Friends

Is there anything better? Today I reunited with some old friends and made a new one. It dawned on me last night that perhaps I am not the first to set out on the bike looking for a mountain top with God. Perhaps I might find someone of similar interest. After a 30 second search on Facebook, I found a new friend, Rich Wagner. Not just an ordinary friend, but a well published author with Zondervan, who is about to embark on a cross country bike tour with his family to promote his new book, The Expeditionary Man. It was love at first sight. I hope you will take time to check out Rich and this amazing quest at http://whythebike.com.

Later in the day, I stopped in at Bicycles Unlimited http://bicyclesunl.com/, and amazing bike shop for whom I raced for a number of years. After I career ending injury, I lost track of my old friends, shop owners Mark and Holly Anderson. You can imagine my joy to see them both looking not a day older, sporting a huge smile as I walked in the door. Mark was quick to show me a new Giant bicycle (TRAN Sport LX) that he had been dying to order for just the right adventurous person, and offered to sponsor me. Wow....what a blessing! The offer is making me seriously reconsider the Koga Miyata World Traveler which I had planned to ride.

Training began today with conviction as I put down a 25 mile ride on my mountain bike.....knobby tires and all. The roadies looked at me as if they saw a clown on tricycle. I think they could tell however that I was a man to be reckoned with, so they let me pass without too much ridicule. In a strange way, I found the whole experience quite remarkable. It felt strange to be going so slow. Yet, perhaps I was experiencing the bike as it was intended to be enjoyed. Culture tells us speed is better. God tells us patience affords us opportunity to savor his majesty. I savored the sunset today in the slowness of my pace. I savored the beautiful spring day at 13mph. I savored the fragrant gardenia's as I past by an old farm house. I savored old and new friendships as I pedaled.

I think I am going to like this new adventure of mine.........