RIDING IN THE LAND OF SHADOWS

5 min readJun 13, 2021

Back on the Bicycle Again

THE LAND OF SHADOWS

I live on the top of a small mountain in Tennessee, with my family, amongst the shadows of the tall oaks, here on Shadowland Drive. We love it here, as we spend many days above the clouds and get plenty of sunlight, even though we live in a rainforest. But, living at 2,200 feet above sea level can be challenging for a recovering heart failure patient who loves to ride his bicycle. In any case, I got my wheels back from the bicycle shop earlier in the week, and it was time to mount my trusty iron steed and take a short ride.

FLUFFY BOTTOMS

My sons Charlie and Alex decided to join me on the ride because they’ve each developed fluffy bottoms like me since the riding hasn’t been happening lately. So we headed downhill, and, as you can see by the map, we rode down past Fluffy Bottoms on our fluffy bottoms until we got to Lewis Chapel Road, where we turned our fluffy bottoms around and rode back by Fluffy Bottoms back to Shadowlands and the land of shadows.

NOT DYING

While none of the three of us died, we certainly weren’t living large either. We were all out of shape, and I was even more out of shape. But we proceeded back towards the land of shadows enjoying the sunshine and the light breeze.

https://cyclemeter.com/6a08acd34d9daf7a/Cycle-20210612-1155-80524

NEED SAVING…

We don’t get a lot of traffic in the land of shadows. We do see plenty of hounds, a few kitties, and do get passed by the occasional golf cart, “pick em up” truck, and car while we are riding. I got passed by a golf cart about a mile from the homestead, and figured that I’d never see them again. But, apparently, I looked like I was either close to goin’ home to God or looked like I was a troublemaker, ’cause the nice older lady was waiting by her golf cart on the side of the road called Shadowland. And, she had a concerned look on her face.

GUILTY AND NEED SAVIN’…

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I always look like I’m up to something, and I suppose that is because I usually am. I have that guilty look on my face. So there is no doubt that I always look like I need some savin’. And, when I’m pedaling along at the hefty speed of about three miles per hour up a hill, getting passed by turtles and snakes out for summer strolls, I suppose I really do look like I need some savin’. Although, I suppose some would say that I’m likely beyond savin’.

JUST A CLOSER RIDE WITH THEE

I don’t know if it was because I looked like I was gonna meet my maker at any moment, or I looked like a squirrel gittin’ ready to go nuts, but she wanted to be sure I was ready to meet Jesus. And, with my heart rate hovering at about 155 beats per minute at that point in time, I could have passed over that great divide at any time. But, alas, I did not pass on or pass out. So, I thanked her for her kind concern and told her I was ready to meet my maker.

I’LL NEVER KNOW

I’ll never know why that older lady felt compelled to tell me about Jesus, but I listened politely, caught my breath a little, and then sent her on her way. So, if you look at the Strava recording of my ride, you’ll see about a three minute break where this older lady on a golf cart and I discussed my relationship with Jesus. I’ll never know how our conversation affected her day, but since I’m usually up to no good, it was good to think about heaven and Jesus and my home beyond the sky again.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5458567655

FINAL ASCENT

And, as I turned off Shadowland Drive and headed up the drive, I felt invigorated and energized knowing I was enjoying the riding again. I’ll probably hurt all over later tonight and even hurt in the parts that don’t hurt, but it’ll get easier as the summer progresses and the shadows change and get longer at the end of the season.

ME

I’m going to enjoy the riding while I can still ride, both the good times and bad. I will enjoy my time here in the land of shadows on Shadowland Drive. And when I ascend to my home beyond the sky, and they plant my remains below the earth, I will have done my best. Feel free to follow my ramblings at the links listed below: