why dream when you can ride?

I like hanging around with smart people, for there is so much to learn.  Or maybe be interested in is more accurate.  Learning gives the impression that I will have to use the lesson somewhere down the road, which involves studying, never a strong point of mine, remembering, a quiz, and then a test to see how much I didn’t know because I didn’t study enough.  And then like any test, after you take it, you go on to the next lesson and forget what  you were tested on.   So maybe I like listening to interesting people instead of smart ones, the definition of smart anyone who knows more than me, and interesting ones are those who share my interests and I can learn more about them, AHHH, there’s that word learn again.....

But over the years I have learned that the smartest people I know seem to talk about things I don’t know, and have all the answers, as long as you ask the right questions.  Sound familiar.....I love touring on motorcycles, and love to read about touring, but stay away from how to pack, which bike is best to tour, which oil is best for riding across the desert, and which energy drink will do me in.  I like to ride, not micromanage every second that I have to get away, yet I know guys who do.  Again, do you wonder why we ride alone?  Another friend of mine is very learned, much smarter than me, not sure if that’s a compliment or not, and if it can be read about, he can learn about it.  He loves bikes, knows all the specs, best accessories, and even minute data.  But his wife won’t let him have one, so his whole motorcycling experience is based on articles written by others, who may or may not have done it either.  In his reading he has been everywhere, in his life only where a monthly article will take him.  My answer is like the tag line BMW, Harley, and Triumph have used over the years, “why dream when you can ride?”  Any bets there is any article about that somewhere.....

Yet as kids all we could do was dream of our first, then our next motorcycle.  No matter how ratty, to us is shined like a new showroom model, sure it leaked, had a few dents, and was down on power, with the standard answer “they all do,” when confronted.  But we kept dreaming while we were riding, the clean pages being stained with grease and soon time spent dreaming was time spent riding.  All the specs we had memorized, all the best oil articles, and which tires were the best all came down to the ride.  And after all, isn’t the ride what it is all about? 

There was a time when I was all of the above, and then I just got out and rode.  Meeting the people who wrote the articles, giving them some credibility, or passing on them altogether.  Seems that going to the shows was fun, but it was still all about the ride, plus knowing Mickey I had contacts just by hanging in his shop.  Where the truth would come out about a road test, or product review, or what they really thought, not what they were coerced to write.  And suddenly my wide angle view came down to an 5x7 glossy of reality.....maybe learning could be interesting, but never will it replace the ride itself.

Over the years I have attended many studies, retreats, teachings, services, and prayer meetings.  I have learned a lot, but when God spoke, man’s lessons were over ridden, and my relationship with Jesus grew.  He simply told me “if the seat of your pants is wearing out faster than the soles of your shoes, you have a problem.”  I had lots of problems.  So asking God for guidance and forgiveness, I awoke to the things the spirit was showing me,and found people didn’t care how much I knew, it was all abut how much I cared.  Revealed to me one night after a Bible study, led by a Brother Ivy, and then a few of us hanging with him afterwards.  He was a lot of show, and misled a few, me among them, until he was giving us the gift of the holy spirit, not his to give, and was pushing people to prove they now had it.  Until he pushed me, and my reaction was to push him back, and as he laid on his back in the circle on the floor, he was suddenly revealed for what he was, and got up and left quietly.  Now I’ll wager his take on it was different, but I was there, and I knew then, and still know now. 

So why do we still study, still dream of the things of God but still settle for less than Jesus?  We get saved, but neglect his lordship.  We attend on Sunday and live like hell the rest of the week.  Is Jesus just a lesson to live by, some great stories for kids, or is he really who he says he is?  Why trust me or any other Christian writer when we have God’s own word, inspired by him, and available to us?  To give us life, for knowledge puffs up, you may know all about David, but do you know when to give a hug?  To shut up and listen?  Have you experienced Jesus or just know all about him?  Lots of false teachers, false prophets, and cults out there to mislead.  Some learn all about knowing Jesus, I have found knowing him, and how interesting he is, and how interested in me he is cannot be beat.  So why dream when you can ride?  Why settle for an almost Jesus, and find out that you almost only made it to heaven?  But successfully made it to hell....

