Get Yer Motor Runnin'!

Last summer Dorrie and I took a motorcycle safety course. I hadn't been on a motorcycle in almost 25 years! And my last experience on one wasn't the most memorable! But with gas prices at $4.00 and wanting something we could do for fun, we decided to take the class and get my motorcycle license. (Dorrie already had hers.)

We spent four hours one evening watching motorcycle crash videos and learning all the dangers of riding the two wheeled vehicles. I think maybe this was to weed out the faint of heart.

We learned where all the controls were and how to use them. We learned that the tires are supposed to remain in contact with the ground for maximum control and basic things like that. We learned about clothing to protect you from having all your skin shredded off by the pavement. We learned about helmets to keep you from damaging what little brains you have. Important things like that.

In reality, those first four hours were very informative and helped me to gain a little more confidence for the next day.

Saturday morning was for riding class. We arrived that morning to a light rain. After choosing helmets that fit, we were assigned our bikes. We began by learning the controls and just rolling our bikes back and forth to get the feel of them. Then we started the engines. We learned to pull in the clutch, put the bike in first gear, and slowly let the clutch out, pull it in, and repeat. When everyone was comfortable with this, we actually got to ride for about five feet. And I didn't even fall over!

Slowly, a little bit at a time we rode. Into second gear. Around curves. Weaving, stopping, turn signals. We were becoming true bikers! (The fact that we never got above 15 mph didn't seem to matter!)

By day three we were riding figure eights, learning to ride over two-by-fours that might be laying in the road, and hard braking. By the end of that third day I knew I could handle anything that parking lot could throw at me! I was a road warrior of the John Deere parking lot!

We took and passed our riding and written tests and the following Tuesday I went to the DMV and got my motorcycle license. (All the while humming "Born To Be Wild" to myself! Get your motor runnin'. . . . Head out on the highway. . . . Lookin' for adventure!)

A few weeks later I was at the local bike shop. I had found what I was looking for. A Yamaha, 650 V-Star. Used, but only 1200 miles on it. Good price. Great gas mileage. Engine a little small, and not a Harley, but a start.

I walked around it several times. I sat on it. I walked around it a few more times. Sat on it again. Then the owner of the shop came up and said, "Take it for a ride!" He handed me the key and asked me if I wanted a helmet. I wasn't sure what to do. I had never ridden a motorcycle on a street. I had ridden on the ranch growing up 25 years ago and in John Deere's parking lot. And he wanted me to take his bike out for a test ride!

I had butterflies like I'd never had before, but I climbed on and fired it up. I made it out of the parking lot without killing the engine or falling down. I thought that was pretty good. I went down a city street, around a couple of corners and didn't fall. I only killed it once at a stop sign. But after a little while I decided, "At some point I'm going to have to go faster than 15 mph and get on a highway."

I headed to the highway and made it through my first intersection with no accident. (I kept thinking to myself, 'Do these people know how dangerous I am?') I headed out on the open road. 20 mph. 30 mph! 40 mph! 50 mph! 60 mph! And WOW did that feel great! By the time I got back to the shop I was hooked.

All that training paid off. I just had to put some faith in it. I had learned the basics, but I had to actually stretch myself to experience the enjoyment that came from it.

Since then I've put quite a few miles on that bike. I've used the things I learned over and over. Weaving, turning and even hard braking. I've learned a lot more, but it all started with trusting what I had been taught.

Paul tells the church in Corinth to "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you." So often we are afraid to trust what we have been taught. We hold on to our fears, our worries, our anger and our selfish lives because we are afraid to venture out onto the open road of faith.

It's time to live like He really is in us. "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry 'abba, Father.'"

Take a chance. Go for the gusto! Let 'er rip! The ride is worth it!

Get yer motor runnin' . . . . head out on th' highway! . . . . Lookin' for adventure . . . . in whatever comes my way! . . . . Born to be Wiiiilllldddd!