Credo ↔ Oratio

The new year is fast upon us and, as is usually the case when the calendar makes its remarkably over-celebrated transition from one page to the next, I find myself reflecting on the past year. Meditations like this can easily lean either toward the negative or the positive and, to be fair, this year has provided enough on both sides of the list to write several lengthy posts. It’s the positive that gives life though, so I’d like to end the year giving out a few unofficial awards noting those who have made my little corner of the world better and more hopeful in a variety of ways.

My self-imposed rules are simple:

• No one in the family gets awards – they go without saying!
• No one gets an award who would expect to get one – that defeats the purpose.
• Awards are presented in random order; I’m giving 7 for no other reason than that it seems like a good biblical number.

Award #1: Emily… For all the work she’s done at church… all the ways she’s gone above and beyond… all the times she picked up the slack when others fell through.

Award #2: the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America… for an historic vote on the Belhar Confession and taking the monumental step of sending it to the Classes for approval as the RCA’s fourth standard of unity.

Award #3: Joe Chicago’s Pizza our absolutely favorite pizza joint. Sophia refers to it as the “monkey place” because of the reprinted poster on the wall of a monkey embracing a large bottle of some kind of liquor. This award should probably be shared with Skile’s Tavern, who make the best thin crust, greasy pizza in the world. Truly incredible. The two are too different to be compared, so both win!

Award #4: Joe and Todd… Joe is one of the key organizers of the Men’s Knitting Retreats and Todd, put together the midwest version which I had the pure joy of attending in November.   On a related note, MenWhoKnit.com deserves mention. The people from these two (overlapping) groups have, unquestionably, made up the most supportive, most encourage and most caring group of people I’ve had the privilege of interacting with throughout the past year.

Award #5: Von Morgens früh…und bis zur Nacht… my favorite album of the year. Absolutely life-transforming collection of music related to the daily prayer cycle. The album is worth every penny for the masterful “Laudate omnes gentes” (Track 2) and one of the most beautiful and haunting pieces ever set to music: Arvo Pärt’s “Magnificat” (Track 11). That said, every single track is worth the price of the album.

Award #6: Matt & Ragbrai…. This year I eagerly rode my third Ragbrai; Matt has ridden with me through all three of them. Both the ride and the co-rider have been more valuable than any amount of professional counseling could have ever been in providing perspective, relaxation, and rejuvenating (yes, believe it or not 500 miles on a bike can be both relaxing and rejuvenating.)

Award #7: Seminarians… Ok, this may seem like an odd award. Those of you who know me well know that I did not consider seminary a particularly enjoyable experience. This year, however, I’ve had the opportunity to spend more time with current seminarians than I have since my graduation a decade ago. I can’t speak to all of those preparing for ministry in the RCA, but I can say this: the RCA is on the cusp of receiving some it the most thoughtful and intelligent seminary graduates we’ve seen in decades. I hope and pray that rather than dumping them into local congregations hoping they don’t hurt themselves or others, we welcome them into ministry, encourage them along the way, support them, and help them sail faithfully into ministries (both old and new) that the church needs.

There could be more, but I’ll stop there.

Whatever the past year has brought to you and yours, I hope the new one finds you increasingly healthy and wise and that it’s filled with unbelievable amounts of both joy and hope.

Grace and Peace,
`tim

OK, let’s be clear, I’m not on the market for a new bike. My ol’ 2006 Diamondback Century is perfect for me – it’s made it through 3 Ragbrai‘s without a problem and I expect several more thousand miles out of it. Having said that, sometimes a bike is a thing of beauty. I have yet to see one that rivals Renovo.

Seriously, click on the link and check them out.

I’m particularly infatuated with the Purpleheart and Ash:

Beautiful. (yeah, pricey… but still…..)

Grace and Peace,
`tim

I wasn’t able to make it to the internet truck yesterday and last night I was too busy working on this morning’s sermon to write much about Ragbrai, but I thought I’d write up a quick post.

