Author Archives: dcreamer

By David Freeze

   After my recent bike trip to Canada and Alaska, most conversations get around to that adventure pretty quick, especially if I had not seen the other person in several months. It won’t be long until I will hopefully have a steady schedule of speaking engagements to talk about the most recent trip. One of the most interesting things for me is how often the word fear comes up in questions. Why does this happen?

   A good many of my talks are done in churches. One of the first times, with my presentation done, I was taking questions. One lady said, “What kind of gun do you take along!” Even on the rides themselves, I get asked the same question by other cyclists. And this time, when crossing into Canada, the customs officer was adamant that I must have one.

     Having now cycled in 49 states, I can’t think of a single time that I was genuinely afraid. Even on the last trip, when I was told that a grizzly bear was running after me, I was not worried. When riding through some of the worst parts of the several big cities, I feel confident. In times of the worst traffic, low on water or food, with many miles to go before the next town, I know that I will be OK.

     On the very first day that I ever rode a bicycle on one of my long trips, I was waiting for my bike to be reassembled in Astoria, Oregon so that I could ride across the country. The bike shop owner told me two things. He said, “You’ll need a bike lock. It looks like you don’t have one.” He was right that I hadn’t even considered getting a bike lock. The owner showed me what he had and said I should get a thick cabled combination lock, one that weighed almost two pounds. I bought it, almost immediately dreading the fact that I did.

     Once the bike was ready, the owner wanted me to go try out the bike. He said, “Ride around a little bit and make sure you go up the hill.” I found Coxcomb Hill, the only one in this coastal town and 595 feet in elevation. I rode the bike up the hill, struggled mightily and stopped to rest once. I wondered if I could in fact make this ride because there were mountains in the Rockies on my route, one at almost 12,000 feet. Was I afraid to go on the ride because of the challenges ahead?

      On that first day in Astoria, after leaving the bike shop, I rode to my motel to load my gear on the bike. Remembering that I had struggled on the hill, I was now adding another 45 pounds to the weight that I had pedal up the rest of the hills.

     The biggest challenge of my life was about to begin. Should I be afraid to ride over 4,000 miles all alone? Should I be afraid enough to need a gun or a big and heavy lock? Did fear have a place? Should I let fear keep me from attempting this huge event?

     After loading the bike, already a couple hours later than I had planned to start riding, I sat down in the motel room and prayed. It was a special prayer whose words linger to this day. I said, “Lord, ride with me today!” Not a single day since, before mounting the bike, will I leave for the first pedal strokes of the ride without saying the same words. The most amazing peace rides with those words.

     I never bought a gun and I mailed the bike lock home, totally confident that I had all the protection I needed in those five words. Put together your own comforting words and don’t let fear limit you. Plan something that you’ve been afraid to do and go be fearless!

By David Freeze

   I have lived on a farm nearly all my life. Born into a small dairy farm family, I now own another small farm. One constant in all that time has been chainsawing trees. When I was small, I remember my dad using a chainsaw but I also remember him trying to cut down trees using a two man saw. If you haven’t seen one, the thing has two big wooden handles, giant teeth and preferably two men to pull it back and forth to eventually fell a tree. It doesn’t work as well with a grown man and a spindly kid.

    When I was in college and shortly after, I spent several years cutting trees to sell firewood for extra money. It was a lucrative side job and as you might have guessed, I loved the exercise involved. Sawing the tree down, cutting it into certain lengths, manually splitting the thicker pieces, and loading trucks for delivery had a certain manly appeal.

   On my farm now, occasionally trees fall and need to be cut up. I know of two along the creek that need attention now. A least a couple saws are usually ready to get some action. Almost never do I cut a tree that is healthy. Most of my experience has to do with trees that need to come down or have fallen on their own.

    Such was the case with one certain pecan tree on Millbridge Road this morning. The tree had outgrown its area and a portion of it was hanging over the owner’s house. She called and wanted me to take it down, so I went early last Sunday to check it out. Just a little touchy in spots on whether the falling tree would hit the house, I planned to use experience, a quality helper, a good saw, a tractor and a stout rope to make sure the tree didn’t damage the house.

     Yes, I’ve taken down trees that worry me before. One of the most interesting situations involved a good-sized tree that likely would fall on an ex-mother in law’s house. I thought I could take it down safely and she and her husband didn’t want to pay the high price of a tree company. And the biggest thing—I wanted the challenge to get it down.

     Licensed tree removal companies should have insurance to cover the damage of a mistake. A farmer with a tractor, a saw and some rope likely doesn’t. But the price is right. That was the situation this Saturday morning as I started removing low hanging limbs about 8am. My nephew joined me about 10am as we used a tractor and front end loader to take off some limbs that would counterbalance the way I wanted the tree to fall.

    With all that done, one major limb still hung over the house and could spin the tree once it started to fall. With the rope tautly stretched to the tractor and my nephew set to pull it north as it started to fall, I circled the tree a couple times to make sure where I wanted to cut next. The base of the tree was about 17 inches thick, meaning that the 20 inch bar would be almost fully in use.

     I took time for prayer twice during this adventure, just to ask for God’s to help me make the right decisions. At the last minute, I changed positions to cut from the uphill side of the tree. The saw ran perfectly and hit the pre-cut notch just right while the rope and tractor pulled forward after I signaled my nephew to do his part.

     I run for fun and my heart is used to a good workout. Once I saw the chainsaw cut start widening, I knew the tree was slowly starting to fall. We had already cleared out good exit routes in case the tree twisted as it fell. I jumped up and ran up uphill, then turned to see the tree fall perfectly as was planned.

     My heart was pounding, but all was well. Faith in my own experience and equipment, but a much greater faith in the power of prayer helped me to move forward. Similar situations occur often in life. Trust yourself and then trust God more. Move forward, dream and then be encouraged to achieve. You can do it with God’s help.