I’m heading home! Long story short, getting ill and missing Kat really dampened my spirits. Also, the other cyclists I crossed paths with who’d come from China described the journey from that point forwards as grueling. I like my type B fun, but frankly didn’t feel up to going solo the rest of the journey.
With my mind made up, I booked a flight from Baku, Azerbaijan to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My flight out didn’t depart until late so I waited in the Baku airport entrance area for about eight hours with my luggage until the flight crew arrived to start checking folks in at the counter.
Similar to my bizarre grocery store encounter earlier in Azerbaijan, it’s illegal to take photographs in the airport. This meant that every few hours, some poor tourist would snap a pic with his family, causing a gruff security guard to come up and snatch the phone, going through all their photos and deleting things as they saw fit.
Qatar Airways didn’t charge for the bicycle which was dope and I got through Azerbaijani immigration without issue. The flight was 3 legs with a duration of 30 hours. I had an overnight layover in Qatar which seemed like a common occurrence for travelers as the Doha airport was filled with sleepy people trying to get some shuteye on the many benches in the terminal. I got some jealous stares as I unpacked my camping gear and set up my inflatable bed…
The next morning, I boarded my last flight and headed home after 5 months of travelling East.
Now I’m back home, happy to be with friends and family again. I’m thrilled Kat and I got to go on this trip, even if it was cut short. Before this trip, I’d never fixed a flat tire; never biked more than a week straight, and never experienced such kindness and generosity from so many people across the world. Overall, it’s difficult to describe the impact this tour had on us. To put it simply, we got to see some cool places and meet some cool people and for that, we’re thankful.
*Bonus Pic* Kat was excited for me to come home but not as much as Cooper
Kat & Kyle Cycle 