Rich Dixon is getting ready for a big ride in a month.

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In cycling, weight is a big deal.

Some riders want to pack extra everything…and carry it on their bikes!

It’s good to be prepared, but too much extra baggage weighs us down and keeps us from riding to our potential. Often it accumulates slowly, one additional tool and spare part at a time.

There’s also invisible “baggage” that hinders our journey far more than unnecessary equipment on a bike. Anger, bitterness, jealousy…a long list of unseen stuff acts like an anchor. Jesus came to set us free so we could travel light.

Our team read Hebrews 12:1-3, focused on this verse:

… let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…

Our team spent some time with these two questions. They don’t have much to do with cycling, so maybe you will find them worth pondering.

When has this kind of extra baggage accumulated and slowed your journey? How did you manage to recognize it and “throw it off?”

What are you lugging around right now that’s hindering you? How did it get there? Why are you clinging to it? Thoughts about tossing it aside?

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I don’t remember if we included these words of Jesus in our discussion, but I think they are appropriate:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

In cycling and in life, we weren’t designed to carry a bunch of extra baggage.