Kismet and Other Things

Kismet and other things

”Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Its less than eighty days before we leave and the truth of the matter is that this ride has pretty much taken over our lives. There is still the clinical work, one paper to revise, post graduate teaching responsibilities, and one clinical trial to review before resubmission, but most times away from work are  occupied with ride preparations instead of the usual academic routines.  Much less of medical journals and Pubmed, more of Chris Scotts’ wonderful Handbook of Adventure Motorcycling and Horizons Unlimited’s forum pages.

Trip paperwork is also taking on some urgency with Carnet and international driving licences to settle, thankfully no vaccinations are required and visas are being sorted out with various authorities.  The work with local collaborators have been confirmed in Penang, Chiang Mai, Yunnan, Szechuan, Almaty, Copenhagen and Stockholm. 

Bike preparations are taking two completely different approaches.  Mike is on a BMW GSA 1200 that needs very little work done.  More on replacements of liable bits with the drive shaft seals and possible electronic starters.  Beemers are expected to do just what is required out of the box.  My Vstrom has required a real re vamp.  Throttle bodies and alternator coils and stator motors replaced, steel braided cables for brakes and clutch, 4mm aluminium bashplates, extra tall windshield, hepco boxes and crash bars, and most recently Pivot pegz off road footpegs and backup Enduriston waterproof bags and Rox cables.  K60 Heidenau tyres and Progressive springs still to arrive, hopefully within the fortnight.  The cost of the upgrade from a vstrom for normal daily use  - probably less than 5K, still considerably less than a second hand beemer but whether this has been the correct approach remains to be seen.

Matt Black's tailor made 4mm alluminium bashplate for VStrom 

Now that I’ve had the chance to talk with all sorts of people who have done this before, I am still very happy with the vstrom.  Nevertheless if I could get a bike tailored ideally for this trip I would probably start with something smaller, maybe a KLR 650, suzuki’s excellent new DR 650

or the F800 beemer, but we’ll see.  A common comment I’ve heard is that when you’re on the road you’re never going to wish you had a bigger bike.

A rather unique experience as we apply ourselves to the preparation is how things seem to come together despite astronomical odds to the contrary.  Doors which seem firmly shut and sealed creak open with mere nudges. And when we first started making travel plans and finding collaborators in these countries there seemed to be more closed, keyless doors than open ones. As things developed we have had engineers – complete strangers at first -  who are willing to come aboard and modify the 4/4 support vehicle; although the Singapore International Foundation was unable to help us directly they put us in contact with a freelance filming company that seems to be just what we need; a couple I met at a birthday party happens to have extensive business interests in Kazakhstan which has turned out to be very interested in how we can start up their breast cancer services – we have a two day workshop planned in Almaty with them.  The list goes on – but the strangest, longest kareem abdul jaabar skyhook kismet ever must be Dr. Cynthia Chou.

Breakfast in Copenhagen - Victor, myself, Eng Soo, Cynthia and James

            Cynthia and I had met in university in 1986.  I was a third year medical student and she an anthropology masters student.  We hung out together until she left to do a PhD among the Orang Laut which kept her on some Sulawesi Archipalaego or other for years.  We lost touch over time , during which she obtained a position in Cambridge (something called the Division of Vanishing Cultures – something JK Rowlings would have trouble dreaming up).   She met and married Dr James Liang from Leiden University and then moved to University Copenhagen where is presently associate professor of cross cultural studies.    After not meeting for over twenty – five  years, and while we had been trying and failing to find a collaborator for the anthropological aspects of breast cancer presentation in Asians, we meet by sheer kismet at the Coffee Bean at Kent Ridge MRT station in August last year .  Again by sheer fate I was to travel to Copenhagen with some anesthesia colleagues to attend a trauma congress in October – some 20km from where she lives.  After some hurried discussions we discover that an MOU exists between NUS and the U of C – allowing both funds and collaborators to look at the cultural aspects of why Asians present with breast cancer later. Slam dunk!

            These happy coincidences seem to be a result of a ride that is not taken as an end in itself.  A large part of the preparations is similar to any mad plan to cover the distance and take in the sights.  Nevertheless the eagerness of people to help, the range of experiences we’ve had even before leaving, have come about because of the breast cancer cause.  It does encourage the prospect of knocking on more doors in the future.