Recumbent Thoughts from the Big Easy

Stats: 3006 miles. 42 days riding, 6 days of rest. 8 states. 5 flats. 1 wipeout in Tallahassee. 1 heck of an adventure.

Money raised for Fill This House - @ $15,000

Most of you know that I ride a recumbent bike. It is a long wheelbase chopper-like design, reminiscent of the bike Peter Fonda used in Easy Rider. It is made by Easy Racer of Freedom California; hence my nickname for it, the Big Easy.

Riding coast to coast provides ample time for reflection. If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to provide some observations and life lessons learned from the seat of Big Easy.

In bullet form, with explanation to follow, here is the Good, the Bad and the Ugly which I observed over seven weeks:

The Good (with a nod to the song writers who echo them)
• America the beautiful IS beautiful (Katherine Lee Bates)
• I have amazingly supportive friends and family (Carole King)
• God cares for me more than I will ever be able to comprehend
• Thank God I’m a country boy! (John Denver)
• When God made me born a Yankee he was teasin’ (The Indigo Girls)

The Bad
• I saw little that was man-made that improves on God’s creation, and much that spoils it
• Armadillos are no better than possums in crossing the road; both need vision-casting from the chickens

The Ugly (a.k.a. things about myself I need to work on)
• I prefer to be in charge
• I have too hard a time adjusting to the style and tempo of others
• Need an attitude adjustment: More empathy, less “Get up, keep up and shut up”
• I need more patience in EVERY area of my life, and I need it NOW.
• Drop the Entitlement Mentality that life is not allowed to throw problems my way
• Stop beating myself up; lack of perfection is not a sign of absolute failure

Notes:

These words from America the Beautiful came alive before my eyes as I rode Big Easy:
"O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!"

We saw those spacious skies like never before in the desert of west Texas, we saw the amber waves of grain in the rice paddies of Louisiana, the purple mountain majesties as we rode at dusk in Arizona, and the irrigated, fruited plains of California’s Imperial Valley. We also saw Ponderosa Forests in the Gila Wilderness, lime green bayous in Evangeline Parish, powdered sugar beaches in Biloxi, and the awesome Big Muddy near St Francisville, LA. America is always changing; often dramatically and unexpectedly. It is breathtaking, particularly on the mountain legs.

America the Beautiful goes on to say:
"America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!"

Because Carl and I have now traveled from sea to shining sea, this stanza has new meaning for me. For the first time I noticed that the lyrics ask God to add two things to His marvelous physical creation - grace and brotherhood. I understand why. You need divine grace in every shape and form to safely cross this country. Equally, our experience was s transformed from mere bike ride into an epic saga by the brotherhood (and sisterhood) of those who joined us along the way. Folks joined us in many ways; in the flesh or by reading the blog or by supporting Fill This House. The awesome majesty of the countryside was, in the end, overshadowed by the experience of being in the hands of a gracious God and in the fellowship of loving brothers and sisters.

Thank God I’m a country boy. I was raised a city boy, but this ride reaffirmed that I am happiest when I am spending the bulk of each day outside. I loved being a farmer when Mary and I lived in Vermont. As a teacher, my happiest hours were spent outside coaching or leading camping trips. If I have to spend an entire day inside I become like a caged animal. Big Easy was my recliner on wheels, outdoor livin at its very best. In addition, there is something liberating about having the ONE BIG THING which is my sole task for the day. If that one big thing is eight hours outside riding a bicycle, hallelujah.

When God made me born a Yankee, he was teasin’. Many of my friends just don’t get it. Why is it that I love the south? It started when we moved to North Carolina in the 1980s. I felt I’d come home although I’d never been there before. It was the soft climate, the gentility of social discourse, the christian ethic which is, to me, a positive feature of what is called the Bible belt. To many of my Yankee friends the south conjures up rednecks, racists, male chauvinists and intolerance of every sort. I will grant that those sorts exist in the south, but I hope my friends will concede that intolerance of every sort is hardly a southern monopoly. Rednecks come in every color, even blue.

Other transplants to the land of cotton do get it. You feel like you’ve come home, that you are in a space and a place where you can be comfortable with whom you are. To us folks there is something magical, welcoming and hospitable about the southland. A lot has to do with comfort foods -we can feast on shrimp n grits, fresh pecan pie, sweet tea , biscuits and gravy. And we can say “y’all” without embarrassment, for my vote one of the best words in the English language.

Now to the ugly part of my cross country experience. I had to confront, daily, things about myself that I wish were not true. It was humbling. My Ugly list is above; I wish it were shorter. To my riding companions, I have offered a general apology for the times when I was less supportive, more impatient, less accommodating and more like a task master than a team mate. Each one of them modeled for me the character traits I am trying to develop. Luckily they all understand that although the spirit is willing, the flesh is often weak.

I wish I still had my old bumper sticker that said PBPGINFWMY (Please be patient, God is not finished with me yet). Yes, I have a long way to go. That is why GRACE is so important.

Finally, I want to thank you for supporting Fill This House with your donation. The outpouring of support has enabled Liz Tippit to take on a number of new teenagers, all of whom desperately need a hand to help them start living on their own. Given the depressing statistics about the fate of kids who leave foster care, your gift may well be preventing homelessness and even saving lives.
Feel free to continue following the Progress of Fill This House via the website:
www.fillthishouse.org

May the God of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the widows and the orphans bless you richly for being his feet and his hands.