A Little Bike on a Big Adventure

Home
A Little Bike on a Big Adventure

This page is for family, friends and those I meet along the way to follow my trip. Please don’t share

26/10/2024

But overall it’s probably only comparable to the greatest travelling memories I’ve got. Floating a motorbike across the crocodile filled Jardine River of far northern Australia with someone carrying a rifle ‘just in case’ and the northern lights and the helicopter delivering breakfast in the Yukon. I won’t be going back and I certainly won’t be recommending it to 99% of the so called adventure riders out there but it’s been a time that won’t be forgotten or regretted. Regardless of the difficulties, I’m now one of the few who can say they’ve ridden a motorcycle to the most northern point of South America. I’ve now ridden to the top of Australia, Canada and now South America and have a wild story for each trip.

Now that I’ve finally got to where I wanted to start the trip from, I plan to just gently dawdle south through Colombia and the countries that follow along a mostly off road route that many others have travelled.

First I need to recover from another bout of travellers diarrhoea, woo hoo.

25/10/2024

I barely got above 40km/hr for 4 days, often doing 40kms in just 4 hours because of the sand and mud while weaving through single track cactus forests, barely wide enough for my bike. I had to pay people to let me through their roadblocks for no other reason than to give them money or I can’t pass, always with a machete nearby to help convince me of the correct decision. The less trodden roadblocks were manned by kids with a thin rope between two sticks in the ground. Sent out by their parents instead of going to school (which is probably a few hours walk away) often asking for money, on being told no, they would ask for water, and they genuinely needed it, heartbreakingly we just couldn’t carry enough for even ourselves, instead we had to give them some of our pre purchased cookies, they new the routine well. I had to pay 4 people to carry my bike across a river mouth and another group to push my bike over a bridge they had made after a storm destroyed the road which they kept control of, a frustrating but worthy expense. At one roadblock specifically disrupting the mine, I was chased down the road with people grabbing my gear when they realised they were letting a Gr**go through without charging them. I constantly fixed the guides 15 year old Indian made bike which went from having a cracked and leaking exhaust held together with a beer can and inner tube (an ‘interesting’ but the only available material for an almost red hot piece of metal), to having all the exhaust leaking out of the header to the unsurprisingly blown head gasket that made it sound like bag of bolts. Other issues included two flat tyres and a broken throttle cable, all of which he intended to keep riding without (he also had no tools or spares and rode with it flat until the tube was destroyed). I’ve managed to damage a few more parts of my bike, of course they’re parts not available in Colombia and considerable wear and tear I’ll pay for sometime soon.

25/10/2024

The desert of La Guajira is a terrain like no other I’ve ridden. Unlike other deserts I’ve been to, there’s evidence of people living all through here, mini villages (rancherias) every 20 minutes, each of a separate family, narrow paths leaving the main trails every get kms to another rancheria. Many with a tienda (store) selling non perishable food and less often than hoped - water. There were more houses the size of carports than I could have imagined, often with walls made of sticks, roofs from palm fronds and doors serving not much more purpose than to keep their goats out. No power or water, even for drinking and barely even a solar panel, not even a fridge.

It was a 400km loop without a proper fuel station yet there was more fuel and at a better price than anywhere else in the country (and most of the world). With the Venezuelan border being just an hour away, there was a huge black market of Venezuelan fuel coming over the border. Venezuela, despite its shambles of a government and economy, has the biggest reserves of oil in the world. Combined with a very poor population that couldn’t otherwise afford world prices and a socialist government, they instead sell it at the cost of production rather than at global commodity prices, resulting in some of cheapest prices in the world. It then ends up in Coke bottles being sold on the side of streets with a cardboard sign with the price. Prices so cheap i couldn’t believe it, as little as 20 US cents for 1.5 litres. I couldn’t work out the quality of the fuel as my fuel injected engine can easily adjust but it seemed to only be the motorbikes taking it. Many, including all the cars, were still choosing to go to the pumps for 6x the price, thinking that the quality is better. Sometimes they would put a cloth in the funnel in an attempt to make it look like a quality set up, others would just put it straight in the tank, either way, the bike kept on going. I couldn’t find out how they got it through the border, maybe there’s backroads around the border posts, maybe they pay the guards. Interestingly, in the most remote town we went to, probably the most remote in the country, there was still evidence the cartel activity, a huge mansion between otherwise dilapidated homes, this is an area where their boats to the US depart from, I wonder if they know that Google Maps has mapped their house from above with a drone?

