I have been mountain biking for quite a time now. And to quote a good friend and biking mentor:“Biking for me is a way of life and has shown me life's different faces. It brings me anywhere I want. It has given me the opportunity to meet all types of people. It has showed me what is beautiful and what is worse. All my adventures are with my bike. Next to my wife is my trusty old mountain bike.” - Syano09
True, it was on my mountain bike that I had seen much of life up close through the stories of strangers I met on the trail.
Where we ride is Malipay, an area where one can find a people remotely isolated. Most have no running water nor electricity. Some would hike a couple of kilometers to fetch their drinking water. And when the river that runs across their village rises, they are completely cut off they have to gather rain water for their needs.
But they, in spite of their want, would cheerfully and without fail yell out “Good Morning!” when we pass them by. They have, in fact, become my second wind. Their smile and their greetings brighten further the landscape God has so generously blessed us to enjoy on our bikes.
I would love to listen to their stories. I would love sitting with them over a cup of even the cheapest 3-in-1coffee mix after a hard ride. For there is something behind their cheerful demeanor that reveals the secret to true joy. A joy which we try to vainly seek through the incessant upgrade we do on our steeds only to be left still feeling empty and even wanting more.
I would like to treat that man a bottle of soda for eagerly pointing to us the way out including all the expected obstacles. His direction is the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” for this wandering biker.
I would love reaching out to those little children who find it great fun doing a high-five to a passing biker. I would always oblige for it is a way I can thank them, at that moment, for allowing me to run through their space.
I would like to return the kindness these simple folks have unknowingly blessed me by their presence. I would like to be more than that nameless face rushing by on his bike. I want to make a difference, bereft of any funfair, through a simple and quiet giving of self.
Mountain biking has blessed me much. It is time to give something back.
