I grew up in a motorcycle family. My mom and dad both rode as well as my younger brother. I had over 200,000 miles on motorcycles by the time I was 20 years old. I rode both on and off road. We really enjoyed ourselves. We used to go to various motorcycle races and hillclimbs. I never raced or competed in any of it, but I had a few friends that did.

Here is a picture of my first motorcycle … a minibike. I am in the middle of two friends.

And here is a picture of me riding a wheelie going up a hill.

It is no secret that I was a fan of the actor Steve McQueen. He was a motorcyclist too. He raced a lot and was pretty good. In 1971 he costarred in a film documentary movie, called “On Any Sunday” about motorcycle racing competition. He financed the film. As a cyclist myself I find the film very interesting. That has not changed over the years.

Many have seen the classic movie, The Great Escape, where Steve McQueen was attempting to escape the Germans by stealing a German Army motorcycle. Of course, in reality that would have been a BMW motorcycle, but a BMW would not been able to handle what was done in the movie so Steve rode a 1961 Triumph TR6 Trophy instead. They did their best to make it look German, but it was obvious to anyone who knows motorcycles that it was a Triumph. What would have worked best is a modern day dirt bike with suspension made to handle the jumping. A Triumph isn’t either, but it is better than a BMW and these guys are used to riding them … especially off road. Steve wanted to do the jump over the fence, but was not permitted to because of the danger and insurance liability. He did try it once and crashed. His friend and fellow cyclist, Bud Ekins, made the jump in his place. Bud was a professional stunt man and very experienced cyclist. He is shown in the film, On Any Sunday, riding with Steve when there are 3 of them riding together. BTW, the barbed wire fence was not real. Also, Steve did most of his own driving in the movie, Bullitt. Bud Ekins also was a stuntman in Bullitt.

HERE is a website with interesting facts about the movie. One of the things that is interesting is Steve McQueen was filmed riding the German Army motorcycles chasing himself in the movie. Also Steve McQueen rode the motorcycle that the German Army officer slid down under the wire Steve McQueen strung across the road to obtain the motorcycle. He purposely laid the bike down on the road.

So most of my Sundays as a teenager were spent at motorcycle events of various sorts year around. That all changed years later and by age 30 my Sundays since then have been spent attending church. I don’t say that to brag. The simple truth is God has totally changed my life and my priorities. I no longer ride a motorcycle which is something which has really surprised me as I thought I would ride one until I was no longer able to. But I sold my last motorcycle years ago as it just sat around collecting dust. I went from riding my motorcycle to riding a recumbent bike and then a recumbent tadpole trike. And sometimes I ride it on Sunday afternoons.

I used to watch Husqvarnas race. They were fast and powerful.

There are sequels to this story which I knew nothing of until just now …

Sadly fewer and fewer people are going to church each passing year. Again it is all part of end time bible prophecy. Lots of things have changed in our society. Thanksgiving and Christmas used to be the most popular holidays in America. Now Halloween and Super Bowl Sunday have taken over. But thank God, on any Sunday the doors of God’s church are still open. And you are most welcome! We are good at making excuses not to go.