24/10/2024

Once again, things went much further than expected.

Road conditions were tough, early morning starts, deep sand, heavy bike, riding all day in the heat and humidity, missed turns on the unmapped paths and still only managing around 100kms each day. When I first saw this river, much further inland, it wasn’t crossable and I wasn’t expecting things to get better closer to its mouth at the ocean. After bush bashing through to the mouth, we realised the water was now above our knees and quickly rising with the incoming tide, we had missed the low point by no more than 30 minutes. The guides bike had no chance and I wasn’t risking mine, usually a salt water crossing wouldn’t be remotely considered but with the amount of salt already on the bike, it was down on the list of concerns. I was expecting a 12 hour wait for a full turn of the tide and crossing in the dark, or going around which would’ve taken hours and fuel was already low. It’s something the ‘guide’ should have known but as with lots of things, didn’t. But as luck had it, some other locals were endeavouring on their own mission to also cross from the other side. We’d seen hardly any traffic all day so this timing was perfect. Two thick branches inbetween the spokes of the front and back wheels, four people, two bucks for the guides little bike, 4 for the Gr**gos bigger bike and all his gear and 10 minutes later we’re back in the cactus forests on our way.

Giving your bike to someone else for what ever reason is always daunting but when it’s over half a meter of salt water and is your only means of getting out, it’s potentially a very nervous time and a great test of composure. The worst that can happen is just another story right?

24/10/2024

It’s been a relatively boring first two weeks on the bike so far (just like the start of the last trip), lots of kms, getting to know the bike, hot and humid weather and tourist towns that have been let downs. But somehow, just like the previous trip in the Yukon, things have escalated to a level I wasn’t planning on. I hope you enjoy the next 5 posts because I don’t intend on having anything this crazy happen again.

At some stage, I’ve realised I’m near the most northern point of South America, considering I’m going to the most southern point, the northern point isn’t that strange of an idea is it? I’ve already done it in Canada, Australia and almost the US. I had a look on the maps I’ve got and there were no major roads and barely any towns, there was some info online but most seemed to be organised 4x4 tours. I asked around and couldn’t find anyone with first hand experience and only two recent stories of people going on motorbikes. One story finished with the riders walking out, with their motorbikes and belongings being taken by the locals due to the fragile security of the region and everyone else with their limited experience were very firm in their concerns of security, something that’s very unusual to have a consensus on.

This area is entirely the traditional lands of the Wayuu, an indigenous tribe. There’s no Gr**gos out here or even non Wayuu Colombians. There’s considerable tensions in this area and hostility, especially towards foreigners and the local coal mine and port. I wasn’t left with much choice than to hire a local guide to navigate the unmapped paths and negotiate potentially dozens of road blocks (there was set ups for hundreds but fortunately many weren’t manned), each expecting a fee to pass.

On getting to the unremarkable most northern point I could see from the tyre marks that almost no one had visited, was I the only Gr**go? Definitely the only motorcycle. I was quite chuffed with myself and was equally demoted when an hour later the next accent I heard was another Aussie who had also just visited on an organised tour.

13/10/2024

It’s been one of those days.

Arrived late in city - peak hour and hot. Hostel is full.
Go to next one. It’s dark now, never ride in the dark.
It’s a dump, too far from downtown to walk anywhere.
Next to strip clubs, is actually hourly love hotel.
Motorbike is safe but it’s too hot and noisy to sleep, rubbish everywhere and smells.
Leave ASAP in the morning.

