August 23, 2016:
All is good, I'm in Zamiin uud, a small town near the Chinese border where I'll stay another day then cross into China on the 25th.
I had a small diversion in plans back in Ulaanbaatar and unfortunately I wasn't able to see as much of Mongolia as I had hoped. On August 6th I had a run in with a Toyota Prius which ended up in an ambulance ride and then spending eleven days in the hospital. Four fractured ribs, along with a puncture and partially collapsed lung. It was painful to say the least. The first night was spent in the ICU at a public hospital and then I was moved to private facility the next day. I was fortunate that I was riding with my three German companions, Basti, Denis and Fabi, they took care of the accident scene, and stayed with me through the first few days of the hospital. Also got some help from my Netherlander friend, Floor, as well. The locals were very good, one of the accident witnesses checked on me a few times even bringing food for myself and the Germans, chicken sandwiches from KFC!
The guy I hit was decent about everything. He came to visit me a few times, he brought me fruit. He was found to be at fault and was very sorry and was truly concerned about me. There were no issues with him paying the hospital bills and a small amount for damages.
The moto didn't receive to much damage, crash guards got bent, left pannier dented and a turn signal lens was broken. The left fog light got broken off as well. The Germans got things back in order though and it's fine now.
It's been two and half weeks since the accident and I'm still quite sore but I'm improving each day. I rode from Ulaanbaatar to Zamiin uud, 405 miles, on he 22nd and other than being a bit nervous I felt very good. Thankfully that stretch of highway is probably the best paved road in Mongolia.
The Germans, arrived late last night and now we're waiting to meet up with two vehicles that will be riding through China as well. I'm really looking forward to a new country!