by Brother Pio King, fbp
When I was approached with the request to write an article on the Easter theme of re-creation, the surprise of a refreshing and interesting change of pace struck me! One of the things that renews and refreshes me is my love of biking.
Biking has brought me much joy during my religious life. Starting 25 years ago there was a big fund raiser event for our AIDS hospice, Samaritan House, which was a major ministry of ours in the 1990’s. The event was a bike ride of 480 miles from Minneapolis to Chicago over six days. I experienced much joy from the generous response of volunteers, friends and supporters. It was a real challenge for me but I truly believe now that God gave me a gift of great joy in biking through this event and this has lasted to the present day.
Beauty is a major attraction of biking for me, often simple beauty and sometimes breathtaking. The Franciscan connections to nature and natural beauty and the encounters with birds and other wildlife are all important to me in the joy of biking. You can sometimes almost hear St. Francis’ “Canticle of the Sun” while on the trail. The elements such as Brother Sun, Brother Wind and even Sister Moon (sometimes) are all praising God with their essence. Often sandhill cranes, eagles, turkeys, hawks and blue jays are welcome sights along the trail.
God’s goodness, providence and love for us are evident in so many bike trails and areas to enjoy. I am grateful that I have not lost the God-given gift of awe and wonder in viewing awe-inspiring, brilliant fall colors. The greenery and shimmering lakes of summer are amazing on my rides. Three to four hour rides during my free day usually involve stops for reading, viewing, listening to music and simple lunch. Some examples of these follow.
The practice I developed over the years on trails is to pay a visit to nearby churches. A highlight was one year when I was on the Lake Wobegon bike trail in central Minnesota. I was inspired to make a mini-pilgrimage of this ride, taking me through the small rural towns of Avon, Albany and Freeport. In each of these towns was a beautiful church to experience, including St. Benedict’s, Seven Dolors and Sacred Heart. They truly were beautiful, inspiring and all open at the time for prayer and peace with God. I relished this experience of finding God in biking this trail.
Biking has also provided opportunities for discovery, exploration and adventure. I had one encounter when I was making a blind turn and a skunk was crossing the path at the same time. We both veered off — thank God in opposite ways! Mercifully for me no skunk sprayed me because that would have ruined that day. On another trail, going fast on a straight flat section, a large adult deer bolted out of the trees and raced just in front of me and startled me. Adrenaline rushed over me! God provided some great adventures in these experiences.
Biking has allowed me to be re-created for serving God in my vocation. It helps me to be renewed, balanced and refreshed with a better perspective in life. The physical invigoration of the ride helps me not to overemphasize the mind and thought life. Coming around the final turn of the trail I know that the peace and joy I experience are gifts of God and I am grateful for that.
See you on the trail!