A Bike Makes Life Better

Lately I've been thinking about the word Adventure. I've been putting a lot of stock into the idea that we're made for it. Recently, I had a meeting with a friend who was making some really poor choices that were hurting his family. It seems like all those bad choices were centered around the idea that he was both bored and boring. There was an overwhelming feeling that no one took him seriously as a person and the only emotion that matched it was a desire to do something incredible (at the risk of being irresponsible) just to feel something.

Honestly, I couldn't help relating his situation to my own. What kept me from feeling this feeling? I'm absolutely sure that it's because I have an incredible wife, incredible kids and an incredible belief system that keep me on my toes. If I take any of those things seriously, I wouldn't have the opportunity to make poor choices. They are first and foremost. But I also have to consider those bikes in my garage.

Now, if you're not a year-round cyclist or adventure seeker you may not get what I'm saying, but hear me out. I don't get bored. When I have free time, I'd rather be on my bike than on a gambling boat, buying a new car or, worse, spending time with a woman who wasn't my wife. I love being on my bike. And there's a lot of living that happens when you're bombing down a hill on two wheels or facing the frozen terrain of your winter bike commute. The significance of that living doesn't leave me wondering if there is something more. I'm not bored.

Then look at it from the other side. I don't think I'm a boring person... at least my wife doesn't think so. Our marriage is incredibly healthy and I would attribute a tiny percentage of that health to those bikes. My wife thinks it's interesting and, dare I say, attractive when I come through the front door with icicles hanging from my face. She, in no way, thinks I'm a boring person. She's proud of me (just read her tweets), wants to be married to me and wants to be wanted by me. And when I reciprocate that love back to her, she feels no need to find value in new clothes, spending money or her physical appearance. I find her interesting because of her sense of adventure. She's the only person I know who can block out the world and run for miles and miles all alone. I find it fascinating. I find her fascinating.

And it seems that lots of this love, health and genuine relational significance comes from that sense of adventure. I think that's because we were made for it. We were created to live, not sit at a computer. And I'm not knocking sitting at a computer. I do all day long. But I leave that computer and live. I don't leave that computer and pick up a controller. I don't leave that computer to go buy the newest what-not from the mall. I leave that computer and ride a bike home to my family. I pull that bike into the garage and I'm greeted by three little people and the most beautiful and most interesting woman on the planet. They hug me. They kiss me. We laugh and we want to be together. And somehow, I think that bike has something to do with it. I think that bike makes me better.

Get out there.