Bike Area?

You can hardly blame him, right?

Popping Wheelies

More adventures with Elder Van Dyke and his bike. Poor kid.

Mission Bike

I rode some pretty sketchy bikes as a missionary. Of course this was the 1990s so sketchy bikes were in greater supply back then. One bike I rode actually had a pin you could remove at the base that would then allow the rider to fold the bike in half. It was, I'm sure, some sort of Soviet design. (And you wonder why they lost the Cold War).

Still, none of my bikes compared in ugliness to Elder Van Dyke's. I never once considered leaving my bike unlocked in hopes that it would get stolen.

Shocking Bike Ride

This might be one of the few Mission Daze comic strips that turned out better in black and white than in color.

Bike Safety

Usually, I agree with my cartoon alter-ego, but Elder Graves' helmet is awesome!

Like Riding a Bike

This is how I feel after riding a bike for the first time in a long time, which at my age is pretty much every time I ride a bike.

Bike Area

Ah, the missionary and his bike. Like peanut butter and jelly. Or in this case, peanut butter and anchovies. 

Pride Cycle

Speaking of the pride cycle, the book of Helaman in the Book of Mormon is full of examples of a people getting spun through the pride cycle. Incidentally, Helaman 1-6 is the course of study next week for Come, Follow Me.

The good folks at Cedar Fort Publishing (the publishers of such fine work as the Scripture Power Activity Book) have began a podcast were various numbers of their authors take a deep dive into each week's Come, Follow Me lesson. It just so happens that I was asked to offer commentary on Helaman 1-6. You can find the thoughts of scripturians, seminary teachers, and historians all over the internet on these chapters, but this might be the only place online you'll get a cartoonist's insight! Check it out here (I'm episode 11).

The Other Side's Bikes

Since this is a family website, I won't mention the name of the most famous motorcycle club in the world here. (If you're interested in finding out more about the group, you'll find their wikipedia article at this link.)

Bad Brakes

I rode some pretty awful bikes on my mission, although this never happened to me.

Bike Hair

I remember what a pain it was to deal with bike hair as an Elder, I can't begin to imagine how horrible it must be for the Sisters.

Bike Troubles

So there was this little stretch of woods nearby my third area as a missionary. My companion and I would ride our bikes through those woods as a shortcut to get to a certain area of the city where we could do some work. One day, early on in my companionship, I told my companion how much I enjoyed mountain biking back home and generally painted a picture of this totally extreme risk-taker.

That very day, I proceeded to crash my bike going through those woods on a very easy little turn. On one hand, I was on a 1970s ten-speed; but on the other hand, it was really embarrassing. The moral of the story: don't be a braggart.

Popping a Wheelie the Hard Way

Longtime readers of this site will remember Elder Van Dyke's struggles with his bike.

Bike Area 4

I remember riding cobblestone on my bike. I probably shook all of my fillings loose.

(Hey, Elder Van Dyke has finally made it to the MTC in today's Deseret News strip. I revised this previous strip to reflect the current practice of dropping off missionaries.)

Bike Area 3

I don't know what Elder Van Dyke is complaining about, that is a very stylish helmet.

(Click here for this week's Deseret News featured strip.)

Bike Area 2

More trouble with bikes.

(Here's today's comic strip featured in the Deseret News.)

Bike Area

When I was transferred into a bike area on my mission, I bragged to my new companion about my mountain biking prowess back home. I then proceeded to tumble over my handle bars through a little wooded area while traveling between our place and some apartment buildings we were going to tract. In my case, pride literally came before the fall.

(Here's this week's Deseret News comic strip.)

On Sister Missionaries, Their Hair, and Bike Helmets

I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be a Sister Missionary in a bike area.