Brushed by death-

I am learning Spanish and at this point I have along way to go. I have learned one word "libre". There are two types of roads: the ones with pay tolls that I cannot ride on and the "libre" ones. Libre means death to me. These are the two lane narrow highways that are free to travel. I love living on the edge of life, but it has its limits I must confess. I have ridden on dozens of these highways over the last 20 days I have been in Mexico, and the trick is to have nerves of steel and a good sense of humor. I must confess that now when a semi truck drives by me at 70 mph giving me just a foot of pavement, I love to give them a big smile and a little chuckle. I even started putting out my tongue. I guess I figure if they are going to act selfish with the highway like a little child then I will act childish back. I guess this is my way to keep from getting angry, it is hard to be really mad with your tongue out. Just when I thought I had learned to cope with the highway and the near death experiences I was brushed by a pickup truck. He came so close that he brushed my arm and tore off the mirror off my bike. Actually the mirror saved my life many times, it allowed me to see when two large trucks were passing at the same time, it allowed me to dive off the road if I needed to. The roads have been better since having my mirror torn off and I hope to find another one in Mexico City. Until then remember, libre is not always free, it means pay attention!