on the second day of your ride

We always start our trips out with great anticipation, we cannot wait to get on the road, and when the day finally arrives, and the last second checks and rechecks have been done, when we finally throw the leg over the bike and ride off, our attitudes change. We have finally escaped, and for the first 100 miles or so, review in my mind all the things I needed to do and all the things I needed to pack.  It will take a few hundred miles to unwind, as no one will take care of your home as you do, and as the miles pass, so do the concerns of home.  The first meal, and the first night out call to us, and after checking in, after the first meal away from home, it begins to hit, we are on vacation!  And a whole new mindset takes over.....

Starting off the next day, the second day of the ride, you begin to look at things differently.  Home is behind you, hundreds of miles away, and any concerns have been left behind with it.  No phone call, no mail, no emails, and the pressures of life have begun to fade away, as now you can concentrate on the main thing, your ride.  When we park sometimes I marvel while looking at our bike, this is all we have for the next coming days.  Everything we need, and if we don’t we can pick it up along the way, there are Walmarts everywhere.  Our needs have changed, we get by with what we have, and find out we can do just fine without the excess.  But day two starts us off waking up in an unfamiliar bed, eating at an unfamiliar diner, fueling up where the gas is cheaper if heading east, and the ride is on.  No checking emails, no phone, in my case to receive voice mails, it is just us and the road.  Our attitude has changed, the traffic is lighter, people seem to smile more, and the anticipation of lunch will dwell with us for the next few hours.  Road food always seems to taste better, the diners cleaner, the waitresses nicer and prettier.  People use manners, they talk more when they see us on our bike, and conversations begin where once others would just wish you would pay your bill and leave.  A trip to the head, and soon you are on the road again, with thoughts of the night’s lodging and special evening meal waiting.  What will the motel be like, will they have ME TV?  Can I watch my bike from the room?   Many motels now have bike bays set up with free soap and water to wash your bike. Seems all your needs are being addressed, food for the belly, a place to rest your head, and a stable for your ride.  You haven’t done anything really different the second day, but with the attitude adjustment, the whole world seems brighter, maybe it’s the extra hour of sleep, maybe the quiet wake up, or maybe just the anticipation of new places and faces, but day two out to me will always be the day the ride changes.  But really it is me.

I don’t remember the exact date, or even the place where I figured I would give Jesus a chance.  But I do remember the changes in me, suddenly I had questions, real questions about God, it went deeper than just reading the Bible, more than praying with others.  Waking up the next day, I felt refreshed, more alive, and somehow freer of what I left behind.  If asked what was going on, or what I was thinking, my answer would honestly be “I’m not sure, I don’t know, something is changing inside of me.”  And I wanted to talk about Jesus, with anyone.  That second day of being saved I was different, I knew it, and somehow my rides would change.  I began to look at things through his eyes, and things that used to be important, things I worried about, and things that used to dominate me, didn’t any more.  It was the worries of life, the concerns that had been left behind, and suddenly the ride, the relationship with Jesus was the main thing, in fact for awhile the only thing.  I left behind when heading back to Jersey the only Christian I knew, and had no one to lead me, but I never felt abandoned.  I felt fresh, looking forward to the next day, even to today, and where it would lead.  Where before I had led a structured life, I now felt free, and changes in plans, itineraries, and destinations thrilled me rather than scared me.  The day I was saved I had never thought “today is the day I meet Jesus and get saved,” but waking up the next day, it was waking up with Jesus and I was saved.  It seemed as if life was greeting me, and I was welcoming it.  My mornings changed from “good Lord, it’s morning,” to “good morning  Lord!”  I knew nothing, but felt like I knew everything.  Time took a vacation, plans changed, the road now welcomed me instead of scaring me, and I couldn’t wait to travel.  What a difference the second day of my trip with Jesus took, and still takes today. 

