Why I Ride
- Ends of the Earth Cycling
- Aug 23, 2022
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 28, 2022
Written By: Dave Wehrle, Outreach Tour Coordinator
My purpose for this blog post is to share some thoughts about why I ride bikes in hopes that it will challenge, inspire and equip you to think about why you ride bikes (or do whatever it is that you do).
For God’s glory
If you take one thing from this post, please know that I ride bikes to glorify God. That is my goal and hope in everything I do, and I encourage you to make it yours. Paul instructs us that “…whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:31) He offers a similar sentiment in Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
For the blessing
I am learning to approach life as a long line of gifts from my heavenly father rather than a string of my own accomplishments. Solomon writes, “What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?” Similarly, Jesus says, “If you then, who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.” (Matthew 7:11)
I have received so many good gifts from God. One of those is the bicycle. I believe the bicycle is the greatest mechanical invention in history. It is the most efficient means of travel. It takes 25 watt-hours to ride a bike one kilometer, 75Wh to walk, 560Wh to drive, and 520Wh to fly. Riding a bicycle is three times more efficient than walking!
I also find that bicycles travel at the perfect speed to appreciate the journey and scenery while actually getting somewhere. Travel by bicycle is affordable. The bicycle is simple to repair. The bicycle is the most common vehicle of any kind with an estimated one billion in existence. There must be a reason for that!
The Bible teaches us that we were made in God’s image. (Genesis 1:26) That means that we share God’s creativity. The bicycle is an amazing testament to the incredible creative ability that God gave human beings.
Because I always have
Before I rode bicycles, I rode Big Wheels®… but that is another blog post. On my seventh birthday, my parents gave me my first bicycle – a secondhand, lemon-yellow, single-speed, Schwinn Sting-Ray. I have been riding bikes ever since. I remember my first ride around the block (age 7), my first 20-mile ride (age 12), my first century (age 14), my first bike tour (age 15), and my first bike race (age 18). My bicycle has always been a means of recreation and transport. It has also been critical to my vocation. It was essential to my first job, delivering newspapers in the fourth grade, and to my current work with Ends of the Earth Cycling.
For the relationships
The bicycle has been at the center of some of the most important relationships in my life. It was through bicycle tours that I was first introduced to small group ministry and met young men I could look up to who pointed me to Jesus.
Almost every week, I ride with friends. Some of these friendships are with Christian brothers and sisters who are a source of mutual encouragement. Some of these friendships are with people who do not yet know Jesus like we know him. Group rides frequently become an opportunity to share my work with Ends of the Earth Cycling and to share my faith.
For my marriage and family
The very first time I visited my wife Janet outside of school, I rode my bicycle 15 miles to be with her. When dating Janet in high school, I would ride 50 miles and climb 2,500 ft roundtrip to visit her every weekend I could. For decades, cycling has been a shared activity that Janet and I love and that has provided us some amazing experiences together.
Riding bikes was an activity that we shared with our family. When our boys were too young to ride, we towed the twins in a trailer behind our tandem with Nate in a baby seat on the bike. When our boys were old enough to ride, we filled many Saturdays with family bike rides. In their teens, my sons and I enjoyed bicycle camping trips together.
For Global Youth
The youth of the world are the future and the future of the Church. No other country in the world has the resources that the United States has. Though the United States has 90% of youth ministry resources on the planet, only 4% of global youth live here. Ends of the Earth Cycling is a bicycling community impacting youth globally. We give people who want to change the world opportunities to use cycling to bring the hope of the Gospel to global youth through multi-day, Christ-centered bicycling tours. We exist to promote and resource global youth ministries and we do this through prayer, awareness, fundraising and a whole lot of FUN! I love riding bikes for Ends Cycling and with our Ends Cycling extended family.
For my health
Cycling helps maintain and improve cardiovascular health. For me, staying as healthy as possible is a matter of stewardship and honoring Jesus. “Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) Research shows that just 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week correlates with a 7-year increase in life expectancy.
Cycling has also improved my mental and spiritual health. I find that my time on the bicycle helps to calm and center my mind. It is also a time to think and pray. In many ways, pedaling is a metaphor for prayer. There are times where prayer comes easily as if pedaling downhill. There are times of passion and hard work in prayer as if pedaling uphill. While one prayer may not seem to accomplish much, just as each pedal stroke only propels the bicycle 50 – 100 inches, a life of prayer produces spiritual health much like many thousands of pedal strokes propel a bicycle many miles.
Why do you ride?
These are some of the reasons that I ride. Why do you ride (or do whatever you do)? I’d really love to hear from you! You can always send me an email message at DWehrle@EndsCycling.com. I hope to ride with you soon!
Help us tell the story of cycling for Global Youth!
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