Friday 15 May 2020

‘I want to ride my bicycle’ sang Queen back in 1978. Now it seems as if everyone wants to ride their bike. After many years of abstinence, I too, have taken to travelling the Queen’s highways on two wheels. Having languished in my garage for nearly 10 years, my trusty, and a bit rusty, Raleigh Boulder has been cleaned up, revived and renewed, and taken out on to the mean streets of Monifieth once again. It is true what people say about riding a bike, once you have mastered it, it is a skill that stays with you always. What I didn’t realise is that, after 10 years off the saddle, it takes a wee while for the old creaking legs to regain their strength and stamina. And on this revelation hangs today’s tale.

After a few solo outings, I decided that it would be a fine thing if I went cycling with my 10-years old grandson – always observing social distancing guidelines, of course. This necessitated me cycling up the long incline to his house, from where we would set off on our outings. I have always been of the belief that cyclist should only push their bicycles while out on the road, in extremis. But on my first two attempts at this hill, I had to dismount and push the bike up the hill. After seriously revising my use of gears, on the third attempt I made it clear to the top. What joy! The next day while struggling my way up the same hill, doing very well in my estimation, a young boy suddenly flew past me on his bike, gave me a look that was a mixture of pity and derision, and cycled speedily on his way to the top of the incline and disappeared. What humiliation and deflation!

Once, I too, had gained the summit, and regained my breath, I had to decide on how to respond to this insult upon my cycling proficiency. Occasionally I take my own advice, and I did on this occasion. I asked myself some questions. What can I learn from this situation? Is this a teaching moment in which I could learn more of God’s ways? Is there a lesson here for my journey of spiritual maturing?

Reflecting upon all of this, a number of ideas began to emerge in my mind. In cycling, it occurred to me, as in all of life, we are not engaged in some kind of race or competition to reach the top. We do not have to prove ourselves worthy of love or favour. Our task is to do the best we can with what gifts and resources we have. Allied to this is the acceptance of our limitations and weakness. None of us can excel at everything, or most things, in fact. The important thing is to be content with what we can do, embracing the skills and talents that we do have. I will never be part of the UK Cycling Team at the next Olympic Games, but I can still cycle. I can still enjoy the fresh air and exercise. I can still spend time with my grandson, even at an acceptable distance, enjoying what we call ‘quality time.’

Furthermore, this incident was a reminder to me that in life the only person that I need to compare myself with is myself. The only important measure for me is how I am growing and developing given my particular circumstances? It is about how we fulfil our potential, not in relation to anyone else, but with regard to ourselves. I have always battled with a tendency towards perfectionism. For many years, I was never satisfied with what I had achieved or accomplished. The cruel irony of this is that the more of a perfectionist you are, the less chance you have of ever attaining it. It took me a long time to accept my imperfections and brokenness. It was a long journey that eventually let me see that God’s perfect love embraces and cherishes our imperfections and brokenness. That is what makes it perfect.

The final lesson from my humbling on the hill was simply that we all progress and journey through life at different paces. There is no one size fits all. Our uniqueness is reflected in this. I guess the important thing is, just as when I struggle up that hill, to make sure that you keep going and keep moving in the right direction. As someone much wiser than me once said, ‘How you journey determines where you end up.’ So, Keep Calm and Keep Cycling.