God Uses a Motorcycle

Something changed! 

Motorcycles were NOT part of my world growing up.  Never drove one.  Rode one once!  Yet, for a 10-year stretch, from 1976 to 1986, that’s all I owned.

At the age of 22, something happened!

And for the next ten years, God used a motorcycle to shape me in some powerful ways. 

Now, before I start “coloring-in” the essentials of this story, I need to back up just a bit.  While I have told lots of stories so far, my focus hasn’t been on being 100% chronological.  For the purpose and flow of each story, I’ve only included pertinent details.  So, when it comes to “our love story as a couple”, some “pieces to the puzzle” have been notably missing – until now.   And, I am fairly certain that without these “pieces”, the ending would NOT have been the same.   

Strap on your helmet.  Let’s see how “God used a motorcycle” to bring us together.

Most motorcycle purists would say that my first motorcycle barely qualified as one.  It was a Honda 110.  Don’t laugh!  It wasn’t big, but it eased me into the world of motorcycles.  I was 22 years old and living in the Dominican Republic (DR).  The Honda 110 was a transportation staple in the DR.  Lots of people owned one in this Caribbean country.  They were common, economical, and you could drive one any time of the year. 

I figured that since I was going to live in the Dominican Republic for at least a year, I needed to have my own transportation.  Without a lot of thought – I bought my first motorcycle.  While I had fun riding it, its purpose was still mostly utilitarian.  The decision was driven by a practical need to “get around”.  It was a tool, more than it was a toy.  

After the Dominican Republic, I moved to California to go back to college.  This happened in 1979.

Warm weather, dear friends, and a college that accepted my transfer from a Bible school, drew me to southern California – like a magnet.  Believe it or not, sunny southern California was the most northern point that I lived during this ten-year period.  The weather made it easy to drive a motorcycle year-around, so my tenure with motorcycles expanded to a Yamaha 650.  Then, a few years later, I graduated to a new Suzuki 1000.

1979 was also the year of the oil embargo.  There were long lines at the pump.  Good gas mileage was a plus.  Owning a motorcycle also began to shape, and expose, my “philosophy of life”.   I loved being frugal.  I loved being practical – and maybe a bit outside of the box.

  

As one year of motorcycle ownership stretched into several, I was starting to adopt a mind-set.  It was this.  “If I was to get married, I wanted the type of woman who was comfortable hiking, camping, backpacking, travelling internationally – and riding a motorcycle.”  I began to say this - out loud.

After graduating from college in 1982, I worked a year.  Twice during that year, I seriously considered replacing the motorcycle.  I was accumulating some savings, so, I thought it was time for an “enclosed vehicle”.   I got real close to signing the paperwork on a Porsche.  I had found “the car”, but I couldn’t pull the trigger.  A few months later, I considered a 4WD Pickup.  Again, I found “the truck”.  I test drove it, but somehow I still couldn’t pull the trigger.  A “little voice” kept saying “No”!  Hmm? 

Then May 1983 arrived, and I decided to get an Intercristo application.  I wanted to see what jobs might be available internationally.  It was then that my friend Nancy told me to "just check the box" regarding Teaching English as a Second Language.  A few weeks later, I got “THE PHONE CALL” from Lisa, the recruiter.  Suddenly, within 15 minutes - I had no problem pulling the trigger.  

Just like that - I was on my way to teach English in China for a year. 

Well, not quite!   It seems like some “pieces to the puzzle” needed to happen before I left for China – and these pieces helped to set the stage for our love story.

Piece #1: I kept the motorcycle.  

I didn’t try to sell my bike before I left for China.  I had bought the bike brand new three years earlier.  It was in great shape.  For some reason I didn’t feel the need to sell it – and liquidate my assets.  For that matter, I didn’t even have a plan for any of my stuff.  The decision to teach in China had come together so quickly, that I was just winging it, and doing the next thing.   

In July 1983, I moved into a campus dormitory to begin two months of training to learn how to teach English as a Second Language in mainland China.  Because it was only 40 minutes away from where I had lived for four years, it was an easy decision to keep the bike with me in Pasadena.  

