Did you know those teeny tiny temporary tires can go more than 50 kilometers?

I am interviewing candidates for the position of Student Life Advisor and I had to take a group of three of them from Bishkek to Naryn so they could see the campus and get an idea of where they might be living for the next year of two if they get the job.

About 60 kilometers into the trip, the hired vehicle we were riding in began to shimmy and then we all heard the ominous thump, thump, thumping sound of what was, of course, a flat tire.  Bekbol, our exceedingly good-natured driver, changed the flat in no time at all and we resumed our trip.

Bekbol changing our flat; we offered to help, but he'd would have none of that

Problem is, he replaced the flat with one of those teeny tiny tires that the vehicle owner's manual says you should never drive on for more than 50 kilometers.  And, the manual also explains, you should never go over 80 kilometers per hour on the teeny tiny temporary tire.

I guess Bekbol has never read the owner's manual.  Bekbol continued driving the vehicle at his customary 120 kilometers per hour.  "Are you sure you're supposed drive this fast on the spare tire?" I asked.  "What are you talking about?" replied Bekbol, his perpetually sunny smile beaming across his face.

That was before we entered the mountain pass section of our journey.  That's when we went careening around hairpin turns on our teeny tiny temporary tire, went flying down 12 degree grades or steeper on our temporary tire, zigged and zagged and avoided assorted cows, goats, and sheep (and one wayward pedestrian) on our temporary tire, and successfully navigated 50 kilometers of gravel road and potholes while traveling through road under repair on our teeny tiny temporary tire.

Finally, over 200 kilometers after suffering our flat, we arrived at the campus in Naryn.  "Are you going to the tire shop now to get that flat fixed?" I asked Bekbol.  "What tire shop?" was the cheerful reply.

So, after our campus tour and our Naryn city tour, off we traveled on the teeny tiny temporary tire back to Bishkek.  Back over the gravel roads, dodging more sheep and goats and cows, over the mountain pass and down the steep grades, through the hairpin turns, almost 300 kilometers more to Bishkek.

Our teeny tiny temporary tire made, by my calculation, a 500 kilometer journey at many different speeds, most of them above 80 kilometers per hour.  I don't know about the teeny tiny temporary tires I have read about in my owner's manuals, but this particular one was a pretty impressive workhorse that greatly exceeded its mandate.  I must admit I was very happy when we disembarked in Bishkek.  Bekbol said farewell in the always cheerful and unconcerned manner he employed and I took my three candidates out for dinner hoping that they, after their journey on the teeny tiny temporary tire, might actually still consider working for us.  But most of all, I was simply grateful for journeys concluded successfully.