homeward through the haze

Mostly I have an aversion to Interstate Highways when traveling.  These 4 to 14 lane monsters get you there without the hint of a traffic light, and with only limited access.  Only over the past 10 years have the Los Angeles style traffic jams started to slow them down across the US of A, and it is possible to ride from LA to New York City without a traffic light.  That is unless you take I-68, a 116 mile freeway that goes through West Virginia and Maryland.  And which mostly shadows old US 40, or The National Road.  I rode US 40 one night, spending a cold September night in Frostburg, and yes, I woke up to frost on my Honda Nighthawk.  But such beauty and mountains, we often think we have to go through the Rockies to see real mountains, you need to ride West Virginia.  But one escape route from the tediousness of 40, is the freeway.  And looking to make time, I would eventually ride from Escondido to New Jersey in under 70 hours, I stayed on the freeways.  And I-68 was a choice to make, and I am glad I did.  Looking ahead it promised great views, and looking back a great ride, but while on it, I was truly scared for my life.

I have driven in fog for almost 45 years now, living in Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.  But that afternoon I was not prepared for the fog, a total white out.  The views before heading up the pass were awesome, and I had just taken off my riding suit after hundreds of miles in the rain.  The sun was bright, but as I ascended the hill, the sun dimmed through the haze.  Which soon became like riding in a cloud and I was soaked, and then totally blinded.  On my Sprint RS, I couldn’t see my hands, no lights from the instruments, and no headlight shining.  It happened so quick and I wasn’t prepared for it.  My last impressions were of a semi in the lane on my right, and a car on my left just behind me.  But what do you do when all of you are blinded at once?  How do you know what is ahead of you, next to you, or behind you?  Do you slow down hoping not to get run into, do you pull over hoping the lane is empty, or do you speed up to get out of it quicker?  Hoping you don’t rear end anyone?  First aid for such a situation is don’t panic in a panic situation, and I had one, we all did.  So I slowed gently to 45, or what felt like it, I couldn’t see the speedo, and kept praying.  I have never been so blinded.....or scared.  But calm.  And I cannot say how long the whiteout lasted, but as I felt the road start to descend, my first view was of that same semi right where I had last seen him, and the car on my left the same.  We had all made it through safely, together, and minutes later the sun so bright no one would have believed our experience.

I had told people for years to trust God, but never had an experience like this to remember.  Looking back, if Jesus could calm the waves, he surely cold guide us through.  But all of us at once, a bigger miracle than just guiding me.  He spoke to the semi, other cars in front, back, and aside of me, and took us through the blindness, taking me homeward through the haze. And some years later riding the road in bright sunlight, I was even more amazed, as the road curved as it rose, and descended.  I had not only been brought straight through, but through the curves too!  God guides where we need to go, not just straight and narrow!  He is in the curves too!

A few years later on a Torches Across America run, Frank left Shanksville with Theresa and I heading east.  Old US 30, another great road bypassing the Pennsylvania Turnpike, another road worth riding, we ran into a similar fog.  We put on our flashers as we entered it, not smart enough to stop or turn around, and we lost sight of each other.  I knew he was behind, later he stated he knew I was ahead, just couldn’t see me, and maintained his speed, slowing slightly.  A steep downhill followed, and just near the bottom a hard right hand turn, with 20 mph speed warning.  Which we saw just in time to instinctively slow down and make it.  But again, God had taken us through a white out, and brought us out safely.

Too often we think of darkness as blindness, but such a whiteness thick with clouds will do the same thing.  We don’t know how thick the fog is, but we enter anyway.  Psalm 37 tells us to trust God and  we will live in the land and prosper.  But as sojourners here on earth, travelers to our final destination, we need to trust him, and not just in the darkness of fog.  We knew what to do when we encountered the white out, I wonder how different it would have been if God was telling not to go that route? 

Fortunately God is not taken by surprise, and his spirit never leaves us.  He is there to guide us through the haze, in the dark, and surprisingly enough in the light of his love.  By that same light.  Sadly we mainly turn to him in times of trouble, but how neat to be guided by him?  Can you imagine the rides you have been missing by not?  But sure as we ride, he is with us.  His perfect plan for us with imperfections in it.  To us potential tragedies, to him part of the ride.  I easily could have cursed him instead of calling out to him, many times the first response when things don’t go my way, and would have missed the miracle ride he had for us.  I had no training for the foggy rides, only Jesus, and he was there.  Now I don’t know if the others were believers, or even prayed, but God’s grace is sufficient, even to non-believers.  Like the rain, the fog falls on the just and the unjust.  We all need Jesus...to lead us homeward through the haze.