In our daily struggles, we fail to address Jesus as we need to.  Oh we think we do, but the mindset of just getting through the day prevails.  Get up, shower, breakfast, do a devotion and pray.  Work, come home, dinner, read 15 minutes of Bible as prescribed, and falling asleep, exhausted, knowing I had kept all my obligations to God.  Hoping I could sleep an extra hour, I need the rest.  But my life now in Christ is like the second day of a trip, before I was saved, the scripture “father forgive them they know not what they do,” I applied to sinners needing Jesus.  Now God has shown me it applies to the saved also, for we get religious, we do rote prayers, read the Bible to keep up with a study, and have become religious.  We have Jesus, and even access to the spirit, yet we neglect him.  We know him, but we don’t know what we are doing with him.  It is when we meditate on Jesus throughout the day, when we stop worrying about having to be a witness, when we read the Bible because we want to, when a few words jump out at us and we put it down and pray, when the spirit is guiding us, that  we truly get to live in freedom in the spirit.  So Father, please forgive me, us, because many times we don’t know what we are doing, just what we are trained or required to do.  Forgive us,so we can forgive others, and get on with life, abundantly as you call it.  Help us to drop the religious requirements forced upon us, help us to do your thing, not a religious thing.  And I hope like you find, like I do, you begin to enjoy the ride.  Priorities are changed, and what was once required you do because you want to.  The road Jesus has placed you on becomes exciting, and you sleep better, pray more and better, your Bible time is not based on how much time and verses, but on spending time with Jesus, as the words jump off the page.  That second day with Jesus when you wake up to the freedom in and of the spirit, changes everything.  And I look to Christ and know that in him I have all I need.  And now I desire the ride, where before it was just another day.

But you cannot get to the second day if you haven’t gotten past the first, you must be saved.  You must come to Jesus.  It may not be magical, but you will know, and I encourage you to seek him.  Talk with him, listen to what the spirit is telling you.  Read your Bible, like we ride, one mile at a time, don’t try to keep up with others, ride your own ride in Christ.  The first day is always a bit scary, but the second day, when the cares of life change, he is with you still, and always.  Father forgive us, for sometimes all we know is what our church, denomination, or study group teaches us.  We don’t know what we do or what to do.  Help us be led by your spirit, to put the past behind, to find the freedom in you the Bible speaks of.  Let the only commandment be to love you and then others.  Excitingly anticipate the second day in Jesus, maybe the most important day of you new life, and it gets even better, because on third day, Jesus rose and defeated death.  The road only gets better.....when Jesus is on it.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

so what are your plans for your summer ride?

Scripture tells us that the rain falls on the just and the unjust, my translation the rider and the non-rider.  None of us like riding in the rain, but during the winter months when the weather restricts my riding, I have found a way to enjoy the down time, and plan for the good weather.  I use the winter months to plan our summer trips, and going through magazines, watching travel shows, and scanning the web, I find new places and rides to take.  Getting info from state tourism agencies along with free maps, I pour over them, and see where we can go.  One benefit of planning early is getting the best rate on motels, some have already gone up in the past 60 days $10-30/night.  But I find another aspect of planning our trips, I used to overlook.  In my planning, I am really spending time with God, my planning a form of prayer, letting God know my desires, and then he fine tunes them.  Psalm 1 tells us to meditate on the Lord throughout the day, how many include him in our plans?  That over worked scripture about how he knows the plans for us goes unheeded until we allow him to participate in our planning.  How many of us miss out on the best rides because we fail to include him along on our rides?

Scripture also tells us that young men will dream dreams and older men have visions, sounds like my planning sessions to me.  As I plan I see the trip unfold, and as it unfolds, I let God take me places I don’t know about, roads I would have passed, and with him guiding avoiding storms I might have headed right into.  If Jesus Christ is not an integral part of your planning, he may not be part of the plan at all, fortunately we are always part of his.  But in the down time from riding when I do plan, I see the flexibility in God, how to change to meet his course, how to change routes, places to stay, and places to eat.  When I think back on all I have seen and done, I am glad I had him along, but wonder, “I know I didn’t always obey, how much did I really miss?”  A new take on you don’t know what you’re missing until you meet the Lord.  And I don’t like to miss out!

But an intricate part of planning, maybe the most important part, is listening.  Why pray, or ask, if you don’t listen for an answer?  We expect God to hear us, shouldn’t we listen for him and his answer?  How much do we overlook or neglect because we don’t listen?  Didn’t Jesus tell us “he who has an ear let him hear,”  he didn’t say he who has a mouth let him speak.  Or interrupt.  So maybe a key to your prayer life is listening more.  Who more than the wonderful counselor, he who knows the plans is there better to listen to?  Yet we grumble and complain....fortunately God knows.

On our three week trip to Wisconsin six summers ago, I ended up life flighted 250 miles and having open heart surgery.  Not in our plans, as our trip included 54 days in Albuquerque, but God did know.  And a scripture given to Theresa and I gave us peace, Isaiah 65:24, telling us that even before we pray, God has the answers in motion.  So refreshing to know God is awake and alive, it is hard to pray when in a coma.  But God never rests, still planning but not listening?  There is still time to change.....

