Ridin' In The Basement!

Margaret, since her hip replacement, has become some kind of Bionic Woman going to the gym three or four times a week, walking with a pedometer and a goal of 10,000 steps a day, doing pilates in the mornings at church, and eating according to her Weight Watchers Pocket Guide. By the way, the meals at home are not only incredible but incredibly good for both of us.

I'm fairly active and I do ride my bike but Margaret informed me that she heard on Doctor Radio, "If you go work out at the gym and come home and sit on the couch you're nothing more than a couch potato who goes to the gym." Well I don't come home and sit on the couch but she said I need to be a little more active. Okay! So I took her up on it and I've decided I would do my best to ride at least thirty miles a day for fifty-one consecutive days. (Fifty one days is what it took me to pedal across America in 2009.) So for my first four or five days, guess what . . . it rained! But! I rode anyway.

Parked, notice I used the word parked, my basement is an almost new Giant stationary training bike. I haven't been using it much. In fact, I had just considered putting it on craigslist to sell for a fraction of what it cost. But . . . while it's still here I've decided to use it.

I've been at it now for a weekend a day and so far I'm right on target with eight days down and forty-three to go! Check this out:

Friday - thirty miles.

Saturday - thirty miles.

Sunday - thirty miles.

Monday - thirty miles.

Tuesday - 57.26 miles.

Wednesday - thirty-two miles.

Thursday - thirty-one miles.

Friday - 33.5 miles.

Do the math! That's 273.76 miles in eight days. (Not all of that total is basement riding but most of it is.) Now I'm certainly not bragging but do hope Margaret reads this and backs off on her Couch Potato Advisory Board stuff. After all, I am trying and 273 miles in eight days isn't too bad.

I have been able to use the cross country ride of 2009 as encouragement as I continue doing the thirty mile days. When I get up early in the morning to ride, usually five-ish, the first obstacle is getting out of bed. I really do like mornings, I only wish my bed wasn't so doggone warm and snuggly when my eyes open each day! I'll be wide awake and ready to go. Sleep doesn't tempt me to stay covered, warmth does. Then the thought hits me, "When I rode across America I had to get up, get over it, get dressed, and get on the bike and go." So that's what I do.

If I get hungry or thirsty, I think, "When I rode across America and got hungry I stopped somewhere that had food and I ate." So that's what I do.

When I get close to the thirty mile target and I'm tired and dripping sweat and starting to stink, I just think, "When I pedaled across America and got to within four or five miles of our motel for the night, I kept pedaling until I reached the motel." So that's what I do.

As Yogi Berra, winner of ten World Series rings and member of The Baseball Hall of Fame, once said, "It's deja-vu all over again." He also said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it!" I'm not sure about the fork advice but I am doing the cross country ride all over again but right now I'm doing it in my basement!

To make time fly a bit faster I've decided to watch a movie while I pedal each day. I thought I'd read a book but by the end of ten minutes of pedaling I'd be only two pages into the book and it would be soaking wet! Sweat does that to a book, you know? So I stuck with the movies. I've watched The Help, The Great Raid, Invincible, Ocean's Eleven, Schindler's List, Miracle, and October Sky so far. I've even watched Lance Armstrong win his 5th Tour deFrance. (He beat me by only a few seconds!)

When it comes right down to it, riding in the basement isn't even close to the real thing. And riding in the basement is, in my opinion, harder than riding on the road. For one thing, riding in the basement gives you no time for downhill recovery. It's pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal. Without pedaling there will be no miles, zero, added on the cycle computer. There's also no rain, wind, traffic, scenery, dogs, or hills. Pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal! That's it! Pedal!

For the safety-seekers, there are no risks. Even though it is harder, it is also safer to pedal in the basement. Nobody has ever been hit by a truck or chased by a dog while riding in a basement. So if you're the kind of person who worries about riding in the real world, welcome to the basement. One of the big problems for basement riders is this, it's not real. When I ride in the basement I'm pedaling but I'm not going anywhere. Even when I pedal my thirty miles for a day I'm still in the basement and end up right at the very same spot where I started thirty miles ago. Lots of miles but all in one spot! Sure I can watch movies and feel like I'm somewhere else but even the movies are not real, except for Lance doing the Tours. Therefore, according to my experiences, basement riders work hard, stay safe, but miss out on the very real experiences of doing what bikes are designed to do.

Too many people are satisfied just riding in the basement. They don't care if they're just spinning their wheels! They don't care that it's not real. After all, it's safe in the basement. You won't get killed by lightning, a huge dog won't clamp down on one of your legs and send you crashing to the asphalt, you won't crash going down a mountain slope, and you won't end up on the front bumper of an eighteen-wheeler. Yep, it's safe!

I have a feeling lots of people live life like that. They're in their basements, pedaling like crazy, and going nowhere fast. But they're safe. Down there they can't find boats to rock, lines to cross, or boxes in which to color. They are imprisoned in their own basement safety! Do you really think God's plan for man is safety? Why are we commanded to put on armor in Ephesians 6:11? Why do you suppose Jesus warned his disciples as he sent them into the world? "Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves" (Matthew 10:16). Does that sound like a safe mission to you?

In verse 17, Jesus also says, "But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and beaten in the synagogues." Maybe those guys should have headed for the basement where it was safe after all. But they didn't, they chose to take the risks and change the world instead.

World changers won't stay in basements! That would drive them crazy and they'd be bored stiff. No, world changers would be digging tunnels, breaking basement windows, or cutting holes in the walls and floors to get to the real world. Along with all the dangers, hazards, dogs, and eighteen-wheelers, there is a kaleidoscope of God's incredible craftsmanship everywhere one can see. His craftsmanship is out there whether it's the snow on Washington Pass or the mist coming off of Lake Erie, the kazillions of ducks in North Dakota or the big sky blanketing Montana, the sunrise over the Green Mountains of Vermont or the people of America who say to bikers pedaling through, "You must be crazy."

I'll most likely make no significant changes in the world but I'm certainly not staying in the basement. Whenever possible I'd like to color outside the lines with brilliant colors and bold strokes, rock some boats and maybe even sink one or two, push it to the limits, and step over the line sticking my tongue out at the devil every chance I get. The world needs followers of Jesus who will get out of their safe basements into the daylight where they can experience the wonder of God's creation and the mystery, suspense, and dangers of living a life committed to Him. That's where I want to live. How about you?

Erwin Raphael McManus, in his book The Barbarian Way said,

"The civilized build shelters and invite God to stay with them; barbarians move with God wherever He chooses to go. The civilized Christian has a routine; the barbarian disciple has a mission. The civilized believer knows the letter of the law, the barbarian disciple lives the spirit of the law. The religiously civilized love tradition; the barbarian loves challenges. The civilized are satisfied with ritual; barbarians live and thrive in the mystical. For the civilized disciple, religion provides stability and certainty; for the barbarian, a life in God is one of risk and mystery.

"And maybe even a little insanity."

Are you crazy?