I wrote last about Friday morning (which was beautiful and wonderful). Friday afternoon took a major twist for the worse – headwinds and heat… ugh. The last 30 miles just about killed me. Finally, when we got into town they put us out in the middle of nowhere. Yep, it’s my biggest pet peeve of Ragbrai. They couldn’t care less about those of us “traditionals” — the people who use the baggage truck. If you’re a charter or in an RV, the towns often give great spots, but if you’re in the baggage truck… out of luck. Mt. Pleasant put us 1 1/2 – 2 miles away from downtown in some fairgrounds with only a single food booth (unless you count popcorn). We had to pay for shuttles (which we did) and ate downtown. They tied with Chariton for the Wost overnight towns of the week.

Best towns of the week: Ottumwa and Red Oak. I liked Indianola too.

The last day was a fairly short day (about 44 miles). I was pretty sore but made it through reasonably quickly. By 2:00, Brenda (my wonderful Sister in Law) dropped off the van and by 3:30 we were on our way back home.

Home by about 11.

Ragbrai is over.

It’s hard to believe it’s all over. In the end, it’s was a great week. Over all, I was severely under-prepared (especially for the hills this year). If I ever end up doing it again, I’ll have to definitely make sure I put in more training miles.

The people this year seemed more friendly than last year. Last year everyone seemed a bit surly. I think maybe it was the heat. This year people were a lot more friendly, more talkative, more cooperative, more patient, etc.

A few things about good through-towns:

A few things about good overnight towns:

I’m totally sorry it’s over, but am sure glad to be sleeping in my own bed and was incredibly happy to NOT put my seat on a bike saddle this morning!

Thanks for following. If you’re interested in pics, I put a few up on facebook here and a few (some overlapping) on flicker here.

Grace and Peace,
`tim

Before I forget to tell you, I’ve set up a flickr set on which, theoretically, I’ll be posting pictures on from Ragbrai this year.

We’ll be leaving on Friday and spending the night at Brenda’s house. Brenda is JJ’s sister and has graciously hosted us on the first night out each of the last three years. She also has handled our vehicle during the week (dropping us off a the start and picking us up at the end) each year too – don’t you wish you had a sister in law like that?!

Anyhow, pictures will be at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24266318@N00/sets/72157621266126539/

The plan is to blog here. If you want a direct link to the Ragbrai stuff it’s:
http://ragbrai.tenclay.org

Grace and Peace,
`tim

Yes, I’m a slow bike rider. Slow enough, in fact, that those I’ve ridden Ragbrai with over the past two years have occasionally referred to my biking style as “tortoise pace.” It’s true, actually and I don’t mind at all. Indeed, last year I decided I would ride SLOWER than the year before, and this year it looks quite likely that I will ride even slower yet. Any real biker would be ashamed of that. Not me. Ragbrai isn’t a race; it’s more like a family reunion or a county fair. So this year I decided to embrace my pace and celebrate it.

How? You might ask… I ordered bracelets. Blue… glow in the dark… silicone with a trendy little tortoise and my new motto: …the slower the better!

They just arrived, and I know, you’re jealous. I ordered enough to share though; all you have to do is ride a little tortoise pace and I might even give you one!

1 week….

Grace and Peace,
`tim

PS. Interested in ordering your own bracelets for something? The company I went through was great: http://www.wristbandsnow.com/

For however much I’m not ready for the biking portion of Ragbrai… I’ve pulled out my tent and started packing. In about a week and a half, this will be home sweet home:

Tiny? yep. But big enough, especially since my bag sheds water incredibly well (so I can leave it outside the tent if I’m feeling a bit crunched). The great thing about this little tent is that I can put it IN my bag without taking up too much room, and I got it on an AMAZING sale last spring (it was about a $150 tent on sale for around $30… yea.. that great of a sale!)

Getting closer….

