Our Luck Turns

We had planned a 40 km ride up the east side of the island to the quarry where the Moai were carved. However, even though the weather forecast had been favourable, over night we were woken by heavy rain and strong winds. In the morning, the rain still hadn't cleared. We relaxed our schedule and developed plan B to head out late, and stay closer to home on the west side of the island.

Our research had shown a road heading north along the coast. Some maps showed it as a rough road, and others a trail. In any case, it was going to be a route less travelled, and that suited our mountain bikes just fine. Indeed, the road was rough and less travelled; it was rocky and provided lots of opportunity for a slashed tire or pinched tube. On the positive side, the scenery was spectacular.

 There were several places with wild horses and range cattle grazing. Neither were particularly scared nor curious about us or our bikes.

About 8 kms into the ride, we located a couple of lava caves. Some were tight and dark, while others were open and spacious. Apparently, these had been dwelling places especially during times of warring tribes. For us they provided an interesting place to have lunch. They reminded us of the lava caves we had seen on the volcanic Canary Islands.

After lunch and the decision to head back, our luck turned. At first it was just a spit of rain and threatening skies. A couple of minutes later it was a flat tire. We had a spare tube but chose to just pump up the existing. It held for a number of kilometers, and a second pumping lasted for less. A short walk up the final shortcut to home meant we could relax on our patio with a glass of wine and change the tube at our leisure. Since I retired, I prefer to do most everything at my leisure.

We'll test our luck again tomorrow, this time on our  40 km adventure to the quarry without a spare tube.

Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2013/10/to-rano-raraku-or-bust.html