trailer go boom

without a car my mode of transportation for getting dutch to school is a bicycle with a trailer hitched on the back. these little devices are really kind of cool to think about and as a kid i think it would have been fun to ride in one of these. ideally, i do wish i had a car because there are a few months out of the year when the weather doesn't not lend itself to a favorable bike ride. we are now getting into the months when it is at the right temperature because it is not cold enough to where my face is a block of ice upon arrival but also i work up a good sweat so that i feel comfortable. the culture here in belgium too, is very kind to pedestrians and bike riders. when there is a trailer attached to a bike everyone in a car assumes valuables are in that trailer and they give the right of way almost every time. it really is not as hard as it may seem but waking up everyday and having no options but towing 50 lbs can be tiresome on me. especially when i am the only available person to take the kids to school.

this morning we had kind of a scare. i have been taking dutch school on a bike now for about 6 months and since i began i have shaved off 15 minutes of my travel time (per roundtrip as i go twice a day). what took me nearly an hour every day now only takes me about 45 minutes. this is due to me getting stronger in my legs, you should see my legs they are amazing ; ).

i was cruising along on my normal route and came to a straight-away on a road when the car in front of me suddenly stopped! i normally don't want to inconvenience anyone already so i try and ride as fast as i can when the number of cars in my vicinity seems more than other times. i have the gear on 1 and pedal my hardest. this particular time i locked the brakes pretty hard and could feel the trailer pushing me closer to the car. i was not in danger of hitting the car but instead thought it might be better to get up on the sidewalk area so that i could allow most of the cars behind me to pass. well the curbs here in belgium are not the smoothest to just hop up on to. hitting the edge of the curb with the right amount of force can bounce you pretty good. that is exactly what happened as i looked behind me to find that the trailer was completely upside down. i didn't drag the boys and was very grateful that the trailer has a good frame, like a jeep, so that it won't compress inward. it was scary, to say the least.

i quickly jumped off my bike and ran behind the trailer to turn it back on the wheels. the boys inside, of course, were crying and in shock. i too was hoping that nothing had happened to hurt them, but thankfully it only took a matter of seconds to calm them down and to stop crying so we could continue our journey onward to school. people who witnessed the event were stopping and asking if everything was ok. in my broken french i told them that things were fine. titus, as we arrived and were getting out of the trailer, was acting kind of excited about the whole event. he kept saying, "fast" and "big bumps," and continued on as his normal boisterous self running around and talking loud. dutch was a little more shaken up and was slowly pacing towards school not leaving my side. he wasn't hesitant but was NOT as excited as his younger more vibrant brother was.

thanks you lord for your traveling mercies indeed!