If you remember, we're now at the point where we started this journey way back there on page one.
I checked my mirror for Baz, who’d been riding behind me. He’s not there. A few moments later a young man gallops toward me, his horse’s hooves leaving a trail of dust. Soon he indicates there’s a problem and a motorcycle has crashed.
Riding quickly back, followed by Pete and fearing the worst, we’re relieved to see Baz on his feet surrounded by a small group of Mongolians and his machine upright.
But something wasn’t right, the rear of his bike had collapsed after hitting a big dip, the paralever was snapped where the rear suspension mounts. I knew immediately we couldn’t repair it and there were only three days of our visa in Mongolia left.
I do believe there was a tear in Baz’s eye.
The cause of this failure was the bottom shock absorber bolt snapping, allowing all the forces to be transmitted through only the lefthand side of the paralever casting.
Much later in Istanbul, I discovered my bolt had broken in two places.
But I'd been lucky.
Jarvo, who's no longer with us, had made from scratch a trailer which could be completely dismantled and carried on Rick's Landrover.
We quickly assembled it and managed to get poor Baz's bike secured.
It's not for me to say what was going through Baz's mind at this time, feeling sick, deflated, gutted probably doesn't even begin to describe his feelings.
At this point, his thoughts were of getting the bike into Russia, possibly Omsk and shipping it home somehow. A complicated and daunting task.
And from then on, all the time I was riding I was trying to come up with a plan which would put that smile back on his ugly mug.
That night I speak with Motoworks Uk, they have a secondhand paralever for only £75. A new Ohlins shock all the bearings etc. are ordered and a new bolt for the bottom of the shock....two in fact, I want a spare, how lucky did that prove to be!
We get them to send all the parts to the DHL office in Almaty, Kazakhstan which is on our route.
