As some of you will have heard, Ian's trip to Mongolia has not gone well. Two days into our trip heading East, I was riding when we hit a patch of mud which for some reason spun us out of control and flipped the bike over. We both came off, as the ultimate sacrifice I provided a soft landing for Ian but he damaged his shoulder (I am more or less OK, just a bit battered and bruised).
My guilt at feeling partially responsible for Ian's injury was eased a bit as I got up at the unearthly hour of 4.30am to accompany him to the airport this morning. He is coping well with his injury, although he has taken to the distressing habit of wearing his sandals a lot - even with socks so that he can do his shoes himself ( he is unable to tie shoelaces). He has some great bruises and one shoulder is at a funny angle and is much bigger than the other one giving him a hunched over appearance.
So if anyone is at Heathrow this afternoon, keep an eye out for Quasimodo.
With Ian safely home in England, I could now turn my attention to Thelma who had been languishing in a shed in Eastern Mongolia for a week. Arrangements were made that I would go with the watchman from the Oasis hostel where I've been staying, and that we would go in a pick-up truck.
The mechanic has done a good job and Thelma is restored once more to the slightly battered condition she was in previously- with a bit of a cosmetic surgery job done on the windscreen.
With my route being led by dozens of gerbils all leaping out of the way I mademy way southwards across Central Mongolia.
have searched the town and haven't been able to find any other bike travellers- or even any tourists except two, I was hoping to get info about the potential routes and roads(sandy tracks if I'm honest) ahead and I got some limited words of advice that if I follow the electricity wires to the north west of the town I will eventually reach the next settlement after 100kms.
Two days of being chauffeured around in a trusty Russian jeep which was fine until I looked under the bonnet and noticed it was all held together with bits of wire (and I don't even know much about engines).
Reminder to self, don't go lifting bonnets of vehicles you are travelling in unless you want a shock.
I am 24 hours later getting back to UB than I expected as...I got lost in the Gobi, not a huge drama (OK it is half a million square miles of nothing), but I realised I had gone too far East - I had not been concentrating on the track itself as I was having fun and challenging myself with riding a 280Kg bike on sand.Then when I looked up I thought "this doesn't look right", but kept going just thinking I was being paranoid as I'd had a couple of false "I'm lost" scares on the way down.
The rotor has gone on the alternator- this had been recently repaired but has now gone again and so currently I am waiting for DHL's finest to deliver a replacement rotor to me as quickly as they can.
I have got good company, some backpagkers and also Colebatch is in town - from the Sibirsky Extreme Project. He is my current roommate and has turned out to be as messy as I am.
Yesterday I visited the Christina Noble Children's Foundation- a charity that I have been raising money for - it was a very sobering experience, meeting some of the children they help and hearing about what some of them have been through, there seems to be quite a bit of child abandonment here - one boy was put on a train and his Dad jumped off again leaving him on it alone heading to UB, a lot of the children have been abused in one form or another.
I picked it up from DHL, got it fitted- huge thanks to Tony, Ray and the guys at LandDrill, especially the electrician for all your help.
Time for a final meal of dauphinoise poatatoes that I cooked at the hostel and we drank with red wine and I am on my way heading north to the border and then it's just the small matter of the 4000 miles to Vladivostock- word has reached me that October is considered winter in Siberia, and oh dear, today is 1st October.
Having spent several days riding non-stop and camping I am currently over a thousand miles from the Mongolian border and staying in a flat in Magdagachy, with several Russians hanging over my shoulder as I attempt to update my blog, I don't think I am going to get far.
The days are chilly for riding and although I have an electric jacket and gloves- an essential in these sub-zero temperatures, one of the gloves is not working at all and so I am having to ride one-handed whilst sitting on the other hand to keep it functioning.
The night in the flat was a different one- more details to follow, but one of the guys ended up robbing me and things have been a bit mixed since then.
Which is a milestone destination as it marks the far eastern reach of the Eurasian landmass. I have been dipping my toes in the Pacific Ocean and soaking up the sunny weather and unbelievably blue skies above the city.
It took a while for me to realise what warm weather is after crossing Siberia, and I have slowly removed the seven layers of clothing I was wearing under my jacket.
The journey across Siberia and beyond has not been without its problems and mishaps.
On the good ship M/V Rus Majur, with its fine complement of unsmiling waitresses and sleazy truck drivers. It has been quite an experience. Women are few and far between on these boats and after a few vodkas, the truck drivers obviously couldn`t see staright and made a beeline for us. I was sitting with Rebecca and Lorna who had arrived in Vladivostock on the Trans Siberian express, six days non-stop from Moscow. Rebecca the Kiwi also suffers from seasickness and was very interested in my accupressure wrist bands which work really well for me.
Unusually for heading east we had to put our watches back two hours after leaving Russia- I'm still trying to work that one out. The main disadvantage is that I was wide awake at 5.00am on my first morning in the tent. I met the others getting off the ship- the landcruiser was getting shooed away from every spot that it tried to park in, apparently there are a lot of restrictions for cars but not so with bikes as I had been leaving Thelma parked at all sorts of places in town.
I've had a few emails asking me what has happened that I have ended up in Japan when I was only supposed to be going to Mongolia and then heading directly home.
Well, I haven't managed to lose my way and arrive here by accident- always a distinct possibility when relying on Russian road signs. It has become Plan B.
Japan is an interesting country with some intriguing contradictions.
I took Thelma to the shipper's warehouse, this involved a ride through Tokyo's finest traffic jams. Lane filtering alongside the scooter boys and generally being first away at the lights meant I got through in just one and a half hours. I was pleased to find that the warehouse was expecting me - in fact they had a picture of me in A4 on the desk and held it up to show me- I was relieved to see it was one of the more flattering ones. I had a minor "discussion" with the shippers about removing my front wheel. And for once I lost the argument, unfortunately this means the wheel stays on.
I've travelled through extremes of temperatures on this journey but none more so than the other day in Baja California, Mexico. Although I had packed light for the trip down from LA, I had included my cashmere stuff from Mongolia and how glad I was. Crossing the Central Desert of Baja I think we must have been at a bit of altitude as it felt quite cold. I gradually added to the clothing I was wearing until I had six layers under my bike jacket (in Siberia it was seven) and I had my thermal balaclava on.
The plan was that I spend the two to three weeks whilst waiting for Thelma's ship to reach LA, visiting friends in the west of the States. However, having recovered from jet lag and Korean poisoning I met some of Erdem's friends including Savas from Istanbul and heard his travel story- h's trying to reach Tierra del Fuego by motorcycle from California. He set off southwards a few months ago and got hit by a pick-up truck in Mexico. He broke his leg and dislocated bones in his foot and so was out of action for quite a while. His bike wasn't so lucky and has had to be written off.