Years ago when Packards were the ultimate automobile, a potential customer wrote the factory for information.  The reply he got became their motto, “Ask the man who owns one.”  Best reference is word of mouth, and all the bread of life we ever need will proceed from the mouth of Jesus.  So why not ask him....invite him along on the ride of your life.  Your testimony of how Jesus changed your life is important, not just knowing but doing.  Still dreaming....be careful, it can be dangerous to wake up a sleep walker.  If that first time with Jesus is not as memorable as your first bike, maybe you need to spend more time with him.  Experience him face to face, and watch as your interest grows in him,and bears interest, too.  If you ever wonder why I am smiling inside my Arai, maybe it is just part of a conversation between the two of us, and he makes me smile.  For Jesus like riding should be fun and should be experienced.  My t-shirts tell of my rides, what do yours say about yours?  I ride, what’s your story?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

riding on common ground

It seems group riding, or crowd riding as I call it and better describes it, brings out the best and worst in fellow riders. For some reason those on Harleys must rev their motors, reminding us of all the power the sound of their exhaust sounds like they have, the Gold Wing guys get up to 50 then stay there, can’t ride faster than the volume of your radio, and us other guys, sport bike guys as we are referred to, hang back, and sometimes even lose sight of the crowd, then accelerate to catch up.  Funny how we all ride, but have so many different riding styles.  Having participated and endured too many crowd rides, often heard at stops, while others complain of the lack of riding skills around them, “now you see why we ride alone.”  Taking a lesson learned over 45 years ago from a fellow rider, “if you are comfortable at 60, and me at 63, in an hour we will be three hours apart.”  Or more accurately, if we try to stay with each other, after an hour we will both be miserable, and miles apart.  No one enjoying the ride.  So to those of you who get off on crowd rides, who find freedom in the security of insecurity, please respect my riding alone.  We all cannot be the great riders you are.....

But one such ride taught me that we can all get along, our Torches Across America ride in 2005.  A group of thirty of us set off from Oceanside to Ground Zero, 3000 miles over 10 days, and like any large group, broke up into smaller ones, with each group riding its own ride.  We paired up with two experienced Gold Wing riders, an open exhaust 500 cc Kawi, and a few others.  All with different rides and styles, but we rode as a group, each night meeting and surveying the next day’s route, comparing miles per tank, and comfortable riding speeds.  Then agreed upon a pace we all were comfortable with.  And it worked, for over 3000 miles no fights, no one got lost, and one memorable lunch at a Steak and Shake, complete with hats says it all.  We left our egos in our rooms when we left, no one to impress or depress, and this is the only group of men I would ever tour with again.  I was among the youngest but most experienced, but I put that aside for the good of the ride, and learned a lot about people and their rides.  And mine.  With no egos to be fed, we all enjoyed the ride.....now if Christians could only get it....imagine how the church would change the world!

Although Timothy was a seasoned Christian, Paul sent him to minister to and with older men, whom he had trained.  We all know the scriptural warning of Paul, “don’t let them look down on you because you are young in age,” don’t look for a fight or ego boost based on your testimony, but rather but rather by speech and conduct show a sensitivity, reflecting the love and compassion of Jesus Christ.  Just like we would, or should....but Paul highlights two areas speech and conduct, and right there, many of us have blown it.  We are to be loving and faithful, both in words and attitudes, reflected in our actions.  Instead we like to rev our own motors, brag on our horsepower, coming off as rude and arrogant.  We are not to be like the man who knows it all, only to find he hasn’t heard all the questions yet.  The first sign of a good pastor is to be a good listener.  How can you respond if you don’t know what was said over your own voice?  Or loud pipe....

