Day 102 (Iran): Karaj - Tehran (howling winds and crazy traffic of sorts)

daily distance: 58km
total distance: 7048km
riding time: 4h

Note for everyone: I am fine and have had issues with blocking of my flickr site here in Iran - hence the delay in posting. I am also not part of the group of Germans that were abducted in Turkey (that is kind of obvious as I am posting this, but I have received a few emails about this; I did pass the area a few weeks back though)

For everyone celebrating: Happy 4th of July (although it is a week late as I am posting this)

Starting your day with an argument about the hotel price is not the way to go. It of course went nowhere, but was a good way to get the hormones flowing. It was Friday and I was supposed to be in Tehran today. Ali and Ghazal, a couchsurfing couple, were expecting me today. So I set out with a huge strong wind literally pushing me into Tehran. The same wind that had blown so fiercely in my face allowed me to coast into Tehran at high speed. On the way, I saw a great number of road bikers, all of which in shorts. Biking shorts. In the future and on long stretches, I will consider doing the same in Iran, keeping the long pants ready if need be. We shall see. Just was I was about to get into Tehran proper (or what I take it to be), a man honks at me , waves frantically and tells me to stop. I do so reluctantly. But with a big smile he hands me a freshly baked bread. It smeels and tastes delicious and since everything was still closed when I left Karaj, this is the breakfast that I will have.

The traffic got busier than I thought for a Friday, but I am glad I ddn’t enter the city another day, from what I hear it would have been sheer madness. It already was. Largely empty at first, traffic became more and more dense as I entered the city. Here is a picture which I meant to entitle with “Welcome to Tehran”

but this one appears more apt.

The taxi drivers help me get my bearings and stand like a solid wall behind me when some young guys try to pick and pull at the bike. They pretty much tell them to take a hike in no uncertain terms. Fun stuff …

They also let me make a phonecall to Ali who is expecting me. The cabbies tell me it’s about 10km from where I am to Ali’s place. They are so wrong. Try 20km and 350m in altitude - plus Tehran city traffic and blocked off streets around Tehran University. In the non-picturesque city center I fill up with banana milk and set out to work on the uphill. It was slow going in the traffic and I keep in touch with Ali a few times over the course of the next two hours. People are extremely kind and eventually - after using a bit of highway - Ali and I meet up. It was a wonderful welcome in their home in Northern Tehran. They are wonderful hosts, Ali himself is a former biker. We start with what turns out to be a wonderful meal (after the shower that is) and good conversations that are to deepen considerably over the next few days. Yummy food abounds for the remainder of the day and I am glad to have reached the second major waypoint on my trek to the Yellow Sea. I will be taking a break as I need to organize the Turkmenistan and Uzbekistand visas in the next days, hoping that it will go through without a hitch. We shall see. I also plan to visit Isfahan and Yazd during that time. Plus, I want/need to extend my visa in the next days. But all that depends on the timing of the visas and the overcoming of bureaucratic hurdles.