We Are Borg

[Mortblanc]

The deed is done, I have been implanted. The machine is not functioning yet because they can not charge up the batteries until I heal up a bit.

Having a bunch of staples holding you together sucks too! Those things itch like mad!

Now I face being on activity restrictions for 2 months. No lifting mire than 8 kilos, no bending to the floor, no stretching and especially no twisting at the hips. Something to do with allowing the electrodes to set in whatever type JB Weld they used in there.

And this is just as out weather has turned consistently nice. I am dying to get out for the first trip of the season, and I have two separate motorbike expeditions to ride. Nice little historic trips with good camping and many good sights to see and views to photograph. They will probably tell me not to try to ride the bike for longer than the two month period, since it is 200 kilos to pick up if it tips over.

Over here we have a "window" of good camping opportunity in the late spring, and again in the early fall, when the climate is perfect for outdoor activities. From the end of June until the end of September is usually too hot to breathe and humidity is 90%.

What to do,,,what to do,,,

I have contemplated this during my pain killer assisted delusional recovery time and decided that I will go camping anyway! I will plan my trips as if I were going backpacking, but use the auto as transport. I used to carry a pack that would keep me going for a week and only weighted 12 kilos and if any item in that pack had topped the 8 kilo limit set by my surgeon I would have discarded it immediately!

I can easily load up the gear, transport and set up camp without lifting anything over 8 kilos.

I have also used this as an excuse to buy a couple of new pieces of kit. They are still in transit, probably on a big boat somewhere off the coast of China, but I am assured they are on their way.

I ordered a new ultralight air bed and a new "jet boil" type butane stove. I actually got them to enhance my motorbike kit, since when in the car I can use my normal stove and airbed.

I am considering another exploit, a scooter expedition!

Over here scooter laws are different from yours, so are bike licensing requirements. One can drive a scooter up to 50cc on their normal driving license. No registration is required, neither is insurance. Basically, they are treated just like bicycles.

The scooter only weighs 90 kilos and I have never dropped the scooter in the history of the scooter. If it falls over I will simply stand there until some 10 year old little girl comes along and puts it back on the side-stand for me.

I have lost enough weight so that my little 50cc Chinese scooter will pull me down the road at an incredible 25 mph. It will hit 30 if forced and I had it up to 50 on the "big hill" going to the lake. That was a horrifying experience and I don't want to talk about it least I be accused of snow-flaking.

I said all of that to say that there is a nice State Park about 20 miles from my home and I can access all of it by backwoods country roads, hopefully without being run down like an old traffic cone. Good lake, good fishing, camping and good access roads.

I may be able to sneak in a couple of scooter trips before my restrictions are over. I can test my new gear, test my loading of the scooter, and transfer that new information to the big bike when I am released to use it.