2up to India via Tierra del Fuego

[2uprtw]

Originally Posted by bananaman

Hi kids!

Safe in Madison.

South America gets way, way nicer once you get through Peru. If you spend any time in Peru, I hope you like asparagus.

(psst- Brian... Maybe you get tired before Marie because you're so old?)

The TKCs were great from Colombia to Argentina but the new set wore out fast on the flat flat flat straight flat straight roads from Cordoba (Argentina) to Tierra del Fuego. I had enough tread to do the last gravel and dirt, down and up. FYI.

When do we see Marie's shaved head? Is Brian shaving his, too? Is there no wi-fi where you are? Please update soon because I'm having serious withdrawals.

Hey Max,

It's good to hear from you. We crossed into Peru (we are near Trujillo now) a couple of days ago. It was nice to be able to finally open the throttle a bit but now that we are on some decent roads I sure could go for a throttle lock!

The entire drive down I kept thinking about your problems with the cops in Peru. We must have crossed about 6 or 7 of them parked by the side of the road coming down. One of them turned on his lights for a second when he saw us coming by but we just kept going (whew!) At one point we were passing a car in a curve (very solid yellow line!) going about 120 km/hr and the cop that ended up being on the side of the road didn't do anything (we'll be a little more careful near Lima).

Although the roads here are great we find the drivers are a little more dangerous. We got run off the road twice yesterday on the way from Piura to Trujillo. Usually when I see a car coming in the opposite direction overtaking another I try to stay in my lane as long as possible (the logic being that they will be in more of a rush to finish their passing maneuvre). This worked fine the first time although I still had to take the shoulder in the end.
The second time it happened the driver coming towards me decided that he wouldn't make it and started to take the shoulder on my right! He was still a fairly long way off so his maneuvre completly surprised me. I headed straight for the shoulder myself and he went back to his passing maneuvre. I'll have to rethink my strategy on this!!!!

As for Marie's shaved head she promised a minute ago to let me post a pic! It'll be on today unless the internet fails us completely.

Thanks for the info on the TKCs. We are still running the the same rear tourance that we left Montreal with and it's starting to look a little "tired". I'll be taking a pic of it today to get some feedback on how much life it's got left...

[2uprtw]

Originally Posted by waterlilly

Hello

Just discovered your thread, I am hooked looking forward to more.

My other hallf and I did Mexico/Belize/Guatemala in 2005. for 3 weeks

in 07 we did for 6 weeks on 2 bikes, so as a begginer I understand the

mud roads in Guatemala I have a great appreciation of 2up, as I did it
both ways,
Has Mrs 2up learned to ride yet? How is your foot?
I too had short hair next long journey I am going to do he same shave,
she suits it not sure I will but it is easier as some days you don't get to shower. If there is anything we can do for you please ask,
Cheers
Catharine (klr650) & fellow canuck

Hi Catherine,

Yes, 2up is a whole different beast. And also one of the reasons we started this thread. There are some great ride reports of people doing 2up trips but they are few compared to solo ride reports so we wanted to add another (and if we can help convince a few more couples to hit the road in the process, all the better!!).

Despite my best efforts at trying to convince Marie to learn to ride she is still hesitant. If I can only get her to sit on a small 650 she'll get hooked, I'm sure of it! All she knows now is the severely overweight 1100 (she's had to pull the bike on a few occasions to help me back up, I think this would discourage any would be rider!).

As for the foot, it's as good as new!!

Brian

[bigdon]

Thanks for posting. I am enjoying your trip..

[bananaman]

Drivers in Peru are homicidal and psychotic. And usually drunk. The cops are also drunk. Or high. Seriously. Whenever I saw someone trying to pass, I would slow down. I did your "stay in the lane" trick a few times- and it did NOT work. I was almost killed by buses, trucks, taxis, even the little tuk-tuks. My favorite is when you see a line of trucks, buses, and cars, all tail-gating, all in an echelon with the last in line in the totally wrong lane. WTF IS WRONG WITH THEM?

