There and back again

Just got back from a morning bike ride. Put the bike in the back of the car, dropped Joel off at school and parked up at the canal basin at Brassknocker. Set off along the towpath to Bradford-on-Avon. Lovely morning - cold (the canal was frozen over) but still (apologies if you started your day stuck in traffic or squashed into a commuter train).

All-day breakfast in B-on-A, read some of my book ('The New Conspirators' by Tom Sine), wandered up to the Saxon church - then back along the towpath and home.

A few reflections along the way:

When you're doing a 'there and back' trip you need to take into account the fact that you've got to get back again (I know, Brassknocker to B-on-A isn't far, but you get the idea). No use rushing off in a burst of enthusiasm only to find the journey back is too much. Perhaps it's my temperament but I'm wary of things which start amidst great excitement, only to fizzle out later. Everyone feels good about doing something - but has it made any difference? Sometimes perhaps, but I reckon that most of the good stuff takes time and lasts a while.

Cycling on the towpath allows you to find an easy rhythm, a pace which works for you. Cycling around Bath tends to involve lots of gear changes! There's a lot to be said for finding a rhythm to life, where we maximise time and energy, where we can enjoy the ride!

As I came into Bradford, I ended up on the main road for a while - which was a bit of a shock after the peace and calm of the towpath. We all need to 'get away', whether literally or just in the sense of finding some space to 'be', to have unpressured time. Sooner or later we are pitched back into the busy-ness of life - but hopefully, better able to deal with it.

OK, so nothing particularly new or profound. But I think that often we need to be reminded of what we already know, rather than shown something new - one of the words which occurs very frequently in the Bible is 'remember' (or often expressed as 'don't forget'!).

In the words of the old Irish blessing 'May the road rise up to meet you' as you journey today.