Howzit All
Sorry I have been scarce for a while - been working my **** off to save and fund this trip!
Since my last blog I've come a long way with regard to bike building. It has been a real struggle to source / pay and ship the parts I wanted. Companies not shipping parts to S.A; credit card payments bouncing 2 weeks into shipping; invalid tracking numbers; incorrect parts being shipped and South African post offices taking 2 weeks to process mail once it arrives are just some of the mishaps I've had to deal with to date!!
Finally I sit here in S.A with all my parts - Wooo Hoooo!!! (besides a stem and handlebar), that I will get once the bike is built up so I can play around with the riding posture - One needs a more upright posture when touring so you get to take in more of the surroundings and put less strain on surprisingly your wrists to prevent repetitive strain injury! Luckily for Jiten he has super strong wrists........from all the rock climbing he is used to and the cocktails he is currently mixing in Cuba, just to mention a few :)
My training is going very well, but is hampered at the moment by a raging flu!! I've overdosed on Vitamin C to the extent that I also have to deal with a cystitis now! I'm looking forward to doing more work on the bike once it is built - the hard leather Brooks saddle also needs to be tamed! Pics of the finished bike to follow soon.
When the bike is done it must look like a UMF kind of product, not YAOOW
All 3 of us are hard at work trying to get sponsorships and donations by mailing every company we know; but getting even a tenner is bloody difficult. If any of you guys have any contacts in any company (big or small) please pass on their details so we could also approach them for sponsorship / donations.
Cheers All
P.S - Tell all your friends about Siyashova - it's the right thing to do ;-)
Imraan Sayed
