“When Riding Tandem, Somebody Has to be Second!”

This was the topic of our “illustrated message” Sept. 6 at our First Saturdays kick-off –”Medley of Mentoring” — sponsored by Open Book Ministries. We gather in an open forum of dynamic interchange among women once a month in different womens’ homes. This Saturday will be #2. (All women are welcome to come to these meetings in the Denver area).

 

In September, I dressed up in bikers shorts and stood in front of my mountain bike (with a clip art of tandem riders taped to the crossbar.) Here are excerpts of what I said:

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Let me see a show of hands – how many of you have ridden either a road bike or a mountain bike? Good! How many people does it take to maneuver one of those?

[Audience said, "One!"]

As most of you know, tandem bicycles are specially built for two riders and include two seats, two sets of pedals and two handlebars. The more experienced tandem cyclist or the one with the greatest upper body strength is best suited to ride in the front seat as “captain” of the bicycle. The captain is responsible for controlling the bike’s direction and speed while warning the back seat rider of upcoming obstacles, bumps and gear shifts.

The rear rider or “stoker” is mainly a source of extra cruising power for the bike. Stokers must be very careful to keep their weight centrally balanced while cruising, and lean to one side only on turns.

Learning to ride tandem with another person is different than riding a single person bike by yourself. It takes a little getting used to, a little bit of practice. But you CAN learn, and when you do, tandem riders will tell you what a thrill and rewarding experience it is.

When you decide to take your life’s journey for a season with a human mentor, you want to ride with someone who has tried and tested the road of life, over the potholes, through rough terrain, winding paths and up difficult mountains. But most of all, you want to ride with someone who has been learning to ride tandem with her Captain, our Lord Jesus.

What I share with you about tandem riding will apply not only to riding tandem with a human mentor, but also riding together with Jesus, getting into a rhythm with His plan for your life as you let Him steer you through the challenges and joys of life.

Today I will share with you FIVE RULES for riding a tandem bike. READY TO HOP ABOARD? 

more…

SNEAK PREVIEW – Hoonah, Alaska book soon published!

Well, I got the proof for the cover of Surviving the Storms: Real-life Stories from Hoonah, Alaska this week! It is the third book I’ve project managed, published by Good Catch Publishing , where I serve on staff. (Click on the graphic to read the back cover copy.) It is an edgy dramatic narrative compilation of seven true stories. I do not write the stories – I work with a freelance base of 20 incredible writers from around the country, and with the storytellers and the clients who commission our books. Surviving the Storms should be out by mid-October and available on Amazon for $14.95. (We are always looking for good dramatic narrative writers who like to interview people and write their true stories. For more information, go to the Good Catch Publishing website, bottom righthand corner of Home page.)

Good Catch Publishing has published over 70 books and two were from churches in Wasilla, Alaska, Sarah Palin’s hometown! They are: Though They Walk Through the Valley with a picture of the Mat-Su Valley on the cover (where Wasilla is located), published for Wasilla Assembly of God. And Velocity: Moving at the Speed of Life  was published for The Church on the Rock. Both were published just a few months ago, in Dec 2007, before hardly anyone knew Sarah.  One is the church Sarah supposedly attended for quite a while before she became governor so the people whose stories we tell may have been friends of hers from church!

We are currently working on another Wasilla book which should be published before the end of the year. You should be able to find many of our books on www.Amazon.com and our website.

Alaska Facts

I must have been fascinated with a state so far north, largely untamed and unsettled from the time I was a young girl. I remember choosing Alaska as my “state project” in fifth grade. Perhaps the other states were taken. Perhaps not.

But I even remembered from so many years ago that the state bird is the Ptarmigan – Willow Ptarmigan, to be precise. The Territorial Legislature adopted it in 1955.

Some other facts about our 49th state:

• Motto: “North to the Future”
• Flower: Forget-Me-Not
• Fossil: Wooly Mammoth
• Mineral: Gold
• Gem: Jade
• Tree: Sitka Spruce
• Fish: King Salmon
• Insect: Four-spot Skimmer Dragonfly
• Sport: Dog Mushing
• Area: 586,412 square miles
• Denali (Mt. McKinley): 20,320 ft. (Tallest peak in North America)

Some other Alaska trivia facts from Alaska Fast Facts and Trivia:

1. Alaska officially became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.
2. Nearly one-third of Alaska lies within the Arctic Circle.
    
3. The Alaska Highway was originally built as a military supply road during World War II.
    
4. The state boasts the lowest population density in the nation.
    
5. The discovery of gold in the Yukon began a gold rush in 1898. Later gold was discovered at Nome and Fairbanks.
    
6. Alaska is a geographical marvel! When a scale map of Alaska is superimposed on a map of the 48 lower states, Alaska extends from coast to coast.
    
7. The state’s coastline extends over 6,600 miles.
    
8. Alaska is the United State’s largest state and is over twice the size of Texas. Measuring from north to south the state is approximately 1,400 miles long and measuring from east to west it is 2,700 miles wide. 
    
