I do not wish you

MoBikeFed President Rachel Ruhlen is a community blogger for Gatehouse Media. This article appeared June 17, 2015.

I do not wish you joy without a sorrow,

Nor endless day without the healing dark,

Nor brilliant sun without the restful shadow,

Nor tides that turn against your bark.

I wish you love,

and strength,

and faith,

and wisdom,

goods,

gold enough to help some needy one.

I wish you songs, but also blessed silence

And God's sweet peace when every day is done.

~Dorothy Nell McDonald

This blessing is perfect for bicycling. The fun, enjoyment, and pleasure I get from bicycling is not possible without the suffering that bicycling also brings. I want you-- and I-- to experience sorrow so that you can experience the joy afterwards.

Dusk, the 'healing dark', is all the more beautiful for having bicycled through the 'endless day'.

On a bicycle with the 'brilliant sun' beating down on you, you watch like a hawk for that 'restful shadow', a bit of shade to rest in for a few minutes.

I even wish a headwind upon you, my friend, the 'tides that turn against your bark'. Some of my strongest memories of bicycling involve fierce headwinds, like the time it took us 5 hours to bike 20 miles during Biking Across Kansas, the 25 mph headwind gusting up to 40 and coating us with a visible layer of manure from the cattle farms we passed. Showering at the end of that day, though it was in a locker room with a dozen other women and not quite enough hot water, was the greatest luxury imaginable.

I wish you love-- Bicycling with a companion or two is my favorite treat. and strength-- Even in weakness I can turn the pedals, but the feeling of strength as I power up a hill is awesome. and faith-- Exhausted, thinking I can go no farther, the final 2 miles seem endless, but at last, they, too, come to an end. There is food, there is rest, there is home. and wisdom-- Foolishness brings adventures, such as dehydration, electrolyte deficiency, and sunburn. Wisdom brings safer adventures. goods-- like more bike gear. gold enough to help some needy one-- My dad is bicycling from Lawrence, KS to Atlanta, GA right now. He was feeling down on Day 4, and giving $5 to a stranger in need lifted his spirits right away.

And God's sweet peace when every day is done-- Whatever religion you are or aren't, sweet peace is at the end of a long day of bicycling.

Read more of MoBikeFed President Rachel Ruhlen's articles on the President's Blog page.