19,000 dram later...

We took our bikes to a well-known bike mechanic (he works with professional cyclists) and 19,000 AMD later (about $52 USD), I have a well-oiled and well-tuned bike as well as a new cog for my front gears (I now have three gears instead of two; an additional smaller gear for going uphill in this mountainous terrain). The front cog cost 10,000 drams; the general repair cost 9,000. Might not sound like much, but when money's tight, it was an added expense I didn't expect to incur at this point. In any case, we have been assured that these costs will be covered by the funding that has come through for the bike tour. Right now, the main organizer of the bike tour is in Istanbul; she will return in a couple of days and then we will sort out the details of our upcoming trip. Yes, money, but also details of the route and gathering the things we will need. Right now, it's one day at a time...