rsync backup to ext3-formatted usb flash drive?

[Brian Wells <blue_guy_213@yahoo.com>]

Hi. I'm using svn-fast-backup (in the subversion-tools package) to make
rsync backups of my subversion repository.  The place I'm backing up to
is on an ext3-formatted usb flash drive, and I'm wondering if this is a
wise thing to do.

I know that flash drive blocks wear out after a certain number of
writes, and rsync uses hard links to avoid duplicate backup files.  My
question is, does this mean that the inodes' reference counts will be
changed frequently enough that it might wear out that block of the flash
drive any time soon?  (I currently backup about 900 files one or two
times a day.)  If so, is ext3 capable of using another block for the
inode, or will I lose the ability to read/write some files completely?

Thanks,
Brian