PUT SOME AIR IN YOUR TIRES by Donnell Jones, Pastor, Grace Covenant Church DC www.GraceCovDC.org
“ You need and your team needs enough encouragement to ensure that the pressure on the inside is greater than the pressure on the outside.”
Do you remember Summer as a kid riding your bike all day! I didn’t realize how much I missed riding until my wife bought me a bike for my birthday. That same day I rode to the restaurant while my family drove beside me in the car. For a moment, I felt like I was kid again. Why did I ever stop riding. Since then, I’ve upgraded to a carbon-fiber flat-bar road bike with hydraulic disc brakes. So, as you can imagine, this bike is much lighter and faster than the one I rode as a kid. Back then, there were no hand brakes. Remember how you had to back pedal to brake? Good times! I love riding my bike, but I was somewhat embarrassed by an experience I can laugh about now. Just before riding I always check the tire pressure and add air as needed. The rim of the tires indicated 120psi or 120 pounds per square inch of pressure. In other words, hard as rock. By comparison, my car tire pressure is 35psi. As I add air to my bike tires with a floor pump, the needle on the gauge jumps from 80 to 90 to 100 and so on. At first, I didn’t notice the sudden movement of the needle up and back as I pressed the handle. I could hear the sound of air coming out of the pump. Just a couple of more pumps and I am ready to roll. So, one day, I began to feel more bumps than usual on a familiar road. My pedaling seemed labored and much harder than normal. At some point, I felt like my tires must be losing pressure. I managed to pull into a bike shop near Union Station here in Washington, DC. Turns out the young man working in the store that day
was more helpful than I expected. He pointed me to the pump so I could help myself. Like normal, I removed the cap from the valve. Placing the nozzle of the pump over the stem, I began to pump air into my tires, or so I thought. Within a few moments, he asked what I was doing. Odd question, I thought to myself. “Putting air in my tires,” I replied. He came close and said, “no you’re not.” So, I listened carefully. He told me that after I removed the cap, I had to open the valve. Without getting too detailed, the schrader valve from my childhood bike was not like the presta valve. The presta valve is usually found in high pressure road bikes. After you remove the outer cap, you have to twist open an inner casing which covers the opening where the air enters. Otherwise, everyone hears the sound but unless they are open, they cannot receive the encouragement. There’s more. You need and your team needs enough encouragement to ensure that the pressure on the inside is greater than the pressure on the outside. We cannot determine the external conditions, but we can definitely make sure the encouragement in your team’s culture will allow you to enjoy the ride a lot better than you would if you are riding with low or little encouragement. So all season long, make sure you CHECK YOUR PRESSURE, STAY OPEN, and PUT SOME AIR IN YOUR TIRES! Pastor Donnell Jones is pastor of Grace Covenant Church in Washington, D.C., Character Coach for the Maryland Terrapins and Chaplain of the NABC.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the NABC.
NABC
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TIME-OUT
FALL 2021
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