Ride

by

How A New Part Makes The Whole Thing Seem New

It’s always nice to find a new trail to ride. It’s not like the old ones get boring, but a fresh path is always welcomed.

When I’m at home, every week I ride the same trails. I mix and match between about five of them. But as a general rule, there is just one trail that I usually ride. Part of the reason is time. The home loop at my mountain bike club takes me about 45 – 50 minutes to ride which is perfect. All the other trails take a little to a lot longer to ride. 

Riding the same trail isn’t boring because I always try to beat my best time. The woods are also beautiful with a new scene to take in at every turn.

But when I get a chance to ride something new, it’s always a thrill. 

Up at my cottage, I’ve been riding the same trails for about ten years. Some are more like skidoo or ATV trails than mountain biking trails – they’re wider and less technical … but on the upside, they flow really well.

I have been riding these paths to get me to some single track trails that are made for mountain biking. In some places I even have to ride on the road to get to the good trails.  

It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing. 

Last year I almost ran into another biker on the trails. It was the first time in years I’d seen someone else in the woods. For years I’d felt like I was the only mountain biker in the area, but recently I’ve noticed signs that there are other riders using the trails.

It was also last year that I discovered a new trail and, because of it, I changed my route. I even got adventurous and built a short connector trail to link up the far end of my loop with the main trail. 

Well, yesterday while riding at my cottage, I found another trail. This trail means I can now avoid more roads and spend less time on the wide snowmobile and ATV paths.

It won’t be long until this new section of trail is old hat, just a regular part of my loop – by the end of this season I will have ridden it more than twenty times. But right now it’s exciting to pedal hard through a section that I don’t know very well.

It’s kind of like getting a new accessory for a product you’ve had for a while. When you get that new piece it makes the whole thing seem fresh and original again. 

This is shaping up to be a good biking season. (Want to see the trail? Click here.)

Here’s the thing: I have my set time every day when I do my Bible reading, journalling and prayer. I even have a certain place in the house where I like to spend that time. There is a lot of sameness to my meeting with God, but it’s not boring. But every once in a while I change something: I find a new place to meet with God, add different devotional readings, or take time to ask the Lord some very specific questions and wait on Him to answer. These new things I do just make my experience with God fresh and original again. Try something new – it will make a good time with God great again. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What gets you excited about new things? Leave your comments below.

by

He Wouldn’t Stay on the Cart Path

You don’t usually receive much bruising from playing golf … “maybe get a blister on your little finger, maybe get a blister on your thumb”, as Mark Knopfler of Dire Staits might say.

But this past week, I was golfing with my son and I found out that golf can be a contact sport after all. I don’t normally use a golf cart but we were in a tournament and carts were provided.

IMG_1546

I arrived late, and my son, Mike, already had his golf bag on the cart behind the driver’s seat … I was relegated to being a crash test dummy in the seat beside him! At first I thought nothing of it – though his starts were a little fast, he was getting us to where we needed to go.

After a few holes, however, it started to rain and got a little chilly which, for some reason, impacted his driving quality. It may have been the rain drops on the windscreen that made the terrain difficult to see, or maybe it was that he was cold and didn’t have his hand fully on the steering wheel, but let’s just say the ride got a little rough for the last 14 holes.

About 12 years ago, he was driving a golf cart with my dad as the passenger and at one point Mike almost threw his grandfather out of the cart! The words “Wow, wow, wow, Mikey boy!” are etched in my memory as I watched my dad hang on for dear life while Mike had the cart on two wheels.

We even had a deja-vu moment the other day when Mike said “ Hey, that was like the time I almost tossed Grandpa out of the cart.” Obviously, it was a memory that has stuck with Mike too … not that it has impacted his driving habits over the years.

With the rain coming down, we had stuck an umbrella in one of the bags to keep the clubs dry while we were driving. That required someone to hold the umbrella in place and keep it from becoming like one of those parachute-stopping devices on drag cars.

While I was half turned and holding the umbrella with one hand, Mike drove the cart right through a hole, which jolted ligaments in my shoulder. I asked him if he saw that hole and his reply was he thought he could miss it between the wheels.

He just slightly misjudged and in the process caused me to hit my head on the roof! At one point, I thought I was in the Fast and Furious movie, “Tokyo Drift” when we swung around to pick up a ball one of the guys had left behind.

It reminded me of the first time he drove a go cart by himself. He got in front of me and was so impressed with himself, he looked back at me with a big grin and then proceeded to miss the next turn and cut right across the grass, bumping along until he got back on the track.

In the end, we made it back to the club house in one piece. We scored pretty well in the four man best ball tournament and each took home a new Callaway driver as first place prizes! … I just hope Mike’s driving on the road is a little better than his driving on the fairway

Here’s the thing: There is nothing better than being in the passenger seat when God is driving. When you let Him lead, it might be a wild ride at times but it will be exciting and filled with adventure.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has been your most exhilarating experience? Leave your comment below.