Earlier this month my friends Irene, Tom, Stephanie, Mike and I decided we’d bike around Crater Lake rim. After reading all about it online, I figured it would maybe take three hours, four tops, to cover the thirty-three miles around the lake. After all, I could easily bike in one hour a twelve-mile route I’d done many times from my house.

Ha!

If we had driven the rim by car before I got on my bike and started up that first hill, I would never in my craziest dreams believed I could do this. The peak elevation rose to 8100 feet—by the time we finished our ride we had ascended a total of 3800 feet.

It was the most demanding physical challenge I’ve ever attempted. How can I describe those six-and-a-half hours on my bike?

Slow agonizing ascents, breath-taking views of the glittering sapphire lake, jelly legs, wild exhilaration on every long downhill, the yellow sun in a forget-me-not-blue sky, the pavement’s baking heat, the roar of passing cars and RVs, the fresh scent of pine, a gentle breeze now and then, gasping, panting, stomach cramps, dry lips, silent “fellowship of suffering” moments with my biking comrades, the scurrying of a chipmunk, the respite of a waterfall, increasing numbness in my you-know-what, the thrill of learning “only three more miles to go”, the dismay at seeing those three miles rise into switchbacks…

The elation of “I did it!”

After arriving at the lodge, we relaxed on the back patio overlooking the lake, and I celebrated by ordering a well-deserved virgin pina colada. We had dinner reservations as well, and for once I gave zero thought to calories! The meal was one of the finest I’ve enjoyed in ages.

And yes, the ride made me reflect on life. It was quickly evident that I was the slowest and least fit of our group. Yet my friends took turns keeping me company so I wasn’t straggling in last all alone. When my bike chain jammed, Irene stayed behind to help. On one excruciating hill, to help me keep my mind off the pain, Tom launched into a fascinating discourse on “The Fine Tuning of the Universe.” Mike helped me tackle another long hill with his stories about a recent trip to Ghana. He got very fond of saying, “I see hope” whenever the crest of a hill appeared. Inspiring words to share with a struggling friend.

Just like on my ride, we need companions who will encourage us on this journey called life. Sometimes they need to stay close by to “talk us up a steep incline.” Sometimes they need to come alongside and lighten our load a bit like Stephanie who graciously took my backpack and carried it the last half of the trip.

And I suspect that like my Crater Lake experience, if we knew what our future held and what climbs we still need to labor through, it would seem like an impossible feat. However, because the Holy Spirit continues to fuel our endurance, someday we will reach our destination regardless of how steep the last incline. Surely part of the elation of heaven will be that we’ve completed a journey that took everything we had at times.

So take heart and keep pedaling—we’ve got dinner reservations up yonder!