Whoa !!!!!!!!!! This is a 25 mph neighborhood.
San Francisco. The streets. The hills. A young couple riding a BMW R100/ boxer-twin motorcycle, full dressed with windshield, fairing, and saddle bags. Up, up, and up the streets. Faster and faster.
San Francisco hills are famous for their car chase scenes in movies and popular television shows. And sometimes in those movies and shows, the cars go airborne, carefully orchestrated by a team of professional stunt coordinators and drivers.
Today is different. This is not a chase and professionals. This is a 20 something couple who enjoy riding together on their motorcycle. And today is beautiful, sunny, bright. And traffic is light, practically non-existent. As they ride up the first hill they chat aimlessly. The street is a thoroughfare, all the side streets and cross streets have stop signs.
They meet the first cross street, see there is no traffic, and start up the next hill, riding a bit faster. At the next street they maintain speed, getting a little rise off the seat. Hey, that was fun. Next street, faster, and the front wheel comes off the group. This is cool! Another, and faster, and now the front wheel is a full 3 feet off the ground! No stopping now, faster and faster, 3 more streets, completely airborne on the last two streets!!
A look at the speedometer, 54 miles per hour. This is awesome. The next street's gonna be a blast! Yes, yes!! The top of the hill. The cross street. Then up again. NO! There is no up again, it's the top of the hill and the road ahead is downhill all the way. At 54 mph. Hang on tight!
With the extra speed and momentum, combined with a rapidly descending roadway below, the next few seconds are harrowing, anxious, and immediate. The rider holds tight to the hand grips. Body well off the seat unable to reach the foot pegs as the heavier bike drops away below him. The passenger has nothing to grasp, with only her legs under the raised arms of her rider to keep her over the center of the motorcycle.
After flying through the air, back tire likely 6 feet above the pavement and front tire closer to 8 or 9 feet above, the rear tire hits the pavement. The front tire follows, the rider on the gas tank, and passenger on the rider's seat. A moment of composure and reaction, hard breaking on the steep downhill street, and it's over as quick as it happened.
The young couple stops promptly on the side of the street. Dismount. Give each other a big hug. And thank their Father above for a safe end to an unwise decision. Today they ride away with new found wisdom, learned the hard way.
We often gain our wisdom the hard way. While we can plan well, it is not always thorough. While we seek to follow a steady course, it's easy to get distracted. Or like our young couple, to be caught up in the moment. To follow the crowd. To become enamored with someone, or something, ignoring the warning signs all around.
As Christians, we are encouraged to keep our eyes on Christ, looking straight ahead, and to seek wisdom. God's word is the starting place to find that wisdom.
Be encouraged by the Word of God:
From Proverbs 4
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
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