Grace and peace,
`tim

Usually cacophony takes hold in our household when the UPS guy shows up. We love our UPS guy; Carina (our dog) loves him even more. He always brings her half a dog treat (he carefully breaks them in half for her since she’s so small — cool huh?!) When I come home, Carina barely lifts her head. When JJ comes home, she’s out of the chair waiting quietly by the garage door, but when the UPS guy shows up, you’d think she was doing her part heralding in the eschaton. In any case, UPS showed up, quietly dropped off an envelope and left without Carina even noticing, so I had no reason to expect the glorious little package sitting on our step a half an hour ago when I looked out the window.

MY RAGBRAI PACKET CAME TODAY!!

Oh yea, did I tell you I was excited?!

I have gotten disturbingly few miles in on my bike this year, and yet eagerness rules the day.

Want to know more about Ragbrai?! I blogged through it last year and the year before – you can click on the “Ragbrai” category (right-hand side of the screen) and read about it. Or, you can go to the Des Moines Register’s Ragbrai site at: http://www.ragbrai.org.

Grace and Peace,
`tim

Oh, and heads up: I just heard back from Bruce Weinstein, from whom I requested permission from to post a copy of his Chocolate Sorbet Recipe #1… heavenly! Don’t let the fact that it’s only made from 3 ingredients fool you; this recipe is a keeper… Dark… Rich… Even Creamy (despite being entirely dairy free). Maybe tomorrow…. Bruce Weinstein is the author of of dozens of cookbooks – my favorite: The Ultimate Ice Cream Book.

Did you know that bike-geeks seem to have a thing against kickstands? I don’t get it. Kickstands are cool; I know they weigh a few ounces and real bikers probably care about those couple of ounces, but having an attached stand sure beats having to find an empty piece of lawn to lay your bike down on or a light pole to lock it to. Unfortunately, I pack too much junk on my bike for a kickstand to hold it up well.

On Ragbrai, walls abound during the day. Towns have a myriad of places to prop your bike against. At night, however, bike storage is a bit more difficult. Of course, it’s possible to prop your bike up against someone else’s, if they’re ok with it. The 2-bike prop works well, but not if one of the bikers decides to go for a ride or head to the store for something. So what’s a guy to do?

Well… Today the mail brought my “Pyramid Bottom Bracket Display Stand.” It’s a bit big and somewhat ungainly, but it’s a beast – it’s solid with all metal (no plastic!) Best part about it? It works like a motorcycle kickstand and doesn’t attach to the bike. I think I could load my bike down with 50 pounds of gear and this little beastie wouldn’t bat an eye. Sure, it doesn’t fold (like a few similar, but flimsier stands). It’s probably not suitable for carrying around all day. But pack it in my bag and it’ll be the perfect stand for nights – no worries about anyone stepping on my bike… and the best part about it? $8.49… yea.. that’s less than $10 – the cheapest bike gadget out there! (not counting S/H)

Grace and Peace,
`tim

Cross Country Cycle had an great sale today and it was coupled with incredible fortune of me having received some gift certificates about a week ago. Not only did I get a nice new pair of gloves (at 50% off!) I also got a few other little things and a wonderful new squeaky “horn” for my bike:

Isn’t he great?! Some people would think a squeaky horn for a bike would be a bit a bit childish. Nope it’s the perfect fit for Ragbrai — and since I’m most certainly not known for being a speedy bicyclist, it seems the right fit.

It’s official; biking season is now up and running

Grace and Peace,
`tim

Celebrate with me; I’ve made the lottery and, Lord willing, will be riding my 3rd Ragbrai this summer!

For those of you unfamiliar with Ragbrai, let me explain. Ragbrai is a week long bike ride across Iowa sponsored by the Des Moines River. This year will be the 37th ride. It started out as a few people doing an informal ride for a series of newspaper articles and has expanded to the point where they’ve had to cap the participation at 10,000 official riders. Yes, 10,000 – 8,500 week long riders and 1,500 daily riders. Of course, there are also thousands of other people involved in the ride. Last year one estimate suggested that there were over 30,000 riders on one of the days!

Anyhow, the lottery came out today and I made it. Yea! Now, to get on my bike and start racking up some miles…

Grace and Peace,
`tim