the bikes

rach and i rode cara and randy's bikes to the school we're going to be volunteering at, to check out how to get there. it wasn't very safe.

first of all, we're in brazil.

second, one of the bikes was a road bike and we weren't exactly on road bike material some of the time. actually not any of the time. sidewalks are just a little more of a rough terrain here. we rode through a couple of fields (by necessity) that were filled rocks and myriads of other sharp objects. i was thinking that my road bike friend would spit if he was aware of what i was riding over on such dainty tires.

we then had to cross a major highway that was nigh unto impossible. much easier to this while not lugging heavy bikes.

the worst part was crossing a the bridge over the lake. we were riding on a platform that was about 3 feet higher than the road. it was about two feet wide, made of cement slabs placed together two-wide. the edges of the slabs were not flush, and once in a while a slab would be damaged, leaving a gaping hole. on one side of this platform is a lake. on the other side is a steady stream of cars speeding by incredibly fast with drivers who aren't too impressed with us because we can't speak Portuguese. to top it off, intermittent poles were place along this little platform, that we had to carefully steer around with out falling off. no joke, i wondered if this falling off this thing would be how i'd go. even rachel was scared and she is pretty hard-core.

we're thinking about walking to the school. it might take a little longer, but we'll be much more likely to each arrive in one piece.