Today your haze may not be one of a fog, but of a decision to make.  What to do, how to handle a situation, or not being prepared for one that lies ahead.  Nothing takes God by surprise, and when we call on him, he will guide us.  And even before we can call on him, he is ready.  It is us who falter.  It is said that just the other side of the clouds is the sun, and I learned that not only above but below too.  I may never meet those who rode through this with me, I can only imagine their version of it.  Mine gives God all the glory, no way my mind knew to function like that, or the semi drivers, or the other cars.  God had us under control.  A comforting thought when encountering darkness, no matter what shade of black or white.  Sometimes the all ways we are told to acknowledge him are limited by our thoughts, take time to thank him now for the good, and lean on him for the future.  None are so blind than those that cannot see, and I saw Jesus.  I knew he was there, my spirit told me, and I felt safe.  So I can honestly say Jesus rides a motorcycle, and can attest to his love for Triumphs and me.  That day as today, I need to lean on him more and more.  He knows the future, and is my future.  How I get there depends on him.  I can trust and obey, or resist, and suffer.

Obedience is better than sacrifice.  You make your own choice, I choose Jesus.  In the fog, in the mist, and in the whiteout, he was with me.  A light so bright it cannot be seen.  Only in your spirit can you know he is with you.  Not seeing is believing...we call it faith.  Ride by it today, and ride without worry.  How do you know where you are going when you lose sight?  Jesus knows....do you know him?

By the way, at the bottom is a traffic light, the only one on the Interstate System.  You never know what lies ahead.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the race

Did you know that on the first week in February the International 500 Mile Snowmobile will take place?  For the 48th time!  Where on snow and ice racers will travel at speeds exceeding 100 mph in near zero degree weather?  Now that’s hard core....that’s racing.  Also next year The Race of Gentlemen will offer a west coast venue at Pismo Beach?  You can be assured I will be there, as vintage cars from 1932-45, and pre-1945 motorcycles race a 1/8 mile on the sand-for fun and bragging rights.  And the right coast version has moved to June in Wildwood, New Jersey.  Whoever said nothing good comes out of Jersey?  Check both events out on the internet.  It seems that within the heart of man, whenever two or more are gathered, they want to race.  Whether it is comparing 401k’s, size of house, trophy wives, or even race cars, the competition begins.  We want to win, or at least to compete and not lose.  I was never much of a racer, I ride for fun, but one afternoon from Golden to New Madrid, New Mexico I answered, or more precisely the dare.  And I found in me a competitive spirit I thought I had lost...

Being the new kid in town, I had moved to Albuquerque only 8 months before, I was selling motorcycles at Motorsport, BMW, Suzuki, and Triumph.  I owned a 1974 R90S, that had been tuned by a friend at Lindner’s shop in Connecticut before I left, and it ran fast.  The sound through the Dunstall pipes was like the sirens sweetly singing, to anyone who heard them.  And on that fateful day, I would need all the horsepower, speed, courage on the edge of stupidity, and luck I could muster.  On Highway 14, the road to the Crest, a little tavern that was the town of Golden sits, and meeting a braggart there, with his all girl fan club tested me.  He carried in his white Chevy van Ron Pierce’s #4 Daytona racer Yamaha 350.  Not your basic bike, the one that had raced at Daytona, when Ron was a national #4 racer.  It was geared to do over 140mph, and he liked to go out and race it against others, who didn’t know what the bike was.  He kept pushing me, and I refused, until my pride was so insulted it couldn’t back down, and we raced.  Nothing formal, just a seven mile race on the road between Golden and New Madrid, now just Madrid as seen in the biker movie Wild Hogs.  30 years before.  Non-yuppie then.  And the race was on...

