I got my bike! Now I can get to my other schools, ride to other volunteers and not depend on the bus!
Me and My Sweet New Ride Part1
The day I got my bike I decided to ride it home. Pital to Coope Isabel, about 50 minutes. I stopped in Los Angeles to see my aunt and show off my sweet new ride! I told her everything was perfect except the brakes didn't really work...no big deal right, who needs breaks? The down hill parts of my ride home were really exciting! Her husband came home about the time I was leaving to go back to Coope and insisted on looking at the breaks for me. Sure what the heck, thanks!
The next day Katherine (another PVC that lives in the area, and by area I mean 3 bus rides away) and I decided to meet up in Pital on our sweet new rides, aka bikes. we were going to meet in at 11, have lunch and hang out. I got ready and left my house at 10. The first couple minutes I was loving life, then I started to notice that it was really hard peddling my bike even though I had it on the lowest gear and the road was flat. "Egh probable just out of shape, no biggie." Then again there was this awful noise that wasn't there yesterday, but I was dedermined to get to Pital and see my friend. So I continued; legs burning and sweating my gringa butt off. Then this guy rides up next to me, stranger danger! No not really, in the campo everybody are friends. He says that my tire might be the problem and he has an air pump. So I stop, he helps, we start riding again. Nope not the tire, we stop, he looks at my bike, its the brakes. I was riding with my brakes ON the entire time...ha I totally knew that, yup. (My uncle had fixed my brakes a little too well.)
Side note: My town has no paved roads, there are three roads leading in and out of my town. In the direction of Los Angeles the dirt road leads to a paved road. The paved road starts in Los Angeles and continues in the direction of Pital until you hit the intersection where you can turn left toward La Legua or right Toward Pital. At this intersection the road turns into dirt again with huge rocks and pot holes.
We get to the intersection where the paved road ends. I turn right toward Pital and he crossed the street towrad the fruit packing factory where he works. I forgot to ask him his name,thank you stranger. At this point I've been on my bike for an hour; its 11, I'm late to meet Katherine, the sun is burning hot, no shade and I still have another 3 miles to go. I get off my bike and start to walk because I'm tired and I'd rather not fall off my bike into the rocks. So I walk and I walk and I walk. Every car that passes has a cloud of dirt following it, which sticks to my skin because I'm dripping with sweat. Me being the really smart and well prepared PCV has water and a rain jacket but didn't bring extra sunblock or a hat. I am completely baking under the sun, walking on this dirt road, no clouds no shade. Any moment the vultures were going to come down and carry me away. I decide to alternate between riding an walking because all I want is to be in Pital, baby wipe the dirty away and chug some water.
I arrive around 11:50 and meet up with Katherine. She confirms that I look like a lobster from hell and we find a place to eat. After lunch we take my sweet new ride to be fixed which took at of 10 minutes and head to the soccer field for some more gossip and fruit. I bought more sunblock on the way and poured it all over myself but the damage was done, I was a bright red crispy gringa with a farmers tan that would beat any farmer. No amount of sunblock could help be now. We got on our bikes heading home around 3, his time my trip was much smoother. I passed the fruit factory just as the work day ended and turned onto the paved road heading for Coope. The first downward hill on the road is fairly steep and leads directly to an uphill. My brakes weren't really any better so I let go, crossed my fingers and hoped I wouldn't hit a bumb. I passed some walkers as I was speeding down and they yelled, "eso!" like I was incredibly cool for going so fast, but really, all I wanted was to not fall off. I made it, survived the first hill. When I got to the top I heard someone on a bike behind me, it was my friend! We rode the rest of the way to Coope together, he lives there aswell. Oh and I made sure to ask him his name, Louis.
When I got home my host mom was worried. I showered and she gave me aloe. The next few days she chased me around with sunblock, an umbrella and kept reminding me that, "I'm just too white for the Costa Rican sun." She is so good to me.
I love my sweet new ride, even if it forces me to walk in the hot sun until im burnt and thirsty.
The End
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