DO NOT FLY EMIRATES AIRLINES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of their employees in the baggage section has a taste for bicycle parts.They opened up my luggage, took out little things, most of them from my bike stuff, just enough to make it impossible to put together a fat bike in Malaysia.
I've re-purchased most of what they stole, but I'm stuck on the skewers. The companies that carry them won't ship to Malaysia. Obviously, no bike shop in Malaysia has them either.
I'm at a bit of an impasse on this one, and I'm kind of freaking out at this point. Tomorrow will be one month exactly since I went on a bike ride. That's one month too long for me. No end in sight now.
My wife or somebody in the states will have to order them, have them shipped to Montana, and then ship them to me.
The last package we shipped priority mail to Malaysia took over one month.
So, my few week break from biking is turning into a few month break.
It's making me insane.
What's even worse is the madness of stealing my QR skewers. It doesn't even make any effing sense. Many of the pieces they stole, I totally get it: they either were expensive or they looked like it.
Carbon fiber handlebars and bar end set? I get that. Good call stealing that.
Adamo anatomical road saddle? Sure, it looks pricy, and it was brand new.
Brand spanking new full set of carbide-tipped Stanley tools? Duh. No-brainer.
But, why the EFFING Hell did they steal my Quick Release Skewers??????!!!!!??????
They were threaded for 190 / 135; which means they will be useless in Malaysia, where Shrek is the only bike that uses that standard. They were heavily used, totally scuffed up, and nowhere near valuable or fancy looking.
And, of all the things they could steal (that I wouldn't notice right away) it's the only one I can't seem to replace here.
So, if any of you bikers out there get a chance to punch somebody from Emirates in the grundle, I fully support that mission.
Oh, and one last vent on the subject, in all the debate about Dubai, the Emirates, and Qatar, which I follow closely because of the football implications, one thing you always hear is what a glittering, modern jewels those Arabian metropolises are.
Built on modern slavery and the deaths of thousands of workers, sure, but glittering jewels nonetheless.
Not sure how they've spread that message so thoroughly that it's just commonly accepted now, but that is not entirely the case. I only saw one teeny aspect: the airport. Nevertheless it enjoys a stellar reputation.
Personal experience: that airport is a pit. It's the worst international airport I've been to, outside of the old LAX. It was dirty, poorly-maintained, and largely shuttered. And you have to pay to use the bathrooms. Seriously.
Well, the posts may stay sparse until I get the bike back up and running. Keep you posted.
Much love from Malaysia, to all but the Emirates staff.