Countdown to Triathlon – 178 Days, 25.42 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 65 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God, forgive me,' or 'Help me.'
Billy Graham

The Journey - Installment Sixty-Five
  Utter Panic and Discouragement

       On a Friday, about two weeks before the bike ride, I received a letter from Focus on the Family discussing the upcoming ride.  The letter re-iterated that we should not ride a mountain bike or a hybrid in the bike ride.  It also listed the riders, their addresses and phone numbers.  I had been expecting to see about 50 riders on the list and was shocked to see only 20.  The notice about the bike caused me to panic.   I now owned a hybrid and it was definitely too late to purchase another bike, a road bike, and train on it. I questioned God about his providing my hybrid bike and got myself quite upset about it.  When I thought about the 20 riders, I panicked even more.  With 50 riders, I had figured that there would be some riders that would be as slow as me and quite possibly I would have someone to ride with at the back of the pack.  I was sitting on the edge of our bed at the time.  After reading this letter and I remember throwing myself down on the bed and sobbing.  As I threw myself down on the bed and sobbed, I felt in utter despair.

To understand my mindset at this point, remember that I had never done a bike ride other than the one the previous October and it was only 29 miles.  I knew I would be riding with people who rode with ease and I knew I would be the worst and slowest rider in the group; probably the most overweight and the oldest.  Beside, my knees were so painful all the time that I really couldn’t picture myself  riding very far.  That thought upset me the most because I would be letting down my family and friends and all the people who had been rooting for me and contributing to Focus on the Family in my name.  Most of all I’d be letting down my God.

When I finally pulled myself together again, I began to look at the list more closely.  I thought that perhaps I could call a couple of the women who were entered in the ride and who lived in the general area and maybe we could find some time to ride together before the actual bike ride..  I definitely wouldn’t have called the men, if for no other reason than they would not want to ride with such a slow poke. I assumed or pre-judged  that I would be the only really slow bike rider.  I called several of the phone numbers and received no answer.  I remember leaving a message on the recorder of a lady named Terri who lived in Modesto, not far from our town of Hughson. She was to play a big part in the three day bike ride with me.   I called one woman who was part of a husband-wife team who would be riding together.  She said they had been riding together for quite some time.  I had been congratulating myself that I could now ride about twenty miles or more without stopping to rest.  I asked her how far they rode without stopping and she informed me that they don’t stop at all. That comment certainly burst my self-congratulatory balloon. Well, those people were definitely not in my category, either. One woman lived in the mountains and I didn’t call her because I figured that she had legs of steel if she was riding on steep grades.  I continued to judge people and situations even when I have no knowledge of them.  Later on the bike ride I discovered that the woman I thought would have legs of steel, would be out in front of the pack and would not ride with me because she would be too fast, couldn’t ride with us at all because of health issues. She was not able to take part in the Focus on the Family Bike Ride.   Pre-judging people and situations has always been a problem for me and has created many false impressions. Would I ever learn?

Come back Monday to see the surprise name on the list.  Have a great weekend, everyone.