Today we road 66 miles from Waldport to Reedsport. The ride was gorgeous along the Oregon coast, rarely beyond the ocean. It was sunny, not too hot, with a nice tailwind all day long. There were quite a few hills, and we mainly went up a hill or down, but only two long ones. I got up to 40 mph going down one hill. Today’s riding was very comfortable, with a minimum of an 18-inch shoulder and often up to three feet most of the day. There were no dog encounters, no grumpy drivers, no bugs, no rumble strips, no flat tires, and, once again, no rain.

We are staying at Eric and Penny Duke’s house tonight. Eric is my nephew, Cliff, and Kathy’s son, and they have four of the best, well-mannered kids, two boys and two girls from 13 to 9 years of age. We had a feast of a meal and sat around a big fire and visited for much of the evening.

There was some bike mechanics that took place on Tom’s bike. He won’t know until he gets riding tomorrow whether he fixed it or not.

One of the interesting things in life is the passage of time. We count it in years, months, weeks, days, hours and minutes. On this trip we count it in miles ridden. Sometimes time goes by quick and other times it seems to crawl. Sometimes we are grinding up a hill at 4 mph and other times we are screaming down a hill at 40 mph. I am getting close to being 75 years old and I think a lot now about the end of my life, how much longer will I live, how will I die, will I see it coming or will it be sudden. My main focus in my thinking about the end is how am I going to do at the Judgment Seat of Christ?

We were looking at photos on my IPad tonight of previous bicycle trips and telling stories about them. The pictures have the date it was taken at the top and I was surprised to see some that were 13 years old. It didn’t seem that long ago, but it was. In 13 more years I will be 88 years old. Man, if the next 13 years go as fast as the last 13!

It makes me wonder about what I should be doing with my time. In Ephesians it says to “make the most of your time.” I wonder how I am doing? Whether God is pleased? How do bicycle trips fit into that? Fishing trips? Hunting trips? I am not sure, but I do love the Lord, and I am pressing on to becoming more like Jesus every day. I will keep pondering and seeking and trusting the Lord to lead me into His perfect will for my life.