It was a beautiful day last summer in Charlevoix, and a gorgeous morning to ride the Little Traverse Wheelway! Thank you to everyone who volunteered, participated, and donated to make this past summer’s Here We Ride bicycling event a success. Perhaps most exciting were the interactions along the trail between our rest-station volunteers and members of the community who hadn’t known about the event when they hit the bike path that morning: “You mean you’re giving this stuff away?!?” “You know, you could be making a lot of money if you were selling the snacks.” “Why is it FREE?” Our goal wasn’t to be preachy, but to perhaps give anyone and everyone a taste and a sip of what it means to be fully provided for—how we, in Christ, have been given His love for FREE! … All with a smile, a wave, and a “have a great ride!”
In the coming months, other congregations and circuits are invited to consider hosting their own Here We Ride event next summer. Perhaps it could be a rotating location, maybe there could be multiple rides each year, or the bicycle riders of your congregation and community could have an entirely new twist on the present way of providing interaction between God’s people and the cyclists of our great state.
If this idea interests you or someone you know, please contact Ray Zavada at 888.225.2111 ext. 264 or ray.zavada@michigandistrict.org or Pastor Matthew Peters at 231.547.9446 or MPeters@ZionLutheranPetoskey.org. They are more than willing to help!
God’s blessings, and safe riding!
