Salar de Uyuni

We had our first "rest day" in Uyuni a few days ago. This was also a day to acclimatize to the altitude that was causing some people problems. I was sometimes a little out of breath and woke up with a dull head ache, but other than this had no problems with the lack of oxygen.

Most of the day was taken up with bike maintenance (chains, bolts, fluids) and a visit to the Salar de Uyuni (the worlds largest salt flat - over 10,000 square km). Unusually much of the flat was under several inches of water, but it was still an incredible sight. We risked our paint work and electrics and rode right up to the edge of the salt.

I also noticed that a bolt had sheared off the bike. It was one of the main bolts holding the luggage rack in place, so critical to carrying my kit. With the help of several other riders we managed to drill out most of the old bolt and then with a chisel and hammer removed the remaining pieces. The sub-frame has a small amount of damage where the old bolt was screwed in to the frame, but hopefully nothing structural. It was rather nerve racking to see my bike being subjected to such a violent attack!

With the old bolt removed it was possible to replace it, though as the nut is no longer attached to the frame I had to leave some of the cosmetic plastics off the bike, in order to tighten up the bolt with the rack in place.