the Leonard Law or clutch in, kickstands up

I was already upset laving the Post Office as the new and improved automatic teller was down, again.  Then pushing the starter on my Tiger 1050 and getting no response only added to it.  After blaming, or cursing everyone who could be connected with both, then asking for forgiveness, I called AAA, who said they would be there in 36 minutes.  But when I pushed the starter button this time, it started, getting me home just in time to call AAA, who now had a 43 minute ETA.  Checking the clutch lever, which must be pulled in to start the bike, I found the switch loose, pushed it in, it clicked, problem solved.  And I should have known better....

When it comes to regulations on motorcycles, I blame John Leonard.  He was the electronic guru/nerd at Durango Music 35 years ago, with a cool side, owning a ‘63 Galaxie with glass packs and riding a motorcycle.  One day he forgot to put up the side stand, crashed in a corner, with both he and the Honda never riding again.  Now per Federal regulation, the side stand must be up, or the bike stalls, and cannot be started until it is up.  Call it the Leonard Law, added to others like standardized shift patterns, on the left, one down the rest up, daytime running lights so you can see a motorcycle, until now it is stylish for cars to have them, making it harder to tell what is coming at you seeking to ruin your day.  And my least favorite, and the culprit of the day, the clutch interlock.  No more starting in gear, clutch must be in, and after time for many of us who really ride, the in wears out, the bike won’t start, and we go into our sin mode.  My 2006 Tiger had it bypassed, from 2007 on it is part of the starting program via computer.  Another case of “Hi I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”  With shades of the seat belt interlock of 1974, seat belt not buckled car won’t start still in our memories...at least that one got repealed, faulty switches.  Do I see a pattern here.....

But I feel confident now said Tiger will start as the connector is connected, and as long as it stays connected, it will start as designed.  If only people stayed connected as designed.....You can blame it all on Adam and Eve, but only God allows us the choices we make.  Unlike the government who tries to legislate morality, for everyone but themselves, and Hollywood whose movies tell us what love is, based on their latest ne night stand, God allows us to choose.  And even has a back up plan, when you choose wrong, he offers forgiveness.  Try that one next time the CHP pulls you over.  God forgives, the law doesn’t.  So it just creates more laws, more ways to tell us to live, which only leads to more sin, as the more laws you have, the more you have to break.  Isn’t legislated morality fun?  But then comes along Jesus, and the rules all change. For he not only told of love, he was love.  He not only forgave sin, he was sinless.  He not only rewrote the laws from over 600 down to two, he lived them.  Loving God first, as he pointed all he did to his Father in heaven, and then loving man too, as he died on the cross.  But the highlight is he was resurrected and so we can be too!  He calls it love, for which there is no law against.  And they tried to bust him, but love covers a multitude of sins, and still does today.  But we need to stay connected, or like the Tiger, you may be pushing the right buttons, but nothing happens. 

So Jesus advises us to abide in the vine, we are the vine, and he is the vine dresser.  And as long as we abide in him, we grow and prosper, for when interwoven with Jesus, by his spirit we are interwoven with him.  A lesson I once learned when removing ivy from a fence, and the fence fell.  Abiding in the vine works in everyday spiritual applications too, not only with fences.  So maybe we don’t need another law, but the Leonard Law works for me, reluctantly.  Which brings up the question of my neighbors new 2018 Gold Wing.  So much technology including DCT, an automatic trans for those who speak only English.  He is having to learn to ride an automatic, think about that statement for a second, it seems it tells him what gear it wants to be in, sometimes downshifting when in a corner leaned over. And it has no clutch lever to pull in...how does he start the thing?  So he finds himself abiding in the owners manual....when he could be riding.  Must be a lesson in there somewhere....

Spending too much riding time fixing, abide in the owners manual.  Spending too much time upset and apologizing, abide in the vine.  Knowing that the vine will be pruned, us, but it will only cut out the bad parts and make us stronger.  Long before starter interlocks and government regulations, Jesus knew all the problems and has all the answers.  Found in the vine.  Written in his word, and revealed by his spirit.  Sometimes the remedy is right in front of you like mine was, but was too blind and stupid to see.  For there is a difference in knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus.  It all happens within the vine.  Which maybe explains why the Post Office only lost $2.7 billion last year.  Maybe if we stop mailing so many letters, their losses will go down.  And you thought it was hard to ride a motorcycle....long before we let those who ride decide, Jesus did and does.  Clutch in, kickstands up, let’s ride!

