Three things I wouldn’t hold possible happened on my birthday. First, the roadside mechanic I trusted to change my rear tire managed to break the valve in half and ran off with my ruined tube. Secondly, he reappeared after an hour with the valve perfectly welded back together. And last, after weeks of good weather, rain and hail came pouring down so heavily that Mashhad’s streets turned into rivers and two Belgian bikers were very sorry for not wearing their rain gear.