One of the things cyclists, or at least me, worry about is steep hills. On my recent cycling trip, we had one day when we had to climb some 20% hills, one for around 2 miles. However, by far, the most scary experience of the whole trip was Greenhow Hill.
This is the descent into Pateley Bridge, and is bad enough in a car!
Our tour guide had warned us in our route notes, and again on the morning briefing, but little prepared us for this terrifying few minutes.
As we approached the hill the road signs warned us of a 16% descent and included some sharp bends.
Fortunately, we had good brakes and tight hand grips as we started our descent.
I was about half way down, approaching yet another bend in the road, gripping the handlebars and the brakes with an iron grip, and my cycling buddy behind me shouted “I don’t like this!” to which I responded weakly, “me neither!”
The last few metres of the descent appeared almost vertical with parked cars and houses of Pateley bridge in front of us. I had been gripping so tightly my whole body seemed to start juddering and I thought “I’m going to lose control.”
Fortunately, we both arrived, shaken and stirred, at the bottom where the others were enjoying some lunch. Both of us we so traumatised we couldn’t decide what to order for lunch!
Sometimes in life we face really scary times, when we have to grip on tightly.
I’m convinced that God made sure that I held on tightly until it was the right moment to let go. God is our strength, he is our brakes when we need them, stopping us running away with things.
My sister made the decision to walk down the hill – she arrived later than us, but less traumatised.
God sometimes tells us to slow down, to take the easier route – we get to the destination in the end all the same.
PRAYER: Thank you God that you are with us in the ups and the downs of life, you help us to travel safely and in your own timing. Help us to put our trust in you. AMEN