...with no white knuckles :-(

From dict.org:

Red tape,
(a) the tape used in public offices for tying up documents,
etc. Hence,
(b) official formality and delay; excessive bureaucratic
paperwork.

I´m referring to Lois Pryce´s excellent "Red tape and white knuckles", which I really enjoyed reading a few months back. Unfortunately for me the experience is all red tape, because I am having to deal with copious amounts of paperwork, and no white knuckles, because I´m not doing any riding, as I´m not on the road yet.

In any case. This past week has been busy. Got the Iranian visa - what a lovely document, how pretty the inscriptions, how magical the script I can´t make anything out of... I´d very gladly post a picture here for the artistic value of it alone, but alas, it´s a private document and one can´t broadcast such things.

Now I´ve applied for the Indian visa and with that in hand I´ll go for the Pakistani one. Things turned pear-shaped when the Pakistani embassy asked me for the Indian visa first, while I was hoping to issue it in Islamabad (while taking a nice break and resting my bones), but noooo, plans are to be changed, aren´t they?

In the meantime I´m having the bike sorted (i.e. spending serious money in servicing, equipping it with stuff etc) and completely negating a maxim I heartily endorse, which goes something like "it´s not the bike, it´s the rider". But there you go.

Now that the off-road tyres have been installed the bike looks properly in overlanding mode:

Other than that, red tape is wearing me out. I seem to be quite tired most of the time and can´t wait to get on the road. I need some fresh air; this city and all its air-conditioned boxes and slippery, traffic-jammed roads are suffocating.

Anytime now, anytime...