Life Lessons from a Mountain Bike Ride
"Every uphill climb builds my faith, and every crash reminds me that God is still my strength when I rise again."
— Andrea R.
Today, I ponder in my mind the lessons that God wants to teach me. He wants to teach us lessons from everything that happens in our lives. He wants to show us the rough areas that still need polishing. But also, God wants to teach us that when we fall, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1 KJV)
Praise the Lord!
Recently, this summer, I went on a bike trip with two of my boys. Now, I mean a real bike trip—none of this electric stuff! The real, leg-burning, heart-pumping, stretching-of-everything-you-have kind of trip, at least for me. I am thankful for my adult children who keep me young as I get older. I push myself to stay fit and be able to do things with them. And thankfully, they do slow down for me.
This bike trip was on logging roads, starting near where we live, and went through the mountains to a ski resort area. On the way there, it is mostly uphill, and boy, did I feel it. The vertical gain is somewhere around 2,700 feet—it all depends on which device you go by. This was a challenge for me, and there were times I had to stop and rest, but I did bike the whole way—no walking! There were times when my heart rate rose above my max for my age, and I would have to stop. Other times, I would concentrate on deep breathing and think about my heart rate going down—and I could get it to go down. And sometimes, I would distract myself with something to listen to, just to get my mind off how I was feeling.
As I began to reflect on what was happening, it made me consider how I can apply this to my spiritual life. Life can be difficult! It can feel like an uphill battle that never ends. Just like my tire would spin out in the gravel as I was trying to go up the hill and feel like I was getting nowhere, life can feel that way at times. We can feel like we are spinning our wheels—doing the right thing, and going nowhere.
As I felt the strain and my heart was out of control, it made me think about my spiritual walk and how I can feel the strain—leading to feelings of my heart being out of control. I may be feeling angry, sad, disappointed, lonely, or experiencing something else. Sometimes, I take the time to stop, breathe deeply, reflect, pray, and claim a Bible verse. “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10 KJV)
Other times I need to keep going and can’t stop. Deep breathing, reflecting, praying, and claiming a Bible verse—or listening to God’s Word—can calm my spirit and help me to respond with peace. The trial may not have subsided, but I can walk through it in peace with God right by my side. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3 KJV)
When we were biking and finally reached the upper levels of our vertical gain, the beauty was amazing to take in. And often in our spiritual lives, we see the beauty when we get to the hilltop. The struggle to get there is real and painful, but it is refining us and drawing us closer to God if we allow it. Just like continuing to bike and build up so that it becomes easier, as we trust God and give everything to Him in our trials, we are building spiritual muscles that make it easier.
The vertical gain doesn’t change as we continue to develop our muscles, but it gets easier. The trials and temptations don’t change, but as we build our spiritual muscles by getting closer to God and trusting Him in all things, it gets easier. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” (James 1:2–3 KJV)
When you are biking up, gaining all those vertical miles, it takes longer to get to your destination, but coming back is mostly all downhill, and the ride becomes much quicker. Coming down now is way more dangerous as your speed increases and you are biking on gravel roads. One wrong move in that gravel and you have lost it. But it is so much easier on your muscles and heart rate. There can be some tense moments for sure, and you are at a higher risk of an accident—of crashing and getting hurt. But it feels like smooth sailing.
Spiritually speaking, getting to the top of the mountain is the peak of beauty. But often after we have had the peak experience, we get distracted and start “riding” down to the valley. It seems like smooth sailing. We seem to be doing well—not so many temptations or trials are coming our way. Life seems easier and more manageable. We are going down with more speed because it is easier to go down than up, and we think we are doing okay. Although going down seems easier on our spiritual muscles and makes our hearts feel wonderful, we are more likely to make a mistake and crash. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12 KJV)
Our bike ride was 26 miles in total, with 13 miles up and 13 miles down. It took us around 3.5 hours to go up and around 1.5 hours to come down. Even though it was tough going up there, there was less chance of a crash than going down. We were about three-quarters of a mile from the bottom where we were parked when a truck came around the corner. Now, I can’t remember exactly what happened because everything happened so fast, but I obviously made an error in judgment and overreacted. With the speed, gravel, and my reaction, I had a crash.
I was wearing a protective helmet when I hit my head. I felt my neck crack, and that is where I first felt the pain. But by the next day, I started discovering more pain.
The next day, I started with a slight headache, but as I went to work, it got increasingly worse. That is when I realized that the side of my head hurt when touched. I ended up leaving work early, going home, and sleeping for a couple of hours, which I am not usually able to do. Then I went to be seen. It was suggested that I had a possible minor concussion, and I was given a protocol. I also had ribs that started to hurt as well, but they didn’t seem to be broken. But I was in pain. I went home to rest more and go through the healing process.
As I reflect on the downhill ride, it reminds me of my spiritual “ride.” Riding smoothly through life at a fast speed, not really paying attention to the “gravel” around me, but just speeding on. It seems to be going smoothly and without much trouble—which should be a red flag. And then I crash!
When things seem to be going well, we are most vulnerable and may “crash.” And usually, at that point, it isn’t a little crash (failure); it is something significant. It is more painful than the struggles to keep climbing toward the beautiful goal of reaching the mountaintop.
At this point, we may be tempted to give up—that is what the devil wants us to do. Just like when I crashed on my bike and got right back on after a few minutes to finish my ride, we need to immediately get back on track with God and continue our journey. “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.” (Proverbs 24:16 KJV)
God knows the pain that we are experiencing, and He wants to heal our spiritual muscles and help us start our journey again. It is not a time to look and think about how foolish we have been, but to get reconnected with God. He cares more about our response than our big “crash.”
When I think about how determined I was to finish my 26-mile bike ride, I want to be even more determined to complete my eternal “ride,” which will soon lead me to the heavenly mansions that God has prepared for those who love Him. “In my Father’s house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2 KJV)
I want to commit more fully to my walk with Jesus so that I am ready. How about you?
Prayer of Commitment
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the lessons You teach through life’s uphill climbs and downhill moments. When I fall, help me to remember that You are my Advocate and my Healer. Strengthen my spiritual muscles to keep pressing forward, even when it’s hard. Teach me to trust You more deeply, to respond with peace, and to rise again after every crash. I commit my heart and my journey to You.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Action Steps
Reflect – Take time this week to identify an area where God is refining you.
Refocus – When you feel overwhelmed, stop and breathe deeply, pray, and claim a verse of peace.
Reconnect – If you’ve had a spiritual “crash,” don’t stay down—get back up and talk to God immediately.
Rebuild – Strengthen your faith daily through time in Scripture, prayer, and obedience.
Rejoice – Thank God for both the uphill climbs and the mountaintop views—they’re both part of your growth.
Closing Statement
Every climb, every fall, and every recovery teaches us something about God’s faithfulness. The journey isn’t always easy, but the view from the top—and the Savior walking beside us—make every mile worth it.
