Close your eyes for a few seconds and remember the thrill of the first ride
on your new motorcycle. All bright and shiny, both you and it are the hit of
the showroom, as others wish they were you, riding off on a new bike. Looking
down at the row of zeroes in the odometer, that fresh new bike smell, the
exhaust making burbling noises as you sit idling, and looking over the
instruments. One final mirror adjustment, a look around at your admirers, and
then a handshake, a wave, and you’re off. Taking time to get used to the new
burst of speed, the brakes, and hoping that you don’t do anything stupid,
because the world is watching, and at least in your mind’s eye, the all wish
they were you, but they’re not. Taking the long way home, stopping by friend’s
to brag, then home to inspect your new beauty....and every time you ride for the
next few weeks, you hope the newness and the rush of the new bike will not wear
off. It’s OK to open your eyes now.....
Now imagine that thrill for over 250 times over 13 years....and you can
imagine what it has been like for me. For in that time I did the break in miles
for Triumph’s West Coast Press Fleet, riding everything new and old and in
between. New models before the dealer even saw them and before the magazine
destroyed them. 500-1500 miles per bike, some done over a few weeks, one
Daytona R done in just over 24 hours. Some with time restraints, some just
going for a ride. Some bikes broken in for celebrities like Christine Aguilera,
doing the sound on the movie Salt, that Street Triple R Angelina Jolie is riding
is me you are hearing. Being given special one off bikes, like the 220 hp
Rocket 3 with Carpenter head, and the list goes on. Add in vacations on them, a
ride to the Quail, allowing dealership owners to have a first ride, and then
returning them, often for another one. In one year I went over nine months
without riding anything of my own, and by my own admission, sometimes the thrill
was gone. Until I could show off or brag to someone.....my first press bike a
Rocket 3, and my last, a 2018 Tiger 800 with knobbies for a desert test, with a
sticker advising not to be ridden over 60, but that felt safe at 110. For
almost 250 times I could smell that new bike smell, see all the zeroes in a row,
and break in a new bike. All with one thing in common, it was always good to
get back on one of my bikes and be reminded why I bought the one I did.
Many times I stood out just because of the Georgia manufacturer plates and
became an unofficial ambassador for Triumph. I probably sold more Triumphs than
some dealers, just by being out and riding them. But the thrill of the ride
never got old....and still isn’t today on my own bikes. God gave me the passion
to ride, and then delivered it in a way I could only dream of. How many times
was I asked “how did you get a gig like that?” It was all about who you
know.....
Now close your eyes for a few seconds and look back on when you first met
Jesus. That thrill that goes beyond words, of knowing you are forgiven, that he
is real, and you are not going to hell. But how many times has life interrupted
you, trying to steal the feeling, and when it is only based upon feeling, it is
shallow and can be stolen. Religion be damned, I’m a real Christian. Being a
Christian is a life long commitment, and Jesus will hold up his end. And we
must hold up ours, but not alone, but by his spirit. It is easy to become a
Christian, but then the pressures can mount, why didn’t they tell me when they
were evangelizing me? Why didn’t they tell me I would see sin different, lose
some friends, look at things differently, and become a new person, a work in
process and progress? For like riding off on a new bike, when the thrill is
gone, reality remains. I have ridden countless thousands of break in miles in
cold weather, new models come out in the winter. Trip plans change with the
bike and the deadline. Some admired me, yet some were jealous, it seems that my
dream assignment in many ways helped with being a Christian, to remember my
commitment. And how as a Christian I was and am an ambassador of Jesus Christ
and the Kingdom of God. That in the good days I could brag on him, but in the
tough times, he would give me even more to brag about, because in those times he
was with me and delivered me. In many ways trading bikes was like becoming
saved all over again, remembering the thrill, adding a bounce to my step, and
remembering how great if only for the moment, it was to be me. To know that I
would have the light of the Lord showing me the way forever, just my choice to
say yes or no. He knew the course, would I follow it?
Yet many times we choose to walk in darkness, not taking Jesus’ words to us
seriously. Almost like here are the keys, you figure out how to ride it, we go
through life without the spirit’s guiding, but never with his absence. He
promises light if we stay on his path. Warning that he who does not walk in the
light, but in darkness, cannot see where he is going. Many are saved but never
enjoy the grace of calling him Lord, of asking him and following him, of
carrying on a lifelong conversation with him. They have the excitement of that
new beginning, but not of the ride that it produces. We ride alone when we
don’t have to, walking in on our own light, which fades and can get us lost.
But never far from Jesus, as he never leaves us....a simple turn and repent, a
changing of attitude can bring us back. It seems the care and feeding of a new
motorcycle is like being a new Christian....it is all about the relationship you
are building. And with each day and each ride....they both grow.
There was little thrill to show off a new bike in the dark, you couldn’t
see it, much like we miss Jesus when we live in the dark. Looking back how many
times has he rescued you from the dark when you chose your own way? That 911
prayer may only be minutes or seconds away....who you gonna call? So let your
life in Christ be new every morning, just like he promises. Each day with its
own promises, and problems, that only in Jesus will we conquer. That newness in
Christ everyday can be like the new rider who stalls at the corner, scared and
wondering what is the problem with my new bike? Until someone comes along and
turns on the gas...he forgot to turn on the petcock...Now none of us would ride
like that, so why do we live our Christian life like that......when all
the power we need is just a prayer away. “Oh yeah, it was dark and I forgot,”
never let that be your relationship with Jesus.
love with compassion,
MIke
matthew25biker.blogspot.com