But as we also found on our ride, we had to be respectful, responsible, and maintain our agreements on the ride.  If not, all was in vain.  Again put simply, the ride was not all about me, but us, putting others first, as we always do to others....you do don’t you?  It seems our commitments are not worth the voice that spoke them, how many times must you lie before you are a liar?  Is one too many?  But maybe the hardest is being a stranger in a strange land, for each one of us had to give something to gain something.  And it was all worth it.  Out of respect for us being Christians, we stayed out of bars, didn’t hear any rude or offensive talk around the ladies.  Respect was shown to all, no dirty stories or double edged jokes, because we didn’t preach, didn’t make others join our rules of conduct, they could see by our actions a side of Jesus religion has abandoned years ago.  Not that we were without fault, but that as a true Christian, not a pew filler, something was different about us,and we could be ourselves and share Jesus by our love and respect.  To the point, that sometimes when we forgot to gather and pray each morning, it was always one of the group who reminded us. Funny how when God is at work changing a heart, we can be ourselves.  Now if only we could all ride together, fellowship together, or even agree on the gospel together!  I can hear the excuses already....proving my point.

So maybe Paul’s advice for Timothy is for all of us.  Remember the fruit of the spirit, does it show in our lives?  Or do you need a vest or shirt to tell someone you are a Christian?  Nothing sadder than a group of loud Christian bikes annoying others.  They hear your pipes, and your message.  Sadly it is different than the gospel.  So don’t LET anyone look down on you because you are a Christian, but SET an example being led by the spirit.  Each one of us loves our own bike, and we all ride different.  It’s that personal.  Funny how love and respect may have gone out of style, but Jesus never has.  Something to remember next time you look down on someone, remember the view Jesus had from the cross.  Looking down he saw us....looking up, who do you see.....

By the way, we all made it safe, with only one hitch when 3500 motorcycles, over 18 miles of us, hit the Holland Tunnel at once....but that’s another story!  And of course the ride back....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

there's no app for that one

When my friend’s wife allowed him to get back into riding, he wanted a Kawasaki ZX14, all 150 horsepower of it.  Finding one at the local store where they knew me, they agreed to let me test ride it for him.  How could I say no?  So on an unusual morning with no traffic on the 78, I opened it up, into the rev limiter in second and wide open in third, before coming up on a 55 mph curve, and no time to slow.  So in my best Kenny Roberts knee dragging imitation, I leaned, and kept leaning, and the bike did its thing.  Without a shimmy or shake.....the last time I had looked at the digital speedo it said 121, what a rush.  Nowhere will you ever find an app for that!

The three of us had taken off early, on a lightly travelled road Bouke knew in Jersey.  On his Z-1 he led, followed by me on my R90S, and BH on is Dunstall 750 Honda.  Three young and crazy,and fast guys, when looking in my mirror, all I could see was flashing lights and grill of a State Patrol car. Looking at Bouke, he nodded and we took off, easily outrunning the cop, but after a few miles stopping, still not faster than the radio.   And Bouke was unusually edgy, seems he had a plate from an old Triumph on his bike, and of all things he knew the cop.  Who it turned out was a captain in the Jersey State Police, it didn’t look good.  But the Captain’s opening line took us all by surprise...pointing at BH, “that thing is fast, that BMW is unreal, but that Z is a rocket!”  He rides!  And after writing us all a ticket for improper registration, in his words,” I called it in, I have to write something,” took off, giving us his business card, for emergencies.  Talk about a rush!  But after, Bouke confided in me, he knew the captain, and was a bit scared.  He was a witness when another friend killed his brother in a mercy killing, and guess who was the investigating officer.  A landmark case then and now, no wonder he was freaking out.  A guess being stopped at 111 was no big deal after that.  Try to find an app for that!

Saturday morning on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a great ride but with a 45 mph speed limit.  Until meeting a local at a rest stop, who had a Sprint ST like mine.  “Follow me,” he invited, “this is my back yard.”  And so with Theresa hanging on, we raced, using his lines and braking markers down this surreal road for 45 miles.  He pulled off with a wave, we went on....a chance of a lifetime behind us.  Ain’t no app for that!

Or the night BH and I stayed out too late, and ended up with no place to stay.  Riding faster wasn’t the cure, and at 2 am we were pulled over by a county sheriff.  While he looked at our licenses with his flashlight, suddenly a chopper flew by us, catching air,and with a helmetless rider.  Handing us back our license, he said “here, wait for me, I’ll be right back,” and took off after the chopper.  Looking at each other, as soon as he was out of sight, we took off the other way!  No app for what had just happened that night.....

