CLARKSDALE, MS TO HELENA , AR

April 29

GETTING A RIDE ACROSS THE BRIDGE
The MRT book that we are using recommends hitching a ride in a pickup to cross the Mississippi River on SH 49 bridge. Well, we did just that but because of an unexpected event.
We left Clarksdale about 9:00A and headed back to the main MRT route. We had been out only about six miles when one of those experiences we never wanted to happen happened!
We were riding on HWY 322, a two lane with no shoulder but very light traffic. Rusty was riding up a head about 2 tenths of a mile. I saw a school bus in my rear view mirror and knew it was coming up on me but what happened next was so totally unexpected!
All of a sudden the two outside panniers on my bike, the front and back ones on the roadside, went flying off my bike shooting down the road bouncing and crashing. I had been sideswiped by the school bus! It was travelling way too fast and obviously way too close! It was an unbelievable moment when time stands still and you feel like you are outside of yourself observing. The bus had been so close it hit my bags but I was steady and in full control of my bike! I stopped and tried to figure out what had just happened. Looked back at my panniers bouncing and crashing, looked up ahead at the bus that had now come to a stop about fifty yards ahead. The bus had also passed by Rusty way too close. Rusty said he had hollered at him and then when the bus came to a stop he rode on around it and stopped up about 75 ft ahead to wait for me. Before passing the bus he had looked back and saw that I had stopped but had no concerns and had no idea what had just happened. A pickup truck came up on him and asked him what had happened back there. He told Rusty that a bicycle was down! The man turned the pick up around and drove Rusty back to me.
In the meantime I realized that my life had been spared. That this moment very easily could have been a tragedy, I bowed my head in gratitude. The driver of the bus come up to me and the first thing I could say to him was "You were a little impatient today". He said that he couldn't move over to give me more room because there were a couple of oncoming cars. I didn't think about it until Rusty said later "well, he should have just held back until he felt he was clear".
As the reality of what could have happened sank in, the driver and I hugged each other!
After the bus driver and I exchanged important information, the driver of the pickup, Charles Briscoe, loaded up our bikes, gathered up my panniers from down the road and took us on up to a roadside store to rest and get something cold to drink. He said when we were rested and ready he would come back and pick us up and take us on up the road to continue our ride. He even invited us to go over to his home and rest and watch TV until we felt okay. We rested at the country store. When Rusty went in to get something for me to drink the woman at the counter gave it to him for free. Word had traveled fast and she knew about the accident.
It is interesting how a close call like that can affect a person. I was shaky, had a headache and would have waves of nausea and the desire to cry just wash over me every so often. I would think I was okay and remind myself that everything was okay and after a while it would happen again.
A man, Bobby True,who had come to the store asked if he could help. He volunteered to take us all the way in to Helena Arkansas which was our destination for the day. So he loaded our bikes and supplies into the back of his pick up truck and took us all the way in Helena and safely over the bridge. He took us to a grocery store to get supplies and we checked out the local library, which was closed, before taking us to a motel. (It was a good thing the library was closed because I don't think I could have put my thoughts together.)
Rusty and I decided that we both needed a good bed and peaceful environment for awhile.
We ate lunch, napped, had a quick swim in the pool. We talked about how precious life is and what a close call that had been.
Now when people say "aren't you afraid of the traffic when you're riding on the road?" I will still say "no" but I am certainly even more aware of the importance of not taking for granted the potential for danger. And I am so grateful to know that we are being watched over and that there are such wonderful people along the way to touch our lives with kindness.

( 5/1 I talked with Charles Briscoe today, the driver of the pickup truck, and he said that he had been thinking how close the bus had come. That my leg was only fractions of an inch from my panniers that the bus hit. He said "The Lord was certainly watching over you. He has plans for you, girl" )