33 1/3 N C S + Cuba

[Eagletalon]

John you always keep things interesting. Can't wait to eventually make my way south!!!

[SCExpat]

Originally Posted by Throttlemeister

Raul, Karla, and I went back into town right across the street from the pizza place the night before for some good coffee and special brownies while we waited for Camillo to finish up his last bit of business:

So just how "special" were those brownies???


Thanks for all the pictures and update.

[SmilinJoe]

Hola amigo! Good to see you posted. Hope you get your Brazilian visa tomorrow. Parker has been wearing the tires off the XR! He says he is practicing for his ride to SA when he turns 18! Hope all is well with you my friend and keep the RR coming when possible. It is always entertaining to read!!!

[Uncle Evil]

It's taken me quite a while to read all the way through this long RR but I've finally caught up.
You are a special dude John !
Livin' the real ADV life on the road , and trail, and boat , and beach . Eat a can of tuna , sleep in a sewage pump station and then tear on down the road. You are the greatest !!!
I've a lot of lost work time in the mornings lately due to you and your story telling , beer drinking and various white shark sightings .
Man I sure hope I meet up with you somewhere . I think you would be a hell of a lot of fun to hang with .

Keep on floggin' that ol six-fiddy my friend .

[Throttlemeister]

Originally Posted by JediMaster

I haven't stopped laughing about this picture since you posted it. Now I fully understand just how easy it would be to fall off your fat lass (I have first hand experience of watching you muscle her to places she really shouldn't go!), but flipping her!!! Damn that takes some effort!!! I still wouldn't trade her for a DR

Anyway, it looks like you had some shite luck with the weather the day you rode up the pass so recognising just where you took the photo I thought you'd like to see what it looks like up there on a sunny day...
You always get the best pictures man


Be good dude!

Wish I could make it to the party but I'm going to be a little busy over the next few months, drink one for me dude Fun riding with you again in Colombia, I'm looking forward to posting up the pictures

Originally Posted by Eagletalon

John you always keep things interesting. Can't wait to eventually make my way south!!!

It just happens on its own, you just get on your bike and ride South and good things will happen

Originally Posted by SCExpat

So just how "special" were those brownies???


Thanks for all the pictures and update.

They where just really damn good especially with the great coffee. I never did here the entire ingredients but they made me feel good

Originally Posted by SmilinJoe

Hola amigo! Good to see you posted. Hope you get your Brazilian visa tomorrow. Parker has been wearing the tires off the XR! He says he is practicing for his ride to SA when he turns 18! Hope all is well with you my friend and keep the RR coming when possible. It is always entertaining to read!!!

Thanks Mark, hope all is well back up North, I heard the grass is really starting to grow now. I don't think he can wear that tough little XR out, I love that little bike.

Tell him to keep up the good practice

Originally Posted by Uncle Evil

It's taken me quite a while to read all the way through this long RR but I've finally caught up.
You are a special dude John !
Livin' the real ADV life on the road , and trail, and boat , and beach . Eat a can of tuna , sleep in a sewage pump station and then tear on down the road. You are the greatest !!!
I've a lot of lost work time in the mornings lately due to you and your story telling , beer drinking and various white shark sightings .
Man I sure hope I meet up with you somewhere . I think you would be a hell of a lot of fun to hang with .

Keep on floggin' that ol six-fiddy my friend .

Thanks for the kind words man! I'm just just a dude with bike. I'm nearly always up for a good party with good people
Sorry about the loss of work production, I might be taking a longer break from the internets so you can gain some of that lost production back

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Little update:
The passport should have been finished on the 24 April and I nearly became a permanent Calino, I was really starting to become a regualar before I finally broke free late yesterday afternoon and took off towards Salento and made it up just outside Armenia before getting dumped on by near monsoon type rains and settled for a nice little hotel with net connection that dosen't even reach my room My current plan is to get back to Bogota to meet a new friend and then get the passport Monday and spend a little more time in the high country of Colombia before crossing back into Venezuela and make some tracks to the East. My living conditions are night really condusive to long internet screen time so the real stories will have to wait. I've had some really nice productive riding out around Cali and down to the coast to Buenaventura and on the old roads which where spectacular

I'm going to check out Salento today after I dress back up in my soak gear. More later. Thanks for all the responses, I've got loads of more stories to get down but it will take some serious screen time for them to come together.

Viva South America, especially Colombia

John right outside Armenia, Colombia and on the move.

[Dr. Benny]

Originally Posted by Throttlemeister

John right outside Armenia, Colombia and on the move.

Keep riding in circles. That way when I'm in Quito this July we can meet up!

[crashmaster]

Originally Posted by Dr. Benny

Keep riding in circles. That way when I'm in Quito this July we can meet up!

Benny, I think John has several GF's and a Colombian cedula. Rumor has it that he is now showing some recently laid off Secret Service agents around town. I dont think he can find his way out.

[Archimedes]

Originally Posted by crashmaster

Benny, I think John has several GF's and a Colombian cedula. Rumor has it that he is now showing some recently laid off Secret Service agents around town. I dont think he can find his way out.

Well if their looking for bush their in the right place...lol

[Throttlemeister]

Originally Posted by Archimedes

Well if their looking for bush their in the right place...lol

What you talking about I'm bald They've been loving it

John at my McDonalds office in Pereira, Colombia gettig a good taste of home

[marior97]

Grreat RR TM !!!!!!!!!!!!

