REFLECTIONS

I came here to sit

Relax and to read

Be with family and friends

With God in the lead

We arrived in Eastsound

Around noon the first day

Snooped around for a bit

Bought supplies on the way

Got to camp rather soon

Thought we'd be the first there

But realized at once

I'd misjudged the camp fare

Bicyclists are driven

A directional crew

Not to dally or dwaddle

But to set the course true

The first ride was brutal

Up mountains called hills

I wanted a shortcut

To lesson my thrill

But a giant named Mark

First made a mistake

A shortcut he'd taken

What could be his fate

He retraced his tread

To repair the chagrin

For to error in shortness

Was a fatal sin

Yet deceit was within

On the return I was last

Through downtown I went

To get ice cream and snacks

I felt rather fine

I'd pulled off a caper

No remorse did I feel

No penance to pay

Then I ran into Linford

Pulling a wagon with kids

With knobbies for tires

And blinders for lids

He was mighty hungry

He shouted out loud

I confessed that I'd eaten

Ice cream and was proud

Well the smoke from his tires

Told the whole tale

He'd condemned me right there

To a bicyclist's hell

A pretender I was

In a pack with a breed

Who liked pain and hardship

As that made them free

At night they would gather

Around Eric's shop

To talk about nothing

But understanding a lot

Now Ralph is an icon

In sandals near chain

I've glimpsed his behind

As I've tried to gain

Yet he's not alone

In this segment of man

Who charters his way

Alone in this land

To mention them all

Would be folly I know

But the Arizona women

Are as high as I go

Some young-uns are pushin'

To be leading the pack

And soon they will

As a matter of fact

But I know my place

It's clear in the back

Behind the last rider

But still on the track

Endurance and striving

Keep me feeling alive

I like a good sweat

That burns in the eye

I pray on the uphill

And coast on the down

So I'd better keep climbing

So God will be found