Should I attempt to re-boot this blog?

It's been a long while since I thought about this blog. It has never amounted to much, and has not even been something I would direct anyone to pay attention to. But I am starting another experiment.

Last month I turned 55. To celebrate my birthday, I began an experiment to see how many consecutive days I can spend with some amount of time each day on two wheels. Bicycle or motorcycle. What I notice so far is that it seems to be making different connections within my mind. I experience a shift in proprioception, especially when I am riding single track at Movil Maze here in Bemidji. It's intriguing, and may be something to write about.

I have a challenge ahead. I will be at the annual conference for Minnesota United Methodists at the end of the month. This will involve staying in St. Cloud for several days of meetings. I will have to bring or have access to a bicycle or motorcycle during that time. I need to think imaginatively about how I might make that happen.

I am preparing for my month long spiritual renewal leave in July. I should be able to post during the trip using my cellphone. I'm not sure how much I will write, but I will make a bigger deal of sharing this blog if I do. Stay tuned.

Once again, it has been a long time since I made a post here. My writing has been infrequent at best. This might be about to change.

In July, I will be taking a spiritual renewal leave. I am planning an extended bicycle touring trip, probably from by doorstep to wherever I end up. I have almost everything assembled that I will need. My old mountain bike has been converted to a trekking bike. I have a B.O.B. trailer, a tent, a sleeping bag, and a cooking kit using my old Optimus Svea 123 stove. Depending on internet availability (or how long I want to squint at a cellphone), I will be making entries on this blog. Simple enough.

brrr... it's cold out there!

I'm looking forward to riding a Salsa Mukluk 3 this winter. Two years ago, I was able to ride a fat bike for the first time. I liked the flotation, and especially the ability to ride off-road during the winter. Even fat tires don't work so well on fresh snow. But for everything else they are lovely.

While discussing a fat bike purchase, I was asked by my go-to bike shop guy whether I am thinking of riding in the Arrowhead 135 race. First of all, I was flattered. I'm a fifty year old pastor who rarely gets enough time to build much of a mileage base. I don't think of myself as being in the same league as the athletes who enter this event or the less than half who are able to complete it. A younger version of myself with fewer commitments would have jumped at the opportunity.

But I haven't ruled it out. I continue to be interested in new frontiers and self-discovery, and this event seems like it would be a place to find out more about myself. It would be an opportunity to grow and learn on the bicycle in a new way, something I haven't done for a while.

It would probably be easier to make another attempt at learning to ride the unicycle I purchased a few years back, but that seems like it needs something other than two wheels and a prayer.

Another day, Another ride

It was another busy week, so I was unable to get out for another ride until yesterday. I rode my old GT Karakorum mountain bike, which I've had for about 16 years now.

Riding a bicycle has been the most consistent part of my life for a long time. I've gone from electronics geek, to art student, registered nurse, seminary student, and pastor. I have spent time on two wheels the whole time. When I'm not able to get out for a ride, I am more susceptible to depression and worry. Yesterday's ride revitalized my spirit when I didn't even realize I needed it.

In seminary, I was taught many spiritual practices including prayer, study, worship, and service. While all of these have helped to grow my faith, riding a bicycle has been the best means of restoring my spirit. I'm more prone to fatigue when I am unable to go for a ride.

Last winter was more difficult for me, and I suspect that not riding my bicycle was part of it. I mounted studded tires on the Karakorum, but didn't use it. For this winter, I am going to get a fat bike. On some level, it seems kind of crazy when I already have eight bicycles. How can I think of such a thing when I have such an outrageous abundance of bicycles? Yet the cost of a fat bike seems reasonable for keeping my spirit in balance.

Discovering new places to ride

It's been a day off- and some time to ride in Fosston, MN. I discovered an ATV/snowmobile route not far from my mother-in-law's house. There are lots of nice ATV trails in this part of Minnesota that seem like undiscovered territory for mountain bikes. Riding a bicycle seems to have little or no impact on the trails themselves.

I like being able to explore without really knowing where I am going. I use a Garmin bicycle GPS that leaves a nice little trail of breadcrumbs. This allows me to impulsively makes twists and turns without much fear of getting lost.

I'm feeling grateful for living in an area with so much open country to explore. While it is relatively flat in Thief River Falls and Crookston, I don't have to go very far to discover something new.

Movement and Two wheels, discipliine of blogging.

I'm just back from a week at the lake. I commuted to our cabin on my motorcycle. It's about a 6 hour ride, so it gives me a lot of time to focus on movement. On my return trip, I saw lots of motorcycles going the other way. Some of them were motorcycles that have been converted to trikes.

One of the aspects of spending time on two wheels is that you have to keep moving. An 850 pound motorcycle is an ungainly beast when it is at rest. But when you induce the slightest forward momentum, it becomes easy to handle.

It's obviously a metaphor, but I think this is also true about life, or at least one's perception of it. Life is in a constant state of movement-- and it can seem like an ungainly beast when we start to act as if it is frozen in time. Each of us leaves behind an ephemeral trail of breadcrumbs; when we start to act as if those breadcrumbs are life itself, we truly are lost.

For a variety of reasons, I'm trying to establish a discipline for blogging. Feel free to comment if any of what I have to share has any resonance with you. I'll try to keep my postings brief, but regular.