33 1/3 N C S + Cuba

[skibum69]

hola Mark and John, glad to see you both are well out there on the road, two mad adventurers I've had the pleasure of offering some hospitality

[bk brkr baker]

I know it always looks different in a photo , but , I think I would have picked an alternate line through there !

Keep living the dream for us poor worker bees .

[Excalibre]

John
Thanks for the reply and for the offer of assistance it is appreciated and I may just take you up on it. It would be good to catch up somewhere along the track, just as long as its not the track you just posted in the pic....Ha! Ha!
Decided to do the trip on a GSA, my current GS and the RT are being traded next monday for the new GSA. On the Tuesday after I pick it up I will head off from Gold Coast to Perth 4,700 klms to take of some of the sharp bits off her. I will have 3 weeks in Perth and then ride her back to the Gold Coast. Thats East to West accross the Australian contientnent
and back again. Close to 10,000 kilms and in time for its first real service...... Take care and keep it upright my friend will stay in touch

[Throttlemeister]

Originally Posted by 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.

I always hate missing out on the work around the place, I really enjoy trying to keep up with stuff back home believe it or not. The date went okay but I´ve had much better down here I got my new visa and its good for 10 years so I should be set to roll down again with Parker
Been camping the last few days and will look for a good spot to set up shop for a day or two hopefully before crossing back into Venezuela. I getting ready to do some visiting to the Colombian high country and wanted to stop in a net cafe and check emails and such. Damn nice to have heated jacket and grips in Colombia

Originally Posted by 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!

Hola amigo, too bad we missed each other in Quito, you where just a few hours too late. Maybe later this year or first of next farther down South we can share a few good ones Have fun in India, sounds like a fine time to be had.
Adios Amigo

Originally Posted by skibum69

hola Mark and John, glad to see you both are well out there on the road, two mad adventurers I've had the pleasure of offering some hospitality

I would say you my friend like to keep good company I had fun up there for sure Lots of good people I{ve meet on two wheels and fun times sharing some beers and stories.

Originally Posted by bk brkr baker

I know it always looks different in a photo , but , I think I would have picked an alternate line through there !

Keep living the dream for us poor worker bees .

I know I{m such a poser, actually this was a staged picture just to show the amount/quality of mud I was crossing, I was continually impressed thoughtout those last couple of days the muck I passed, I never got hung up bad (just picked up one freaking nail which really suck changing a flat on rough ground) and most of the holes had a decent bottom to them and I{ve been getting surprisingly good traction with my tire combo You have to commit sometimes long before you know what´s around the next corner and its hard jumping ruts as loaded as I am but I{m happy the way the bike is performing other than that shitty kickstand I had to modify, it drags way too much in the rough stuff.

Sometimes I wonder about this 'dream' The great people I keep meeting keeps me smiling

Originally Posted by Excalibre

John
Thanks for the reply and for the offer of assistance it is appreciated and I may just take you up on it. It would be good to catch up somewhere along the track, just as long as its not the track you just posted in the pic....Ha! Ha!
Decided to do the trip on a GSA, my current GS and the RT are being traded next monday for the new GSA. On the Tuesday after I pick it up I will head off from Gold Coast to Perth 4,700 klms to take of some of the sharp bits off her. I will have 3 weeks in Perth and then ride her back to the Gold Coast. Thats East to West accross the Australian contientnent
and back again. Close to 10,000 kilms and in time for its first real service...... Take care and keep it upright my friend will stay in touch

Those new GSA{s are quite nice, I got to do a little land speed testing with one down in Cali, hit around 197kph on the best. Got to ride them like a freak offroad but they can go and the bigroads are much more fun with the twin imho, that{s why I work hard to take the little roads.
Nice bike:


and no I didn´t rip the fog light off

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I{m right near Duitama, Colombia and heading towards El Cocuy National Park to take in some nice views. I never did cancel my Venezuela import papers for the bike so I plan to cross into Venezuela at Arauca one of 4 known possible land crossing into Venezuela, I crossed two others in the North and want to take a different one this time and it should go easy with my bike papers and insurance already set, might just have to play the stupid gringo card with the bike{s papers that I never turned in when I last exited, they are good for ninety days so why cancel them is my reasoning

I{m ready to leave Colombia and get on into the other countries and start making my way around and down. I plan to head home in the middle of my summer in a few months at home and wait for better weather down farther South later this year so I will be leaving the bike somewhere for a few months and then resume later. It{s staggering the amount of good stories that come out of a trip like this and the good roads you can find. Colombia has been very good to me. Here{s a teaser of a road I rode with Joe out of New Zealand heading back to Cali on the old road out of Buenaventura, it was one of the great ones


Adios for awhile

[damurph]

Thanks for the most excellent RR John. I met you at the first Skibum Soiree in 09 (red 06KLR) and you did me the honor of letting me ride "The Mule". I have since picked up an 02 GSA with 6000 miles and am enjoying (and beating) the shit out of it. Your attitude and pics are an inspiration for us all. Be safe but have fun.

[Domiken]

Amazing ride report, well done! Very happy to see you doing this, I cannot wait to joint the ranks someday.

[Throttlemeister]

Originally Posted by damurph

Thanks for the most excellent RR John. I met you at the first Skibum Soiree in 09 (red 06KLR) and you did me the honor of letting me ride "The Mule". I have since picked up an 02 GSA with 6000 miles and am enjoying (and beating) the shit out of it. Your attitude and pics are an inspiration for us all. Be safe but have fun.

