God, a Motorcycle, and the Open Road

by Tim Riter

I couldn’t imagine what a devotional with a motorcycle focus would be like. If you are a motorcycle rider or aficionado, then the answer found in Tim Riter’s God, a Motorcycle, and the Open Road is fascinating, inspiring, and FUN. It could be read over the course of a year with one chapter per week, allowing the reader to absorb and apply the Biblical truths. One day I may do that, but for this reading I devoured, it not wanting to put it aside.

Having logged more than 240,000 miles on two wheels in 46 states, Tim Riter loves short rides, long rides (including Iron Butt), hot and cold rides, solo and group trips. He loves God and sees a strong connection between motorcycling and his faith. The chapters in God, a Motorcycle, and the Open Road are formatted to begin with personal anecdotes from Riter’s many motorcycle trips. Then he finds lessons in the stories and connects them to spiritual truths. He finishes each section with “Kick-Starting the Application,” encouraging readers to challenge themselves.

Come along with God and Tim on motorcycle adventures, some painfully hilarious stories by a master storyteller, and some life changing lessons. You will be glad you did.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Harvest House Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Christian, Religion and Spirituality

Publication: April 2, 2019—Harvest House Publishers

Memorable Lines:

Why does God sometimes rescue some of his people and not rescue others? I have no clue….But I do trust his love even more than I trust his power. I suspect that’s the key. God’s omniscience trumps our finite knowledge. I’ve seen enough of his love to have faith in it.

Honda’s engineers want to provide the best riding experience. The closer we follow their design, the better we ride. God wants to provide our best life experience. The closer we follow his design, the better we live.

Frankly, leaning on God sometimes makes no more sense to our finite minds than does leaning a bike into a curve at speed. But that lean allows us to get through the curve. And reminding ourselves that God loves us in all of our trials and failures, that he always works for good, allows us to survive the curves of life.

Biker Tim Riter describes his adventures riding across America, meeting diverse peoples, negotiating tricky situations and seeking and learning of God throughout the process. There are laugh out loud moments and insightful lessons and reflections. The chapters (or sections) are quite short with accounts of biking adventures followed by surprisingly in-depth theological reflections given the relatively short chapters. At the end of each chapter there are short questions for you to mull over yourself. You don’t have to be a biker or even knowledgeable about bikes to enjoy the book though it might give you a taste for them. I enjoyed it and gained spiritually. It’s quite light reading while containing sufficient depth. For some reason (no idea why!) while I was reading I imagined Riter standing on a stage ‘speaking’ the book to an audience. Then again the book does have a conversational, chatty style. Tim Riter has written other books which I shall now seek out. Recommended.

PS. On a side note I loved the cover, very striking, in fact it’s what drew me to the book in the first place.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harvest House for ARC.