Maybe it is selfish, but I want all the Jesus I can get.  I want all the blessings, and I love spending time with God, riding and planning.  Listening for and to his advice, for who knows the road better than Jesus, who spent his entire ministry on it?  Who better knows the lands than he who created them?  And who better knows us, than he who created us?  And spending time with him is time well spent.  When we plan do we consider that today was tomorrow yesterday?  And how much today effects tomorrow?  Jesus knows.  Who can guide you better, who knows the best places you like to eat?  Who knows the road and what lies ahead better than he does?  Yet too many of us still go it alone....

So many of the trips I haven ever taken have been taken in planning, days I couldn’t ride.  God has taken me to places no map shows, shared adventures only he has seen, and with that gives me hope for or next ride.  So in your planning, in your prayer time, do you include God in the conversation?  Is your prayer time a monologue, or a dialogue?  Is it a set time when it can be all the time?  Who else but the wonderful counselor, the holy spirit is needed to plan?  Yet he reveals his answers in many ways and people.  Are you listening?  So what are your plans for your summer ride?  I have laid out my plans and prayers to God, now he is fine tuning them.  A few direction changes, some steps retraced, some new ones introduced.  Remaining flexible in the planning and the ride, he knows how far you can ride on a tank, and what stations are open.  Pushing 600 pounds of motorcycle is not the way I planned, but have wound up.  If only I had listened...

So present your works to the Lord, and you will find your plans well established.  Dream your dreams, how many dreams in the Bible would not have been important if Jesus was not along?  Add days to your miles, and miles to your days.  Down time is no time to be down, but a time to rest and see what God has planned for you.  He knows your heart, your desires.  Who else but Jesus can plan a better trip for you?  Are you listening, can you hear him now?  Where the spirit of the Lord is liberty, for me best found in him on two wheels.  He knew that when he created me.  He gave me the desire of my heart, and when he is that desire, all things, will be added unto them.  Planning and praying, the alternative to not being able to ride.  And you don’t have to wait until it rains to do it. 

Which reminds me of the times I left my raingear home, it never rains in the desert, does it?  The value of listening.  God knows, now you can too.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the day the motorcycle industry fought back

Road Test Shootout: Harley vs Triumph Conclusion

• Written By: Bill Bryant
• 5-11-2012
• Categorized in: Features, Motorcycles

Any good shootout has to have a clear winner, right? Trying to flatly say one machine is better than another is not only a matter of opinion, but one of perspective. Both the Forty-Eight and the T100 are great choices for a new bike. While some might think the two motorcycles are like comparing apples and oranges, I would argue the contrary. They are certainly different, but serve the same purpose–filling that empty spot in the garage for a rider with roughly ten grand. If said rider wants a fun, reliable and cool motorcycle that is lighter and more nimble than a full-on cruiser, more laid back than a sport bike, and loaded with classic style, either bike fits the bill. The Chop Cult reader will undoubtedly want to modify his bike, whether it's stripping it down, tarting it up, or to use as the basis for a full-on chopper. Being able to define what you expect from your machine is what impacts your perspective and helps you choose the right bike. Lots of things are vague and subjective, but when my criteria is as simple as: "how fun is this machine to ride compared to how much it costs?" the winner emerges and it's the Hinkley Triumph.

Years ago, too many to remember the dates, Bell Helmet ran ads “if you have a $10 head buy a $10 helmet.’'  At the time Bell was recognized as the helmet to own, and were expensive, costing from $20-80, big money for a new rider.  But then the lawyers stepped in, and Bell was sued for accidents of riders wearing their helmet.  The claims ran from “if it is the best, why did my client get hurt or die?”  Even if the victim wasn’t wearing any helmet, or not a Bell, they were sued anyway, “if your ads were better, they would have warn a Bell,”  or “if they weren’t so expensive, they would be wearing a Bell.”  Praise the hand that feeds you, then attack it.  And Bell paid off big, settling out of court, as most liability suits are, and driving up the cost of the helmet.  But one day, the liabilities went too far, and Bell started fighting back.  “See you in court,” and finally lawyers went from negotiators to practicers of the law, and Bell won a convincing 97% of the cases.  The specious law suits ended, Bell could design even better helmets rather than pay claims, and the industry was saved from the attorneys.  Don’t you just love happy endings?

