Group Rides and Snub Clubs

Have you ever belonged where you didn’t fit in?  Now that might be a mind-bending question or simply one that doesn’t make sense, but I hope you can relate.  Sometimes we find ourselves in places we are supposed to be but it’s without the security of fitting in.  Fitting in first doesn’t always mean we are where we need to be, after all.

When I bought my first road bicycle I knew I found something special.  I loved it!  It was special to pound the pedals and go fast.  But I needed some help, maybe a mentor or two, to show me the ropes. 

I heard about a local group that would meet and ride on Tuesday and Thursday nights.  So I decided to show up and test my legs against some more experienced riders.

I knew the time and location of the ride; but what I didn’t know was “the look” of what experienced cyclists portrayed.  Once I found the parking lot there were many expensive bikes.  There was a lot of fancy equipment.  Everyone was clad in lycra and used vocabulary I wasn’t familiar with.  I had a very-used $250 bicycle, some Umbro soccer shorts, and a plain white t-shirt.  I didn’t even have a fancy helmet.  But apparently I had a reason to be there despite not looking like the others.

Over the next 2 hours I found myself learning a lot while pedaling much harder than I ever had before.  I would do my best to figure out what in the world was going on because there appeared to be a rhythm and reason guiding all of these cyclists down the road.  We rode single-file, and everyone would spend a little time at the front before turning off to let the next rider lead.  I had a lot to learn but there were some very gracious people that turned this t-shirt wearing amateur into a professional dream chaser.

That first ride turned into a passion and I became stronger and a bit more speedy.  But the friends from that first ride brought me along, either by riding just in front of me when I needed a break or just behind me when I became stronger.  They helped me find my way on a bike.

It’s a good thing I didn’t let the optics of that first group ride define the potential I had.  And it’s also a good thing that there were people that pushed and pulled along the way to guide me despite not having the right gear or speaking the right lingo.

In the years since I’ve done many group rides and they all have a different feel.  Some can be pretty exclusive; they are more competition and less about community.  They are fast and you either have it and can stay with the group or you don’t and you fall back and form a new group.  These aren’t bad if you are very competitive in nature and are looking for it.  But it’s not a place that everyone can belong.  It makes me chuckle when my friends will call these rides the “snub club” because…well, there are many that will never fit in due to all the accelerations and fast pacing of the ride.  You could easily feel like you belong at the beginning but not have the legs to belong at the end!  I admit, sometimes these exclusive, super-fast rides can mess with your mind because it draws comparisons and either a feeling of belonging or inadequacy.

A few years after my first group ride and while I was still gathering experiences, my bike-shop owning friend told me something that was a compliment but a little embarrassing to tell.  He told me that God gave me a gift of making a bicycle go fast.  Now a lot has changed since then, especially my speed, but that perspective of having a unique God-given gift has not.  Do you know what some of your God-given gifts are?

With that gift in mind it’s fascinating to see how it was developed.  It never came from a place of belonging on the front-end; it came with the initial feeling of not belonging!  But the people that I got to know read my situation and pushed me.  Pulled me.  They unlocked things that I never knew I had.  And apparently I became pretty good at it!

You might be walking around not sure what your God-given gift is.  Maybe you think it’s really odd that I consider wearing lycra and pedaling a bike a God-given gift!  But if you are at all considering that God has given you a gift then you already have it.  You have God in your life!  That’s tremendous! 

Knowing the existence of God and the gift that is Jesus means a lot, but it brings a responsibility that mimics my early bicycle group ride days.  The gift that is Jesus and the work that God does through you is meant to be shared.  And that means that you need to have the eyes, ears, and heart to bring others along.  Sometimes it means you take a “pull” and guide others.  Other times you push from behind.  Other times its riding next to them!  Sometimes it’s simply acknowledging they exist even when they don’t “fit in”.  Your job is to reflect Jesus, give God the glory, and pedal with people!  Show them they have a God-given gift and a gift that is God.  There are many, many people that could use the Hope that Jesus provides if you find a way to bring them along…and many times it has nothing to do with what you say but everything with what you do. 

Sometimes new-to-cycling people get discouraged by trying to ride at the same speed and distance as others.  But it doesn’t work that way.  The common thing between the novice and the expert is the bike…the journey on it might be very different between riders!

I love the thrill of going fast and pushing the pace on a bike ride.  And there are many like me.  But there are always others that need to know how to pedal their own bike and get down the road with enjoyment, passion, and purpose.  They may look different than the typical cyclist but the road that lies ahead of them is just as valuable to them as the road I’ve taken. 

If the gift of a bike ride can be shared then so can the gift of Jesus.  It’s not about fitting in, it’s showing others they belong to Him.