03.10.13
Normally you don't start a story by telling everyone the ending, but I am guessing that this blog will get a few extra eyes on it because of me doing so..
I went on a bike ride with my new team leader, Johnny. He asked me if I wanted to go running, which I agreed to. I later asked him if he would rather go on a run or a bike ride. He said bike ride because I wanted to. I didn't tell him that; he's just smart and a nice guy.
I changed out of my Sunday skirt and put on my well worn jean shorts, which I will most likely be ditching them at the end of the month due to the modesty level expectated for India and Africa. I borrowed my teammate's, Cheyanne, purple shades and announced that I was ready to roll.
The traffic here is… let's call it 'interesting.' Perhaps a bit on the unpredictable side, but it was time to ride. My bike, which I borrowed from the orphanage where we are teaching the Bible and English, had a basket and a bell!! I was so excited! I also brought my camera along so I could snap a few candid pictures of our journey.
Johnny and I were having a good old time discussing nicknames that we have received throughout the years, clarifiying which ones actually stuck. The road began to get a little more bumpy, but it was the way our tuk tuk (which is small & funny looking vehicle and the most popular method of public transportation) took the other day as we visited the Killing Fields, so we pressed on [**If you don't know about the genocide that happened here in Cambodia just a few decades ago, I strongly advise you do a little research. You will learn astonishing and horrifying things. One thing being that 3 million people died in less than 4 years].
We began rounding the first of two turns in the small road. I slowed down and stayed off to the side with Johnny behind me. I creeped forward expecting the truck to pass me, but he slowed down as well and was right next to me. I paused as I was more or less trapped on the inside of the next corner. Johnny described the truck as a dump truck because of it's sheer size and large wheels, but it had wood coming out the back. The truck got closer and closer. The side of the truck hit my handlebars and continued to scrape past me and my tire as I was stuck straddling the bike. It was a full on side swipe, not a true hit and run I suppose, but it was enough to keep Johnny and I laughing the whole walk home. The incident seemed to occur in slow motion, but that simply prolonged the amount of time that I felt helpless.
So tonight I get to praise the Lord for no broken bones, no cuts, no scrapes, just a bit of dirt and grime smeared across my left leg and a print of the bike chain on my right.
I also am thankful to have bonded with my new team through laughter and the crazy things that happen on the race.
Our conservation after the fact…
Johnny: "You just got hit by a truck!"
Me: "I know! I just feel bad because I ruined a kid's bicycle!"
Johnny: "You ruined an orphan's bicycle.."
We later found out that the kids from the orphanage use the bicycles to get to school.. oops! Needless to say, we are looking into getting them a new bicycle or two. 🙂
