Sex, Lies, and Thieves

Tim Riter July 21, 2014

Basically, the parameters of my faith were: no sex outside marriage, no lies, no stealing. If I did a decent job on those, I felt fairly successful and had a bit of spiritual pride. OK, a lot. Notice though, I only had three. God had ten primary ones, a much more difficult job, so I created my own Reader’s Digest version. Please don’t try this at home. I made sure they were do-able and I could keep them in mind. You may have your own shortened list, and it may vary from mine. That’s OK, we’re really doing the same thing.

Then I came across ...

Wild Life Detected

Tim Riter July 14, 2014

Naw, this post won’t direct you to wild parties in your neighborhood! Let’s talk about another kind: deer. In 43 years of riding bikes, much in the mountains, I never gave a thought to deer crossing the road and trying to knock me off the bike. Then a year ago, in Libby MT, our group talked to a local who’d hit 23 deer. Killed 17 of them. That gave me pause. Less than a week later on the road to Eureka, a deer bolted in front of Brad on his bike with no chance to avoid a collision. After the life flight to appropriately named Mercy Medical Center in Redding, doctors tended to multiple broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a broken collar bone and shoulder blade, and a number of abrasions. He now has a plate in his shoulder with 9 screws. He still rides, but that incident got my attention.

So I was particularly cautious leaving Pagosa Springs at 5:30 in the morning with a cup of hot coffee in the cup holder.

Taking Chances

Tim Riter July 7, 2014

AAA maps and locals are not always reliable repositories of good information. Our group pulled out of Cortez CO early with Telluride in our sights. The ride got a bit chilly as we cruised into the town surrounded by the San Juan Mountains at 8700 ft. About 30 elk calmly grazed at the outskirts.

Needing an in internal infusion of warmth, we found Maggie’s Coffee House, only to be met by Mr. Maggie, the husband of the owner and a fellow biker. After some biker talk, he asked if we’d heard of Gateway, the hidden secret of Colorado, the best bike ride in the state. Now, Colorado’s beauty is second to none, so that got our attention.

Roots

Tim Riter June 30, 2014

Our annual cross country biker group calls itself the Gray Hogs, in a veiled allusion to Tim Allen’s movie Wild Hogs. Two prime requirements to be a Hog: you don’t need to belong to the Harley Owners’ Group, just pack a few extra pounds, and to sport some gray hair. Oh yeah, and to ride a bike and to get along with the charter members.

Even so, old totally dominated a day on our recent ride to the Taos NM area. We visited ...

450 Miles of Misery

Tim Riter June 23, 2014

Honestly, I never thought of stopping nor turning back. But 450 miles of misery to start the motorcycle trip did wear on me. I’d pulled out of my garage about 5:15 in the morning, and slogged through 80 miles of metropolitan Los Angeles before meeting Mick and Brad at Cajon Pass on I-15. Metro freeway does not qualify as my favored mode. But the metro yielded to desert and desert brought heat and by the time we got to Vegas the bike’s thermometer bumped 100. 11AM.

Lunch at In-and-Out cooled us a bit, but the temp had risen to 105, with 170 miles to go. The temp climbed with the altitude until it maxed at 109. 30 miles from Cedar City it began to cool, and the 99 felt almost chilly. Note the almost. Our motel’s cool pool finished lowering our body temps, and we walked to a nice café next door for dinner.

That night ...

Getting Better All the Time?

Tim Riter June 16, 2014

Mark Twain, one of America’s wittiest authors, proclaimed that “The man who is a pessimist before 48 knows too much; if he is an optimist after it he knows too little.” Well, I’m over 48. Well over. Yet I find a blend of both pessimism and optimism within myself. Pessimism: about how America is abandoning widespread cultural values in place of subjective ethics; about the rise in violent crime, particularly in young adults; about growing alcohol and drug abuse. Optimism: about God working in the midst of a dark world and bringing eventual justice and victory.

Pontificating on the source of evil in the world tempts me...

Hello Again, Old Friend

Tim Riter June 9, 2014

Relaxing in the small cabin, the novel I’d been reading for pleasure began to bore me, so I pulled out my J.B. Phillips version of the New Testament. Now, you gotta understand the context. I’ve read the Bible a lot. Pastoring for several decades, writing Christian books, teaching in a Christian school and an adult Bible study class tend to encourage that. And, even though much of the reading is “professional,” I always ran the text through the grid of my life before sharing it with others.

But this differed...

Deadheads

Tim Riter June 2, 2014

No, as much as I loved their music, this post won’t focus on the Grateful Dead band and their fans. Sorry to all the deadheads, but the allusion is unavoidable for a 60s child! As we prepped our house for an overnight visit from my sister, her husband, and her friend, I got the task of “deadheading” our eight Iceberg roses in the front yard. Icebergs produce abundant white roses, flowers that die and need to be pruned for new blooms to blossom. Hence the name “deadheading:” taking some clippers and sniping off all the rose heads now dead.

Unconventional

Old Faith, New Following