According to road tests at the time,  the BMW was geared for 124-fast at the time.  He took off, and ran faster for a while, until the curves.  Who said BMW’s don’t handle?  And after awhile I passed him, in one set of curves, going over 100 mph.  He backed off,  I slid sideways, but kept it up and passed him.  By the time he got to the end, I was parked in front of the mine shaft museum with my helmet off.  Maybe it is the rider after all, it was that day.  He told me “that bike is fast, but you’re nuts passing me the way you did and sliding.”  And so a sedate ride back followed, and when the girls ran to meet him, ready to celebrate, I let him lead, he muttered how I had won, threw the bike in his van, and left with his cheerleaders in tow.  Maybe second place isn’t so bad. But by the next morning the word was on the street, and guys I never heard of were coming into the shop to meet me.  Some to challenge me.  Some to see the bike.  It seems he was a local hero or legend, at least in his own mind, and I had beat him.  And now others wanted to see me race.  And I never did.  For it had scared me pretty good too, and now you know.  I had won the race, the only race I would ever race, and retired undefeated.  1-0.

Another time 2000 years ago, two men met, and one challenged the other.  Nicodemus, aka Nick at Night, had met with Jesus.  Both powerful and influential men, Nicky had heard of Jesus, and wanted to meet him.  Nicky was a Pharisee, head of the Sanhedrin, and a wealthy and powerful man.  If nothing else but reputation he deserved heaven.  He kept all the Mosaic laws, performed his priestly duties, and was well loved and respected.  His opening line acknowledged Jesus as coming from God, as no one could do the things he did if not from God.  Things no man had ever done before-even the mighty Pharisees.  But Jesus told him “you must be born again.”  He cut right to the chase, not mixing words.  You see without a spiritual change, you cannot enter heaven a spiritual place.  You must be born of the spirit, a new birth, that Nicky like many of us try translate into physical terms.  Living in a physical world that is only natural, what we need is super natural.  We need the spirit to point us to Jesus to be saved.

You see Nicodemus had won all the races of the human race.  Accolades befell him no matter his peer group.  He was rich, powerful, and religious.  All the things of success in the world, quite the opposite of Jesus who was poor, but powerful in love, and anything but religious.  In fact, the Pharisees were his enemies.  And Nicky was one, but his heart was about to change.  He was about to be a new creation in Christ, born again in the spirit, born of an incorruptible seed, and become a new hope, passing from death unto life.  And he left pondering the words of Jesus, as we do, until 20 chapters later in John, where he risks everything calling for the body of Jesus after his crucifixion.  He called on Jesus after his death, and we can too.  For Jesus has been resurrected just as he said he would be, and is alive, calling to us to be born again.  By the spirit so we can defeat death and live in heaven with him.  Jesus fulfilled an emptiness in Nicky that he hadn’t counted on, his life and style still left him empty, only Jesus could fulfill the God shaped vacuum in his life, and ours.  Today may be the first time you encounter Jesus, but someday the spirit will call and ask you “who is Jesus?”  Some say teacher, or rabbi, great teacher.  But only the spirit reveals his deity, and when you see that, you can repent and be born again.  No matter where, how, or what you are.  No matter the race or machine, you can be a winner.  And retire one with a simple victory in Christ.

Now racing in zero degree weather may sound crazy, so does a 1/8 mile in the sand for nothing but recognition.  What was I thinking that afternoon?  We don’t always race for a trophy, but we do race to win.  I did that day, and would on other bikes over other courses.  But never with the drive and intensity of that afternoon.  Now I choose my races better, and like my battles I win more.  But when I won the prize of heaven in Jesus, then I became a real winner, with a testimony to share with others.  Nicky met him in a garden in town, I met him on the beach in Santa Monica.  Each race venue for salvation will be different, and you can claim victory in it in Jesus.  But you will race, and you will be a competitor.  Why not join the winning team and enjoy life, and heaven too?  Nick at Night met Jesus, and his forever changed.  You see you will be challenged as I was that afternoon, in a situation where you cannot back down.  Today I issue the challenge to you, life in Jesus or death.  Born again or death.  Heaven or hell.  The gospel is simple, you must be born again.  No second place finish for heaven, truly second is first loser in forever.  Today you can win the race of life, running what you brung, but leaving it behind.  If the richest Pharisee, head of the Sanhedrin gave it all up for heaven, what have you to lose to gain it all?  You never know where or when the next challenge will come from.  I know Jesus, and I won the race of life. 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

