Splitting lanes

"No fear, relax, focus.  Do or do not...do halfway, squish like a grape", Abe's wise coaching in the voice combo of Yoda & Mr. Miyagi resonate in Rowe's mind.  Earlier, these two moto riders were flying down the 10 freeway at about 85 miles per hour, not a care in the world.  As they approach downtown Los Angeles, though, breaklights from the cars ahead start blinking.  Their speed slows down to 60 miles per hour...then 40.  "Oh geez, here we go," Rowe sighes, her usual apprehension of the inevitable looming, "we have to split lanes."  Abe, on the other hand, relaxes into a state of extreme focus.  Cars on adjacent lanes slow to a speed of 20-30 miles per hour.  In the space between the rows of cars, a lane presents itself.  Abe positions his bike in this new lane and glides effortlessly between the cars, weaving in and out.  Albeit much slower, Rowe follows his lead.  At first, she can't help but be overly cautious, revving her throttle continuously so surrounding cars are aware of her coming through.  Abe's words continue to resonate in her ears as they pass car after car.  Slowly, his words begin to calm her and she focuses on the ride, "Don't look to the cars next to you.  Instead, look about 5 or 6 cars ahead...anticipate their moves, especially the ones that are hedging, wanting to switch lanes.  Make sure you downshift to enable you to react quickly, but don't rev too high.  If you're ahead of the car, they can't hit you, so speed up a little.  At all times, the key is concentration...don't daydream or look anywhere but ahead." After a few miles of lane splitting, Rowe isn't as anxious as when they first started.  Before long, they gain speed and glance at their rearview mirrors.  The traffic congestion is now far behind them...and they weren't squished like grapes.

At aHbe Racer, Jesus tells us how to "split lanes" and get through the "traffic congestion" of life.  We learn from Him by studying His Word and applying His teaching to our lives.  The minute we lose our focus, we are open to an impending accident.  When we "downshift" and spend daily time with Him, we can quickly respond to danger that may venture into our path.   He says, "Watch your life and doctrine closely"...such wise words, from the expert "rider" Himself.  He's cleared a path, and we follow closely behind Him while the wheels are spinning...

Falling berries

Birds chirp...soothing breeze...warm sun overhead...the daily ride home.  Rowe is riding down a street with tall trees on both sides.  "Mmm, can't wait to have an evening of leisure with Abe..." Rowe thinks to herself, already in relaxation mode.  Then, from up above, a berry falls on her.  She hardly takes notice of it.  She rides on several feet, then another berry falls, quickly followed by another one.  "Oww" Rowe murmurs to herself.  The berries don't hurt, but they do feel like tiny little pebbles.  As she rides down the street, the berries continue to fall, quicker...faster...and at this time, yes, they do begin to hurt a little.  "What the ----!" Rowe exclaims, perplexed as to the onslaught of falling berries.  She slows her bike considerably, almost to a crawl, growing irritable.  Upon approaching a four-way stop, Rowe downshifts to stop.  All of a sudden, a car on the perpendicular street speeds through the intersection, not stopping at the stop sign.  "Whoa", Rowe realizes as she stops her bike, "if I had been going any faster, I would have been run over..."

Many circumstances in life seem to slow down our "ride".  We may get distraught that things aren't going as we had planned.  Without the falling berries, Rowe would have been riding down the street faster, and consequently, would have been hit by the speeding car.  But this "ride" isn't ours, it's His.  Since He sees what lies ahead, God sometimes sends the "falling berries" in our lives to slow us down.  At aHbe Racer we are thankful for a God who loves us.  We may not understand when difficult times arise, but we trust He works all things for good.  In awe, we follow Him on this "ride", all the way "home", while the wheels are spinning...

Newbie

Colton, California, beside the foothills of the San Bernardino mountains.  An impeccably sunny day for a moto ride.  But for this newbie rider, he isn't riding.  Earlier during the week, Abe couldn't wait for this day to arrive.  Finally, he'd be learning to ride!  But now he simply stares at his Honda Shadow 250 with disdain.  "Did I just waste $220 for this motorcycle class?", Abe mourns.  In his mind, he is trying to piece together all he had learned the past four hours during the classroom session.  He thought it mind-boggling that all four limbs had to work in conjunction at the same time:  roll the throttle with the right-hand...use the clutch with the left hand...press the front break on the right...shift with the left foot...rear break is with the right foot..."How can I ever get this?"  Abe agonized.

Fast forward four years, this former newbie moto rider now speeds down the San Bernardino freeway, weaving in and out of traffic, racing effortlessly.  Had Abe not learned the essentials first, he wouldn't be enjoying the rush of splitting lanes, taking in God's creation, soaking in God's warmth, connecting with God Himself ..... riding.