Get to next city, miss the turnoff, twice.
Do u-turn over the median strip on highway.
One foot drop off gutter, off camber, off balance, drop bike, on the highway.
Pick bike up, nice person pulls over to help… it’s the policía.
That was dangerous and illegal, I’m getting a fine.
Passport please?
Begin the game (bribe attempt).
Realise I’ve lost passport, it’s at the s**t hotel, crap.
Lucky I have dual citizenship.
Fine is a whopping 1 million pesos (350 aud, 250 usd or 3 weeks of his wage).
He can’t hide smile when he makes this number up.
I ‘forget’ how to speak Spanish and count.
Is tied to my passport, I can’t leave country without paying.
Officer has wrong passport, I use other passport.
Fake fine won’t work.
Tell him I’ll pay in office.
Not happy cos fine doesn’t exist.
He’s hot, bullet proof vest, helmet, no shade etc.
I get comfortable, I want to play games.
Other policía is chica.
She wants to look at my hands, very interested in my palm, touches them. Does she read them? Why I not wear gloves? I’m confused.
Keeps giving me the look.
Nearly remember how to speak Spanish, Señorita.
She keeps hand on gun, has two and a big bat. What is happening?
She is texting boss, they don’t know what to do with dumb gr**go.
Has to use translator, because I’m making them suffer in the sun.
No fun, no bribe, amigo.
Finally, asks for bribe without saying “bribe” - x5 times.
Gr**go too dumb to understand, translator must be broken.
Gives passport back.
Does not check important stuff - tourist visa, temporary vehicle permit, vehicle ownership, insurance.
Ciao Señor y Señora.
Colombiano stops to enjoy dumb gr**go getting bribed.
I tell him funny story, in Spanish, we laugh, jajaja, estupido policía.
Go to next hostel, it’s good.
Find lost passport in bag.

Es todo bien (it’s all good).

Photo is of the Caribbean Sea. I want a sail boat instead of bike… taking donations.

09/10/2024

I’ve bought a secondhand Honda CRF250L, it’s from someone finishing the same trip I’m starting and he had bought it from someone who had also done the same from the US. It’s something I tried to get for the last trip and to be honest, if I had, I’d be finishing the trip now instead of restarting. That’s not necessarily a good or bad thing, just a very different way the trip would’ve gone. It’s a US bike which means a pile of paperwork and has needed a trip to a lawyer to give me ‘ownership’ of the bike, insurance and able to cross international borders. I don’t actually own the bike but have a power of attorney from the previous owner, who has a power of attorney from the owner before him, this combined with the shipping costs back to the US is what helped devalue the bike in my favour.

It’s an entirely secondhand set up which takes some pressure off because its value isn’t as much if things were to go wrong and I won’t care about any scratches, which there’s already many of. When travelling, never have belongings you aren’t prepared to lose, break or leave behind. But at the same time adds some risk due to possible unknown surprises. Unfortunately I’ve had a mechanical surprise each of the four days so far. I’ve been able to manage them for now, but there’ll surely be something else tomorrow. It’s not necessarily from a dishonest sale but just having a better mechanical knowledge than the previous owner and needing time to find beyond a test ride.

The bike was already set up with all the modifications I would’ve made anyway, probably worth more than what I paid for the entire bike. If I get 12 hassle free months (unlikely at this rate) and the bikes worth nothing at the end, I’ve lost as much as a brand new bike with modifications would’ve devalued on day 1 anyway.

06/10/2024

Guess who’s back?!!

Not the little fella unfortunately, like an old farm dog who’s done their job, it was time for him to have rest, I sold him when I was in Los Angeles at the end of the last trip. I’ve acquired a different bike which is much bigger, quicker and reliable (and less fun), a 250cc that’s 4x more power than the little fella.

I’ve actually been gone for a month already but am only properly restarting the trip today with the first day of riding. To give away where I’ve started from here’s a picture with El Jefe, the world’s most famous druggy, employee of 30,000+ people and a terrorist responsible for thousands of deaths. He’s been reduced to a grave that’s so popular with tourists that it’s almost turned in to a walking path with the amount of people trampling on him for photos. Tbh, he’s probably not even under there and is still walking around somewhere.