sunbreaks and rainsets

Day 4 of our first winter storm continues.  Thunder and heavy rain last night, as we watch the news we see how unprepared, and at least to me how under engineered we are here in San Diego.  Any other place I have lived, they dealt with harsh weather, New Jersey was famous for raining on weekends, –40 in Colorado we were ready for it, and high wind with heavy rain would greet us in Albuquerque, a true sign that spring was just around the corner.  But still if my memory serves me well, I remember flooding on Route 22, where the hills had shopping centers build on them, pavement replacing trees, and when it rained, only the center barrier on Route 22 held back the tide, until it spilled over.  And on one harsh spring day, ran over the top, flooding the basement truck court where I worked at Sears, and Keith, a guy I worked with got caught in raging water and drowned when his car was swept away.  Coming home one Christmas we arrived back at our cabin at Vallecito Lake, only to find ourselves snowed out, 96 inches in 96 hours, 8 feet in four days.  After digging our way in, the porch door was swollen shut, a hot water pipe had a pinhole leak, steam bath inside, –30 just the other side of the door.  And my first winter/spring in Albuquerque, selling motorcycles at Motorsport, in a modern all glass building, watching as mud balls hit the windows sounding like bombs, shaking but not breaking, engineered because the engineers knew of the spring’s temperament.  Add in a tree falling on our school bus in first grade during a Jersey hurricane, and at my first job being caught in a flash flood, riding the tide of a swollen stream for almost a mile, ending up in a newly formed pond on a baseball field.  So these 4 days should not amaze me, but I am now So Cal adapted after 28 years, and miss the sun.  I have become a weather weenie, I moved here for the weather, and now it has let me down.  I stand in my garage surrounded by motorcycles crying out to be ridden, hoping for a sun break, a common word in Portland, but instead watch a rain set to the west.

Now under prepared is normal, but under engineered bothers me.  When the San Diego River floods at the hint of rain, why isn’t or wasn’t something designed around it better?  All the low spots, like underground garages, where is the drainage system?  Why can’t they build buildings that can handle it?  And as I watch sewers overflow from being blocked, and 97% of El Nino going out to the ocean, why aren’t our engineers and planners doing a better job, their job?  Certainly rain is not a new concept here?  Or are we all weather weenies, and live life based on normalcy bias, a psycho babble term for since it never happened to me, it won’t happen to me.  As the storm rages on.....

Jesus caused quite a storm when he threw out the money changers in temple.  Imagine being a disciple, knowing of Jesus’ peace and love, yet see him exploding in rage, anger without sin, at the moneychangers.  Endearing himself to the Pharisees at the same time.  The temple was holy, maybe they were afraid of guilt by association, that would come later.  Maybe they were embarrassed, this isn’t the man we told our families and friends about.  He did it by himself, apparently without provocation, was this the man they believed was the Messiah?  Could they have been wrong?

Maybe Psalm 69 ran through their hearts, and they began to understand, if only a little.  “Thy zeal for they house has consumed thee,” King James tells us, and it burned Jesus up, consumed him, and caused him to act.  You see God is not gracious about sin, only the sinner, and will not tolerate it in his house.  And we are the temple the holy spirit dwells in, and he will not compromise with evil.  He brings on storms against sin, but brings a peace into the sinner.  And here for maybe the first time, it became evident to them that when Jesus comes into your life, be assured he is not going to leave you as he found you.   You will be better, as even in tough times, all things work out for our good.  Says so in Romans, quote Paul on that.  And he knew tough times, imagine if Jesus had left him as he found him?  Or you?

Too many new Christians see Jesus as having a sheep under one arm, and touching people with the other.  As a chorus of Cum By Ya echoes in the background.  But he is already changing our lives, salvation the first step, and don’t confuse his patience with delaying.  We are works in process, and without a firm foundation you cannot build a strong home.  A fact missed by the planners in San Diego.  Where the same floods occur in the same area every year.  If only they were guided by God....So don’t mistake patience for acceptance, Jesus Christ changes lives, at his pace, with your best interest at heart.  If we refuse to go with his changes, we become like the flood zones here, overwhelmed.  And suddenly we can see why he chased the money changers out.  The temple was set up by God to worship, a special place, not to be abused, or neglected.  In times of trouble a refuge from the storm.  Take note, the storms are here, and Jesus is our only place of refuge. 

