This year represents my 46th year of street riding. Add in the dirt years,
and for over 51 years I have been a motorcyclist. It is safe to say that
motorcycles changed me, and that motorcycling has changed, but the thrill of the
next ride still is as strong as ever. In 1972 it was Honda everything, with the
CB750 the bike everyone wanted and all else was compared to. We didn’t know
that a year later the Z-1 would be king, and the R90S was only another year
away. 750 cc’s were huge, I had a new 1972 CB350, mid size then, and after 6600
miles in five months, sold it and replaced it with a new BMW R60/5. Suddenly
the rides got longer, and the world smaller. But brand identification existed,
if not only in ads, Triumph and Norton meant handling, as long as they were
running, Yamaha had some neat enduros, many a larger bike lost to the Suzuki X-6
Hustler, and no one messed with a Mach III Kawasaki. Only old guys and 1%ers
rode Harleys, the words quick, fast, and reliable never described them then, the
three things we demanded on what we rode. But we all rode, that was our common
bond, and would wave to other riders, no matter what they rode. It was a
brotherhood like no other, and it too has changed today.
Friday nights meant hanging out in a friend’s garage, polishing, tuning,
and bench racing for the Saturday morning ride. You never wanted to show up
without a full tank of gas or arrive late the next morning, the last free donut
with greasy fingerprints was nicer to you than the razzing you got for making
them wait. And off we went, back roads, cafes, winking at girls, and getting
home just in time for your date. An extended weekend ride meant traveling
luggage, a Boy Scout knapsack bungeed to your seat, a face shield was your
windshield. Any bike you threw your leg over was a touring bike, being back for
work by Monday morning your main deterrent. Like the saying goes, “we rode,
drank, ate and slept, dreamed, loved, and lived motorcycles.” If you have to
ask, you won’t understand. I rather be riding than explaining. The world then
was two types of people, those who rode, and those who didn’t. Some would hang
around, but posers were not welcome, we were suspicious of them. After all, who
would choose a car over a motorcycle?
So motorcycling goes on, and after over 1 million miles, and countless
bikes and rides, I am more of a motorcyclist than ever. I may have slowed down,
a little, but still get all I can out of each road and ride. I still wave to
other riders, even when in a car, the brotherhood cannot be tamed by a cage. It
seems that I am entering an Area 51 in my life, new and exciting things, and
with expectations still vivid. Many unknown places and people to meet, where I
can see my dreams come to fruition, and live a reality instead of a dream. All
because of Jesus Christ.
It is safe to say that Jesus Christ changed me, and that the church has
changed also. But the thrill of Jesus is still as fresh as the day I first
believed. When I first was saved, it was all about Jesus, so many of us went to
different churches, and we loved the fellowship, the sharing of testimonies of
Jesus in our lives, and in our home churches. But somewhere along the way, we
got taught, or informed that our way of worship was better, that our Jesus was
better because we knew more. We learned the shortcomings of each denomination,
of course ours had none, and soon we were righteous bigots within Christianity.
The same Jesus that has saved each one of us, the same Bible we all read, was
now being dissected and used against us. True, there are some false or lesser
teaching in each denomination, but we need to get back to Jesus, who we are in
him, and how without him we are lost. Just as there are those who ride and
those who don’t, God sees the world as those who believe and those who don’t.
Yet he wants all of us to be saved, I cannot say I want all to ride. Yet I
evangelize motorcycling as I ride, but do I evangelize Jesus Christ as I live?
A man recently divorced me from his list of friends, blinded by his belief that
the church is the answer. Sadly his life reflects that, as Jesus saved him, but
then the church took over. He lives more for church than Jesus, has no
non-Christian friends, only listens to Christian radio and the rest of us don’t
measure up. He got that message somewhere, not from the Bible. The message we
send as Christians should be love, we are the church, yet individuals in
Christ. We may each fellowship at different places, but the holy spirit has to
be the unifying force. Maybe if we go back to our first love, if we can
remember how he changed us, maybe we can let him still change us more, so we can
be that encouragement to others. Yet an Area 51 exists in the church today,
based on false or weak teachings, that deny Jesus his proper place, and leave us
weak and divided. When I was first saved, I was excited to meet new Christians,
now it is “where do you go to church?” Has the church become more important
than Jesus in your life? Have you lost your first love, or is it everyone
else? Praying or preyed upon?
If your walk with Jesus ends at the door when leaving church, if he is
vacant in your home or at work, you need a tune up, an overhaul. To be welcomed
back, not segregated out and avoided, you need love. We were all lost when
Jesus found us, lest we forget. It is true you may never be as cool as riding a
motorcycle, but you can be really cool by knowing Jesus. By the fellowship and
getting out among the world, and being the light God designed us to be. To be a
witness, not witless, or winless, to be all that Jesus has for us. You see,
even though we have more horsepower, better handling and more reliable bikes, it
still comes down to the guy twisting the throttle. It comes down to going for
the ride, to getting out and living. When a friend was looking for a new bike,
his first choice was one that looked the best, until I asked him “you going to
ride it or look at it?” Then his choice changed, and now he rides. Ask
yourself the same thing about Jesus, “you looking for him or to him?” Your
friends may already know the answer, you may be the donut everyone has picked up
and put down. When Jesus is our common bond, when we are led by his spirit,
life takes on a new meaning. We live an abundant life, because he fulfills it.
Heaven is closer everyday, and how we approach it reflects in how we live. And
of course if you ride.....
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker,blogspot.com