And by the way, the letter was mailed...now let’s see if it gets there!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the poor riders will always be among us

They are referred to as group rides, but more aptly described as crowd rides.  And I think I may have finally done my last and final one.  For many years we have been part of the Toy Store Invasion, riding en mass to Rady’s Children’s Hospital and giving out toys to the patients there, while ministering to both patients and families.  But times change, I blamed myself at first but was assured by others this ride it wasn’t just me.  A crowd of only 197, their head count showed up, as opposed to the 500 they advertised, and immediately the older guys could be separated from the younger ones.  True it was 47 cold So Cal degrees, but to the new ones in was Arctic cold.  And with more donuts than coffee, the latte riders had to face a reality outside of their SUV’s.  When it became time to leave, we had warned my friend, his first time here, watch out for yourself, too many of these people do not know how to ride... sadly they backed up my words.  But before leaving, I did visit with some old friends, seems most of them don’t ride much anymore, and even the so called motorcycle ministries segregated themselves away from the crowds.  Passing out info tracts is not ministry and inviting someone to a meeting is not evangelism, as one man learned, funny how he talked to me while the others in their cuts ignored him.  And he had wanted to join before he was snubbed!  I guess some things don’t change.  But soon we were off, and the chrome and leather set proved they had more invested in the look than learning how to ride.  With one group of HOG women, really piglets by their skills and looks, continually stalling, causing sudden braking form behind.  Then weaving in traffic while trying to catch up.  Their only attribute they all had on full face helmets to conceal their identity....and after one good look, for our protection, too.

Now it had always been the bikes that brought out the kids, but this year we had to park 200 feet away, leaving large open areas where we used to park and the kids could sit on our bikes.  Even Santa showing up on a Harley drew a small crowd.  True one to one ministry and memories, but not this last Saturday.  It seemed many kids bowed out this year, it used to take hours to let them choose a toy, this year the lot was half empty in 45 minutes.  True any kids were o sick to come out, but the attitude was different, and they could tell.  With the ministry performed looking like as selfie convention, except for the few who wanted to film the kids, with one person getting upset with me for pointing out the no camera stickers on the kids.  Maybe she forgot why we went, it wasn’t about us...But it seems the loud pipes save lives crowd reminded us that only loud Harley pipes do, as when some R-1 Yamaha showed up and revved up their bikes, the crowd booed.  Long after the stench of unburned hydrocarbons has left, that will still stick in a few minds.  And like my first time rider friend told me, “no more crowd rides for me.  Don’t these people know how to ride?  And sadly, where is the ministering?”

For us it was at lunch when we ran into a man from my flock, and we bought him lunch.  He doesn’t ride, the bus is a big ordeal as he is medicated, and passed over by society. But that afternoon he opened up and shared some memories, and felt right at home with the three of us on bikes.  Jesus told us the poor will always be among us, and how he was the original one percenter.  While some ministries brag on numbers, he reminds us how he went back for the one in 99 who was lost.  One may be the loneliest number, but when we put him first it is the most important one.  And it just isn’t the poor riders who are among us.

A couple tells me of how after over 30 years ministering on the street they are quitting.  The market for the homeless has changed, and they predict based on what they see that only 5% of the blankets and clothes handed out to the so called homeless actually receive them.  They are taken by those who take them to Tijuana and sell at swap meets, traded for drugs, and the leftovers for rags.  The really needy get stampeded and passed over.  But yet as many social groups, churches, ministries, and others give at Christmas, and go home feeling good about what they have done, it is cold in January too, and even after Jesus fed the 5000, the next day the crowd was hungry again.  At least he sent the disciples home each with a basket to share the next day, to remind them of what he had done, and also leave the area cleaner than when they arrived.  With one group of homeless mocking one day saying “I hear apples taste good, but we have no teeth to eat them.”  Or one church that sent over 100 prom dresses for the homeless.  But God did them one better, as they were donated to poor prom attenders, who wouldn’t have gone because of lack of funds.  God can and does take a bad time and turn it to good. 

When working for Roger Penkse we learned teamwork is seeing a need and filling it.  Same with ministry, how much do you give when no one is looking?  Does it take the poor riders to remind us of the poor around us?  And how they too have needs?  The world is changing rapidly, Jesus is the same now and forever.  We still are his hands and feet, not needed as he has angels to assist, but wants us to get involved and see him in action, to tell others of his blessings, and to bless us as we do.  Something to remember next time you wear your Jesus colors in public and cannot understand why they ignore you.  Jesus spent his ministry on the road, not in meetings bragging on how they showed up or the the great things they had done.  Remember it is the church he condemns for their selfish actions in his name, and claims he never knew them.  And you thought the Pharisees were bad enough!

So no more crowd rides for me, or runs.  I like to ride and to minister too much.  And to those in Christian ministry, I reach out to you, with a question. I’ve been there, and am actively involved in it. So I can comment.   What if I was the one in 99 and saw your patch and had questions?  Better yet, what if that one was you?  Loud pipes save lives on sport bikes too, only Jesus knows the difference.  Do you?