The tall red headed guy right? Always a pleasure to introduce someone to one of those sweet boxers, damn I miss that one sometimes down here. Nice to meet you up on the big island, it was lots of fun times
The poor mule is in the barn awaiting a new clutch and a new beefier subframe with nearly 110000 miles of good stuff. When I return from this latest go around I will get right to work on her as I need to get it back in shape to ride in the off season a little

Originally Posted by Domiken

Amazing ride report, well done! Very happy to see you doing this, I cannot wait to joint the ranks someday.

Thanks for the kind words man You can{t beat riding a bike down South, it makes for a hellulva grand time Hurry on up!
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I made it to El Cocuy after a interesting route in the mountians and stopping for a nice lunch and now going to find me a nice spot to camp in the mountains and look for a way out to the South of town, hence here again at a net cafe

[damurph]

Close. Your post#57 We met you at the boat. I am the grey haired, hi viz dude who stayed sober all weekend. Thus i got to ride your machinery. His red KLR is a garage queen.
Considering how many people you have met since then its a wonder you can remember anyone from that far back in the RR.

[swamp]

Originally Posted by ThrottleM

I know I'm such a poser, actually this was a staged picture just to show the amount/quality of mud I was crossing

enjoying the ride report. . keep riding shit head



.

[BluNozr]

Hey John,

Just catching up a bit and took a look at what you are up to. Nice stuff.

...and on another note, the military and National Police in south eastern Cuba said to say Hi. They harassed the hell out of me for three days and kept saying "we remember the American from two years ago." I wanted to say "yeah I know him" but I figured two hours held at the police station in Pilon was enough for me.

It seems your legacy lives on. No camping for Gringos in the southern states.

Take care and drop me an email.

Suerte.

[skibum69]

I'm currently sitting on a rig offshore Sable...

Hi John

[SS in Vzla.]

Originally Posted by BluNozr

Hey John,

Just catching up a bit and took a look at what you are up to. Nice stuff.

...and on another note, the military and National Police in south eastern Cuba said to say Hi. They harassed the hell out of me for three days and kept saying "we remember the American from two years ago." I wanted to say "yeah I know him" but I figured two hours held at the police station in Pilon was enough for me.

It seems your legacy lives on. No camping for Gringos in the southern states.

Take care and drop me an email.

Suerte.

[Throttlemeister]

Originally Posted by damurph

Close. Your post#57 We met you at the boat. I am the grey haired, hi viz dude who stayed sober all weekend. Thus i got to ride your machinery. His red KLR is a garage queen.
Considering how many people you have met since then its a wonder you can remember anyone from that far back in the RR.

My mind is not totally clouded by all the kegs that have passed my way I'm glad I could give help you out with the test ride, my pleasure I meet many a fine person up on that island and hope one day to return again on a 650 or less and work that old railbed trails system up.

Originally Posted by swimp

enjoying the ride report. . keep riding shit head

Remember; "No Money, No honey" I got to get me one of them or another that says: "Nada Propina Factory!" More coming one of these days, but my days are way more filled with riding than typing as of lately.

Originally Posted by BluNozr

Hey John,

Just catching up a bit and took a look at what you are up to. Nice stuff.

...and on another note, the military and National Police in south eastern Cuba said to say Hi. They harassed the hell out of me for three days and kept saying "we remember the American from two years ago." I wanted to say "yeah I know him" but I figured two hours held at the police station in Pilon was enough for me.

It seems your legacy lives on. No camping for Gringos in the southern states.

Take care and drop me an email.

Suerte.

I just knew I was going to be huge in Cuba for at least a few years, they still have my books up there I bet they never get tired talking about that shit.

Hope Pilon wasn't too bad for you. Sent you that email and pm.

I'll always remember, "Your're going to be needing an ecotourism permit for that!"I signed my guilt away over a stupid permit

Glad you made the trip up to join the Havana Club

Talk to you later amigo

Originally Posted by SS in Vzla.

I just knew I'd be geting a laugh or two out of you. Send me a pm on your latest Arauca findings, I'm getting mixed reports on my end. I got some bearings sourced for my cush drive and will swap those out and also got me a new Brazilian mud tire in Bucaramanga that's coming in today or tomorrow and I'm off to have a good night in Pamploma at that place you told me of. Looking forward togetting back into Venezuela, only have until the end of the month to get the hell out before my 90 day papers are up. Everything starting to come together again except for finding those bad bearings in the cush drive which sent me North instead of South of El Cocuy NP.

I'm holded up over the major lunch/siesta break from 12 - 2:30 at my remote field office @ the McDonalds in Bucaramanga, Colombia getting ready to swap those bearings out and try and source a new seal and flip my front Pirelli for long life and maybe leave town late this afternoon if my new mud tire shows up in time.

John in Buca @ McDs having my last taste of home for a good while, btw McDonalds in Venezuela does suck nothing like all the others down here but it still works in a pinch

[SmilinJoe]

Good to hear from you and your status. Sucks about the cush drive, better now than in the middle of BFB (Brazil). Other than that sounds like life is going well for you my friend. Can not wait to read of your adventures! Keep riding my friend and be safe!!

[SS in Vzla.]

Originally Posted by Throttlemeister

John in Buca @ McDs having my last taste of home for a good while, btw McDonalds in Venezuela does suck nothing like all the others down here but it still works in a pinch

Told you so.... I wouldn't eat there even if there was nothing else around! And you know I'll eat rocks and worms, but McD's in Vzla is just too much

If you can't find any bearings or seals drop me an e-mail and I'll probably be able o get them here.

Arauca is still the same as in Easter Week.

It's been raining A LOT in all of Venezuela lately ( a lot more than is normal for this time of the year), so I'm guessing Brazil has gotten it's share of water also... Check on that. The good news is that Angel Falls should have plenty of water for you to visit.