Monday, July 30, 2012

From Kazan to Omsk and on to Novosibirsk (part 2)



I am afraid there will have to be a part 3 and you'll understand why: It's midnight and I arrived about an hour ago here, 130 kms from Novosibirsk. The day started harmless with the intention of some 'house keeping'. I was picked up and escorted to the bank when I checked my motorcycle carrier and noticed some 'play'. Further investigation revealed that one of the straps holding the front wheel had snapped and, what was much more serious, the main holder had broken and the motorcycle only was kept on the carrier by the bicycle! If I hadn't had that bicycle the motorcycle would have fallen off... Well, within half an hour I had it provisionally fixed as in some foresight I had hardware on board that was suitable for a repair. However, didn't last and just now I had to redo it again (the road was again, say, mediocre). So tomorrow one task will be to find a locksmith who can make a more durable part (shouldn't be too difficult). The original was made from aluminum which simply isn't strong enough under these conditions...

Then I was guided to a tire change place where I had them rotate my tires. Then Lev Yaneev and his wife took me to take passport pictures and get a haircut and then took me to an excellent and sumptuous lunch which I couldn't even finish and even now I'm not yet hungry.... Russian hospitality...
And then I drove off and Lev insisted that I get a guide from the bank. Well, when I was almost an hour into my trip I realized I had forgotten to pick up my laundry... so back again to my hotel. I only superficially checked the laundry which turned out to be a mistake as one of my t-shirts had been mixed up...
About 3 hours into my trip my phone rings and the other end is Gerhard Grund from RCB. He had just arrived in Novosibirsk! What a pleasant surprise so I drove a little longer to be there tomorrow morning for a reunion...

Which is the reason why you'll have to wait for part 3 until tomorrow... good night!

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