I’m open to suggestions for new names to reflect the change in main character going forward. The little fella had a name, Ron, aka Bon Scott, the lead singer of AC/DC, they were both little, out of control and finished too soon. This bike instead is a machine I’m not getting attached to, I’ve already refused to work on him and paid a local mechanic a couple bucks an hour to do basic maintenance so I didn’t get dirty hands.

03/05/2024

There’s some tragic news all over Australian TV and probably elsewhere at the moment about some tragic events that have happened in Mexico to some fellow Aussies.

I know the area well as it happened near the same town (pueblo in Spanish) that Ronnie broke down in when I blew his engine up. The same town where I saw Wouter finish his 40 hour long motorbike race. Down the road from where I got stuck in mud and was given accommodation to dry out. Or the same storm drenched me and I was invited in to another’s house to wait it out. An hour away from where I was welcomed for a week to wait for parts. And countless other fantastic experiences with fantastic people, including when a cartel member gave me a 9mm spanner. And don’t get me started on their delicious tacos…

It’s tough for me watch, it’s put me in tears actually. As I write this I look at the screen saver on my tv, it’s of the Baja peninsula from space. It’s absolutely gorgeous, just like all of those I met when I was there a few months ago.

It’s tough because I know you’re probably hearing about the actions of just three people. Actions that unfortunately happen quite often everywhere else around the world. But this time it’s happened in Mexico to Aussies and that’s apparently given it leverage to become big news. There’s a serial murder much worse than this named after the small town I grew up in, it’s never been held against me. Nor the family brutally murdered 15 minutes away in a much much larger town, population - 3000. Another surfer was murdered in Australia today, that hasn’t been reported internationally. The backpacker murders in Australia haven’t been held against us. We made a movie about it instead. There’s plenty of Aussies who have met worse fates than this who didn’t make national or international news. How many school shootings happened in the US today?

Before you judge, the people of this town gave me more than what those of your town would or did and overall, anywhere else that I experienced, including in my 2 laps of Australia. Don’t let the actions of a few and a 60 second snippet you see on tv tonight misguide your thoughts on the people of Mexico or Baja, it’s not fair. Walmart car parks are more dangerous than this…

Anyway, I’m going to bed, I’ve been working 12hr night shifts, 6 days a week for months. And preparing for part 2…

And I’m now an uncle. I’ve told little (poca in Spanish) Mia all about Baja and she can’t wait to go. I’ll buy her a bike that doesn’t fall apart.

16/01/2024

Not a little bike, big plane.

It was a sombre few days leading to this, I was given the silent treatment for a few days and a few tears were shed. We’ve been through a lot together but it’s now time to have a break and move on.

The good news is I’ve got a return ticket.

The bad news is the return won’t be happening on the little bike, he’s exhausted.

It’s been two years since I’ve been home and the last 7 months and 33,000 kms have been exhausting. I’ll be home for a while to have a break from the monotony of setting up a tent, inflating the mattress, cooking on the ground, doing it all again in reverse, eating pasta and porridge and figuring out where to go (usually I need to figured out where I am first), the breakdowns and to work for a bit. But there’ll be a return with a very exciting plan, probably less adventurous because I just don’t think it’s possible to go further than where we did but probably even more enjoyable.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride, it’s certainly been a wild ride beyond what even I expected. I’ve rarely known what’s going to happen next, my exact definition of an adventure. There’s been highs, lows and occasionally something in the middle.

I don’t think this page will be continued for the next trip but there’s hundreds of great photos and countless stories I’m yet shared.

What was your favourite part?

16/01/2024

The end of the wold.

Lucky it’s not the edge of the world or we would’ve been blown off it.

