Hill? What Hill?

That last hill is the worst on the course. Today, my ride begun in a misting rain that got worse and worse. By the time I was finishing the ride, coming to that last hill, it was a torrential downpour. However, there was something sort of exciting about it. There has always been a reluctance to go out in bad conditions, but once out there, it seems to become a kind of exciting adventure. A little strange maybe.

As I pondered these mysteries of my personal universe, a flash of light illuminated the dark sky. Lightning. Ooooh. Not good. But the thunder took a long time to make a sound. From the length of time of flash to thunder, the lightening did not seem to be that close. Moments later there more lightning, but now the times between the lightning and thunder seemed closer together. Without realizing it, I had begun pedaling much faster, even though my vision was limited in the half light and the pouring rain. I was rocking and rolling when I came to that last and worst hill. Suddenly, an extra bright flash of lightning crackling and sputtering all around, instantly followed by a terrific blast of thunder. Already going pretty fast, "shock and awe" found another gear inside myself. I popped over that hill like it was a speed bump. Hill? What hill? Hitting the flatter sections of the course, I moved so fast, I was afraid of hydroplaning.

Back at the truck, dripping wet, I revelled in a great ride. Wow! How did I do that? What has been going on here? The ability to perform like that had been in me all the time waiting for sufficient challenge and motivation. What else is down there buried in habit, laziness, misconception, and limited vision? What else is in there only waiting for lightning enough to be lived out fully, climbing hard hills in hard times; to revel in life and in a great ride?