There is a sun break just behind every rain set, and God knows it.  Rather than seek refuge in the planners, find refuge in Christ.  He controls the storms, and sends a rainbow after to autograph his work.  No cleaner air than after a storm, or bluer skies.  No fresher winds than after, funny how in one case they can bring disaster, in another peace.  The peace we seek is only found in Jesus, and he will drive the moneychangers and sin from your life.  He resides in your heart, and will not share sin with it.  Would you really want a God who would?  Who couldn’t conquer sin and replace it with forgiveness, hope, and love?  When the moneychangers were gone, the people could worship in freedom.  Even then freedom came with a price.  And it took the man/god of Jesus Christ to do it.  God will chase sin from your life, on his terms.  So get on his terms, and watch as sun breaks turn into Son breaks, and rainsets turn into Son sets.  Where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.  God give us eyes to see things as you do.  And thank you for not leaving me as you found me.  Amen?  Amen.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

affordable fun

Lurking almost unnoticed on the back of any car lot are what we used to refer to as the pots.  Older cars, less desirable models, in less than desirable condition.  Cars that were taken in trade to make the deal, but had no value after that.  Many would end up being auctioned off, sent out of state, or in So Cal’s case out of the country, their usefulness as far as a bargaining tool worn out, but their transportation abilities still intact.  Mostly.  They are the cars that at one time had been bought for full price from a dealer as new, then driven until they got too expensive to repair, or until a new car captured the new owners heart.  Some were passed down from husband to wife, then to each kid as they got their license.  Many memories were made in them, until they just had no room left in the current owner’s life, and they were finally traded away.  And ended up in the back rows of a dealer, or sitting on the corner of a used car lot, advertised cheap, and their purpose as transportation continued.  They were are affordable fun, bought knowing just what they are, but in many of the new owner’s eyes a new Cadillac, sporty Mustang, or shiny hardtop.  Bought for love at one time, and finally sold for money, their history continues, as once again they were bought for love, or what the new owner could afford, and were waxed, polished, tuned up, new seat covers, and driven with pride.  Worth very little compared to when new, but maintaining a quality of dignity that years of patina cannot erase, but only add to.

And I have had a few.  A 1972 MG Midget, that had been repainted and the letters reattached, spelling Midget as MIGDET.  Finally traded for a 1973 El Camino so I could carry my trials bike.  Which got me through UNM my first year.  At one time a one owner 1967 Cadillac was my daily driver.  Fast enough to beat mid-seventies Trans Ams off the line, it got 6 mpg no matter how I drove it, so I drove it fast.  All bought as my primary source of transportation, after my motorcycles.  Another MG, a B model would fill a space later, as would a 1949 Ford F-3 pickup.  For cutting wood, sold after moving back to New Mexico to a kid who wanted to hot rod it.  At one time I had a 1967 Mercury Monterrey as a work car, four door sedan with a 390.  The sucker was fast, and came with a letter from the Ford Motor Company stating the engine was a special built high performance engine, not off the assembly line.  All I knew it was fast, lost high gear, and could carry my son’s small ATV in the trunk.  Many a donut was spun in that car. 

And finally Uncle Buck, named as he resembled the car in the movie of that name.  But far removed from his Mercury, this 1990 Ford Crown Vic had a spotless interior, a broken odometer, and left us stranded more than once.  But we always got home.  The younger guys thought it was cool, and I sold it to one who was in love with it.  Affordable cars all, all bought second hand to fulfill their duty as transportation, but becoming more than that along the way.  For each one, at the time they were affordable fun, and in each case sad when I sold them.  Today that $1000 Cadillac is worth 10 times that, the F-3 20 times, and when is the last time you saw a 1973-77 El Camino?  Midgets, or MIGDETs as mine was, where have they gone?  All used cars now, but at one time bright and shiny and new, tempting the new owner with “what will it take to put you in this car today?”

It seems these cars of our past, and our present, have followed a natural progression.  Much like many of our lives.  And without a miracle many of us and them would have turned out much different.  Something to consider when talking of Jesus and his miracles.  Looking at all of them that are recorded, and then the ones personal to us, he took normal events, and took them out of the realm of time.  Speeding up a natural process, that could only be defined as a miracle.  Take his first miracle, changing water into wine.  Read his instructions to his disciples, Fill the cisterns, all 120-180 gallons of them to the brim with water.  Then draw some out for the steward.  No magic, no special prayer, no taste testing, and no visible change.  Until it is drawn out for the steward, as new wine.  Jesus never tasted it himself, for he knew.  Speeding up a process, he changes water to wine, changing water that is inorganic, to wine that is organic.  Bypassing the growing of grapes, the crushing, the bottling and fermentation.  I would call that a miracle...so did the wine steward.  Who wasn’t aware, all he knew was the best was saved for last.  The best God saved for last.....

