riding my bike to work...

.........a.k.a. OMG!!! i've been scoping out the route now since school has begun and figuring out how to get there. although roads here are sometimes, sorta-kinda marked, it's difficult to find your way around the twisty, winding thoroughfares and i usually have no idea what the name of the part of town is where i am, let alone be able to try and tell someone how to get there! of course, the nepali's know the town like the back of their hand, but to an outsider it can seem like a maze of chaos. on a good day. so, i thought...why not try to ride my bike to school??! sounds reasonable doesn't it...lol! i just bought a used mountain bike--the bike i rode a couple weeks ago, and haven't had a chance to get out on any more trails yet. plus, several teachers ride to work and they think it's cool; you don't have to pay for taxis nor are you bound by the school busses schedules and traffic limitations. the last few times i've taken the bus home i've gotten car sick. on the way to school, it's pretty quiet and no one talks much, but on the way back, i always wind up talking to some staff member and looking back or to the side makes me wanna url. the feeling doesn't leave me for the rest of the day so i hate it. to prepare for today, christy and i rode the route on saturday morning because it's nepal's one day off a week and there isn't much traffic. we got out early though, anyways, and found our way there and back with ease. each way took about 25 minutes and we weren't riding very fast. piece of cake. so this morning i left earlier than usual...around 7 and took off on my bike...complete with mud flaps i had installed over the weekend (hey, there is no 'cool' factor in nepal during monsoons!).  it was super humid and overcast, but the rains held off long enough for me to arrive safely at school...albeit totally sweaty, but i had enough time to go in my classroom and crank both air conditioners full blast to dry off a bit before the kids came. had a great day at work and then it was time to ride home. 5 pm...rush hour...tons of cars, trucks, busses, motorcycles, bikes, tuk tuks, pedestrians, people hauling stuff, a calf, dogs and a partridge in a pear tree for cripes sake... it was a madhouse and i was right in the middle of it. the key is to find a lane and hold to it. because bikes are so narrow, they can keep going when cars are all backed up. any inch of open space is fair game, including the sidewalks. i know my helmet gave me a false sense of security, but i was cruisin along, weaving in and out of traffic, passing bikes, cars, dogs and motorcycles...and that one little poor calf standing in the middle of the road. the scariest part for me is when pedestrians play 'asian frogger' and try to wiggle their way through tons of congestion in an attempt to simply go about their business. there really aren't cross walks here and jaywalking is fully acceptable. none-the-less, they are the most unpredictable and freak me out. so, needless to say, i ride with both hands ready to pull the trigger on the brakes and i hug the left hand side as much as possible (traffic drives on the left)...and i am very, very happy to get home! wow. it was quite an adventure! love, j