This past Saturday, Tim, Joanna and I biked the 15 miles to Angelica, NY. (Thankfully, Joanna’s parents were in town and drove us back to Houghton after the necessary stop for food at the Canteen. Unfortunately, Joanna’s parents won’t be able to drive us back from Portland, Oregon. So it goes.)
Within the first minute of the bike ride I had already fallen. Upon coming to an abrupt stop at the bottom of a hill, I was made painfully aware of my inability to quickly unclip my nifty bike shoes from my pedals. After hovering for a few seconds, I (gracefully) toppled over in front of a few witnesses. The small cut on my knee didn’t hurt as much as my pride. “I promise I know what I’m doing!” I wanted to yell to the cars driving away.
But the truth is, I don’t. Sure, I’ve been biking to school since the 4th grade – uphill both ways, mind you. And in the summer my brother and I would hook up a Burly trailer to my brother’s bike and cycle the two hours to buy groceries for the week. But that’s about it. Road bikes are new to me. Bike cleats are new to me (as you can tell). Cycling more than a few hours each day is new to me.
In which case, biking coast to coast would be the obvious next step, right? Not at all, as you correctly guessed. And I still don’t fully understand why I’m doing it. I suppose that will be part of the journey. But I do have three things I’m looking forward to.
- Processing. After studying abroad for a whole year (in New Zealand, Nepal, and then India), I have not had a lot of spare time to reflect on these experiences, as well as the past four years at Houghton. While my legs might not be welcoming it, it will be refreshing to have nothing on the agenda but pedaling. At least I will be going somewhere.
- Meeting new people (and becoming closer with old friends). As you all probably know, we will be staying with different Houghton alum during our journey. After graduation, and as I think about what’s next and what I value most, it will be nice to meet others to see how God is working in their lives after their time at Houghton.
- A renewed understanding of the United States. I remind myself from time to time that in a few weeks I will be biking across the WHOLE country. Ah! But in a world in which mobility and disconnection is so frequent, it will be nice to plug in. To follow the contours of the land and learn to be fully aware of God’s Creation. From the Rocky Mountains to the plains of South Dakota to the curving hills of Alleghany, I think it will be breathtaking to see the diversity and unity in this land.
Which brings me back to my fall. Like with Thomas feeling the nail marks of Christ, God works through wounds. It is in being vulnerable and accepting that there is plenty of room for growth that these three goals, and more, will be made manifest.
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