Back and waitingArrived back in Ulan-Ude full of the expectation that DHL would have managed in the 5 intervening days to get my parts from Novosobirsk to Ulan-Ude. Cruel mistress that she is and obviously Russian, bad weather had delayed the flight and so the parts were sent back to Moscow, AWAY from Ulan-Ude. The parts were now exactly where they had been a week ago!
Now I don't wish to be churlish but it would seem that all the fools that couldn't work on the Russian roads had found employment in the offices of DHL. My Russian geography is sketchy but at least I know east from west and the position of the provincial capitals. My expectations have been sorely tested and I found myself shrugging my shoulders in helpless acceptance of incompetence. I am becoming a Russian!
Further evidence of this was noticed by Ira as I cut an old baked-bean can with my Swiss Army knife prior to beating the metal flat and fashioning it into something other than a baked-bean can. "You look just like a Russian man" were her words.

Alexey and Christina are over from Vladivostok (by train, they are not stupid).

Two Kiwis, Jane and Mark arrived today 16th July. Great to talk Kiwinglish again. Mark and Jane came via Korea to Zubrino (near Vladivostok) and have been taking some back roads across Russia on their Suzuki DR650's. Pretty sad that people who left Vlad a week after me have caught me up.

Continuing delay in receiving parts via DHL. I go to the depot every day and am assured that they are in Irkutsk not far away and that they will be here the next day. Tiring of the game, I asked to see their on-line tracking record and found that it was the same as the internet version and showed the parts having left Moscow on the 14th (It is now the 18th) and no subsequent record. So assurances of the past 2 days have been out and out lies. The parts were not in Irkutsk and never have been in Irkutsk. What is worse is that there is no update of any kind. When they were held up in Customs, there was a daily record of the status, but there has now been no update for 4 days. Have the parts been lost completely? Would they tell me if they had been lost? Their excuse is that there was a backlog of freight leaving Moscow and they were off-loaded, but how do they know when their tracking system has no record? Do they log the container into which the parts were put and know the location of the container (as in airport baggage handling systems)? In desperation, I will start investigating alternatives such as a train.

The days pass and it is the 19th July. I make my usual journey to DHL expecting more of the same but today they have smiles. My parts have arrived. I check the shipment, all the parts are there and undamaged. On my way to the office, I have been thinking, what could go wrong.
Parts not delivered
Parts lost or stolen
Parts damaged in transit
Partial delivery
So I am totally unprepared for a complete delivery of undamaged parts. Joy and exultation. I dash off the e-mails advising everybody and then home to install them.
But what is this, the lower fork yoke is the WRONG SIZE! Choke, gag, blaspheme.
In later more thoughtful moments, I will reflect on my cosmic badness but right now I am filled with disappointment an rage.
Calming down, I see that I could make some sleeves from aluminium to adapt the 57mm diameter fork leg to the 60mm diameter yoke. So poor obliging Sergey gets another request from the over-staying blood-sucking Kiwi bludger. I suspect that he sees this has his only chance of ridding himself of me so with his usual good cheer he goes to work early, the better to take my plan to a 'specialist'.
Things work a little differently here. All the specialists work for factories but if there is not much work, they do 'homers', 'private jobs' etc. If they are busy then money nor vodka will help but if they are not busy, a Saturn V rocket would be no problem (providing it can be made from steel, there are no exotic alloys or plastics here). The parts arrive the same day and fit perfectly.
By 8:30 the following day, I am on my way again, the wind in my hair and "Born to be wild" playing in my mind. Well actually I am wrapped up in protective gear and sweating despite the wind that is not blowing through my hair.
The ride south is great and even the 5 hours of bureaucratic bollocks at the border has me unfazed. By chance I meet Moto-Eddie from the Oasis while crossing the border and we exchange news. He has left me some octane booster so my one concern of the bike not running with Mongolian 80 octane has been allayed.
The journey on asphalted roads to Ulaan Baatar takes longer than expected but I am there again amongst friends again.