And finally, after 5 or 6 miles, I turn around and head home, enjoying the same scenery in reverse. I could go upriver instead of down, or west instead of east. I could go into the city if I chose so to do, passing Thomas Jefferson's Memorial at one end of the Mall, Abraham Lincoln's at the other. But I don't. Every morning, I set off on the same path, determined to see the same things and to revel not in my own physical prowess, but rather in God's presence.
Some people go on early morning rides for exercise.
I go to be with God. Some people turn off the news and quit reading newspapers in order to withdraw. I go on bike rides. I know the world is a hard place in which to live. I know that there are evil things going on, that there are evil people out there, that danger lurks around lots of corners.