The drivers get a lot more sane once you pass Lima. It gets progressively better the closer you get to Chile. I don't know if it gets better closer to Bolivia. I doubt it.

[2uprtw]

I should have written a few more comments about those photos of Colombia. Hell, I should have written a few more comments about the country, period! It is an amazing place. We liked it enough to stay for nearly 6 weeks. Would we go back? absolutely! The people were friendly everywhere we went. As for the roads they were some of the best we've been on. And the scenery was simply stunning (but strangely very hard to photograph, hence few pics worth posting).

As for security there was only one occasion when we were a little anxious to move on. We were heading to Popayan and had inadvertently taken a road that was near a town called La Florida. The name of the town stuck in my mind because Max (aka Bananaman) had passed near there a few days before and had been warned of guerilla activity in the area and had to do some backtracking. So we were something like 10 or 15 kilometers away from the town when our clutch cable snapped.
The repair job was fairly quick (we had a spare running alongside the original) and within a few minutes we were zipping along again. Which reminds me that we need to get another cable, just in case...

[Indochine]

Awesome, awesome, awesome! (Man, isn't that eloquent? )

I'll be keeping up on this journey to the end. And when you get to India, might as well make 'er round the world, eh? (Canuck speak)

PS Thanks for the technical reports.

[2uprtw]

Alright, here's the "new" Marie. In fact, this is exactly how her hair was the day we left! Doesn't look like she could pull a fully loaded 1100gs does it?

[bananaman]

Sorry to hear about your clutch cable. Glad to hear you didn't see any FARC near La Florida. And Marie- you look fabulous. Brian- if you think your tire is worn out, then ride another few thousand miles to be sure. Otherwise we won't be able to call you a cheap bastard.

You've got a tire dilema. It's going to be up to you. I don't think you can make a wrong decision- TKC or Metzler, they're both good.

[BriKielyGSman]

Hey guys. Conchita and I did this ride last Sept -two up. We loved it!!! And we are enjoying your ride as well. One day we plan an extended world trip like yours (once we have the courage)....hopefully.....thanx for spending the time to make the report.....

[2uprtw]

On to Ecuador....

We spent a little under 3 weeks in Ecuador. Colombia had set the bar pretty high for beauty and friendliness of the people. Maybe our expectations were too high. Maybe there was too much of this to fully appreciate the country....



Or it could have been too much of this....




But be fair some of the sights were very nice. This picture was taken at Ingapirca, near the town of Cuenca....



As was this.....



One of the few times we were unable to find secure parking during this trip was in a village near these ruins. We had to park the bike in a restaurant....



OK, just one more pic of Ecuador. Everybody who has come down these parts (or anywhere in Latin America for that matter) has seen one of these showers. There is a heating element on the showerhead. They are usually quite safe but this one kind of had us worried a bit (check out the breaker on the left)....



All of which recaps about 7 months on the road with another couple of years to go.
I should have started this report on day one because I've been feeling like an overzealous editor since I began this thread!! Much has been left on the cutting room floor but hopefully that won't be the case in the future.

[bike4ever]

Please keep these reports coming. The more reports like yours and Cavebiker's I can run past Mrs. Bike4ever, better chance I will be able to follow some day.

Beautiful photo's too!

[clint999]

So what are you riding now??

[NomadRip]

Subscribed! This is great!

[Cooltours]

Originally Posted by 2uprtw

I've seen these in Guatemala 20 yrs ago. I'm sure that there must be more people dieing in showers in the meantime than die in traffic!

Signed up this great report. Looing forward to any new installations.

I'll give my best to support you as soon as you come to the Central Europe/Alps leg of your trip.

[dentedvw]

Originally Posted by clint999

So what are you riding now??

If I understand correctly, they are still riding the 1100, needing new tires, not a new bike. yet.

Great trip, looking forward to reading lots more!
My wife sits beside me and mentions she wants to take a trip someday too.