Unfortunately, further to Mike's earlier blog, i am not writing this from Latvia but still Estonia; Fortunately my bike is now well and truly running!

D-day arrived, and monday morning Mike and i jump started my bike and headed to the mechanic we had located in Parnu with everything crossed. On arrival they were still closed, people here seem to get a lie-in in the morning and businesses don't open until about 10am. The man in the shop next door came out to have a chat and we explained the problem. With limited English he strongly implied that we weren't in the best place and that another mechanic round the corner would be a better bet, so on his recommendation off we went, only this time rather than taking panels off and jump starting my bike i actually pushed it along the side of the road. Luckily it wasn't far and we sat outside the new mechanic, again waiting for them to open.

Shortly after 10am the doors opened and in we went. Inside we instantly felt hopeful. They had a showroom downstairs selling bikes and upstairs they had an Aladdin's cave of parts, clothing and random bits of motorbike kit. After a short conversation with the man in the shop he explained that the mechanic had just arrived and we could go straight in. After only about 10minutes of investigation armed with a meter and a battery charger he announced that there was nothing wrong with the voltage regulator or alternator but that my battery (replaced only a week before leaving) was dead. One quick phone call and someone from town would deliver a new one imminently. PHEW!

The mechanic was great - Mike has taken to calling him Ramu! and the shop was able to order virtually any parts we wanted from Finland to be delivered within 1-2 days. If only everyone at home worked so quickly and efficiently. Parts here are definitely cheaper than at home although not as cheap as you might expect so i assume motorsport is still the hobby of the wealthy here. The labour rate, although they were embarassed to tell us as they think it is steep, is 20 pounds an hour (expect to pay £35-40 in the UK). So while we were with a mechanic who had a great sense of humour and spoke brilliant English despite saying he only spoke 'a little', Mike and Sarah have had their oil changed which they were hoping to do at about this stage of the trip anyway and we have ordered some spares to last us the rest of the journey (new brake pads, chains etc) so hopefully we now have consumables covered, fingers crossed!

We will not be wasting the extra day we have in Estonia waiting for the parts and are heading up the coast to explore the country further this morning. Tomorrow lunch time Mike is getting his new chain fixed and fingers crossed (although there would have to be a disaster to stop us) we will be making up time in Latvia, well on our way to Lithuania by tomorrow night.

Flick (for now) for Team Enduro.