Day Three - a terrifying moment (before we headed out)

Today we had another day of stunning weather; bright blue skies with just enough clouds to keep the sun from overheating us. We did about 30 km of relatively flat cross country riding, then spent almost an hour slogging up what looked like A riverbed made of volcanic rock and soil. A lot of people were walking for chunks of it. Lots of serious huffing, puffing and good-natured cursing. Thoroughly exhausting. After lunch we had another two long flat sections of 15 km each as we crossed the Hula Valley. The whole day was about 50. 

So nothing earth shattering or really interesting about the ride itself. The problem happened when I got on my bike this morning and I felt something wasn't quite right with the seat. I looked down and found a deep crack in the bike frame where it's welded into a joint under the seat. No way to fix that up at the mechanics truck, but luckily they had one spare bike available that they will let me use for the rest of the ride. It's a little bit small and the seat is drop lower than I like it, but it's a bike and it means I can keep riding. The truth is, in between a couple of those flat stretches today we had some very long, fast, rocky hillsides that we shot down and the bike handles it admirably. Being a little closer the ground was actually kind of nice. Anyway, it should be under warranty because I bought it less than a year ago, so I will deal with that when I get back. The guy who is organizing the right for the hospital is actually the ex-owner of the bike shop where I bought it, so I'm sure I can get his help in making sure that the warranty is honored. 

Obviously, it's quite a downer not to have my own bike to ride, but i'm glad there was an available alternative and that this didn't end my ride (and also happy that the bike frame is what has a crack in it and not any part of my body!). It's a little scary to think of what would've happened if I wouldn't have noticed and try to ride with it, and something would've happened out in the middle of nowhere. They have jeeps that drive around with us, but they can't always get to some of the narrow areas and meet us for the run. Anyway, I won't dwell on what may have happened, and just look forward to tomorrow. There are rumors of a massive storm on the way, but so far all the weather rumors have been completely wrong in the last two days have been stunning.