I went to bed in the Mojave desert with a gentle breeze and woke at 5am to 75kmh winds from the opposite direction, by far the strongest of the trip when we’ve been camping. Miraculously, the little fella nor I were blown away, but I thought it was a real possibility for over 2 hours. The tent somehow survived despite being flattened on top of me by the wind, the poles are now very crooked, they’ll straighten out but for now the tent only need to survive one or two more nights. When the winds get this strong there’s nothing you can do, if I left the tent it would’ve been blown to Mexico with all my stuff. I usually just roll over and wait it out, this time I had to hide inside my sleeping bag because of the dust storm and hope rain didn’t come. I’ve been through this before but for 15 minutes, 2 hours was exhausting.

12/01/2024

We’re finally out of Death Valley, I actually left a few days ago but went to an even colder place and turned around, idiot. We’ve seen a lot but left a lot behind for a return. A lot of the valley is still shut from the hurricane that dumped 20 months of rain in just 24 hrs and there’s a lot to see in the surrounding mountains which are too cold to be experiencing in winter. I didn’t think it’d be possible to beat last weeks excursion in copper canyon but this has smashed it, just like the Yukon, the landscape colours are magical and the history fascinating. Fortunately it’s winter because the little engine would be in flames climbing in and out of the valleys huge passes if it was any warmer.

We’ve now got the toughest task of the entire trip, I’ve set a goal of getting in to Los Angeles without going on a freeway or hopefully Highway, partly complicated by many roads being covered in snow.

11/01/2024

Little submarine, 80 metres below sea level.

Death Valley is non stop wow. A lot of it is below sea level. There’s stories of fighter jets coming through here so they can say they’ve been below sea level.

I was left disappointed by the big ticket destination of Yosemite which is not far away and was cautious of Death Valley, but it’s so good I forget it’s so cold I can’t feel my feet. It’s almost comparable to my time in the Yukon (no helicopters have delivered my breakfast, yet…), everywhere I look is stunning.

I came for the warmth but am instead worried I’ll get stuck in the valley due to the snow on the peaks above us closing in. I’ve even seen snow plows on the highways, maybe they’re for sand storms and road ice?

We went to the dry lake with the walking rocks that leave a trail behind them. We didn’t find any walking rocks but once again found more evidence of UFOs.

10/01/2024

Little Bike, Big Highway

Route 66 is actually a mostly abandoned road that has more pot holes than anything else worth stopping at. We were chased by the cold to California, a great place, but were quickly given reasons to hate it every time I had to buy something. At the first stop, fuel more than doubled in price and a gallon of water was $6.10 (that’s over $10 Aud) ‘because we’re in the middle of nowhere’. What that actually means is a few hours away from and in between the huge cities of Los Angeles and Las Vegas, which in Australia is the equivalent of being ‘just down the road’. I think Americans and especially Californians take pleasure in paying high prices rather than appearing to not be able to afford it. Anyway, we’ve had a few nights watching mysterious lights rise from the direction of Area 51. I’m not saying that they were UFOs but I’ve seen some strange lights that were definitely from aliens so you tell me what’s going on.

I left my water out overnight and had it freeze solid again and I’m still wearing most of my clothes to stay warm. We’re off to Death Valley which will be just as cold despite being the hottest place on earth.

30/12/2023

Little bike, big fence.

We’re back in the US and I’ve once again made an absolute dogs breakfast of the border crossing. Surprisingly, getting through was the easy bit, despite completely forgetting that I had some fruit and veges on me. I declared it and it wasn’t a problem, they used it as training exercise for the entire K9 sniffer dog team which was great to see. The smell of the oil and fuel dripping all over the ground proved no match. It was great to see the dogs working, a welcome change from streets dogs chasing me and the narrowly avoided pit bull mauling from a few weeks ago. Either way I was getting the full treatment, I have just passed through the ‘golden triangle’ area of cartel drug growing operations. No photos unfortunately, something about being a level 2 secure area.

After entering I had a funny feeling and checked my passport to find it hadn’t been stamped. Not only that, when I returned to see if it was a problem, they realised they hadn’t entered me in to the country at all. I’ve been in the country illegally twice now, once on their computers when I was actually in Australia and now I wasn’t on their computers but was actually in the country. If they didn’t recognise me from the dog training exercises, I would’ve been in all sorts. Even worse would have happened at one of the highway immigration check points further along the highway.

