On my second day of cycling to work one of my shake starts got the better of me and the bike toppled over slamming my right shoulder into the pavement as well as hitting my head in the process. Just like riding a horse one knows you can’t let these things faze you, you have to jump back into the saddle and keep going.
I know I am funny sight to the Cambodians with my riding along and trying to navigate my way through the traffic. Playing “chicken” with bicycles and motos who are on the wrong side of the road is not my idea of fun but it sure does wonders for your prayer life. I hear myself muttering “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” as I attempt to start pedalling again. I am sure my heart is racing so fast as I ride and it has nothing to do with the exercise.
So why am I riding at all? Well my landlords lent me their bicycle because, well I guess they felt sorry for me, wanted me to save some money and have more freedom in places I can go. They find it crazy that I will walk everywhere, but at least I have the confidence to start up on my two feet.
My riding path has been very selective these last two days. I choose roads where I will mostly be making right hand turns (they drive on the right here) and travelling straight. Yesterday afternoon I road 5 blocks out of my way so I could make those scary left hand turns through the constant flowing Phnom Penh traffic. It’s all about trying to glide into the flow and here I hear myself chatting, “Be aggressive – be - be - aggressive.”
Not sure if I should just give up on the idea of cycling these streets or keep persevering. Maybe I need to find a quiet street this afternoon and just stop – start – stop – start. At the moment I am only one footed, I can only start with my left foot on the pedal and right on the ground. I love the idea of having freedom to go where I want but I don’t want to put myself at great risk. Any riding tips or advice anyone could give me, or should I just continue helping to feed the moto drivers’ families?
