Might As Well Embrace The Detour

I’ve always said this thing never turns out the way we planned it.

FRONT RANGE FREEDOM TOUR is supposed to begin at the Wyoming state capitol building in Cheyenne and conclude at the top of Raton Pass at the Colorado/New Mexico border. For the past two years a massive renovation has forced us to begin a block south of the actual capitol building. Okay, not a huge deal.

Last Friday when we arrived in Trinidad we knew there was construction on the road leading to Raton Pass. Our team rides with three basic safety rules:

RULE #1: Safety ALWAYS comes first.
RULE #2: Remember RULE #1.
RULE #3: If it doesn’t feel safe, stop.

A quick scouting trip up to the pass in a support vehicle made it clear that our team couldn’t cycle through the construction zone without violating all three rules. Our 2017 tour would not conclude at the top of Raton Pass.

As we talked through our disappointment Friday evening, John observed that this was a great metaphor for life. “We don’t get the life we want, we get the life God give us.”

Life includes its share of road construction and unwelcome detours. When we’re forced onto an alternate route, we might as well embrace it.

So we drove to the top, took photos, and continued traditions started by previous tour teams. Then we returned to Trinidad where the team grabbed their bikes and cranked a beautiful 15 mile route into the foothills to the retreat center where we planned to spend Saturday night together.

Not what we planned, not the same as climbing a pass, but as they rolled past Trinidad Reservoir I thought this calm, peaceful ride seemed just right for this team. Maybe this tour somehow needed a unique conclusion, something to set it apart.

It’s a lesson I keep learning, to embrace and find peace on my path rather than wishing I could be on some apparently better one.

He’s God. I’m not.