Gettin Started
Howdy Buckeroos,
Here we go again.
Details, details, details. To get going is all about details. You CAN take it with you, in fact if you forget something you have to deal with it for a long time. We took the van and bike over to Long Beach to put them into a hicube container. Thanks Harry for the ride back. We got there the night before I was led to understand we were to load the container. Waited around for something like three hours the next morning and still no move to load. Then they allowed as there was no container to load. Lots of finger pointing as to why this was so. Shipping Company blamed the Warehouse Company and the Warehouse Company blamed the Shipping Company, you get the picture. As it turned out it was the Shipping Company. So we left the stuff there with the hopes they would load it without mishap. Was told that the door opening was eight feet five inches high and my measurements said at most there was a half-inch to spare. Guess I’ll see what the result is when we unload in Vladivostok.
Finally everything was supposedly loaded and headed to the boat, when US Customs put a hold on the container. Customs would give no date for the inspection to occur; other than it would be less than a month. They totally unloaded the container and did a 
1800, plus the original 
400) and as it turns out, change the invite dates for the Russian visas (
70 for a ‘clean truck’, really. When I shipped from Cartegena Columbia, it was much simpler, with everything handled before hand and inspection and container loading done at the same time. If at all possible ship from outside the US. A system brought to you by the same people that gave you Ol Lyin George and Microsoft.
1800, plus the original 400) and as it turns out, change the invite dates for the Russian visas (70 for a ‘clean truck’, really. When I shipped from Cartegena Columbia, it was much simpler, with everything handled before hand and inspection and container loading done at the same time. If at all possible ship from outside the US. A system brought to you by the same people that gave you Ol Lyin George and Microsoft.Getting a visa of more than a month is hard, for Russia. Looks like I’m going to be a consultant, so I can get a one-year multiple entry business Visa. You can stay in Russia for ninety days in any one hundred-eighty day period. Also a visa, in advance, is needed for Kazakhstan. Only thirty days is possible for a tourist visa. Problem is you need to specify dates in advance. So just had to guess and hope things work out, time wise.
Camper Revamper
It took lotsa work to put all the camper stuff from the Copper Streak, a seventy three Chevy Van, into a rust free ninety, now dubbed The Siberian Flyer (Petty suggested Cossack Coach but I detected some negativity there). The Copper Streak was cancered out real bad so there had to be a change. Earl, of Scheib fame, applied a new paint job to hopefully keep rust at bay. Also had the Hughes 700R4 auto rebuilt, it’s something that CAN’T fail, would be a show-stopper.
Decided to stick with the ninety’s throttle body, for mileage reasons. The only way I was comfortable using the throttle body was to have a complete spare system along and an understanding of how the system works. Pick a Part Junkyard ERRR Salvage Yard, made this possible. During the process of figuring out some problems the system had, when I bought the van, I think I now pretty much understand how it works. Also overhauled the motor at the last minute and put in a roller tappet cam setup. Hopefully it’ll all hang together. Hey, it’s an adventure
.
The plan, such as it is, is to start at Vladivostok Russia, and drive across Russia, East to West, with some diversions to places like Mongolia and Kazakhstan and then head south toward the Caspian and Black Seas. My hope is to leave the van in the EU somewhere after about six months of travel.
Jack, a friend from Colorado who rode his bike across a similar route several years ago, has been a big help, info wise. Even loaned me his old Russia Road Atlas, in spite of it’s sentimental value to him. They seem to be outa print. He also gave me contact info for a guy he met in Vlad (Tolly) who works near the Customs area. He seems to be a really nice guy AND speaks English. He’s been a big help with info on Vlad and shipping and Vlad in general.
The container is supposed to be in Vlad on the ninth of June so booked tickets to Vlad for the eighth, which gets us there on the tenth. Figured I would get there a few days after the container, as hotels are high dollar, in Vlad, so if it’s delayed that would cut the economic pain, assuming of course that storage fees for the container are less than hotel rates.
Brazilian Souvenir
Marisol has mostly adapted to life at Top of the World; she’s started talking to the cats. Still working on a few things, like haven’t been able to explain why the TV we brought back from the condo, that had some problems which I fixed and put in the bedroom, doesn’t get the cable channels, it got in at the condo. Or why the laptop doesn’t access the internet anywhere ya are. It’s a computer isn’t it?
