by Scott DCamp
Reporter
There is a mix of joy and suffering that come from making a long-distance, multi-day bike trip. For Rob Kopp, pastor of the Thief River Falls United Methodist Church, a long bike ride is a chance to get closer to God.
Kopp, 50, recently completed a 400-plus-mile solo bike ride that began in Walker and concluded in Hayward, Wis. He completed the ride as part of his renewal leave.
Renewal leave is similar to a sabbatical. It is a time for prayer and reflection, and a time for pastors to renew their sense of call.
“For me, it was a time of deeper connecting with God,” Kopp said. “It’s not like you don’t do these things in everyday parish life, but a lot of time is spent tending to the needs of your congregation.”
United Methodist pastors are eligible to take renewal leave once every six years and they typically happen in the summer. The typical length of a renewal leave is one to three months. This was Kopp’s first renewal leave in his 10 years of pastoral ministry.
Renewal leave may sound like an extended vacation, but that is not its intended purpose. It also isn’t intended to be a form of continuing education. Other examples of renewal leave given by Kopp include one pastor taking an intensive pottery class. Another traveled to the Holy Land.
For Kopp, the bicycle trip was an easy decision because it brought him closer to God.
“Bicycling for me is kind of a form of prayer,” Kopp said. “Mind, body and spirit are all connected.”
Kopp is an avid bicyclist with experience on long solo trips. In 1985, at the age of 22, Kopp completed a two-and-a-half-month solo bike trip across Ireland. Kopp called the trip across Minnesota into Wisconsin a chance to reconnect with the experience 29 years prior.
The start of Kopp’s trip was delayed by a week when his mother-in-law, Nancy Miller, was hospitalized. He originally planned to leave from the parsonage in Crookston that he shares with his wife, Pastor Michelle Miller, because he likes the way the land changes as he goes east from Crookston. Instead, Kopp began his trip on July 6, departing from Walker.
Kopp pulled a 40-pound trailer that contained his tent, sleeping pad, rain gear, cooking equipment, clothing and some food. He routinely camped at state park or national forest campgrounds, but he did spend the occasional night in a motel for recovery or when it didn’t line up logistically to camp.
Because the tour was unsupported, Kopp had to plan ahead for meals. He ate at restaurants or bought food at grocery stores when the opportunities presented themselves. Sometimes Kopp had to settle for a protein bar for supper because the next grocery store or restaurant would mean another 20-mile bike ride.
Although Kopp's journeywas unsupported, he had access to a smartphone that aided in navigation and allowed him to stay in contact with his wife. Kopp didn’t have a lot of time to train for the trip, and his body didn’t recover the way it did at age 22. “There is a mix of joy and suffering that comes from biking,” Kopp said. “Aren’t there other ways to experience joy? With bicycle touring, pain is a part of it.” The longest leg of Kopp’s trip was 75 miles. He added that it doesn’t sound like a lot distance-wise, but the weight of the trailer combined with a gravel road surface and steady incline took a toll. One of Kopp’s stops on the way to Wisconsin was at St. Croix State Park in Pine County, on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River. It had been a long time since Kopp had visited the state park and his perspective had changed since then. “When I lived in the Cities, going to St. Croix State Park felt like going up north,” Kopp said. “When I got to St. Croix State Park this time, I felt like I was too far south. Everyone was in a hurry.” While camping at St. Croix State Park, Kopp met a woman from Lengby who turned out to be a high school classmate and current Facebook friend of his wife, Michelle. Fifteen minutes later, Kopp met a man whose grandfather was from Thief River Falls. “The general rule is that if you spend enough time talking to someone, you will find something in common,” Kopp noted. Part of Kopp’s trip was spent in Menomonie, Wis., where he got a chance to visit with his 81-year-old father, Wilbur, and study genealogy. From there, Kopp headed north to Hayward, Wis., where he stayed at a KOA campground. The Hayward KOA was located next to a single-track mountain bike route. Kopp’s bike wasn’t suitable for the mountain bike course, so he rented a heavy-duty mountain bike to complete the course. Kopp originally planned to make Bayfield, Wis., the final leg of his trip, but another trip to the hospital for Nancy Miller led Kopp to end his trip early. For Kopp, the trip gave him a chance to have conversations of faith and life experiences with people who didn’t initially realize he was a pastor. “Traveling alone, you have different kinds of conversations than you would while traveling with a group,” Kopp said. “Traveling alone, you meet people and you don’t necessarily expect to meet that person again in your lifetime. People in small communities are much more reluctant to share stories that would bring them into conflict.”