Post: 11 'Expecting the Unexpected'

'Climate is what we expect, .... Weather is what we get', ...... Mark Twain

In the week since my last post it feels as if somebody has turned the world on it's head. An email from the people at MotoHaus has resulted in a veritable feast of free and essential goodies making their way to the doors of Poor Circulation. 'Airhawk Seat', .... 'Ventura Soft Luggage', ... 'Headlight Protectors', .. and more. It's amazing really, I can't admit to earning too many 'Frequent Shopper Points' with MotoHaus in the past, but they understood what we were trying to do and decided to throw their hat, .. and a few tasty products, into the Poor Circulation ring. (At least with an 'AirHawk Seat', .. the poor circulation Ring will now be well taken care of ;-)). On the other hand, the company that has in the past benefited the most from my normal consumables budget has declined to help. Don't get me wrong, I don't 'expect' to receive things when I approach these companies, but it does seem that the generosity of strangers can be greater than that of friends.

Adding to the generosity of MotoHaus, Triumph On-Line have also offered their support. The extent of which is still somewhat in the balance, .... but with our budget heading south at an alarming rate, .. help of any kind has become essential to Poor Circulation.

Another unexpected result seems to be the attitude of the Russian authorities towards overland travelling. To be honest, Alan and I really expected a huge headache when trying to get a multiple entry 'Business Visa' for Russia. This next comment may come back to haunt me, .... but it appears that the process might actually be quite painless. Perhaps the fact that we have a 'Business Invitation' makes us look more like a credible professional outfit as opposed to the two old giffer's cocking about on the edge of stupidity that we actually are, .... but I'll keep you posted on the progress. On the other hand, Alan is now worried about entry into the USA. He says that he heard George 'Dubya' Bush announce a crackdown on the evils of 'International Tourism' and no matter what I say to reassure him, ..... he insists that he heard it straight from the horses mouth. Alan is panicking about not getting our Visa's in time for our April 23rd departure, .. but it would help if he actually applied for his bloody passport first. (Alan Kelly, ... If your reading this,.. pull your finger out, .. Passports are not 'Optional Extras')

On Monday, ... much excitement was generated when we found out that the new Airline operating from Vladivostok to Alaska was now up and running. Following the demise of 'Magadan Airlines', this was the news we were hoping for. However, ...... the Air Vladivostok website seems to be slightly more functional than their actual aircraft schedule. I guess it is progress, .. we can now 'Virtually' get from Russia to America.

If anybody has any accurate information on this, ... then we'd love to hear from you.

http://www.triumph-online.co.uk/ .... http://www.motohaus.com/ .... http://www.wemoto.com/