So after all that and deciding to stay out of trouble for a bit, I thought I’d go get a photo next to Trumpets wall. I was surrounded by three security vehicles before I had even gotten off the bike. They watched me from a distance, probably hoping to finally catch someone smuggling drugs through the gaps, instead they got some idiot doing a photo shoot with the worlds greatest adventure bike. At night it’s lit up like a Xmas tree, it would be perfect for doing drag races along it.

It’s an interesting object, is it a monument, baracade, wall, fence, effective, ugly (the Mexican side is painted quite nicely with art), political, justified? One thing’s for sure, everyone on both sides squirms uncomfortably when I mention it, but for different reasons.

29/12/2023

The farmers in these extremely remote areas are the indigenous Indians of the area. They grow not much more than corn for themselves and some cattle or goats. Although there’s a power line running through the valleys, if a house wasn’t within a hundred metres, it wasn’t connected. Even still, they don’t even have solar panels. These are a people who are steadfast in maintaining their traditional way of life, living not for wants but for needs. It’s left them extremely vulnerable, especially in times of drought which has recently happened, killing many due to poor health. If the droughts don’t get them, the cartel does, finding ways to control them so they can grow what the cartel wants - poppys and w**d and then finding other ways to take what little cash they have. I saw them in a city when I was at an ATM. They were lining up behind each other waiting for a bank staff member to help them withdraw money because they’re completely illiterate and innumerate and unable to use the atms. Despite it being below freezing, many were still wearing their traditional sandals and rode their horses in to town. It’s something that can still be found all over the world but to see it just a few hours from the US border made it very surprising.

At this campsite I thought I had found a safe and quiet spot that no one would possibly know I was there. I looked over the ridge and there were a handful of their little huts spotted around the mountains, despite there being no roads, only foot paths. Within minutes of arriving I heard from behind ‘muy frío en la noche’ or very cold in the night, it was an indigenous farmer laughing at me as he walked home along a narrow walking path. I have no idea where he came from or where he was going, these guys are everywhere throughout these mountains.

At three o’clock in the morning I was woken up by automatic gun fire. I’ve got no idea what was going on but I suspect it was just the cartel reminding everyone that could hear it that they’re around and still the boss.

28/12/2023

The views get better. I nearly skipped this one but was advised not to. I had to wait a day because of rain/bad nachos which forced me to hide in my tent. Another huge climb to see the town I had just stayed in from above was pointless if it was covered cloud and beyond dangerous on wet road of slippery dirt. In the far distance you can see the road we came down in to the valley on.

Urique is a town similar to the last pueblo, Bapotilas. An old copper mining town that’s so sleepy I don’t know if they bother with lights. Here I have to ride around the dogs that are asleep on the road, a big change from the usual chase or narrowly avoided mauling like I had a few weeks ago.

I’ve done three full days of riding and only managed to achieve 80kms each day. The roads in these canyons are some of the worst we’ve come across this trip. Unlike other areas I’ve been to, these are the roads the locals rely on, it’s their only way in and out of these valleys. I don’t see many people out here but I pay attention to the wheel tracks, despite there being no obvious signs of people living out here, there must be hundreds because I see their foot prints, bicycle tire marks and horse hoof prints but hardly any car tracks.

Address

Website

facebook.com

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when A Little Bike on a Big Adventure posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Videos

Feliz Navidad a todos. Estaba enferma con las mierdas. Estaba en la baños todos la noche porque los nachos fue no bueno. The exact same thing happened exactly four xmas’s ago when I was in Mexico. What a coincidence. It’s been a while between updates because I’ve barely had reception for a week, hence the late Merry Xmas. We’ve got some exciting updates coming of some of the most spectacular scenery of the trip so far. We’re going in to Mexicos version of the Grand Canyon.

