Wednesday 28th March (My Birthday) was the day the bike was boxed for freighting to Istanbul. The process of getting to this point on this day was not easy and the day had its dilemmas.
To cover my options I had been seeking quotes and arrangements from two companies - one in Abu Dhabi who was quick to respond and sounded confident and clear that everything was good to go, while the other in Dubai became slow to respond to questions and sounded a little confused and unsure at times about how everything was coming together. I decided to go with the convenience of using the Abu Dhabi company.
Prior to taking the bike for packing I took up the offer of assistance from one of the MAD riders who has access to a workshop to attach some Touratech accessories to the panniers. The workshop technicians did a great job attaching the fuel bottle and oil bottle holders to the panniers and I was on my way to load the bike to take to the packing company by 10am.
After a minor misunderstanding regarding the location for the packing (not at the airport cargo village but in the middle of downtown Abu Dhabi) I arrived at the bottom of a typical apartment building in Abu Dhabi where my bike was to be packed into a box on the adjacent footpath…..
After parking the bike and the fellas starting the process of building the base of the box around the bike I noticed just how many nails from previous jobs were lying around. I thought I had better check the tyres to see how lucky I could be on my birthday. I was so lucky I could see the nail without needing to rotate the tyre. Today was going to be one to remember.
I immediately contacted the manager of the packing company who wasn't as interested in resolving the matter as I hoped. I contacted the freight logistics company who I was using who said they would look into it. I contacted BMW to see if they had a replacement tyre - they didn't. I contacted 2xWheeler in Dubai who I was fairly sure they would have tyres - they did.
Meanwhile the packing fellas continued merrily building a box around my bike while the tyre slowly went flat……I asked their manager why they were still building it in and he thought that the best two solutions would be the following:
Keep going and when the tyre arrived we could change it there or just put it in the box and I could sort it out in Istanbul…….or
Not even worry about a replacement tyre, just box up the bike and when I arrive in Istanbul I could unpack it and sort it all out there.
He was serious and he was not making me any happier.
Agreement was reached, the logistics company would cover the cost of the replacement tyre, coming from 2xWheeler in Dubai, and fitting at BMW's Mussafah workshop, while the fellas would do as much as they could to get the box made up ready for the bike to return with a new tyre.
I rode the now 'naked' R1200GSA to Mussafah to await the driver from 2xWheeler with his URGENT delivery. I called to check on the driver's progress and he advised he was in Shahama and would be there soon. I waited around 15-20mins to check again and assist with directions…….he advised once again that he was in Shahama and had stopped for lunch while on his URGENT delivery because he was hungry.
He was serious and he was not making me any happier.
The tyre was replaced without further incident only 30mins later than anticipated.
I hastily returned to finish packing the bike on the footpath in Abu Dhabi.
By about 6:20pm the bike was boxed-up and manually lifted into the truck to head to the cargo and customs area of the airport.
In spite of the best efforts of an unnecessarily officious and cautious customs official all paperwork was submitted, accepted, issued and paid for, the bike was X-rayed and deposited in the cargo freight area of Terminal 2 Abu Dhabi International Airport at about 8pm.
I was back to the Dobson's in Sas Al Nakheel Village around 8:30 and it was time for a celebratory beer or two - it had been a long day.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY.