Theresa and I were riding Highway 25 on our way to a Hollister Rally when
we came upon two bikes off the road. One was a shiny new a Harley, the other a
dented and dirt covered Harley laying on its side in the weeds. Stopping
immediately, the man covered in dirt and clutching his arm to his chest
explained he had overshot the corner, slammed on his brakes, in Harley speak his
rear only, the rear end came around and he went down. He was shaken, in shock,
we got him calmed and they admitted they had no cell phone service, big surprise
for where we were. So I hopped on my Bonneville and sped off, passing two
farmhouses where no one was home, finally finding two men working in a machine
shop adjacent to a ranch who had a land line. They never looked up as I asked
to use it and told of a biker down, they kept at their work, almost as a request
to use their phone happened all the time. I was able to contact the sheriff,
who dispatched an ambulance, and thanking the men, I took a slower ride back the
twelve miles I had gone to find a phone. Even at a slower pace, I still beat
the ambulance coming from King City, and we prayed with the men while we
waited. We had no means to give first aid, but had given fast aid via our
motorcycles, with my adrenaline pumping it never felt like the almost 100 miles
per hour I had sped looking for a phone, and 25 can be a wicked teacher if you
mess up, as the Harley rider found out. A quick but less stressful ride took us
the final miles into Hollister.
But talking with both men while waiting, they both confessed they had only
used their rear brakes, Harley guys don’t use the front for fear of doing a
stoppie, and had slid sideways, over compensated, and slid off the road. An
accident that didn’t have to happen, his speed may have been too fast, but if he
knew how to brake he wouldn’t have crashed and would be riding on two wheels
instead of a passenger on a gurney on four. Throughout the weekend I saw the
same rear braking applied a few times with almost the same results, one time
narrowly avoiding hitting a line of parked bikes, the driver laughing at his
stunt. It’s bad enough we have to look out for cars, but not another
motorcycle! Maybe it is true, if you have to ask you wouldn’t understand. The
guy who got the ride in the ambulance knows better, ask him.
When we got home a few days later, the downed rider’s wife had called and
thanked us. He had a separated shoulder-OUCH, lots of bruises and scratches,
and his bike was totaled. He would heal, but probably wouldn’t ride again, and
all because of not having braking skills. We can accelerate fast, corner hard,
but how many can brake hard? When I first learned to ride we played a game of
who could stop the fastest, invented by me who had the slowest bike, I got my
revenge by braking better, but the lesson learned form that game 46 years ago
has saved me a few times. With only a stoppie or two to show for it. Maybe a
lesson for life as well.
As a Christian living in the world but not of it, too many times I feel I
have to keep up. I like nice things as well as the next guy, but have learned
that too many things get in my way of Jesus and me, and I have to put on the
brakes. Sometimes hard. And with a family, sometimes the extra weight of
trying to stop can be overwhelming, and God reminds me of why he is trying to
slow me down. He knows what lies ahead, and although the road looks clear, a
bear with her cubs could run across it like a ride in Yosemite once. Or being
chased by an eagle riding through John Day in Oregon, fortunately the FJ1100
could outrun it, but one ride to Hollister, we couldn’t outrun a duck who flew
into our path, I ducked, it hit Theresa in the helmet. We were OK, but the joke
that weekend was “I said duck! And you didn’t!” You never know...
But God does, and when thinking in the spirit as he does, we can avoid
problems and inherit blessings instead. We get to see ourselves as we really
are, how our families are, and how God is at work in the world despite our short
sidedness. We are on our way back to the original relationship with God we once
had in the garden, sometimes a stop along the road that is unexpected remind us
like it did me. When we divest ourselves of myths like rear braking only, we
can live and ride in truth as opposed to a myth. Ivan Stewart once told me “it
wasn’t the bumps along the way, it was the sudden stops at the end that hurt.”
My Harley ride would agree, as would any of us who has been down. When we abide
in the vine as Jesus tells us, we live in grace as opposed to ending up wrapped
in a vine. When we see how God is working in us, wholeness, healing, and love
will abide in us. When the spirit is at work, when we participate with him, we
can pick our lines better, ride safer, and enjoy the ride more.
That morning I supplied fast aid, after first aid. Prayer is like that,
HELP! can be the best and quickest prayer we need in the situation, the longer,
drawn out response in praise later. What we didn’t know, the downed rider’s
wife told us later. The two men were Christians and prayed for help. We showed
up. We didn’t panic, and the Bonneville earned its name in speed and grace. God
always answers the same way, but at his speed and in his grace. Fast aid, there
before you ask or even know you need him. Something to remember every ride we
take. Never ride faster than your brakes can stop you or your angel can fly.
Whether fast or first, keep Jesus first and he will do the rest. Which brings
up the question, has anyone ever seen a Harley do a stoppie? Send picture if
you have one. If you have to ask, I’ll understand.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com