Another delay

Li Jing has just emailed me to say he will be flying back to Moscow this Thursday July 16th to see his family and sort out his visa, and will not be back until August 1st. Apparently the dental work he was undergoing in China took longer than expected and of course he has not seen his wife and child for about eighteen months, since he set off to ride from Votkinsk to Beijing.

As I do not want to waste time hanging around in Beijing when I have plenty to do at home and will be away for several months in any case, I have changed my flight from July 16th to July 30th. The expected restart date for the ride is now August 5th, and Wutzala plans to organise a press conference and party for the weekend before.

At least I will get the full recovery period of three months recommended by the doctors. And will be able to go the the Royal Welsh Show, which I have not missed for many years!

No Skiing in the Lake

Here is a photo of the Lido Park with my hotel the Rosedale in the background. This is where I go every day to shuffle round like an OAP. But you are one, I hear you cry. The lake is rather small and scummy, but has delusions of grandeur, if you look more closely at the notices around it.

Assuming it is water skiing that is being referred to, one wonders how anyone could get up enough speed to be successful. Are the culprits suspected of using pedalo power?

I have now worked out my satnav route plotting system. To access it, go to http://www.thurayalocate.com/ Enter username Rowena Gulland, and password MeganLewis, then go to My Locations and open the map window. I have just plotted the location of the Rosedale hotel. My location was in fact about 50ft further west of the location shown on the map - I was sitting sedately in the hotel grounds, not cavorting on the roof. Remember this offset for future reference.

Mainly Medical Matters

This is me recuperating in Ed Jocelyn's flat a couple of days after the accident and before I was admitted to Beijing United Family Hospital. Umpteen thanks to Ed for letting me move in while he was away, and to Kath Naday for sorting it all out at a time when I needed all the help I could get. As a couple of doctors commented, I look much better than my X rays demonstrated. The fabulous flowers and fruit are from well wishers including the Chinese Equestrian Association - and more arrived when I was in hospital! Many thanks to Wutzala, Kubi, Harry Tse, Xinlian and the rest of the crew.

You can see my right shoulder looks decidedly droopy due to snapped clavicle - it was a relief to get it pinned up a week later when the hospital/insurance had finally wrangled out whether I would be operated on in China or the UK. I was very well looked after before, during and after the op by the doctors and nurses at Beijing United, and would like to thank surgeon Dr Chen Hao Hui (surgeons can be called Dr in China) and his team for all their kindness.

The tube is draining blood from my punctured right lung into a little plastic box that had to follow me everywhere for a few days. The lung has been the biggest problem as it has meant I have not been allowed to fly home until receiving the all clear from doctors, insurance and airline - hence continual frustrating postponements. The latest is that as from next Tuesday I will no longer need a medic to accompany me on the flight with oxygen, so I can fly home then.

However my insurance company Sportscover Direct have been very helpful, and are paying for me to stay at the very comfortable Rosedale Hotel until I leave.

Unfortunately I have also been told I will need 2 - 3 months to recuperate which is a bit of a blow, but at least it will now give me time to sort out some things such as my satnav route plotting on Google, video clips, and the podcast facility on my voice recorder. For the moment, I have just worked out how to text to my Twitter profile, and will try to practise a bit before I am back on the road. My user name if you feel the urge to follow me is meganlewis49.

And at least I can type more easily now - will post more about the day of the accident later on, so keep on reading!