Hey there.
Yeah, so another very long gap in my blog I see. So the rest of 2020 did not really go as I planned. Work was busier than expected, a few things I was working on with the house and finally had to do a major repair to the car. (Advice....do not buy Italian cars unless you like waiting around for stuff!).
With lots of uncertainty as to the final repair costs on the car (can you say OUCH), some things I needed to start addressing with the house, repairs due on my other car and just generally not feeling all that great physically I have not progressed much on any travelling with the bike.
While I have continued to ride around the local town and a few rides into nearby city areas, I spend most of my time at home now and that has not been great for my health. Weight gains and a general feeling of fatigue have kept me from doing things many weekends.
So my goals and preparation for the trip to India have moved quite slowly.
And now sadly, due to the fact that things have not really improved, and recently even worsened in India, I have had to make the decision to postpone the trip for now. It is highly likely that tourist travel will still be banned for the next few months yet and with my own health issues and not have prepared like I wanted, this is probably the best choice.
For now I am working with the tour operator to move my deposit to the summer 2022 trip, assuming spots are still open, they have been selling them almost faster than the 2021 spots as many people did not want to risk it this year to begin with. If I cannot get into 2022, then will go for 2023. So right now I should have plenty of time to prepare, and will feel much more confident on such a trip. (Note, that had the virus situation calmed down and travel been permitted, I would have taken the trip, prepared or not, that is in some ways the definition of an adventure, is it not?)
So as things sit here at the end of April 2021, I have completed most of the automotive repairs, and have started a project for some home updates/repairs. I am working slowly on starting the liquidation of some things and general cleanup and downsizing as well of junk I do not need, so as I build funds there I will start to apply those towards some of the new equipment I keep saying I need.
I am also trying to work on a plan for taking a long riding trip here in the USA this summer anyway, as I have saved up all my vacation time from work and I actually need to start using it or risk losing some of it as we can only have so many hours banked up.
I have not quite decided yet on when I want to attempt a trip, or for how long, and have a few different routes in mind, so am working on various cost/time projections to see what would work out best for me. Will then start picking up at least the minimum equipment I will need to do this safely and efficiently.
The bike is also due for maintenance (over due technically) and has also been shifting strangely for the last few months. I am going to try getting it in for service in the next few weeks here.
So here we stand again, saying things should start to get more interesting in the future, but all I can say is that is my plan/hope, but so far not been too good at keeping them for various reasons.
This is actually why I started this blog back when I did though, to track and record all the failures and delays leading up to a big project, and maybe later to analyze what I could have done differently and learn not only for myself, but help others avoid doing the same on their own adventures.
Until my next update (which I really do hope will be only a month off) enjoy your time, stay safe and stay healthy!