Trying to stay in shape during our recent vacation, we took our bikes with us. Somedays it was a relaxing pedal up the coast with Michelle. Other days, I headed for the hills and pushed myself while she went off to play tennis. These adventures by myself taught me a few things I wanted to pass on to you.

I took this picture at the top of one of the hills I climbed. I wanted a picture, but more than that, I wanted to rest!

 

Now for the lessons:

Like life, you never know what’s out there, until you get out there. I found some pretty cools trails. It was definitely a workout while climbing the hills on the South end of San Clemente, but I discovered some pretty special trails, and scenery. So, turn off your TV and go do something. Go explore. Sign up to serve. Go do something!

I also discovered that to get to the best downhill trails I had to do a LOT of climbing. (That’s not the fun part in case you didn’t know.) To say it another way, in order to enjoy the fun, I had to put in the work. As a culture we want the fun without the work. Those shortcuts just aren’t there…not if it’s really worth it.

One more lesson. I really missed Simpson Park and Idyllwild. The trails were good in San Clemente, but we have GREAT ONES here locally. So, while I had fun and got my work out on, I came to a greater appreciation of what I have in my own back yard.

**There are a lot of applications in this last lesson, so think about it before you move on.

I didn’t just miss the local trails, I missed all of you at Community. See you this weekend!