A few months ago I did a radio interview with Moody Radio NW on the biker book, God, a Motorcycle, and the Open Road, arranged by Don Otis of Veritas Communications, and received an email from a Montana listener who recommended a gorgeous stretch of asphalt that skirted Bull Lake. Ironically, just the summer before I’d ridden that road with a friend. It did impress us! I mentioned that to Don, and he said he’d hiked in that area to Rock Lake, only accessible by trail. Yep, our bikes would not have taken us there. That got me thinking…
Read MoreBlasted!
For decades now, I’ve loved adventure, to push my limits. I even created a line, “If you never push your limits, you’ll never realize your true courage and abilities.” But that flows from my innate timidity—yeah, it comes close to my name. So I decided to face and conquer my fear. At 26, I embarked on a 3 month, 13,000 mile, 31 state motorcycle tour of the US. I rappelled down a 190 ft. Rio Grande bridge tower, on a 120 ft. rope. Just last summer, I did an Iron Butt ride, 1,080 miles in 16 hours on 2 wheels. At 70. Yeah, some of us never learn. Then…
Read MoreWhen Angels Ride Along
As did nearly all bikes back then, my Honda 350 Scrambler had a chain drive that needed daily maintenance—lubing and tightening the chain. Well, I’d fallen in love with the unity of biker, bike, and the road, and did more riding than maintaining. The bike rode well, even though it was loaded high with a backpack strapped to the sissy bar. Pulling out of Banff on highway 93 in the magnificent Canadian Rockies, heading for Idaho, I took full advantage of the bike. Heading into a long, sweeping turn to the right, I barely noticed the 35 mph sign, doing at least 60. OK, maybe more. But I had a good line, until…
Read MoreOvergrown
Among California’s coastal redwoods, a small stream crossed under a bridge on the trail, and then disappeared. Looking closer, I discovered it hadn’t gone underground--it re-emerged not far below. Instead, the moderate climate and abundance of rainfall in the Santa Cruz mountains led to the stream side bushes to grow over and completely cover the stream, for maybe 25 feet. Trust me, a stream IS below the brush! Not a huge issue, unless…
Read MoreKissing Concrete
Snick. With the push of a button, the garage door descended. Snick. With another button, my new acquisition, a 2005 Honda ST1300, purred into life. This was my first long, break-in ride before I rode it to Glacier National Park. By day’s end, we rode 340 miles through the mountains and valleys and beaches, the ranches and farms and cities of Ventura and Kern Counties. I renewed a friendship from decades earlier, met a new riding partner, and reconnected with one from our summer touring group. But now all of us lay face down, kissing concrete, with multiple pistols pointed at our heads, with tense faces behind them…
Read MoreLean on Us
About a month ago, I had the honor of being on the faculty at the 50th Anniversary of the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, near Santa Cruz, CA. I taught two workshops, preached at the Palm Sunday worship, met with conferees and fellow faculty and editors. Yeah, hectic and rushed and crushed. But MH lies in the coastal redwoods with a canyon carved by Bean Creek and with ample trails. Strolling among the redwoods with a friend works well to restore a drained soul, and I took full advantage of it. On a trail on a steep hillside…
Read MoreWild
Before every bike trip, I pop on Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild.” Loud. Quite loud. The first lines prep my spirit, “Get your motor runnin’, head out on the highway, looking for adventure…” My soul needs adventure, to test myself, to move beyond fears. Riding comes with risks, but few choices match the selfishness of adventure seeking. As we grow closer to Jesus, we face that tension—how can we feed our souls and touch other’s lives for the kingdom?
Read MoreDesigned--Magnificently!
On August 30, 2017, intense lightning sparked the Kenow Fire near Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, and soon moved into the park. Orders to evacuate the Waterton townsite arrived September 8, but control didn’t come until September 21, and the threat continued until the shorter days of October brought snow and colder temps.
By then, 38% of Waterton NP had burned, and when including fires in nearby Glacier NP, 65,000 acres were blackened, impacting 80% of the trails. This last April a good friend and delightful author, Murray Pura, who lives close to Waterton, posted this pic of a tree scorched in the fire. An interesting juxtaposition of death and life-giving snow with the Canadian Rockies in the background. Likely, the tree won’t recover, but …
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