When it comes to launching a business, aHbe Racer is a "newbie".  Some of the development process is frustrating to learn: creating a business plan, finding funding, negotiating pricing.  But without this initial setup, aHbe Racer's concept of clothing and feeding people en route is just a pipe dream.  Since He's called us to make His vision a reality, we focus on the essentials because we know we're ultimately working for Him.  To do business His way is so worth the cost of learning how to "ride", while the wheels are spinning...

Curb appeal

"Keep in mind," the trainer shouts, "do NOT fix your eyes on one thing!"  Sammy is in motorcycle school, learning to ride for the first time.  Glancing out over the riding course, he barely listens to the trainer's instructions.  "Yeah, yeah, got it..." he thinks to himself, "let's just ride already..."  The trainer continues, "Remember, your bike will turn wherever you look, so keep your focus on where you're headed.  Now...start your engines!"  Simultaneously, the bikes' engines fire up and the riders head out.  The course is an oval loop with a curb in the center, separating the inner and outer lanes.  Sammy takes the first curve with ease, leaning into the turn...then, not realizing it, his eyes lock onto the curb.  But he doesn't just focus on the curb, he is fixated, entranced.  He can't tear his eyes away from the curb's appeal.  THUMP!  Going fifteen miles per hour, Sammy's bike pops the curb, continues on a few feet and stalls.

Target fixation is the tendency of riders to focus on an object while riding.  To avoid this propensity, we are taught to look through a turn, because a bike will go wherever the rider looks.  Thankfully for Sammy, no serious damage was done to him, the bike, or the curb.

"Curb appeal" can be any fascination that takes our eyes off God.  In our desire to get aHbe Racer launched now, our "curb" is not trusting His timing.  Our "target fixation" is an image of the business already running smoothly.  In these planning stages, we stress over getting shirts printed, food trucks purchased, hitting the open road.  But we don't want to be derailed and "pop a curb".  God holds the roadmap, and we look to Him to begin the next leg of the ride.  always Him before everything, while the wheels are spinning...

En route

An unknown driver in the car behind Abe, Rowe and Sammy.  They are all traveling on a two-lane road in the backwoods behind Temecula.  The driver takes notice as bike after bike hurtles past the riding trio.  Ducati...Kawasaki...Triumph...Suzuki...Harley... each rider takes his hand off the handlebar in greeting.  The trio returns the gesture.  Each rider's arm is extended, sometimes a peace symbol offered.  Even on tight turns, when an arm gesture would prove too dangerous, they at least nod their head at an approaching bike.  "Hmm...," the driver wonders, "are all these bikers from the same gang?  They can't be..the motorcycles are all different.  The riders aren't wearing all the same clothing.  But they all seem to be so happy to see one another..."

Among riders, there is an instant feeling of kinship, even among total strangers.  aHbe Racer hopes to bring this same sentiment en route, meeting "riders" where they're at, through our mobile kichen and store. 

RACER stands for:

Reaching
Across
Communities
En
Route

A place to feel welcomed, share a meal, shop for clothes, build friendships.  We're all in this "ride" together.  As Jesus says, "The next time you put on a dinner, don't just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You'll be—and experience—a blessing. They won't be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God's people."  We follow our Leader to where the people are, while the wheels are spinning...

Impromptu ride

Big Bear.  Twilight.  Brisk air...a cold breeze blows through the trees.  An owl hoots, squirrels scamper.  The scene opens up on Highway 330, a road that circles the mountain.  All is still, tranquil.  Just then...a rumbling of engines is heard coming around the corner.  Two motorcycles out for an evening run.  But something is not right.  On closer look the riders aren't smiling.  Instead they are shivering, no, trembling in fact.  Their faces are frozen, fingertips have numbed, they can no longer feel their toes.  What are they wearing??  Heavy leather jackets??  Layered clothing??  Thermals??  No, of course not.  They are wearing nothing more than light-weight hoodies.  How did the riders end up in this unfortunate quandary?

   
An hour before...the excitement was frenzied.  An impromptu ride, Abe and Rowe were anxious to get on the road, the mountains calling.  "Should we layer up?  Nah, it'll be fine.  Let's just go!."  Bikes hummed happily as they started up the mountain.  With each rising foot of altitude though, their mood slowly dampened, and the coldness began to sink in.  Too late to turn back, but only halfway to their cabin, "What the heck were we thinking!", they lamented.  Thankfully for these witless riders, they made it safely.  Practically ice in the veins, though, it took them several hours by the fire to thaw out. 

aHbe Racer's moto-inspired apparel has stylish form and a hint of function. But nothing matters if you are not prepared.  The rider will be warm if need be, granted layering precautions are taken.  Nonetheless, only God is the true source of warmth, the ultimate jacket, the supreme coat.  He protects us from the "elements", so we can journey, and not "freeze".  Before heading on an "impromptu ride" up a steep "mountain", layer up in His love, don't leave Him behind while the wheels are spinning...

