The imperfect Christian was blessed with perfect riding weather all weekend!!! He rode 20 miles on the track on Friday, got a nice burn due mostly to not having any pressure in his tires, but by the grace of God, He sent along an experienced rider that had a floor pump in his car. Yes it's the little things in life that mean so much. This fella had blazed past the imperfect Christian like a greyhound with his tail on fire looking for cold water all afternoon. Which in the end helped strike up the conversation that led to the imperfect one getting the assistance he needed. Now that the imperfect Christian is no longer the shy kid that he once was, he had the audacity to approach this speed merchant, and ask a favor. The imperfect Christian complimented the rider on his speed, and technique, got a humble thank you from the other rider, and then politely asked him if he had a pump. The rider was gracious enough to point the imperfect one to his bike transporter (car), where he said he would and did indeed help him with his tire woes. As the experienced rider assisted his ailing new cycling brother, he said, "Wow! you have nearly nothing in the front, and a whopping 30 lbs of pressure in the rear! Now that we have you back up to regulation (100psi), you should go about 10 mph faster!" Saying this with a slight chuckle due to the over exaggeration, and most assuredly to his amazement that I was riding on almost flat tires. I didn't have a pump, or an adapter for the slim (presta) valve stems that are on most top of the line road bikes. What I did have, however, was a willingness to get a few miles in on a gorgeous Friday afternoon.
Saturday was beautiful as well. The imperfect one took his middle son with him on this ride, and they rode the town loop via the Blue Ridge Parkway. One of the best rides that I have been on in a long time! We had the road to ourselves!!! It was great. 16 miles, and a few step climbs, but nothing major. That all changed on Sunday!
Sunday, which was supposed to be the imperfect ones day off, saw the same two father and son combination taking on an even bigger feat! Sunday we decided to try and conquer the mountain. The upside was I had someone to share the agony with, the down side was that it was really agonizing because neither of us had prepared. We didn't hydrate properly or have any lunch, and it showed when we started climbing. Anxiety set in, and the hunger made us weaker by the second. The imperfect one thought to himself as he was writing this blog... "Self we were only riding bikes, I can't imagine what those Chilean miners had going through there minds!" The miners were reported to have had suicidal thoughts, and planned cannibalism. Now the imperfect one and his son were not that bad, but it was bad enough. Plus the way the imperfect Christians kids eat, shoot... the imperfect Christian would have only made a snack for the middle son if the imperfect one would have died, and the son had to resort to cannibalism in order to survive! The imperfect ones son said, "Hey we could turn back and head down the mountain again and call our one woman with a little lady rescue team (Mama and Baby Girl)! I said let's just get a drink here and press on. It was our first climb together, and the first one that the imperfect one had been on in more than a decade and a half! Desk work will kill you! I kept hearing Coach Haskins telling Bobby Joe White, "If you quit today, you will quit everyday for the rest of your life!" So, we trudged forward!!! The imperfect one and his son got to the top, and both he and his son were fatigued and more than hungry. The One WOman Rescue Team (Mama) was concerned about her fellas, so she safety harnessed the Baby Girl and took her rescue wagon out after them early. The imperfect Christian and son were thankful that she did! The imperfect one was truly glad to see his lovely rescuer/wife, even if the first words out of his mouth were not, "Honey I love you, it's great to see you." No instead he said, "Oh praise the Lord, have you got a pack of crackers in there anywhere?" She replied, "I don't store food in here, all I have are some cough drops!" The imperfect one with no sense, or hesitation says, "Cool I'll take one." Hunger will do some crazy things to a fella. A planned fast is tough, but an unscheduled one will make you one of two things:
1. A stronger imperfect Christian, or
2. Just plain crazy!
Perhaps the imperfect Christian needs to practice his fasting and praying with a bit more due diligence? To make matters worse the imperfect one and son took money from the rescue team and rode the last two miles to Burger King. That's where they made there worst mistake... "Whoppers!" The imperfect Christian stomach still hurts today from the grease and fatty food that he has slowly but surely tried to ween himself away from!!! So don't quit! Don't give up. Stick to your ride (game plan) whether it involves fasting, or just praying, and don't stop when you get to your mountain top. There are other people that will need you, and there will be other mountains to climb.
Peace, Blessings, & Joy... that real PB&J!
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