And so we ride on, not knowing what the road ahead has in store for us.  But there is a store on your i-phone, where you can have an app for almost everything.  From dating to farming to fashion to riding, all you need is to download their app for instant gratification.  Without ever leaving your i-phone world.  Virtual reality, close but not really real, has become a go to for many.  A way to satisfy the emotional or physical urge or need at any given time, just a 5” screen away.  And give a merchant an opportunity to sell you something he tells you that you need.  Not having a cell phone, I have yet to fall into the trap, but I watch those that do, and it seems anything I look up on line has an app tied to it.  Which may be a quick fix for bike parts, or a kind word, but when the spiritual is addressed via app, I can see problems.  There is no way eve virtual reality can wire into all your emotions like reality can, and some carry that faux reality into religion.  The right verse app, if not the one you need, sign up for more.  Read a pastor’s book, and after a few pages, buy it to complete it.  Don’t like the webmaster’s take on Jesus, Google it again, all the time seeking self satisfaction, all without the benefit of the holy spirit.  Devised by man, supplied by man, but never a substitute for Jesus, never.  Yet for all those who fight wars via video games, go off the track and hit the rest button to start again, and all those with a sound byte relationship with God, they miss out on the reality of who Jesus Christ is.  But apps are nothing knew to God, for when he created us, he left a hole in us that only he could fill, revealed to us and then fulfilled by his spirit.  No limit on what we can do in Christ, or beyond our pocket book.  The gospel is free so we can afford it, and simple so we can get it. Even the packaging is simple, he writes it on our heart.  Truly he is always with us, ever leave home without your heart?  So is there an app that can satisfy like Jesus....

Many will fall short, not trusting him, thinking that the apps are all there is.  Again based on man, not God.  Created by man, the creation, not the creator.  For you see Jesus goes way beyond emotion, way beyond physical satisfaction, he includes a spiritual satisfaction found no where else.  A rush that cannot be described, a peace beyond comparison, and a friend who stands by you, never leaving.  Why settle for technology when you can have spiritual reality?  No app needed, just Jesus, and you can have him right now.  Google Jesus and you get some weird ideas, seek him and you get the truth of who he is.  And even the shipping is free...keep you VISA in your wallet!  He doesn’t want it or need it!  If your church, your denomination, your pastor has an app, does it also have a place to donate?  Jesus doesn’t, he wishes to give.  And you cannot out give him!

Today we will all come up short, if only for a moment emotionally, a physical need will face us, and where do we turn?  Before technology, before Google, before the app world, there was Jesus, and after they fade away, there still will be Jesus, all you need in one package.  Nothing to download, no Instagram to brag, just Jesus.  When pictures fail, words cannot describe, and feelings are coming apart, there will always be Jesus. 

No matter what you ride, how fast you have been, or the horsepower you have, there will always be someone who will outdo you.  God offers the supreme test, hang on a cross for everyone’s sins.  Any takers?  But we can partake in his resurrection if we believe and trust in him.  And unlike the sheriff who we didn’t wait for......we look forward to his return.  There is no app for salvation, for heaven, for a personal relationship with God.  No quickie nirvana to heaven.  Man plans, Apple sells.  God plans, and the price is paid.  Want a rush, try Jesus.  There will never be an app like him!  Before Facebook he friended you, not all rushes come from twisting the throttle!

If your life is like a ride on the dyno....you can have joy stick or joy.....I think I need a ride.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

destination: everywhere!

