Make Every Ride An Adventure
I was preparing a children’s sermon on Joy, this week. Now, I am not here to preach. Those of you that have endured my language as I worked on your bike might be surprised I’d be leading kids anyway (I was raised thinking a well timed swear word will loosen any bolt. It’s a hard habit to break). It occurred to me how much joy is in my life because of my daily commute, even when the going has been rough.
I decided thirty years ago that every ride should be an adventure. I have photo’s of more than a hundred sunrises and sunsets. None were visible to anyone other than a dedicated hiker or cyclist.
I have raced a coyote (I lost) and been charged by a deer. I have been greeted by a beaver and had an otter swim along side me.
I can brag of riding in temp’s as low as -20f and more than a hundred. Along the way, I have met an heiress riding with.a hobo. I could not tell you who was happier, but I know their joy was in cycling. I know a gal that looks like she’s twelve years old that rode around the world. Another lives in her tent and earns a living telling folks the story of her travels. Can any motorist say anything similar about their daily commute?
Locally, I met a guy that speaks seven languages and bikes everywhere he goes. Another raced more than 400 miles without a rest and still another raced all the way across the country, three times. One guy is little more than a couch surfer who earns just enough to get him by, but he really couldn’t be happier.
Commuting by bicycle led to meeting nearly all of my best friends. They introduced me to countless pub crawls and group rides the memories of which I will cherish as long as I live.
I may never stop marveling at having seen the first snow fall under Moline’s antique Christmas lights. Then there was the Winter an eagle flew next to me almost every day (took me a week to figure out he was picking off the mice I stirred up under the snow). Now that my leg is getting worse, I will always have these memories to cheer me (not that I don’t have plans for many more epic rides and adventurous commutes).
As we anticipate the coming Spring, please consider whether maybe you too can commute by bicycle. You may find you are healther. You’ll save money and maybe even help our environment. If you don’t, you may never know what amazing adventures you’re missing.