Tour</i>? Let’s do that again this year!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Reina says, “Oh, no way! You go ahead and do it if you want to.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>So I’m kind of mystified. I thought we’d had a great time. (See last sentence of first paragraph.) </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>So I say, “It was a fantastic ride, the blue skies and the blue water”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>And she says, “It was dreadful, the hot sun and the wind.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“The quaint little beach towns along the coast.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“The traffic, the noise, the commotion.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“The excitement of doing a mass cycling event.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“The crowds, the congestion.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“It was a pretty flat easy ride?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“There were LOTS of hills.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>By now I’m totally puzzled.<span> </span>A year has gone by since we had done the ride, and I realize for the first time that we were on two completely different rides. Riding beside each other the whole way, but having two totally different experiences.<span> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“You go ahead and do the ride, Ron.<span> </span>I’d rather just go for a ride with you by ourselves sometime.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Okay . . . I guess.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>So I decide I’m going to step it up a notch and do my first century ride as part of this event. You see, the first day, they’ve mapped out an optional ride that’s over a hundred miles and then you do forty some miles the second day. 150 miles total riding for the weekend. Doing a century ride on a bike is like doing a marathon as a runner. It’s just one of those landmark things in life to try to accomplish.<span> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I train like crazy and I’m ready to do this ride. I had studied the route, and I knew there were some real hills in the second part, but I figure I can handle it. I get to the optional Century Course turnoff point before noon and off I go on this inland adventure with a big grin on my face.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Well, I’m here to tell you God put a lot of hills in that part of the country. I struggle through the miles sixty to eighty, but by about mile eighty-five, I’m dying. Other much more experienced riders are telling me how this is one of the most difficult century rides on the West Coast. Now they tell me. At that time I didn’t have my whizbang red road bike. I had a hybrid that was a fine bike, but not the easiest one to take on the task of riding something this challenging. Lots of riders are going by me much faster and I don’t know if it’s me or my bike that is the problem. I want to blame the bike, but I think it’s probably really me. Exhaustion overcomes my body. I’ve ‘hit the wall’ as they say. I take a break and call Reina. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” I pant into the phone.<span> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“So it’s really tough, huh?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Yeah. This is really hard.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“You don’t have to do the whole ride, you know. You can wait for a SAG wagon to come pick you up.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Yeah, but I wanted to do the whole ride. I’m going to keep going. I just may be a little later getting to the hotel to meet you. I just wanted you to know.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“All right. You do what you think is best. Be safe. Make wise choices. I love you.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Okay. I love you, too.” Then for added affect I reiterate, “This is <i>really</i> hard.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>So I get off the phone start riding again and a couple of minutes later the phone rings. I see its Reina calling, so I press answer as I’m riding along.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>She says two words . . . “Try childbirth!” . . . and she hangs up. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I’m killing myself out here and she plays the ‘childbirth card’! I chuckle for a couple of miles and with a much lighter spirit I finish the whole ride. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipBntPMcXitT62bKFS9-EbBUKsaFMIq-9rM5uyzi7MPTH3Eh01sY_QHeraKLTYWaDjc2lFY9yRmjzWRvaHreaU1G-eTIIkxnfFvtY9wbotQ8JVoNo03U5bbZSVbPystaPLqvrRBORDC7s/s1600/RB+MS150+2003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipBntPMcXitT62bKFS9-EbBUKsaFMIq-9rM5uyzi7MPTH3Eh01sY_QHeraKLTYWaDjc2lFY9yRmjzWRvaHreaU1G-eTIIkxnfFvtY9wbotQ8JVoNo03U5bbZSVbPystaPLqvrRBORDC7s/s640/RB+MS150+2003.jpg" width="474" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span> <table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
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</tbody></table></span><br clear="ALL" /><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">I’ve done many Century rides over the years since. I still chuckle around mile 85 each time when I think about Reina’s childbirth comment on my first Century. But the bigger lesson I learned was how two people can be in the same place at the same time doing the same thing and have two totally different experiences. Good to know. </span></span></div>directoronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05055712390624757499noreply@blogger.com3