October 01, 2004
Now you see it,
Now you don't. The entire mount, with the Bike, rack, and spare, fell off the vehicle on a very bumpy road.
Photos by Nancy Olson
| Logbook for Oct. 1st, Day 336 | ||
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Start: Karimabad, Pakistan Time: 9:30 a.m. N: 36* 18.979 E: 74* 40.051 |
Finish: Tashikurgan, China Time: p.m. N: 37* 45.998 E: 75* 13.617 | Mileage: 180 |
| Notes: We woke up and waited for Nick and Todd. We knew they were coming, but we didn’t know what time. We got a call and were told to get in our vehicles and drive toward Sost. We had to get there before the border closed at 11:00 a.m. So, we put two gerry cans in each vehicle and headed off, not too far behind D3 and the boys. They had our visas, but we still don’t have license plates or driving permits, because the ones we had expired while we were getting new visas… So, we made it to customs/immigration, and, in the parking lot, we discovered that the entire spare tire on D1 had broken off, taking with it the mounting bracket, bike rack, and Santa Cruz mountain bike! OH, TRAGIC DAY!!! That’s more than $4,000 worth of gear! We waited for more than an hour before the authorities finally allowed Nancy and Justin to hop into D3 with a guard and go to look for it. They looked from 10 p.m. until about 1 a.m., with no luck. The road between the pass and the actual customs building is long, bumpy, and thinly trafficked. Somebody had to have seen it and picked it up. They’ll have difficulty getting through the Kryptonite lock and cables holding the whole assembly together. We still have hope that an honest person got it and will return it. Unless one of the trucks on the road behind us got it, we still have a chance. Searching will resume tomorrow. Nancy and Justin didn’t get to bed until 2 a.m. The vehicles are in customs impound until we can get our driving permits. The team will bus/taxi to Kashgar, China, to work and wait. (N.O.) | ||
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