Mothers Day Bike Trip

I awoke at 5 AM not really sure if I would be ready for my trip. I already packed the night before, changed quickly into my clothes for the trip and attached my bag to my bike. I attempted to put my bag that contained my book for beach reading on the back rack, and headed off.
I walked my bike to our fence, being that it was still dark, I struggled to open the fence. (Our fence is pretty broken. The gate is tied shut with a rope and then a tree stump is in front of it to block it from a pig accidently being able to bite through the rope and open the fence. Although that would have to be one smart pig!) I started off on my journey, rode passed the church where people were getting ready for the morning lotu and realized that my bag that had my book fell off of my back bike rack, so I had to turn around. So I headed back home.
Take two. I started off again. I had my bags both attached to the front of my bike and a flashlight in my mouth. It was a little after 5:30 and the sky was beautiful. The stars were amazing and I got chills looking at the beauty of the moon.
I rode for about half an hour in the dark before stopping for a breakfast break, I brought crackers. I had a car stop to make sure I was okay and offered me a ride. At this break I realized that my trip will take me longer than last time as my hand was in pain and I could not constantly keep it in that position for the few hours I knew I would be on a bike.
A little after 6 I was able to take the flashlight out of my mouth (I was getting sick of the taste of metal in my mouth). I was beginning to travel into the villages I rarely bike to, so I was being called “palagi” as I rode passed villagers.
I began to look at the clock and feel bad as I told Dana I would arrive shortly after 7, and I was running real late due to my frequent stops to adjust my hand and rehydrate. It was about a 20K ride to Dana, and with the condition of how I was feeling, it took me two hours to make it to her. I felt horrible as I did not have any money on my phone, so I could not get in contact with her to tell her that I would be late. I bought a niu in the village before hers to have a delicious cool drink, and carried the coconut all the way to the bus shelter that I was meeting her at.
Dana was gracious enough to give me a nice break as I began smashing my coconut against the ground to open it for a delicious snack. (She suggested I ask for a machete, but I was feeling a bit too tired to move.) We rested for about fifteen minutes and were off again as there was still about 10 more kilometers to go on our trip. It is the part of the ride that we both look forward to as it has a gigantic hill.
We arrived in VaiSala and met Matt about an hour later and headed over to the beach. Vaisala has some of the best snorkeling ever. It was so great chasing fish around the gigantic reef. It felt like the reef could go on forever.
After I finished snorkeling, Dana borrowed my gear and went out herself. Her last words were, “I am not a strong swimmer so will you help me if I need anything.” I of course answered yes, told her to scream, and she got in the water, as I laid under the shelter in the sand with my book.
About half an hour later, Matt and I began to get worried. Where was Dana? If she was worried about her swimming skills she shouldn’t have gone that far out. We began scanning the waters for her and were not successful. I began to wonder if I should head in the water. I took the other mask we had and headed towards the water still scanning. We were real nervous as there were cliffs nearby and if someone is not a strong swimmer, could she have gotten stuck over there with waves crashing her into the walls? I held off going into the water and Matt and I began thinking of the correct safety procedure. (First we call our Safety and Security Officer, then jump in. Do we have to call her family? What if I get stuck out there as well looking for her?) Finally Matt talked me into waiting to go in the water and going to a high balcony at the hotel to scan the waters.
It had been about an hour since we had last seen her. We were terrified as we ran up the stairs. After about five minutes of scanning the water, Matt noticed Dana struggling with her fins. She solved her problem by taking them off and kicking to shore slowly. I ran down to greet her. She didn’t believe me that we were so worried about her because she felt fine in the water.
After the scare we shared an awesome meal at the hotel. (It is great to treat yourself after an intense bike ride!) and headed home. We were leaving late, and I was worried that I would not make it all the way home, and Dana offered me the chance to have a sleepover, and I jumped at the opportunity.
We began biking and I began thinking, “What was I thinking? Doing 60km roundtrip in one day in the heat is ridiculous! Especially in the heat of Samoa!!!” Dana was very patient with me as I had to walk up the nasty hill, and a few other semi nasty hills. I had to stop at one point as I was beginning to become ill from dehydration and the heat from the sun. I began thinking of this one store that we often stopped at…and the ice cream that awaited me there.
We finally made it to Dana’s house, and I was quite happy with my 40-45 km bike ride, even though I was miserable during the final 10 km. Dana and I kafao-ed with her family and it was nice and relaxing.
Even though the day was long, it was full of so much adventure I hope to never forget it…and have an even better experience on my next bike ride there!