Four unplanned days in Almaty
Rolled into Almaty pretty late. Nearly 13 hours and 720 miles in one day...but the beauty of Kyrgyzstan will do that. I don’t actually know why I rode so hard. I’d regret not spending more time in Kyrgyzstan. The main driver, I would say (aside from just enjoying being on the bike in general) was that my spare key would be waiting for me. Remember how I’d lost it the day I met up with my riding partners? It could take nearly two weeks more before my hometown dealer could cut a new one, and they couldn’t do it in any dealership. Fortunately I had left a spare at home. But, where could I receive it?
Day 115
The motorcycling community is small, and truly just that…a community. I met this guy Zach Naimon on Facebook months ago, when he solicited riding partners to cover Kaz and China. We would never meet, but he connected me with Dmitry (my host in Moscow) and another GS rider named Rinat, who lives in Almaty. I reached out to Rinat, who was happy to receive the spare key, but he was actually riding west to Uzbekhistan as I road east. However, he had a trustworthy friend in Almaty, Sergey, who also rode a GS. Mom express shipped the key to Sergey so, connected through three degrees of separate strangers, I picked up my key the next morning and enjoyed coffee and snacks on Sergey’s porch in Almaty. We talked about family, motorcycling, and vodka. I can’t reiterate enough that this trip has made me reflect upon how much we underestimate the kindness and trustworthiness of foreign cultures and people.
The plan was to just spend three nights in Almaty—one full day to get the key and relax, and one full day to get Green serviced. Well, on evening number one, I was enjoying horse meat and drinks near the hotel pool with some lovely stranger who invited me into his bungalow (not as weird as it sounds, I swear)…when I managed to destroy my phone with water damage. One quick call to my company’s tech center, and they located a replacement iPhone in Moscow, which they would ship to our local office in Almaty the next day. I mean…I can survive with a GPS or compass and map…but it would be unwise to travel through Russia and Mongolia without a way to call someone in an emergency.
Day 116
Off to the BMW dealership. Do they speak English? Nope. But, Rinat had called ahead and coordinated a change of brake pads for me. I should have done the maintenance myself, but I was in no mood given the phone situation. And…Rinat is the man. Of course, the dealership gate attendant wanted to strangle me when I bypassed his gate (my usual approach to barriers in general), but my new best buddy, Mikhail, quickly rescued me, shouting something to the effect of, “Leave him alone, he’s from Texas!”
We watched some videos and tried to communicate via google translate. People love the drone footage. Green got new brake pads and a world class detail job (which wouldn’t last long). I was so impressed by Mikhail’s hospitality and support. The entire service staff, actually, was amazing. We took a photo in front of the dealership, and he has since likely posted it on the wall of world travelers.
An evening of chilling…waiting for a phone…indexing photos and making a video.
Day 117
Waiting…exploring a small amount…but mostly waiting and sleeping. I wanted to reach out to Rinat or Sergey to hang out but had lost their contact info with my old phone. The replacement phone was stuck in customs for a day. I tried the old rice in a bag trick. Didn’t work. Unfortunately, it was foreshadowing issues to come.
While riding around a bit, I was flagged down by a young guy, Shukhrat Srazhdinov, who rode a KTM Duke and was so excited to see an American touring his country. Shukhrat would insist upon filling up my tank for me, but I don't think he realized beforehand that my fuel tank is 3x the size of his.
Day 118
The phone was supposed to arrive by noon today, but as I packed up and went to camp out at the company office, Green’s ignition wouldn’t work. The little thumb switch to start the bike literally wouldn’t move. This had happened a few times before but was quickly resolved with a little wiggle. Not this time. If I pressed too hard, I knew the insides might be damaged. After 30 minutes of gentle nudges, it finally started. So…it was time to go see Mikhail again. It was all hands on deck when Mikhail rallied the troops. So entertaining, watching these guys repair Green. It was like hand surgery, a messy task, but everyone wanted in on it. They had to get some little plastic parts inside properly lubricated, springs at the perfect resistance level, and all other moving parts aligned. Finally…fixed…free of charge. Partly due to warranty, partly due to strong mutual appreciation.
I hung out at the office all afternoon, finding all kinds of new friends at work. Though McKinsey is quite large, it’s still a small community. So many mutual friends. Alibek Salimbetov found me huddling alone in an open workspace and came to chat. Turns out one of my best friends from work, Bryce Ewalt, had been on projects with him. Fumin “Slava” Ma and I had traded glances when he parked his Ducati and I parked Green outside the corporate building. We later crossed paths in the cafeteria and it turns out he worked for Cisco and had studied in the US. Same for Dana Tillabay. Slava offered me a place to stay and meals at great local restaurants. Super cool people. Wish I had met them days ago…when I was throwing a tennis ball at hotel wall.
Finally, the iPhone arrived at around 6pm. Six hours late, but I was elated. It couldn’t restore fast enough. Time to get back on the road!
Green and I jetted 3.5 hours and 166 miles north to the city of Taldykorgan. Miserable little place to crash for the night, but we were finally back in motion.