Jesus wore no colors, do you need them to show you are a Christian?  If Jesus took a selfie, would you be in it?  Would he be in yours.....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com.
NOTE! all above photos from 2013 and 2011

but how do the windows roll down?

Back before an era of climate controlled interiors, those of us destined to ride in the middle class of cars referred to interior cooling as 360 air.  Roll down all the windows and let the air rush in.  Need a higher blower speed, accelerate.  And life was simple, if not warmer in these pre-fake news global warming times.  We usually had vinyl seats that our bare legs would stick to and burn, and the importance of calling “window seat” had a true meaning and purpose. Something most kids born after MTV have no inkling about.  Today Mom just pushes the button the remote to start the car and cool it off, then get in and drive away, while talking on her cell about how rough her day is and the unbearable heat.  With each other passenger on his or her i-pod, and we call it a family conversation....

My 2003 ford Ranger is basic, rubber floor and roll up windows.  “Don’t all windows roll up?” you say.  Well not all, witness to many sedans with fixed rear windows, not even a dog wants to ride there, no place to hang his head out.  But for the rest of us, yes they do all roll up.  A problem a nephew of mine faced a few years back.  Graduated from college now, he was riding in the Ranger with my wife and asked “Auntie, how do you roll the windows down?”  A strange request on two levels for a post MTV kid, one why roll them down, and two, he couldn’t find the switch.  So after carefully showing him the window crank, the puzzled look told her “by hand?”  And of course getting resistance, was smart enough too turn it the other way.  Almost exhausting himself after a few cranks, but he did get the window down.  And hasn’t asked to ride in the Ranger since!  I can hear his version of the bravery and persistence it took, bragging to his friends, “it was tough, had to use all my strength, but I finally got it...”  and the call them the good old days?

Maybe we aren’t quite removed from the past as we think, as some 25 years ago my son wanted to know what the dial was for on my Grandmother’s phone?  And dialing, found it a novelty.  But in an emergency what would he have been able to do, pick up the phone and just yell into it?  Start dialing, never knowing it only took seven numbers, at one time only three, and finally figure it out before the house had turned to ashes?  Same with that strange third pedal in old cars, what does it do?  Just think, driving a clutch, dialing a phone, or rolling down a window manually, all by ourselves.  Take that i-pad!  Cue in Twilight Zone theme...

Now being a low tech man in a high tech world may be scary to some, to me it gives me an advantage.  It makes me think, something we are slowly being robbed of by computers that think for us.  How many know phone numbers any more, but know where to look for them?  Or add and subtract, ever wince as you watch a high school kid make change?  “Let’s see, the bigger ones are 5 cents, the dark ones are a penny, but why are the dimes smaller but worth more?”  Didn’t counting change used to make cents/sense?  Now I am not anti-technology, give me air on hot days, give me fuel injection and electric start, but let me participate in the events, no matter how miniscule they seem.  Sadly few will ever know the thrill of downshifting and sliding sideways, of burning rubber, or how good wind feels in your face on a cool night.  Only a dog will know...if he is old enough to remember.  And so it is, and so it was, and so it shall be.....with a few exceptions.

Jesus Christ will always be the same.  Think on that a moment, he never changes.  Styles change, worship songs change, religion changes.  But he remains the same.  But for argument’s sake, let’s see how it would be if he did?  What would happen if God woke up on the wrong side of his bed?  What if he got fed up and didn’t want to answer your prayers any more?  Or forgive you?  What if the tiniest infraction of the law was broken and you faced the harsh punishments?  What if your prayers fell on a deaf ear or he put you on hold?  Befriended you on Facebook?  Didn’t answer your emails, took you off  Instagram?  Yet we act towards him as if he doesn’t care or answer when we don’t get our way.  Sound familiar....

One afternoon in my prayer time, God asked me “why do you think I want people to be like me and not like you?”  Without multiple choice being offered.  After a few seconds to collect my thoughts, you never want to answer God wrong, he told me “so that people can be forgiven and be like me.  And not like you.”  A harsh reality some of us in ministry face, as we build churches and wish to control or shepherd the flock. But Jesus never changes, so we know what to expect, and don’t have to wonder what kind of mood he is in.  To doubt our salvation, or wonder as some performance based religions and cults do, are we ever going to make heaven? Did we do enough?   How do you see Jesus when you pray?  Do you ask expecting, or just hoping he will answer?  Remember just like us, saying nothing is saying no. 