The poor bike has been absolutely tortured lately. During the week we finally got to over 3000 metres (9200 ft) of elevation. Combined with the heat, it’s working the engine quite hard. The air filter hasn’t been cleaned once this trip which is now sucking the last pony of power that we need and rattles are returning inside and out of the engine. We needed low range and couldn’t get much more than walking speed on some gentle slopes but it keeps on doing it. What amazes me is despite this torture and neglect for over 20,000 kms, every morning I tell it how well it’s doing, give it a gentle kick and off we go. We’re going to eventually get to Las Vegas where we’ve got a list as long as my arm of work to do. The usual maintenance and some big repairs and upgrades, $1000 worth USD, just to make sure the budget doesn’t get too far ahead of itself. This should get us to South America with not much more needed.

We finally managed to get a few punctures today and yesterday. A nail that Jesus left behind created a few holes and I coped number 4 this morning for blaming him. I suspect number 5 is coming later on because a fair bit of damage happened. Fortunately I went to adventure riding school before leaving for my trip so I was well prepared for such a big job. I’m joking. Adventure rider school would lose there minds seeing someone fix a puncture with a) patches and b) only one lever. I am embarrassed to admit that it took an hour each time to fix. Although that’s one whole day less than the stranded BMW rider I helped in the Yukon, it’s 30 minutes too long. Hopefully I can do it in 30 when the 3 gashes Jesus put in it rip apart around the corner. Hopefully we’ll be in Nevada this afternoon. There’ll be an update of just how great Idaho has been when I finally find reception.

Another great example of 40 year old gear doing something great somewhere great. Where are all the other adventure bikes?

We made it to 2020 metres today, it wasn’t the plan but these things happen. If the bike had an engine temp light, it’d be on fire. The bike works so hard at these elevations and angles - full throttle, full revs and no airflow for 20 minutes - that it overheats. The fuel lines get so hot that the fuel boils. It’s making less power here than a lawn mower. No carby rejetting, a clogged air filter, just a low range gear box. We’re aiming to get well above 3000 metres next week.

100 days done. And what a ride it’s been so far. Just 17,000 kms but no shortage of adventure. The highlight by far has been the Yukon. The magic out there on those mountains was phenomenal. I look forward to beating that experience, if it’s possible. Lowlights, the delays. There’s been no shortage of wasted time and frustrations which I’ve been sure to share, it wouldn’t be fair to say it’s all sunshine and roses when out on a trip like this. The bike and I get along well now and we sorted out the monster that was my US visa. There’s no doubt there’s more frustrations to come but we’ll sort it out when we turn that corner. We’ll be moving over to the US quicker than planned, probably in a few days time. I’ve had enough of the forests and after the brief Canadian desert experience, am aiming for the arid areas of southern USA and Mexico.

Here’s where it all started, at just 1100 metres of elevation. We gently climbed the mountain from the right to the mountain in the middle where we zig zagged all the way to the top at over 2000 metres. I never expected things to escalate the way they did, but these things happen.

Ok, I get it, enough of the helicopters. The next mountain had tracks that were like highways, instead of a metre wide, they were two lanes and not nearly as steep. This is unfortunately the only climbing video I have of the adventure, a shame because it’s amazing how well the bike worked at these elevations, at such steep angles and with such loose ground. The bike I rode around Australia could’ve done this but wouldn’t have done the previous mountains climb to the peak, with 40 years and a nearly $20,000 price difference it goes to show just how outstanding this model is. Don’t you hate it when helicopters drown out the bikes sound? Sorry, had to do it.

Shortcuts

Address
Alerts
Videos
Claim ownership or report listing
Want your business to be the top-listed Travel Agency?

Country:

City:

26/10/2024

25/10/2024

25/10/2024

24/10/2024

24/10/2024

13/10/2024

09/10/2024

06/10/2024

03/05/2024

16/01/2024

16/01/2024

12/01/2024

11/01/2024

10/01/2024

30/12/2023

29/12/2023

28/12/2023

Address

Website

Alerts

Videos

Shortcuts

Share