First Flat
Friday 1/4
Today we made the trek from the desert Northwest to Ranakpur closer to the green of Central India. 5 hours on the road today and our challenges began in the first 15 minutes ;-)
It was almost inevitable, given some of the driving techniques employed by Himraj, that we would get a flat and we got it good, ripped a big hole in the rear passenger sidewall tire. The speed bumps are particularly effective in India. They are designed to really give it to you if you do not submit to the intended reduction.
We hit the double whammy, the potholed speed bump. Options are good thing until you choose the wrong one. At this particular planned and unplanned speed control feature we could have gone with: A. Full speed bump. B. Half speed bump with full pothole. C. Half speed bump with half pothole.
We went with C.
As it turned out the half pothole was a boobytrap that launched a sharp rock, that I think was intended to be a makeshift hole filler, into our rim and tire. After about an hour at a place that had a stack of used tires out front it was determined that a new tire of this kind could only be found in Dehli. Given that Dehli was not in the plan a temporary patch was placed on the fatally wounded tire and we prayed that we would not have to use that. I have destroyed enough mtn bike tires and tried repairs to know that it is likely that this one would never work again even in an emergency.
The new tire cost will come out of his pocket, Rs6000. We told him that we would help by paying for half and he was very grateful. There was some debate in the family if we should cover it all, but Patti, being the good mom, said that he is a bit of a crazy driver and there needs to be some consequences.
About an hour after our flat a cat crossed the road in front of our car and Himraj pulled over for a little bit. Once we got going again he explained that in India when a cat crosses the road in front of your car you must wait until the next vehicle behind you passes before you can proceed. Cats crossing your path are bad luck. I wonder if we missed seeing a cat when we first hit the road this morning ;-).
Luck seems to be a part of the religious pratice in India. There are many things that one must do to get luck on your side. That is a bit challenging as luck seems more about random outcomes than something that can be directed. This is a departure from the God of the Bible who is sovereign over all creation, nothing happens apart from His will, the good, and the bad. He asks us to pray to Him in all situations and for all things. Not that He grants us our every wish, but that we can trust that His will is always done and nothing is random or outside His control, either good or bad.
About 30 minutes after the cat we were pulled off the road over by a street corner policeman in Jodhpur. We confirmed with Himraj after he got back in the car that this was a shakedown and in Himraj's words - "local police very bad". We all prayed while Himraj was outside trying to work though this. Himraj kept pointing to the tire and we were wondering what on earth the tire had to do with anything. But I think in Gods providence he was using the fact that Himraj had just incurred a huge expense to get him (us) some mercy from this injustice.
What I should also mention is that I have been cash flowing Himraj along the way and he has been paying us back. I think his company gives him money as he makes the various city stops along the way. In the last big town it sounds like his cash card was refilled, but it is not working. We gave him another Rs1000 this morning before the tire patch of Rs700. So I can imagine that he is running low. I was wondering how much this police stop was going to cost us in time and or money, but it amounted to nothing thankfully. We could have been in big trouble if there was some issue with his license or some other item that kept us from making forward progress.
So...10 minuters after the last street corner cop we were flagged to the side by another policeman. Good grief Charlie Brown will we ever get out of Jodhpur? Again we prayed as a family that God would see us through this and that we would be on our way. In the end, the stop was a warning for 92kmh in a 90kmh. Seems like no reason a stop would be made. Who knows what it might have been had we not asked for an intercession.
We are praying for no more flats, no more local police, etc. While the local police could be costly another flat could really be a disaster.
We do plan to give Himraj a big tip at the end our journey.
Today we made the trek from the desert Northwest to Ranakpur closer to the green of Central India. 5 hours on the road today and our challenges began in the first 15 minutes ;-)
It was almost inevitable, given some of the driving techniques employed by Himraj, that we would get a flat and we got it good, ripped a big hole in the rear passenger sidewall tire. The speed bumps are particularly effective in India. They are designed to really give it to you if you do not submit to the intended reduction.
We hit the double whammy, the potholed speed bump. Options are good thing until you choose the wrong one. At this particular planned and unplanned speed control feature we could have gone with: A. Full speed bump. B. Half speed bump with full pothole. C. Half speed bump with half pothole.
We went with C.
As it turned out the half pothole was a boobytrap that launched a sharp rock, that I think was intended to be a makeshift hole filler, into our rim and tire. After about an hour at a place that had a stack of used tires out front it was determined that a new tire of this kind could only be found in Dehli. Given that Dehli was not in the plan a temporary patch was placed on the fatally wounded tire and we prayed that we would not have to use that. I have destroyed enough mtn bike tires and tried repairs to know that it is likely that this one would never work again even in an emergency.
The new tire cost will come out of his pocket, Rs6000. We told him that we would help by paying for half and he was very grateful. There was some debate in the family if we should cover it all, but Patti, being the good mom, said that he is a bit of a crazy driver and there needs to be some consequences.
About an hour after our flat a cat crossed the road in front of our car and Himraj pulled over for a little bit. Once we got going again he explained that in India when a cat crosses the road in front of your car you must wait until the next vehicle behind you passes before you can proceed. Cats crossing your path are bad luck. I wonder if we missed seeing a cat when we first hit the road this morning ;-).
Luck seems to be a part of the religious pratice in India. There are many things that one must do to get luck on your side. That is a bit challenging as luck seems more about random outcomes than something that can be directed. This is a departure from the God of the Bible who is sovereign over all creation, nothing happens apart from His will, the good, and the bad. He asks us to pray to Him in all situations and for all things. Not that He grants us our every wish, but that we can trust that His will is always done and nothing is random or outside His control, either good or bad.
About 30 minutes after the cat we were pulled off the road over by a street corner policeman in Jodhpur. We confirmed with Himraj after he got back in the car that this was a shakedown and in Himraj's words - "local police very bad". We all prayed while Himraj was outside trying to work though this. Himraj kept pointing to the tire and we were wondering what on earth the tire had to do with anything. But I think in Gods providence he was using the fact that Himraj had just incurred a huge expense to get him (us) some mercy from this injustice.
What I should also mention is that I have been cash flowing Himraj along the way and he has been paying us back. I think his company gives him money as he makes the various city stops along the way. In the last big town it sounds like his cash card was refilled, but it is not working. We gave him another Rs1000 this morning before the tire patch of Rs700. So I can imagine that he is running low. I was wondering how much this police stop was going to cost us in time and or money, but it amounted to nothing thankfully. We could have been in big trouble if there was some issue with his license or some other item that kept us from making forward progress.
So...10 minuters after the last street corner cop we were flagged to the side by another policeman. Good grief Charlie Brown will we ever get out of Jodhpur? Again we prayed as a family that God would see us through this and that we would be on our way. In the end, the stop was a warning for 92kmh in a 90kmh. Seems like no reason a stop would be made. Who knows what it might have been had we not asked for an intercession.
We are praying for no more flats, no more local police, etc. While the local police could be costly another flat could really be a disaster.
We do plan to give Himraj a big tip at the end our journey.
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