Epiphany in the Saddle

As a writer in the local newspaper put it, "Why doesn't real life call a cease fire around the holidays?" Why is it that around Christmas, which is supposed to be the happiest time of the year, it seems that people are even more bogged down in life's problems. For instance, in the last week in my own family I have had to bear two situations that just couldn't wait for a more convenient time. Not only did these two incidents cause me much personal distress but could also permanently mar a once happy marriage as well as the relationship of two sisters. If we didn't have a foot of snow on the ground which is now being topped with freezing rain I would now be having some serious therapy and thought in the saddle of my bike. Almost all my non-biking friends think that I must be mentally disturbed to even want to bike till when I return home my legs are quivering and I can barely stand. What they don't realize is how I feel when I hammering along some divine singletrack. While I climb a steep trail along a ridge I can ponder life's problems without the constant interference of cell phones and even other human beings. Then I hit the downhills and it takes my absolute attention to stay on top of my bike and in one piece. While I am hurtling downhill nothing else exists, there is no family drama, no term papers are due, it is just me, the trail, and the magnificent machine that brought me to this place. In life we have to constantly worry and concern ourselves with the future so that us and our familys can have a roof over our heads, food on the table, and so we can raise our children to be contributing members of society. If we don't worry none of this will happen. The things is, as good as looking to the future is for us and the ones we love it is tiring. That is why we must sometimes forget everything but the moment in which we find ourselves, and revel in it.

To cheer me up and to remind us that spring is only 4 months away (groan) here is a picture taken near the summit of Little Bald Knob almost three years ago.

Whatever problems you face this holiday season know that there is One who cares for you even when you feel all alone.