Is it possible you are stuck in a religion with roll up windows, and cannot find the crank?  Are you expecting to hear from Jesus, but don’t know how to dial the prayer line?  Are you stuck sitting because you are perpetually in neutral, and the only sound you get when trying get in gear is grinding?  Could the answer be as close as a thought without having to Google it?  Jesus gave us his spirit so we are never alone, wherever two or three are gathered in his name, he is there.  You and the spirit make two, and in the eyes of the law, it only takes two to confirm the witness and enter it as fact.  Could that blank face staring back at you on the screen be you, who cannot change or answer prayers?  Maybe it is time for Jesus....

To feel the wind of the spirit in your face, to get into the right gear, and remember his number, he has written it on our hearts already.  To go back to the highest tech creator ever, God, who out of nothing created the heavens and the earth.  Without our help or assistance.  That God, who sent his son to die so we can be reunited with him.  Who would have ever thought  that salvation is simpler than opening a window? 

Next week, how is it possible to have over 200 channels and there is nothing on to watch.....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the wrong tool for the right job-but not Whitworth

I first learned about the mystery of round bolt heads from some vintage Triumph riders years ago.  Only the British could and would come up with a nut and bolt system where 5/16” wasn’t 5/16.  But that would be close enough to fit on a bolt head, but not close enough to grip it.  Wearing the head off, or rounded enough to spoil many a weekend ride.  But thanks to American ingenuity, we now have the Mexican speed wrench, or the Crescent wrench, available in both metric and standard, but not Whitworth, but can still handle the job.  But for the tougher jobs, and the explanation of why some bolt heads look like they hate bite marks, we also have vice grips, which will effectively dig into whatever is left of the bolt head, and destroy it before removing.  Again metric and standard, no Whitworth...

But growing up in the Japanese bike age, we got to forego stripped bolts, but were handed the dreaded Phillips screw.  Which made hammers and impact drivers a toolbox necessity, hopefully before the inner cross point was worn into a circle.  Which gave rise to many fine tuning hammers for the proper repair, and one home mechanic pointing out how the cheapo screw driver in their tool kit fit the heads perfectly.  It seems a Japanese Whitworth crosspoint was needed, a #2 standard just didn’t fit, nor did a #1 or #3.  So it wasn’t just the English who got their jollies over rounded fasteners that couldn’t be removed.  Which made me wonder, why hasn’t anyone come up with an adjustable blade screwdriver, with just a twist of the wrist it would fit all screws?  Metric and standard, but not Whitworth.  And the idea could carry over to socket heads/allen bolts, and even Torx.  Come on America, Snap On where are you when we need you?  Craftsman, you were smart enough to dump Sears, don’t stop now....

But it took my friend Brett graduating with a degree in architecture and going to work in the oil fields to see the importance of an education.  He taught us “don’t force it, just get a bigger hammer,” and many problems were solved while creating another.  Also “don’t force it, get a bigger lever,” with the accompanying “just get a bigger breaker bar,” all in different sizes, the wrong tool for the right job, without any Whitworth restrictions.  Seems necessity is still the father of invention, not to be confused with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.

The right tool will always make the job easier, and provide a quicker fix without the benefit of all the cuss words associated with the damage done by the improper tool.  While some are still fixing the damage done during the repair, you could be riding.  It seems when mankind was faced with a problem, the problem of sin, God addressed it perfectly via his son Jesus Christ.  The gospel, maybe translated as simply as this.  If we had a medical problem, he would have sent a doctor.  A philosophical dilemma, a philosopher.  If we had a mechanical problem he would have sent a mechanic, and if a plumbing problem, a plumber.  But we had a sin problem that was robbing us from God’s glory, we needed a savior, for no other sacrifice would do.  So he sent his only son, Jesus Christ, the right tool for the repair for sin in our lives, the right fit, the only fit.  No need for adjustable religion, or a Whitworth version, the gospel was revealed to man via Jesus in a one size will fit the forgiveness of all sin.  No more skinned knuckles, extra classes or tools to purchase, no clubs to join, and no special tools.  No monthly payments of remedies bought on time, God made the gospel simple so we could get it, and free so we can afford it.  While some deal with issues in doctrinal differences, Jesus came to point out the fallacies of religion and point us to righteousness, to forgive us and give us a hope and a future.   To provide us with the oil of joy, the holy spirit, to guide, encourage, direct, and comfort.  Along with a workshop manual for life called the Bible.  For man will not fix his relationship with God alone, but out of the daily bread needed to feed us what we need.  Religion made easy, if only the Whitworth religious could get it...

But yet too many still approach Jesus like my friend who was working on his truck when I walked in.  Hearing his voice, I found him under his pickup, using the seven words you used to not be able to say on TV.  “Mike is that you?  Hand me a wrench.”  When I asked “what size,” his answer should have surprised me but didn’t.  “I don’t care, I’m gonna use it for a hammer...”  So I handed him a big one, just in case it was a big bolt.  Never thinking to ask if it was metric or standard....but somehow knowing it wasn’t Whitworth.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com