9. Oil is the state’s most valuable natural resource. The area includes what is thought to be the largest oil field in North America.
    
10. In 1986 Mount Augustine erupted near Anchorage. 
       
11. The Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the United States.
     
12. 17 of the 20 highest peaks in the United States are located in Alaska.
     
13. At 20,320 feet above sea level, Mt. McKinley, located in Alaska’s interior, is the highest point in North America.
     
14. Juneau is the only capital city in the United States accessible only by boat or plane! 
     
15. The state’s largest city is Anchorage; the second largest is Fairbanks.
     
16. The Alaska Range is the largest mountain chain in the state. It covers from the Alaska Peninsula to the Yukon Territory.
     
17. In 1915 the record high temperature in Alaska was 100 degrees Fahrenheit at Fort Yukon; the record low temperature was -80 degrees Fahrenheit at Prospect Creek Camp in 1971.
     
18. The Alaskan malamute sled dog is strong and heavily coated. It was developed as a breed by a group of Eskimos named the Malemiuts.
     
19. Alaska’s name is based on the Eskimo word Alakshak meaning great lands or peninsula.
     
20. Alaska’s most important revenue source is the oil and natural gas industry. 
     
21. The state of Rhode Island could fit into Alaska 425 times.
     
22. Prudhoe Bay, on the northern Alaskan coast, is North America’s largest oil field.
     
23. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline moves up to 88,000 barrels of oil per hour on its 800 mile journey to Valdez.
     
24. The fishing and seafood industry is the state’s largest private industry employer.

You can find more about Alaska, along with quizes, at About.com.

Tree Dudes Attack the Beetle Trees!

Our wonderful friends, Steve and Linda Nuss offered to come to the family cabin in Allenspark, CO to cut down trees marked by a state forest ranger. As most of you know, the pine beetles have ravaged the Grand Lake area, on the west side of the Continental Divide. We are all working hard to try and fend off the devastating effects on our side.

The two Tree Dudes - Chet under the masterful tutalege of Dude Steve – felled over 125 trees Friday afternoon and Saturday, May 30 & 31! Very few of them actually had pine beetles. Part of their mission from the ranger was also to thin the forest. They did not have to cut branches and chop the trees, nor wrap and stack them. The National Forest Firefighters offered to come by and chip them with their huge machines.

I am going to attempt to post a brief video shot of Chet felling one of the larger beetle trees behind the cabin at the end of these photos. It was the first time I’d ever taken video with my new Sony digital still photo camera, and had no idea if it would work, or even if I would be able to get the tree in the shot! But I think you will enjoy the Tree Dude Victory and the Victory shout!

(I have run out of time and can’t get the video posted – will have to do so at a later time – come back and watch the Big Fall!!!)

CYCLING SISSY, Part 1 – A Sketchy History

I finally found the courage – and determination – to follow through with something I’ve wanted to do for a long time: dust off my mountain bike and begin to ride.

The desire has been growing in me for years. My husband Chet bought us both inexpensive mountain bikes when we were married six years ago and we have barely used them.  Each year, it seemed like too much trouble to me to drag the bike out of the basement, fill the tires, adjust the gears, find a suitable bike path, etc. I don’t think we took them out more than once the last couple of years.

We did have one flash of excitement (and realism) when we were nearly engaged the summer of 2001 when we rode in the Colorado Courage Classic Bike Tour. Actually, a friend of mine (Dawn) dazzled me with her passion and practically strong-armed several of us, including an ace rider Bill and another friend Janice, to sign up.  As a group, we “sorta” trained in the weeks prior to the ride. Chet also rode with me some before the big event to help train and encourage me.

But when the big weekend came, Chet and I chose the path of least resistance. We decided to join the riders in the middle leg of the three-leg ride in Copper Mountain/Frisco/Keystone
Breckenridge/Copper Mountain indulging in the overnight camp-out part with all the other harder core riders. It was the easy, less hilly leg. But it was still very hard for us, especially me. We were both puffing and panting up the few hills, watching the others in their colorful spandex whiz by. Those sag support vans looked very inviting.

One leg, one day, and we were pooped!

And so, with our busy lives, our bikes continued to lie dormant in our garage or basement…until this year…

Do you struggle with a desire to do a particular thing, but just don’t seem to have the gumption to “Just DO IT!” as Nike tells us? Have you been procrastinating because the obstacles seem more ominous than the rewards? Would you like to press through those obstacles and discover the joy of accomplishing even the smallest of feats? They may seem like such tiny baby steps that you are loathe to tell anyone for fear they will laugh at you that this thing was so hard!

Well, read on, dear friend, for over the next few weeks, interspersed with other stories, I will take you on my journey to “get back on that bike and ride.” I will open up about my candid “aha” moments – silly things – and maybe, in the process, you will be inspired to follow your dreams, trembling sometimes, but willing to walk – or ride – your way out of your comfort zone.

Know that I am riding tandem with you on your journey to pedal toward your dream.