A year ago Vicente told me you were about to ride up north ,

send a message when your near El Salvador, yeah where boys went partying too !!

ride safe amigo !

[Excalibre]

G'Day Mate........ and Hello to everyone at ADVR........ What a report. Im new to this ADVR Forum and if ever i wanted motivation to get out and see the world, man have I found it. What a Fantastic report John and bloody well done so far. I spent the whole weekend (raining here) reading every bit of it and checking out all your photos. To the extent plans are being made as I type this note to ship my bike to Portland Oregon (only uncrated International available from Australia so far) and head out on a no time limit ride hopefully ending up at the bottom of Souh America. The timing is yet to be finalised along with so many other things to get ready but just wanted to say a huge "Thank You" to you for the report and the motivation, has certainly lit the fire in my belly. Take Care and keep riding.......

[Vinnie the Snake]

Crazy GOOD mate, Be safe, keep it coming.....

[Throttlemeister]

Originally Posted by Dr. Benny

Keep riding in circles. That way when I'm in Quito this July we can meet up!

Would be fun but it's on the schedule for the next hop down South Glad you are getting to get in some nice quality rides from the sound of it

Originally Posted by crashmaster

Benny, I think John has several GF's and a Colombian cedula. Rumor has it that he is now showing some recently laid off Secret Service agents around town. I dont think he can find his way out.

I must say GPS are damn fine piece of kit I'm on my final escape from Colombia beleive me or not

Originally Posted by marior97

Grreat RR TM !!!!!!!!!!!!

A year ago Vicente told me you were about to ride up north ,

send a message when your near El Salvador, yeah where boys went partying too !!

ride safe amigo !

Thanks Man! I remember Vincent partying with you guys and I sure hope I can do the same, it just all depends on how I get the old girl back to the barn, it might just be via Europa If I ride back CA you can bet on me to be stopping in for some good times with good amigos I somehow never crossed into the country on the way down but like the idea of the La Union crossing on the Pacifco side jumping Honduras just for the hell of it.

Originally Posted by Excalibre

G'Day Mate........ and Hello to everyone at ADVR........ What a report. Im new to this ADVR Forum and if ever i wanted motivation to get out and see the world, man have I found it. What a Fantastic report John and bloody well done so far. I spent the whole weekend (raining here) reading every bit of it and checking out all your photos. To the extent plans are being made as I type this note to ship my bike to Portland Oregon (only uncrated International available from Australia so far) and head out on a no time limit ride hopefully ending up at the bottom of Souh America. The timing is yet to be finalised along with so many other things to get ready but just wanted to say a huge "Thank You" to you for the report and the motivation, has certainly lit the fire in my belly. Take Care and keep riding.......

Thanks for the kind words amigo

Always great to have another on board this truely wonderful site, part of the reason this is the only place I post stuff on my trip Glad to hear your plans on in the works, you can't go wrong pointing the bars any direction in South America, especially Colombia

Maybe see you around somewhere down South as I got at least another years worth of the good stuff before I move on. Let me know if I can help you out

Originally Posted by Vinnie the Snake

Crazy GOOD mate, Be safe, keep it coming.....

I thought I got a decent spot to work on some of this stuff tomorrow, got a blind date tonigt, I'm expecting the best

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Update as of lately.
In a familar place in Bogota, going to get my passport tomorrow morning as I stopped by today and they where closed for some National Worker's Day, lots of protests and marches in the city making getting to my place a royal pain in the ass, I finally just pleaded my case to the police officiers closing the streets and got access to the streets I neededjust took some time that I had free.

My passport was supposed to have a new visa for Brazil as of the 24 April but as many of you might know by now I have zero problems staying in Colombia for any lenght of time so I just headed back to some familiar stopping grounds along with some nice new ones. I took up my Calino status hanging with Alain and good company down in Cali and met up with a good Kiwi Mate named Joe for some high caliber riding around Cali and out to the Pacifico. I finally broke out of Cali a few days ago to do some mountain mud training prepping for the upcoming Amazon also trying to sneak in around the active Volcan in Los Nevados NP.

My mud training is coming along nicely and I'm very impressed with Pirelli tires and would much appreaciate a sponsorship opprotunity


I spent three days traveling through the mountians that I could have passed in a mere 7 hours and it was well worth it. Just simplying amazing what happens down in the this wonderful country

Tomorrow I should have some quality screen time to get some quality posts up inshala

My plan is to finish out with Colombia around the beautiful snow capped peaks of El Cocuy NP and then cross the third border crossing into Venezuela for another good spell and then onto the Guyanans and Brazil before ending in Uruguay in a few months time, of course all this depending on weather or not my Visa was approved

John in Bogota

[SmilinJoe]

Hey John! Great to hear from you my friend. Yes the grass is growing. Cant get the ole man to let me help him with the mowing. Perhaps he will change his mind soon. Parker says he is getting a KLR and he wants you to ride to Rio with him after high school. I told him we will have to get him out of Colombia first. Anyways looks like your adventures have been continuing down south. The mud training looks fun. Hope the blind date went well! Keep the post coming and be careful my friend.

[Radioman]

Hola John,

Just checking in. Heading to India myself in just under two weeks, then back to Ecuador sometime in August

Will keep in touch you crazy adv rider

Keep safe out on the roads!