Habb bike ride 2008 - day 3
Having bested the hills and caves of rural lanzarote on Day 1 and taking a trip thought the oldest town in the Canary Islands on Day 2, Day 3 of the 2008 HABB Charity bike ride sees our group sticking together and encouraging one another as the going gets tough. 
Day 3:
Hello UK!
Well, third day of cycling and spirits are very high! What an amazing day!
Last night we had a lovely meal in our new hotel. A small group are staying in a villa just down the road, but we all ate together - a lovely meal of tapas and steak or fish - yum yum!! The yellow jersey´s for the day went to Robert Soutar and our very own Andrew Neilson!! And very well deserved - without those guys, some of us wouldn´t have gotten up some of those hills. A very fun night then followed with lots of laughter and a real sense of family!!
This bond was evident this morning. A few people had´t slept well (due to screaming babies in the room next door and various other reasons), so people weren´t feeling happy! We then had 7km up a 250m incline to face first thing! But, we all stuck together as one team and all made it up without having to get off and push! We rested a few times up there, but all made it to the top. Words of encouragement, singing and various other methods helped get through the pain and warm the legs up! Pleased to say all injuries, including Claire´s knee, held up and were ok.
We then had a small climb and a few more km´s to do to get into Timanfaya, the national park in Lanzarote. A great sense of achievement was there with all (see photo attached). Here we stopped for a walking tour of part of the park, with a trip inside a volcano.
We then enjoyed a short cycle ride (partly up hill, but only 75m high - which is easy compared to the last few days!), stopping for a quick coffee and then down to a remote village for a spot of well deserved lunch. Humour was high and there was a great atmosphere in the team.
The next part was a slight struggle after lunch and included a gradual climb up to the visitors centre in Timanfaya. We all took it slowly with people who struggled yesterday coming out near the front. We stopped here and had a tour around the centre and a small experience as to what it sounds and looks like when a volcano errupts!!!
We were then given the option of going on a coach tour of Timanfaya or going back to the hotel. 10 of us decided to cycle back to the hotel, so the group went off. What lay in front was not easy - a mjor hill that had to be tackled in first gear all the way. Again, Jonnie and Andrew were great at making sure everyone got up there ok, with words of encouragement and support. But once we were up, we had to come down! The road was like a roller coaster and most free wheeled the whole way down. We then found our hotel and the elite group of 10 took a well earned rest on the sun loungers by the pool! Much laughter and fun was had while waiting for the others. Its amazing how close we have all become and we can´t believe tomorrow is our last day of cycling.
Today was el scorchio and the sun was very hot. A few girls have sustained bruises on the legs and lots of grease splashes from the newly oiled gears (courtesy of Andrew), but no other injuries at all. A total of 38km as covered and 725m height was gained! Starting to get easy now......not!
Tonight, after a well deserved bath to rest the ache´s, we are off to the villa for a BBQ and a glass of bubbly to celebrate making it this far! Then early to bed ready to tackle the final day.
Thats all for now!
Claire, Andrew and Jonnie
If you wish to make a donation to the 2008 HABB charity bike ride, you can do so by clicking on the following links:
https://www.justgiving.com/beatriceaidin
https://www.justgiving.com/pamburriss