Been a struggle trying to get her to use English. Right now it’s more like Portugenglish. The only person that can understand her is me. She’s real partial to McDonalds Hot Fudge Sundaes. So before I buy one she has to use a new English word declared at the last one. Costs me a dollar a word, but it has broadened her vocabulary, and waistline.
New vehicle added to the stable of fine cars was a car I bought from a friend’s mother in law. Eighty Eight Buick with eighty three thou miles on it. Figured I had my transportational needs solved for the next decade. Put in a new radiator and drove it about three hundred feet over to the house and parked it. Then, before calling for insurance, figured I’d drive it down to Superior and back for a checkout ride. Tried to crank it up, it coughed up a hairball, and wouldn’t start. Was heart broken. Let it sit for close to a year before facing up to dealing with it. Turned out the gas tank was full of skunky gas which killed the electric in tank fuel pump. I’ve had the tank out three times, so far, unplugging things, with no end in sight.
The air conditioner works fine, when it’s cool out, but the compressor refuses to run, when it’s hot out. Of course it’s usually cool at Top of the World so when I try to debug it, it always runs. It’s alwas somethin. Turns out the compressor clutch is marginal, so when it gets hot, the battery voltage drops and clutch coil impedance rises, so no go when it’s hot.
Ouch
Last summer a tree root impaled itself on my foot, through my motorcycle-riding boot. Went clean through my foot. Ouch. Was about twenty miles from the van, which was about 120 miles from a Valley hospital. Ended up in the hospital for six days. Don’t ask how many zeros on that bill. Took a piece out of my Metamorsel. That for yous not savvy in natomy is the little bone behind one of the toes. I was hoping that it would connect back up, but as of the last x-ray it still hadn’t, although it feels fine, now.
During my stay for the foot piercing I had pee pee problems. Never had that before and when I mentioned this to my GP he says get a PSA test. Came back like 8. Apparently 80% high PSA readings are false alarms so they put you on a bug killer, as it’s usually an infection you don’t even know you have. Did this for a month and took another PSA test, came back 13. This was not good so they did a biopsy. Snake eyes, Cancer.
So I had the prostate popped out. Not a fun operation. You have to leave this catheter in for two weeks. I’ve had better two weeks. At least my PSA has been coming back zero now, which is good. Free tips, stay way away from a surgeon in Tucson called Dalkin, and assuming you’re male, get your PSA checked. If you have pee pee problems and it’s caused by prostate cancer, it’s too late; you will be dying from it. My GP was down on getting PSA tests, because of all the false positives, but the only way, other than digital exams, you can detect prostate cancer early enough, is the PSA test. They could never feel anything in my case. So I got the PSA test for all the wrong reasons but it detected the cancer. I’d rather be lucky than smart.
To more fully support the medical community, just before leaving for Vlad, had an operation to patch up a hernia, which I think was created on a Colorado ride last summer. I thought it was going away, but after a Rim Ride, a few weeks ago, it was obvious it wasn’t. They put in a piece of screen to plug up, in my case, a portion of the hole. Could maybe have gotten by for a while longer but it appeared to me that it was going to start limiting my activities. And I read on the internet, so it must be true, that hernias don’t heal, just like the GP originally said.
Figured I’d send out a missive to get obsolete addresses off the list, while at home, where it it’s easier to get bugs worked out of my writing systems. I want to make sure everything works like I think it will.
Well, we’re off to Siberia via LA and Seoul. A seventeen-hour layover in Seoul will let me catch up on some reading. As before I’ll try and send a newsletter every coupla weeks, for those interested. As of this writing I’m still waiting for the pasports to come back with all the visas so there’s still potential for disaster.
Hey, it’s an adventure.
DZ
Little different writing system this time. The Clamshell laptop died at the end of the South America trip so bought an old IBM type laptop. It has a floppy drive so what I’m going to try to do is use my USB corded floppy drive and take that into the internet places to load a floppy on the internet. The old battery died in the laptop so bought a new one. When I installed it, still no go. Guess the shorted old battery took out something in the puter. So it will be inverter only. Lots of technology to keep working. As before if anybody wants off or on the list let me know, it’s only a click away. Won’t hurt my feelings.
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