10-15 years ago motorcycling was staging a comeback, in an industry with lots of ups and downs, the up side was nice to be part of for a change.  Relying on the books of the trade, the motorcycle magazines, then as now bikes are provided for road tests to the magazines, and I can tell you from first hand experience not always brought back as they went out.  From total repaints, to off road adventures on sport bikes to only ridden for a few seconds in the background, I have seen editors and directors destroy bikes, with the attitude “let the manufacturer pay for it.”  Until one day Honda had had enough, one of its press fleet returned totaled, they sent a bill to the magazine, which the prideful publication refused to pay.  How dare Honda, they are press bikes, meant to be used hard, or irresponsibly, and Honda fought back.  They pulled all their advertising, ALL, and the magazine was almost dealt a death blow.  And the longer that Honda held their ground, the road testers finally got the message, and order was restored.  “You break it, you bought it,” just like us, with certain exceptions.  The manufacturers still hand out new bikes for review, but now the magazines know they may be on the hook. Whether they listen or not is up to the manufacturer, and some have drawn some pretty heavy lines.  Sadly some of the reviews reflect it, and then the ads are pulled.  So the battle continues....and now you know why some road testers never met a bike they didn’t like.  Money talks, we just ride.

Sin is an interesting concept, and until we know we are doing wrong, sinning, we will continue to do it.  Scripture tells us that “all like sheep have gone astray,” sheep taking the stupid crown from cows.  Sheep can somehow find a hole in the fence and escape, but cannot find the same hole to get back in.  Sounds like us, we find a way to sin, and are cut off from God, but we cannot find our own way back.  While some have paid indulgences to the church over the years, or have sought forgiveness in penance, only Jesus can truly forgive our sins.  Jesus who was without sin, bore our sins on the cross, making the way for us to get back to God, tough for him, but easy for us.  But first we must acknowledge the fact we are sinners, maybe the ultimate stumbling block.  We are told that he loved us first, a good thing, since without his love, we would still be without a way back, without forgiveness.  Our first thought about ourselves is we are not that bad, some are worse, and we make the excuses based on that.  Jesus says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  ALL.  All of our creativeness, excuses, and shortcomings come to light in Jesus, we cannot do it alone.  We can try to be good, but that doesn’t forgive us, we can learn and pray, attend services, take care of the poor, and keep the Ten Commandments, but without Jesus there is no forgiveness of sins.  Yet some take the hard way out, and are still lost.  And like when Honda was faced with a bill for something they didn’t do, cancel their advertising, their relationship with God.  Truer still, maybe they never had one.  If it was based on works, you will always fall short, so God made salvation a free gift, so we all could afford it.  We have come a long way from $10 helmets, are you still wearing a $10 religion? 

There is no free salvation, Jesus paid the price, but he did it for us. But yet money talks, and too many walk that could be riding.  Or be saved.  But settle for a case of bad religion.  I was part of a conversation some twenty years ago, where the man who wrote an article comparing a Sportster to a Thunderbird Sport, which in every comparison beat the Sporty.  Yet the article picked the Sporty over the Sport as the winner.  And we called the editor out on it, who finally admitted, “the Triumph is a much better bike, and yes it won the comparison.  The story printed was not the one I wrote, but was told to rewrite.  Harley advertises much more than Triumph with us, money talks.”  But still no reprisal or confession.  Maybe if we go back to the days of Bell calling out the accusers, if we confront God as he does us, in love, we will see the truth, and be set free.  Maybe when we see sin for what it is, and how only in Jesus can we fight against it and win, we will see our lives changed.  But still the sheep are out there, but still are the goats.  Jesus came to separate us from them, and to be the great shepherd.  But the only way to get hold of the redemption Jesus offers is to admit we are sinners, and repent.  Like sheep, we have all gone astray.  Even those who ride and write about bikes.  Fortunately Jesus bore the sins of them too, and all have the free offer of salvation and forgiveness.  The truth, not a truth, not some opinion in print will set you free.  Still worshipping a $10 God, based on a $10 religion?  Turn to Jesus and see we are the problem and not the solution.  The day the motorcycle industry fought back, was the day we all who ride won.  But the day that Jesus won our salvation for us, we all won.  Even those who write and report.  God will see us all in court someday, And his version of the road test of your life will be the true one.  That ought to scare a lot of us.....thankfully God has laid our iniquity of our sin on Jesus.  See you in court....or in heaven.  Some read, some ride. The law will never save you, Jesus does.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com