Fuel light on

"Such an exquisite day, an amazing ride...", the moto rider blissfully pondered as she savored the afternoon ride.  Suddenly, on her bike's gauge, the green fuel light comes on.  Rowe only takes notice of it arbitrarily.  "Oh geez, great", glancing down at her gauge, "Again?? Didn't I just fill up?"  She shrugs.  "I'm good for a good thirty miles or so".  Rowe dismisses the intruding thought and keeps riding.  "The sky is so vividly blue, the clouds are so impeccably puffy..."  Rowe is oblivious to all.  Mile 20..."Oh yea, the fuel light thingy...I wonder when it actually came on? I'm sure I have another 20 or was it 10 miles??" Rowe is irritated with this annoying interruption to her reverie.  Mile 10..."Um, perhaps I should inform them of my predicament??" She looks ahead at Abe and Sammy, still racing each other down the road.  "But I don't want to interrupt the ride", Rowe wrestled with her thoughts.  She now reduces her speed.  With each passing mile, her contemplation transforms to vivid images of engine stalling, bike dropping, being run over by cars...Mile 5..."Oh no, was that the engine shaking??  That's it, gotta go get some gas now..." Rowe rolls the throttle, catches up to Abe and Sammy, wildly waving to them that her fuel light is on.

A rider can't enjoy the ride if the fuel light is on.  The rider may never glance at the gauge, or may simply be ignoring that the bike is nearing empty.  But eventually, without gas, the ride will end. 

aHbe Racer needs "fuel" to continue the ride.  As a community, we regularly share meals together.  A time to replenish our hungry souls and bodies through relationship and food.  We follow our Leader to the hungry and offer meals through a mobile kitchen.  Finding the riders on "empty", filling up their "tanks", so they can join the ride as the wheels are spinning...

A motley crew

Three motorcycles headed down the freeway towards San Diego:  a Harley Softtail Deluxe 1584, a Suzuki GSXR 1000, and a Harley Iron 883 Sportster.  An atypical motorcycle "gang".  Each bike has its own unique resonance:  the Deluxe with its deep guttural piston fire, the GSXR with its high pitched volumnous revving, and the Iron with its shorty dual exhaust decibels.  Each rider has their own style of riding: Abe on his Deluxe tends to keep a steady pace, which is - fast; Sammy on his GSXR has spurts of acceleration and potential wheelies, and Rowe on her Iron with a calm reverie, with hints of velocity, mainly to keep up. 

Collectively the bikes ride as one unit: they reverberate, traffic heeds their presence, the riders feel safe.  Contrast the lone motorcycle: he can't be heard, he can't be seen...a rather risky state for a rider.

aHbe Racer's backbone is its community.  Within our church, Sandals, we live life together.  Our group is a motley crew, our "bikes" assorted, we "ride" uniquely, each "engine" has a distinct sound.  But we travel on the same journey, led by Him.  The probability of a "collision" are lowered in His group.  Instead, His light is seen, His love is heard.  We seek His lost and lonely "riders" as the wheels are spinning...

Follow the leader

Ortega Highway...exhileration...the road curves, eighty miles an hour, lean in through tight turns...the riders glance periodically in the rear-view mirror.  Wait...there were three of us a moment ago, but now only two.  "Hmm, where is she?" they both wonder.  The riders stop their bikes on the side of the road, "In about two minutes, we're going to head back and see where she's at", Abe shouts to Sammy through his face mask as Sammy nods in agreement.  "Did she take a turn too fast?  Drop the bike maybe??" the thoughts raced through their minds.  Waiting in anticipation...the road ahead calling, but the ride suspended momentarily.  Then...a tiny light glimmers around the bend..."oh, there she is!"  With relief, they see Rowe gaining speed as she spots them...Abe and Sammy put their bikes back in gear...the three of them continue on...in unison...

Who leads the ride @ aHbe Racer?  Our Lord Jesus - He's who we follow.  We know the sound of His engine.  He continually checks his rearview to make sure we're following.  When He sees we have lagged behind, He waits for us to catch up.  If we've dropped our bikes along the way, He returns back down the road to retrieve us. 

aHbe Racer's mission is to further His gospel through motorcycles, apparel, art and community.  Our destination is the journey itself.  But without Him leading the way, our wheels will just be spinning...