The campus was nestled at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, near Pasadena.  I knew my way around the area, so I started giving motorcycle rides to the other teachers when we are not in training.   It was a quick and easy trip to “escape” to the mountains.  I loved the area, and was glad I had the bike.

As the training was winding up, the group started preparing for departure.  To celebrate the completion of our training, our instructor, who was a professor at USC, invited the team to her house about 40 minutes away.  To get there, rides were coordinated.  A shuttle system was devised.  I offered to take someone on my motorcycle.  Irma was quick to take me up on the offer.

Irma was a 70 year old grandma.  She had been raised in China.  She was returning to China after being expelled 40 years earlier.  Irma was having the time of her life.  It was her first time to ride a motorcycle, and she wanted a ride to the party.  She loved it.

At the same, Lisa, the recruiter, was at the party.  Lisa had just arrived back in California.  She had not been at the training because she had gone back to Tennessee for six weeks of bed rest to recuperate from the intensity of recruiting 40 teachers.  It was her first “in person” interaction with the teachers that she had recruited.  Everyone knew her.  And, at some subconscious level I observed a few things.  Lisa was: not married; around my age; and easy on the eyes.  But, I was heading to China.  Oh, well!

At the end of the party, there was a dilemma.   As rides were being determined for the 40-minute trip back to campus, I asked who would like to ride back with me.  Poor Irma desperately wanted to ride back, but she didn’t want to be greedy and monopolize the opportunity.  So, Irma politely asked if anyone else would like to ride back with me.  Without any hesitation, Lisa stepped forward and forcefully said, “I’d like to ride.”  I didn’t need to have her say it twice.   So, she got on the back, and away we went on our first ride together.

Piece #2: The start of my program in China was delayed.    

Right after the departure party, I received some very significant news.  The university in China, where I was assigned to teach, needed to postpone the start of the program for five months. They wanted me to start teaching at the end of January, not the beginning of September.  They asked me, “Can you wait, and come later?”  Oh my, that was unexpected.

At this point, I was committed to teaching in China.  I didn’t really have any other options, so I said that I would wait, and I began to figure out what I was going to do for five months.  Hmm!  I’m sure glad that I kept the motorcycle.  Glad I had some savings.  But, what was I going to do while “killing time”?

Piece #3: I enrolled in three graduate-level courses in Teaching English as a Second Language.

On the campus where our training had been held, there was a university program that offered a graduate degree in Teaching English as a Second Language.  I knew that I needed lots more training in ESL.  So, I signed up for three graduate classes.  I switched dorm rooms, and settled in for the semester.  But, most importantly, this “plan” kept me close to the China office – and Lisa.  And, you bet, I didn’t twiddle my thumbs, nor did I waste using the motorcycle.

Piece #4: I made myself available for “motorcycle outings” with my new friend, Lisa.

Since I was the only teacher who stayed behind, and I was taking classes nearby, I regularly “reported” to the China office after classes.  I hung out with the staff: Lisa, and two married gentlemen.   But, let’s be honest, I was an opportunist.   My target was Lisa.   

Lisa and I had some wonderful “outings” on the motorcycle.  The Angeles Crest Highway above the Rose Bowl was a biker’s dream.  The settings for our jaunts had the potential of being really romantic.  We had lots of picnic lunches.   As a result, an interesting dynamic developed during the fall of 1983. 

I found the woman!  She was gorgeous; had similar values; and she loved riding a motorcycle.  She was perfect!  Just what I was looking for!  There was just one thing that was missing.  While she loved riding on the motorcycle with its owner - she wasn’t romantically interested in the owner - himself. 

That fall, Lisa and I spent a lot of time together.  God used a motorcycle, and some unexpected circumstances, to help us form a deep friendship.  We liked spending time together.  Yet, I was heading to China, and she was busy recruiting more teachers for the following year.   While I really wanted a relationship with her, she didn’t encourage me much – beyond “begging for a motorcycle ride”.

So, after five months, I parked the motorcycle; drained the fuel; and I hopped on a plane to China.  Lisa and I wrote regularly.  We remained good friends.  Life went on.

End of story.  

Well, not quite.  It seems that I still had a small “foot in the door” to Lisa’s heart.

Next Time: God Uses a Parked Motorcycle

Photo Credits:

All: Carr Collection