Group ride after painting dusty halls

Critical Mass is a monthly gathering of bicyclists who take over/back the roads as an act of awareness, a demonstration of the power of numbers and for some revenge against all the bad drivers in Austin who cut off bicyclists. Friday afternoon, just as Austin was hitting peak rush hour traffic, several hundred folks gathered with their bikes for a ride. A diverse and brightly colored crowd of hipsters, serious bike commuters, bike racers, middle aged weekend warriors, students and, well, everyone in between took over some of the busiest routes in Austin, jamming up car traffic. As you can imagine this pissed off a few people, but others were supportive. More bikers joined along the way. Friendly homeowners sprayed us down with hoses while riding through residential neighborhoods. What a rush to ride in such a large group.

I have ridden in these (critical mass) rides before in other cities and usually by the time the adrenaline from being in a massive group and confronting motorists fades out, the ride disperses after about 45 minutes. In Austin, despite the 100 degree heat and afternoon sun, we road for hours! I was not prepared at all in my jeans and sandals, but was entirely refreshed after we road several miles out to a 'watering hole' and swam in the warm, river water, while hundreds of our bikes where locked to trees at the top of the hill waiting for us to ride back home.
It was quite surreal to follow this mob of bikers and realize after about an hour I didn't know where we were, where we where going or how much farther I could even bike. I couldn't see the city skyline anymore, and we were hardly passing any houses. We took a dead end road that lead to a park. People picked up their bikes, took off their cleats and began walking down a gravely path into the dreary looking brushy woods (I suppose the cactus were enough of a reason to carry our bikes). The ride was a great place to meet fellow bikers and more than one bike mechanic approached me about the work my bike needs, (during the ride my brakes screeched at every stop and my new chain kept slipping with every start) which was helpful but a little embarrassing in a crowd of some serious bike owners.

It is hardly as exciting as a critical mass ride, but worth mentioning for it's absolute blandness, but I have been painting white walls in the dusty library halls on campus to make some money before school starts. Painting the library is where I have spent 40 hours this past week, and so it is notable as part of this seminary experience. There is a joy in physical labor that is diminished when the labor is motivated by fear of scarcity and not out of a pure desire to work. If I was not taking a paying job on campus than I would choose to work anyway, perhaps doing something that is not under fluorescent lights, but nonetheless it is a privileged to have this job. It will be my meditation this week to not let money or the fear of scarcity influence my enjoyment of any activity even if it is painting walls white.

The water (tap and river) runs warm here, but people say it's fine to swim in- as long as it looks good clean don't worry about pollution. I gave into the heat and my own distaste for chlorinated water the other day when I went swimming in the seminary's "college court" pool. While swmming I met several of my fellow seminarians, well their wives actually. The question,"What program is your husband in?"threw me off at first, but it is great to meet some neighbors and talk about gardening and composting. One family I met was just arriving and full of enthusiasm, painting murals in their home, planting trees and such. Another family, after one year of seminary, was less enthusiastic and was considering an exodus to Portland. He said he had not discerned all of what seminary and priesthood meant. The discernment continues...