Ramblings

My friend Brian Boudreau was hit by a car while going out to the 5:30 am ride two weeks ago. The lady that hit him was not looking and creamed him from behind. Fractured his femur in three places, broke 6 ribs, badly bruised his shoulder and punctured his lung.

Man…..what a bout of bad news we have faced lately. The secretary from the office got a call the other morning. Her 20 year old brother was killed while driving to work early on Monday. A good friend breaks the news that his wife has breast cancer, and a coworkers fiancé was in an automobile accident in Belfast and he had to jump on a plane Friday afternoon go take care of her.

Bad news rolling in like the tide, nothing can stop it. It just keeps on coming. Sometimes it is hard to find perspective.

I got an e-mail from someone close questioning why we ride bikes and weather it is safe. He is a rider and someone who has left the sport in the past, found the love again and has become addicted to it.

Ah the ride….roll out of the driveway and down the street, into the hills or across town. I have enjoyed the freedom for so long, it is hard to imagine life without it. How much caution do we need to take. Is it worth it?

I was having a conversation with Tracy the other day. We were discussing how every person we know who has been riding for any considerable length of time has been involved in some sort of crash. Racing, riding, training, crashing….they all seem to go together. Does it mean that we stop doing what we love, what makes us feel alive? Think about all the hours that all those people have spent on the bike. Hundreds of thousands of hours spent on the bike that not only create a healthy person, but also show your kids that a healthy lifestyle is good. Do you need to ride your bike to stay healthy? No….but who wants to spend all that time in the four walls of some club. Get out and feel the wind in your face.

I have a friend from Holland and she was telling me how they used to ride their bikes everywhere when they were younger. 10 miles to school, 6 miles to swim practice. In Holland….Think about the weather in Holland, partly cloudy with a little sun and a few showers is a great day. Now she tells me that her sister and brother in law have two cars and drive everywhere. Their kids are overweight. They drive everywhere, and gas is 8 bucks a gallon. They are both overweight. She thinks that wealth has made them lazy…..interesting concept. Have to think about that.

My last post was about the passion of it all, the need, the itch to get out and ride. How important is fulfilling that need in your life. I got a comment form a guy from Tucson about how his wife was thrown from a horse and spent two years recovering. They stopped risking, living, riding for a while and they realized that they felt dead inside. Irritated, frustrated. The most interesting thing was that the kids could feel it in them as well. They realized that living is better than cowering in fear.

Adrenalin can be addicting, but I am not talking about adrenalin. I am talking about feeling your body working, moving your muscles and getting out in the air and taking it all in. Feeling the sun on your face, close your eyes and feel it through your skin. Experiencing, living it, loving it.

For me it really comes down to this. Do you trust God with your safety? I am not saying test the limits or devote your whole life to it. I am saying you can’t be afraid to live. The fact remains, rain falls on everyone, and how you deal with it is the real question, the test. Adversity brings out the real person in you and it is so important to find out who that real person is.

Why do we crash and get hurt. Sometimes crap just happens, but sometimes the surgeon has to make a few cuts to fix the problem.


My 2 cents