So maybe that old car may look worn out and useless. But somewhere there is a new owner just waiting to call it theirs.  We may be feeling worn out, tired, useless, broken and without purpose.  Not even trade material, but God sees us differently.  And wants to change us, miraculously.   Just like he changed plain water to wine, he can take out sin riddled bodies, and make them new, just by accepting him.  A change that occurs from the inside, just like the water changing to wine, no one saw it happen, it took no measurable time, but when drawn out the evidence was there.  Indisputable.  Jesus changed water to wine, imagine what he can do for you? 

And he gives you a testimony to share with others, who see the change.  And the biggest changes occur in the lives that were, or had been thrown away.  For the widow who only had two mites, to the anarchist brothers, to the tax collector, and simple fisherman.  All who were not the highest in the social ranks, but whom Jesus saw and loved.  In his eyes we are all new models, although we may be worn out and used.  Or abused.  Take the parable of the affordable fun, and apply it to your life.  Let Jesus change you, and find an affordable life is within reach.  And miracles abound when you do.  For when you start to see things through his eyes, even the simplest of miracles become a big deal.  And the initial process is instantaneous, saved instantly, but yet growing in Christ each day.  Just as an old car becomes a friend, so does Jesus.  And a certain relationship forms that cannot defined. 

So here is to the cars in the back rows, on used car lots that were the least of them.  Before salvation we were the least of them, and Jesus sought us out.  We were no bargain, he paid full price, no matter our condition, and made us new.  Gave us a home, and loved us.  Still does today.  Become the miracle in him today, something miraculous happens when we come to Jesus....reach out to him and draw out a new life today.  Water to wine, sinner to saint.  All in the twinkling of an eye....affordable fun.  He calls it grace.  We call it a miracle.  Bought for love.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

the curse of the clean bike

My neighbor on the corner has 6 cars, four of them collectible.  On any sunny weekend, which we have lots of here, he can be seen polishing and detailing them, then backing them into the garage, while putting covers on the other two.  Hidden from view, never on the road.  I cannot remember the last time I saw him driving any of them, they are in great shape, just never used for their intended purpose, to be driven.  Which may explain a lot of today’s collector car market, they are collectible investments, and the theory of high miles versus low ones has made many an owner a prisoner to his machines.  But in today’s market a new, more realistic class is emerging, cars that are used and have patina, gentle aging.  And are mostly original, or customized as they were in the day when they were new.  And now are bringing high dollars, because that is how we remember them.  Gentle aging, like we would like to have our lives be, although I never thought of myself as collectible. 

Now with 6 motorcycles occupying my garage, I could have fallen into the same trap, collectability.  But when I bought them, I bought them to ride, and I still do.  With over 300,000 miles sitting with two wheels under them, they have memories of past rides, and dreams of future ones.  My 2006 Tiger just went over 100,000 miles, and I use it for my daily rider, except when I ride my 2005 Bonneville, which only has 74,000 miles.  Theresa’s 2002 Bonneville has just under 80,000, and is being ridden weekends again.  Christopher is back from Spain, and is riding the Street Triple, with 36,000 miles on it, which I use during his times away, to keep the battery fresh.  The 1978 Suzuki GS1000 sits on the lift now, only for storage purposes, ridden last moth 600 miles in two days, just under 30,000 miles from new.  And the newest bike in the garage, a 2007 Tiger 1050 just went over 10,000, 3000 on a week’s ride last June.  You see, my bikes get ridden, and maintained, and although not perfect, are clean, and look like new.  They get exercised regularly when not riding Triumph press bikes, and like Mickey tells me, they last longer when they are ridden.  Just like us, when we get out and live, we last longer, as opposed to sitting around getting old, and wearing out from not being worn.  Much different from my neighbor’s collection, I ride mine.