 Much of what I do remember is based on what Theresa and my son Christopher have told me.  What I do remember was the nurse telling me to keep my feet down because the helicopter was small, and not to interfere with the pilot’s feet.  My veins had collapsed and only the flight nurse could find a vein.  And for the next 250 miles I would be life flighted from Durango to Albuquerque.  Then landing and being greeted to what I thought was a SWAT team of medical personnel.  Then eight days later, waking up and looking at the ceiling, knowing something had happened, but not sure what.  The room was filled with all kinds of monitoring equipment, I had numerous IV’s in me, and my chest felt funny.  Reaching down, I could feel staples and counted 13, turned out there was 27 of them, and I had just endured and managed to live miraculously after open heart surgery.  Among other things, I now have a plastic aorta, mine exploded, no one lives through that, and my heart was out of my body for 5 1/2 hours.  After the surgery until just before I woke up, I had been on life support, as Peter my cardiologist explained, “we can keep you functioning, but cannot give you life.”  A concept that I still hold dear, and I decided at that point, I was not a victim, but a victor, I had seen Jesus, he held my heart in his hands, and all I believed became real, and with access to things I didn’t know about God.  We all think we know God pretty well, for me it took a coma, and a new aorta and another chance to live to see the truth.  But I was alive, more than functioning, and I took the attitude I could do all things in Christ who gives me strength, and life.  Abundantly.  I would soon be released, the nurses telling me they had never seen someone so sick that weren’t dead, and all I wanted was fresh air, and another chance to see the world, my new destination, everywhere.  To go for a ride....oh and I was hungry having not eaten for 12 days, do I hear road trip?

I have learned over the years of planning trips and then adjusting them due to weather, a road not seen and taken, detours, and food excursions.  Flexibility in life as well as traveling has its benefits, we are definitely not cruise ship or tour group participants.  When we travel we want to see the locals, eat at the counter at the diner, pronounce names correctly, and see things not in any brochure.  Saying we have been there is not enough, we cherish the memories of people, places, food, roads, and just being with each other.  So many times we limit ourselves, thinking we cannot afford it, don’t have the time, the finances, or a fear takes over.  Sadly many Christians live like this, which is revealed in their prayers.  Limiting God by asking for a specific, not asking him first what he wants for us.  Some have a prayer list, checking off their desires as they ask, which God hands back, marked “none of the above.”  For he has more and much more than we could ever hope or ask for.  So why settle for our desires when we can have all the desires of God, opening up a new life and and hope for it?

Scripture tells us the spirit intervenes in our prayers with groanings which are too deep for us to understand.  Add being in a coma and not being conscious to pray, yet the spirit is alive, was alive, and I was listening.  Maybe the most private of times ever spent with Jesus, for when I am asked to describe the things of heaven, what does he look like, how does he sound, all physical attributes, all I can say is “I want to go back.”  To me, that says it all....

And so although I have an eternal destination, I am unlimited in where I choose to go on earth.  My first ride seven weeks after surgery was a short 30 miles, after pushing the Bonneville around in the garage with my feet.  Every time I thought I was ready, God showed me it wasn’t my strength, it was his, and the timing wasn’t right.  But when it was.....I was.  On the wall when you come in our front door, friends come in the proper way, through the garage, I have a list of press bikes I rode the first year after surgery.  Something I never thought I would do again.  But Mickey took a chance and kept me riding, maybe the best therapy I could have had, he’ll deny it, but I know.  22 bikes that year, and the miles still accumulate.  So many roads and so little time, so I make my choices differently, better, with so many destinations left I have never heard of.  And roads to take me on to get there....

To some this is a sad story, and they would ask “why me?”  My answer is “why not me?”  We say we trust God, but do we?  Do the words of my mouth really give glory to God, or curse Jesus, backed up by actions and attitudes?  Consider the alternatives, I could be dead and in heaven with Jesus, or alive on earth with Jesus.  So it doesn’t matter, for wherever I am, he is.  We must love God in the trials as we do in the blessings, which sometimes cannot be differentiated.  Jesus never left me in my coma, on the helicopter, or when my heart was out.  If a plastic aorta is how I go into heaven, that’s alright too.  For I know in whom I trust and believe, and where I will spend eternity.  But until then, my earthly destinations remain unlimited, I can go anywhere and everywhere.  In Christ.  You are only given one life, why not spend it living, preparing for eternity? 

All things, not just good things, not just our desires, work together to those who love the Lord.  And are called according to his purpose, which is knowing Jesus.  You cannot have Easter without Good Friday, or be resurrected unless you die.  Your final destination is up to you....all I know is “I want to go back....”

Don’t you just love happy endings?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com