I finally got to Tehran!! Let me tell you.. it was the longest day ever. I left the hotel at 9 in the morning and reached a friend's place in Tehran around 6 in the evening. A long/hectic/fun day to say the least. Unfortunately, it's still pretty cold outside. The temperature in Tabriz was around -8 when i left, but it kept getting warmer and warmer as I went south. Snow still blanketed the side of the roads and it continued to get foggier and foggier. It reminded me of my San Francisco.. which reminds me of a fog story about San Francisco...
A cousin of mine visited San Francisco from Pakistan to attend her friend's wedding for a couple of days, so i took her around the city. We went to Lombard street, Haight-Ashbury district, and of course the famous Castro street where she almost fainted from shock. When we finally went to go see the Golden Gate Bridge, I parked at vista point and she looked at me confused. "Where is the Bridge??! "ITS RIGHT THERE!!!!" i gestured at the fog... "where?? right there??? but i cant see!!!" Hahahaha, It was sooo foggy that the whole bridge had disappeared.. we walked halfway down the bridge and still couldn't make out the the main structure. My poor cousin had to leave San Francisco without a famous Golden Gate picture =(
Anyways, back to the ride report. The Road wasn't the best in world from Tabriz to Tehran. It was a three lane highway, but littered with patches of potholes and rubble. AND..you wont believe it. COPS WERE EVERYWHERE.. Turkey was amazing in this regard, California highways, it was perfect the whole way with not a single cop in sight..okay i lied. One. There will be a video on that..and yes, to answer your question, i got my first speed ticket.. but hey, I didn't have to pay
I ended up running out of gas for the second time and luckily I've been carrying an extra 5-6 liters with me. When i finally got to the gas station i was received by the most pleasant surprise. The gas station was out of electricity! As I stood around for about an hour waiting to get gas a random dude came by and pointed at my rear tire. When I took a look at it, i was greeted by another pleasant surprise. A big fat nail was plugged in the tire. Just my luck.. right?! YES! That guy who pointed out the nail also happened to own a tire shop just around the corner. My bike was immediately rushed to his shop. He pulled out his tubeless tire repair tools, got some pliers, and pulled the nail out. What do you know... The tire still retained air, there were no signs of a puncture wound. He poured water on it to check for leaks and nope, it was perfect. My baby wasn't injured after all. I hopped back on my bike and headed back to the gas station.. Around 5-6 guys surrounded my bike and took pictures posing with it. A kid came by on a bicycle and stood gazing at my bike.. I told him that if he let me ride his bike then I'd let him sit on mine. He didn't hesitate for a moment before handing over his 2 wheels. I put my go-pro camera on my head and tried to pull some wheelies on the bicycle, but my wrists has yet to regain full function. I came back after less than a minute but the kid sat on the bike for 20 minutes and I finally had to tell him to get off because it was finally my turn to get gas.
So I reached Tehran, after going through a lot of traffic, huge wide highways, and I realized I had no idea where to go. LOST?? I kept going around and around the city, then spotted a cool tower that resembled the Seattle Space Needle. I parked the bike and approached a guy i saw standing in the parking lot. He spoke decent english, thank God... We spoke for a few minutes, and he kindly explained to my friend over the phone my location. Luckily i was just 5 minutes away from her home!.She came to pick me up and I followed her to her house. I've been staying in Tehran with her and her family for the past 2 days, they made some amazing Irani dishes and I've probably gained a few pounds in the last 2 days. I will be heading south toward Mirjawa/Taftan border tomorrow.. i cant wait.. Pakistan finally!!!!!!