Silent Ride

This morning Rachel and I took part in the Rock Church's 4th annual Silent Ride.

Here is the description of the history and inspiration for the Silent Ride, taken from the Rock MTB website:

Four years ago one of the leaders read an article about several hundred cyclists riding in silence for a 'fallen' bike rider. That rider was killed by a car, and the riders wanted to bring awareness to his death. The reaction was tremendous and has been repeated for fallen riders throughout the US. Why not do the same for Jesus!?

On March 22nd, RockMTB and several other partnering churches will join us at the Mission Beach Boardwalk to RIDE IN SILENCE FOR JESUS! The first year over 125 people rode in silence for Jesus with Fox News on location. The wonder, shock and comments from the other people (on the boardwalk) were amazing. Many riders spoke afterwards of being deeply moved by our Lord's presence while riding in awe and reverence for his sacrifice to us.

We picked this day intentionally. March 21st is Good Friday, the day or Lord was crucified for our sins. March 23rd is Easter, the day our Lord rose from the dead, breaking the veil of death granting us eternal life through the shedding of his innocent blood. The 22nd is the day he is fallen, in hell for our sins. What a fantastic day to join with family, friends, and fellow brothers in Christ to ride for him.

It was a great experience overall, and we intentionally sought to make it as Spirit filled and Christ-centered as possible. We met up with the rest of the group in the parking lot near the Bahia Hotel in Mission Beach. There were about 50 people total, including some other Skyline MTBers.


Nate and his wife Laura were there, as was Billy. I know Billy's wife Helenka had initially intended to come as well, but due to a family emergency, she was unable to attend.

After a short prayer, we set out from the parking lot in one large group, single file, toward the boardwalk. Rather than head to the ocean boardwalk as I expected, we instead took the route around Sail Bay back toward the main part of Mission Bay. It wasn't crowded yet at a little after 9:00 a.m., and the ride out to Crown Point was quiet and uneventful. I was able to spend much of it in prayer, and enjoyed the time of quiet introspection and devotion.

When we arrived at Crown Point, we gathered for a thirty minute devotional, and then mounted up and headed back to the parking lot. The ride back was a little different than the ride over, partly due to the increased crowds and distractions. Even so, when we finished, I was very happy we decided to take part in this event, and felt blessed to have been there.

If I was organizing a Silent Ride, I might choose to do it in another location, and if possible, earlier in the morning. I'm not sure if the organizers designed the event to be a time of personal reflection or more of an evangelistic effort. I assume, because of the silent nature of the ride, that it is more focused on a time of quiet contemplation of Christ's sacrifice for us and the joy of his resurrection. Because of that, a ride in a less populated area, with fewer distractions, may have served that purpose a little better. But I know several riders did (silently) pass out leaflets describing what we were doing during the ride, and each rider wore a paper pinned to the back of their shirt identifying them as a Silent Rider for Jesus, so there was an evangelistic component. Hopefully some passerby saw what we were doing and in some way was inspired to also spend some time on their own recognizing the nature of God's love for us that was manifest through the death and resurrection of his Son.

I did bring the GPS, and therefore do have some stats for the ride. There are also some pictures, which are available here. We're not in any of them, but they give you a flavor of the event.

Here are the stats:

Total Distance: 6.88 miles
Total Time: 1:42:59
Ascent: 219
Average Speed: 4.0 mph
Top Speed: 10.3 mph
Bike: Specialized FSR XC Pro
Map:

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