Training for Tribulations

“Every night can’t be something to remember,” wrote the poet Rod McKuen. Sometimes days seem to fall apart right from the get-go. I had prayed about this bike ride and felt good as I pushed off on my morning venture. A rattle in the front of my bike. Where is that coming from? The brake? The wheel? Maybe a bottle rack? Oh well, but that rattle make the downhills scary. What’s that? My bar tape is dangling off the bar end. There goes the bar end cap. Better stop and retrieve it before a car smashes it. So I tied the loose end of the bar tape to the handlebar. Let’s finish this ride. Another 15 miles to go. What’s that? My Road ID just fell off and is blowing in the wind down the road. Turn around and get that. What else? Shouldn’t have asked. My Garmin started reading “ low battery.” In a few miles it went blank. Oh well. I was surprised at the ease in which I accepted all these little irritations, that kept me from really getting into the flow of a great ride. But, the end game is, that I did get training in handling irritations and inconveniences, and I will need this kind of training too. Things don’t always go smoothly. Every ride is not one to remember,but we can learn from them even if we don’t remember. The Bible says, “In the world ye shall have tribulations.” Why would I be an exception? Now if I just could just find that rattle in the front end of my bike.