I rode bikes a fair amount in college.  I was into mountain biking for a while, but I was going to school in west Tennessee, the flattest part of the state.  Not a ton of mountains out there.  So I traded the mountain bike in for a road bike.  I rode some with my roommate, but also a lot by myself.  I would say, “I love just getting out there and riding, by myself or with someone else.”  I must not have liked it that much, because after college, I pretty much gave up biking

In the last couple of months, I’ve picked it back up.  I ride three times/week.  Twice it’s a shorter sprint, and once/week is a long ride.  I’m loving it!  And I’m sticking with it.  Why?

I experience community when I ride my bike.

You see, I don’t ride alone.  I ride with three  guys from my community group, one of their sons, and my uncle.  Somehow, in riding 30 miles with people, life happens.  Significant conversations happen.  The distractions of normal life are stripped away, and riding through the country opens up the heart.  I’ve built great relationships with these guys, and I look forward to our rides together.

Biking alone is ok, but I get tired more quickly, I don’t have the motivation to keep going, I don’t have the motivation to get up early and push myself, I get bored, and I end up going shorter distances, quitting earlier than I intended.  When I bike with the guys, I am encouraged to get up early, to keep riding, to push myself even harder, and to finish the ride.

That’s what authentic, God-honoring community does.

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.  -1 Thessalonians 5:14

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