Last ride in September

Saturday Sept. 29th the weather was threatening in the Denver Area with High winds and heavy clouds in most areas. I had plans for a ride the next day and was concerned that I might have to cancel due to weather. The next morning I woke to cloudless skies from horizon to horizon and no wind. After a good time at church and an early lunch I was on the road. I made the short trip to the mountains and a stop to top of the gas tank before doing the peak to peak highway which is a north south run on a one lane in each direction road from just east of Golden to Estes Park with as the name implies some impressing altitude changes and breathtaking views.

The first thing I noticed since last week was the amazing change in the Aspens as they change to fall colors. We saw spectacular colors last week but the change in one week was amazing. The second thing I noticed was snow on the high peaks which is an amazing sight. We moved to Denver from So. Cal. In December of last year and by then the mountains were mostly white. So to see the green of the pine and the vivid yellow of the aspen offset by a clear blue sky and the pristine white of the snow was almost too beautiful, how could anyone look at such a sight and not be convinced that God had done this.

With each ride I am challenged by my hope for adventure and the surprise and discomfort that can and often do accompany it and this ride was not acceptation. Be careful what you ask for, you might just get it. As I mentioned I saw snow in the high country and was on a road with large elevation changes. While I did not encounter any snow I did experience very large temperature changes and stopped often to add or remove layers of clothes and while it is easy to put on a jacket I don’t have a solution for getting long johns on under my jeans on the side of the road so my legs were very cold. Your suggestions are welcomed on this topic.

The second challenge came in the higher elevations where the winter snow and the chemical and mechanical snow removal solutions have left a degraded road surface so it was common to enter a curve to find a disturbing lack of grip. Suffice it to say that a sliding front tire on a motorcycle is a moment you don’t soon forget but nothing that was too dangerous or reason to abandon the trip. After all I have close to 50,000 miles of saddle time. Then it happened, a reminder that man does not live from his bag of talents and skills. I crested a peak in the middle of a curve and had crossed to the windward side on the mountain. All at once the combination of centrifugal force, poor road surface and a gust of wind worked together to take me off the road into god knows what. Well as you can guess by the fact that I am writing this and you have not received the “John is in the hospital prayer request e-mail chain” all ended well and the deflection of my intended course did not exceed the limits of the road.

This does raise the question of trusting God not only when you get the desired outcome but also when things go badly. In this case only my ego was bruised and my body was left without a mark. None the less the instinct of my flesh was a combination of anger at God and embarrassment that someone might have seen the less than perfect line through the corner. Then I had to remind myself that I am not all powerful and the best solution is always to turn towards God.

I want on this ride to enjoy the views and feed my soul, God alone knew that my ego needed some of His unique attention on the last day of September 2007 and a windy curve on the mountains between Golden and Estes Park was as good a place as any. Nothing is wasted in the hands of God.

I return with a little more humility (I Hope) and a greater appreciation of my Father in Heaven and His boundless love for me.

Please embark on an adventure because you never know what lesson God has just around the next corner. As the famous quote says “I took the road less traveled and that made all the difference.”