ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

Available for over a year

Good Morning It’s really good to be able to share in the excitement of my native Yorkshire as final preparations are being made right now for the first stage of this year’s Tour de France. I only wish I could be with Evan – up there near Harrogate – where for many months now my family have been telling me how the sense of expectation has been building. To mark the occasion, beneath what’s called the chevin in the beautiful market town of Otley where I was once a Curate, all of the pubs have translated their names into French to welcome the cyclists: the Bay Horse is Le Cheval Bai; the Bowling Green, Le Terrain des boules and I will leave you to guess what the Whittaker’s Arms is in French?! But the fact that the Tour de France starts today in Britain is another good excuse to ponder what it is about cycling that makes it so special across many generations, including our own? I agree with Michael Palin that the day he learned to ride a bike was one of the most important in his life. Analogies to riding a bicycle as a contemporary parable for living incorporating the various notions of training, effort, balance and direction are plentiful in literature. Modern cycling of course, as we have seen in both the Olympics and in races such as today’s Tour de France, is not without immaculate levels of sophistication. However, even at a basic level, a survey this week underlined how the bicycle remains a symbol of potential and freedom even to a digital generation? And surely that one of the reasons that massive crowds will line the 3600 kilometres Tour de France route through England and France? [1] The discipline required by most cyclists can be as spiritual as it is physical. And a necessary combination of vision and commitment is what the Psalmist is surely referring to[2] when he visualises God’s road stretching out ahead and urges each person to seize every opportunity along the route and to build up the common good. In Psalm 119, any spiritual journey involves having a right combo of mind, body and spirit. It’s then easier to stay focussed and to travel in the right direction - in spite of any unexpected twists and turns and hurdles along the route. And it’s that focus that inevitably leads to a sense of exhilaration and also freedom. And surely cyclists experience this freedom time and time again? So good luck (!) to all the riders in the Tour de France; those who watch it later today and over the weekend, enjoy the spectacle. As spectators, we can only surely marvel at the dedication and motivation equally matching the physicality of the ride along those winding Yorkshire roads? [1] http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/486385/Landlines-Extinct-ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½-Phone-Line-BT-Internet-Broadband-Line-Rental-Fee [2] (in the Old Testament/Psalm 18)