It seems he has come under a curse we all go through, but I pulled out of long ago.  Call it the curse of the clean bike in my case, car in his.  After the first rain, it can take hours to get it back to how it once looked.  The black engine turned gray, pipes not as shiny, wheels need polishing and you can never get where the rain did to get it clean like it was when new out of the crate.  Pull off a tank or body panel, the grime is there, and for many, they avoid riding in any weather because it will take a toll on their ride.  The patina of memories is unacceptable, so they sit unused, like their caretaker, going nowhere.  A while back a friend asked why I am in so many of our traveling photos, my answer was simple.  I rather be in the picture than taking it.  I rather be read about than reading.  I rather have a patina of high miles and high memories than low miles and perfect paint.  Each scratch on my blue Tiger can be remembered, the time and place.  And how.  When we look at old photos, we can date them by what we were riding at the time.  And suddenly the 2006 Tiger is the blue Tiger, or remember the road on the red Sprint.  The ride to Canada on the yellow bike.  We want to remember the good times, the good rides, and who we rode them with.  And personally I don’t worry any more about that first scratch, that first rain ride, or the high miles.  A collectible is only worth what you get for it when sold, my memories on two wheels are so valuable they are not for sale, and couldn’t be purchased if they were.  Many go to shows and have their pictures taken by a vehicle, maybe even sitting in it, or on it.  Mine are from where we have ridden, and what we have ridden.  When Karl took the pictures of the 220hp Rocket I had this summer, I got to ride it.  I was in the picture.  He took it. 

So I have risen above the curse of the clean bike, at least for now.  My most recent bike, the Tiger 1050 has never seen rain, but I know it will have to if ridden as planned.  The miles don’t come without times of rain and hardship.  It is the hard times, the storms in life that bring us the best testimonies, yet we resist them as much as possible.  Give me 85 degrees with sun any day over 40 and rain, yet in the flash floods I saw more of God.  I had to call out to him, I had no choice.  Not riding those days was not a choice.  I find it interesting that the first words of Jesus recorded in the gospels is a question, “what do you want?”  Asked in John 1, we see John with two other future disciples, hearing that Jesus is the lamb of God.  Interesting that Jesus got right to the heart of life, his few words speaking volumes.  Have you considered what you want from life?  From your cars or bikes?  When confronted about Jesus, what do you say?  Have you ever considered what you want?

Ironically enough it was the who asking what.  For it is the who you seek, that is the pathway to what we want.  Psalms tells us that God will give us the desires of your heart.  Is he your desire?  He offers the free gift of salvation in Jesus, is he the what you are looking for?  Consider Adam in the garden after he sinned, did he consider what he had done until God asked him “where are you?”  When someone calls and asks for directions, the first thing you ask is “where are you?”  From there you can be given direction.  So ask yourself, where are you in Christ?  What do you want?  And the journey begins, led by his spirit.  Now you can be directed.

You see we don’t really know.  Until we are asked.  My neighbor worships his cars, they own him.  My passion for riding allows me to have many bikes, but they don’t own me.  They are a part of me, and away from me have no value to me.  Same as with God.  My passion for Jesus runs deep, but I don’t own him.  He owns me, but his best concern is for me.  His passion is me.  And mine is him.  When he gave me the desire of my heart, it was and is him.  All else is added on.  He is the most important part of me, and away from me I have little or no value.  He is what I want, peace, love, security, and assurance of heaven.  On earth as it is in heaven, like the prayer says.  He can be my Lord here, I don’t have to wait for death to see heaven, I get a glimpse of it everyday in him.  The what is really a who, the who of Jesus Christ.  And in his garage of souls, we are all high mileage, need cleaning and maintenance, and need to be rescued and saved.  To be used out in the public, in life sharing our testimony of him, not sitting covered or in a museum.  We need to get out and ride like he did, spend time out on the road where the action is.

I don’t want my life to reflect the curse of the clean bike.  I have scars and bruises, there are dings and things that need to be fixed.  All from life.  But they were obtained from living and riding.  So maybe the first question Jesus asked in the gospels needs you to answer it.  What do you want?  When it is the who of Jesus Christ, you find life.  And that it is worth the living.  Just because he lives.  So get out and become part of the memories, get in the picture instead of behind the camera.  So it being a rainy day today, I will go and do the right thing-I will wash my bikes in the rain water.  Dry them off in the garage after.  Nothing cleans like the rain, and no fragrance is like the fragrance after the rain.  Now, which clean bike do I wash first?

Life will always be filled with questions?  What do you want?  Where are you?  In the midst of the storm, Jesus is there.  Start a new testimony today.  I’d like to see the pictures, but only if you are in them.  With him.

love with compassion,

Mike

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