It is Christmas Eve in Alaska, but already Christmas just about everywhere else. I like to think it is better to be on the tail end of events such as this, as you may savor them that much longer. I wish each of you the best Christmas and holiday season ever, and I hope that next year is a very good year for all of you.
Between my last post and this one, I opted to get my shoulder repaired. The fall on the M41 on the way to Kalaikhum (and points East and North) caused an injury from which I was not recovering. All drama aside, the repair was necessary, and it has turned out rather well. They cut off the end of the collarbone (which had come to resemble a cauliflower floret), ground off some bone spurs, and did something to the head of the humerus to help the tendon reattach. I confess to not understanding that last bit. The surgeon said the tendon had started to tear off the humerus, so he abraded the head of the humerus with his grinder (What?? It's me in there, not a steel plate!) to make it bloody, which in turn would cause the tendon to regrow there. Sounds like magic to me, but I'm not a doctor, and I just have to leave it to them to do what is best. The surgeon was an older guy like me, and rides a Triumph 800. Therefore, I trust him.
So, a lot of pain and discomfort before surgery, and a lot less afterwards. Right now, the shoulder is much, much less painful, and the physical therapist is doing a good job of getting it stretched back out. I should be all better in a few more months. Which brings me too: What next?
I plan, subject to more information about mountains passes, to leave here in May for Osh, Kyrgyzstan. The bike is there with Patrik at MuzToo for maintenance and storage. I would like to be able to get to Mongolia through Russia by June 10, which is when my current Russian visa expires. If weather in mountain passes is going to be a problem. then I will either need another Russian visa, or arrange passage through China - which is generally more expensive. I will know more as I get more information.
I am also changing out a few things I carry, and will be writing about them here over the next several; weeks. I have to cut off a brake and clutch lever, and I will post an entry about that, with explanations and pictures. In sum, I expect to start writing more again detailing the planning and preparation before the adventure relaunches. Remember, the goal is to get to the Flaming Cliffs in Mongolia to see the fossil beds, and then up to UlaanBaatar. From there, it is anyone's guess. I have thought about going down through Myanmar to Singapore, but that is a lot of very wild country. It is, however, some of the most magnificent country in the world.
Time will tell. In the meantime, Happy Christmas!
