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?
RULE #1: You must decide if you want to ride Tandem!
It is so natural to live our own independent lives for ourselves. It takes quite an adjustment to let SOMEONE ELSE take the Captain seat!
When I accepted Christ, I was at the end of my freshman year in college. I was also at the end of my rope. I had left the state of Texas where I lived and went to Louisianna State University, all by myself, signed up as an English major only because people told me I could write and joined a sorority. I became very disillusioned and depressed. My literature classes, where we studied Edgar Allen Poe’s morbid poems and Sylvia Plath who ended up committing suicide I believe, didn’t help any. By the end of the year I was ready to throw in the towel on many fronts.
I knew I needed a different mode of transportation besides my own broken down single person bike!
This brings us to RULE #2 of Tandem bike riding: You must decide who will be the Captain!
Remember there are two people in tandem riding: The CAPTAIN, who sits in front and steers the bike, and the STOKER or back seat rider.
The Captain has a big job! He is responsible for controlling the bike’s direction and speed while warning the Stoker of upcoming obstacles and gear shifts. The Stoker must have a listening ear and be ready for these warnings and commands.
I realized in college that my single bike was taking me NO WHERE FAST! When the evangelist Josh McDowell of Campus Crusade came to our school, I decided to hop onto the back seat of the tandem bike Jesus offered to me. I hardly knew Him, but I sensed I could trust Him to maneuver through the construction zones of my life better than I could!
But it is not enough to decide who will be the Captain. You must make sure to follow…
RULE #3: You must decide to let the Captain be in control of the bike ride!
In the tandem ride, somebody has to be second!
One of the Captain’s main jobs is to control the bike. This includes balancing it whether stopped or in motion. The Captain is in charge of steering, shifting and braking.
Do you have the qualifications to be the Captain?
When Job’s life took a turn for the worse – he lost his daughters, sons, livestock (everything but a complaining wife), God reminded him who was really in control of the Universe:
3 -Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone-
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels [a] shouted for joy?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
And as if that weren’t enough, God also told Job:
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death [b] ?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
Pretty sobering what little we know. And how capable and experienced we really aren’t when it comes to riding through this journey of life by ourselves without a true Captain.
Better to be the Stoker and let the Captain guide us over the bumps and through the dark valleys!
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“But,” you may say. “I don’t have the first clue on how to get on the tandem bike! And I don’t have time to learn! Life is going so fast – there’s the cooking, the laundry to do. Crying kids to take care of. A boss who is completely UNREASONABLE! A husband, well, let’s put it this way, marriage is challenging!”
That brings us to…
RULE #4: Start out riding just a couple of miles at first, and give yourself room to fail.
Not everyone follows this rule. Some people are so excited about the tandem journey that they want to jump on the bike and go forward full throttle! But, as it is a new experience, trying to do too much too soon could derail you. You could fall off the bike and be too scared to get back on again.
Tracey and his wife Cathy Trumbell have been riding tandem together for five years.
“We started out doing just a few miles the first time we rode,” Cathy says. “We built up to 30 to 60 miles, depending upon the amount of hills and the incline.”
Once you have decided that you want to ride tandem – to accept Jesus’ invitation in your life. And once you have determined that HE should be the Captain, and that He will take control of the ride, you then need to start out slowly but consistently spending time with Him.
If you have never opened your Bible and sat at His feet, try five minutes a day at first. Add more minutes as you feel you can. Pretty soon, as you learn what a joy it is talking to and listening to your Captain, you’ll find yourself rearranging your schedule because you realize you can’t ride Tandem without Jesus!
Just as is true when you are beginning your Tandem journey with the Lord, It is also true when you begin your tandem journey with a mentor. It takes a little bit of adjusting. Learning how to get on the bike together. How to get into the rhythm of the ride so that it becomes enjoyable. For the Stoker, it takes time to learn to trust her Captain, to feel comfortable enough to confide in her, to lean on her, to ask counsel.
RULE #5: There will be some rough roads ahead – you must learn to trust the Captain and do your part.
On a tandem bike, when the Captain calls out “Bump in the road, lean to the right!” what do you think happens if you don’t obey? You could get out of balance and fall off the bike!
When you are first learning to ride Tandem, you may be distracted by everything around you. You might not be listening carefully to your Captain. You may miss His voice.
If the Stoker and the Captain are not making a very good team, it is usually because the Stoker lacks confidence in the Captain’s sense of judgment.
Or maybe it is because her seat is sore from the trials of the terrain!
But the longer you ride together, the more you’ll be aware of Jesus your Captain. And get into a rhythm of the ride. You turn here down this path together, you go up that hill, you take this detour. You maneuver through loud traffic and quiet countryside.
You learn to do what this favorite proverb says:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not in your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
And finally, once you have learned these FIVE RULES OF THE ROAD for Tandem Bike Riding – and riding together with Your Captain, Jesus, You learn that through the valleys and the beautiful countryside, riding Tandem becomes a JOYOUS adventure!
When you restrain yourself to that spot of balance right behind your Captain as He steers you through tricky traffic situations or narrow spaces and you let Him keep control of the bike, you will be able to take out your camera…
[I take out my camera and take photos of the audience...]
If you are a SHUTTERBUG like ME and like to take photos of anything and everything…
Or, a singer like Cathy and love to sing encouraging songs…
Or congenial like Katie and wave to people around you!
Whatever you like to do, relaxing in the Stoker position you will enjoy the ride!
We have been talking about riding tandem with Jesus, and also riding tandem with a mentor. Now there is a huge difference when Jesus is your Captain and when a human being feebly tries to steer the tandem bike. The best thing your mentor can do is POINT THE WAY to the TRUE Captain and Guide in your life.
Let me finish with one last illustration. Perhaps it will sound familiar to you!
Two ladies decided to ride Tandem on a journey together for a season. For one of their trips, they decided to ride up Left Hand Canyon towards Jamestown. It was easy at first, very smooth and not a big incline. But soon the road got steeper and steeper and STEEPER. They were huffing and puffing – huffing and puffing, knowing it couldn’t be much farther to the top. And DETERMINED to make it.
Finally they reached the top! The lady in the front, the Captain, could barely breathe from the effort. She panted, “I can’t believe we made it up that hill.”
The younger lady, the Stoker in the back replies, “Yeah, good thing I had the breaks on the whole time or we could have rolled backwards!”
A word to those who think they are interested in walking the journey with a mentor. When you decide to get on that tandem bike with her – don’t be afraid to move forward with her! Let your mentor guide you into growing more passionate and in love with Jesus!
Putting on the brakes won’t do either of you any good!
God bless you all – the Captains and the Stokers!!!!
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Here are more photos from our “Medley of Mentoring” First Saturday gathering:
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