Radioman Rides the World.......

[Ladybug0048]

Originally Posted by Mr. Vintage

Yikes Mark - glad to hear that you are OK. Take is easy, smell the flowers (right Ladybug?)!

[Radioman]

Originally Posted by Ladybug0048

and another cup of Colombian coffee . Thanks Bug Sister and Mr V for the reminders I have certainly been smelling the roses!

Will slow it down a bit and hope that this is the last incident on my trip But I do like ridig briskly

[Radioman]

Decided that I could ride the bike back to Medellin, figuring if I needed parts I could get them. It was a 280 Mile day on a bike with bent front end.... felt every bump along the way. But made it back to Medellin before dark !

It was a good ride, with beautiful scenery. But of course I had lots on my mind, logistics of the repair, what if's and thoughts of the crash.... plus a rough ride with not front end dampening... But at the same time enjoying the ride!



Had one police stop just to check our documents .... Very friendly and we were on our way quickly.



It is amazing all the things that get carried on motorbikes here.





On the ride, James got hit by a big vulture that flew right into the side of his bike.... Even dented his side bag lid.



Lots of road side stands selling fruit and goods...



And still lots of animals walking along roads, sometimes with farmers taking them somewhere.



Fortunately we ran into Mike from CasaBlanca (cali) & Motolumbia.com (riding tours of Colombia) and he told us the El Poblado area was booked due to ""fashion Week" but that he was driving over to the other side of the river to find a place.... Thanks Mike



We parked our bikes at the Hotel and jumped into Mikes truck, and got to a decent hotel. Thanks Mike!



Once back in Medellin, off to Ruta 40. Great guys at this dealer, Carlos, David speak english well, and all the mechanics have been great!



They had 19 bikes come in the last day for work Knowing they are busy, we asked if it would help if we pulled the front end apart for them. They were OK with this..... So James and I got to work.









Ok front forks, tripple clamps removed....





Yup. Bent left fork tube.





Hard hit on the handlebar stops



Good News..... Ruta 40 guys think that this can be fixed here, and will start on this in the morning.

Once we pulled apart the bike, we met up with a couple other Moto travelers.... Conor had arrived 2 days ago (https://twowheeledtravels.wordpress.com/), and Sherry Jo Wilkins (http://www.sherrijowilkins.com) arrived today.

Was fun to reconnect at the Shamrock!

We got to catch up on there harrowing experience on the boat Independence from Panama to Colombia, riding and experiences!






One of the riders that they had met on the boat to Colombia Annie from Scotland riding her Harley Softtail had been in an accident. She got hit by a bus that squished her between the bus and a large truck on her way to Medellin.

She was in the hospital with a broken leg and a broken arm both that need surgery. We decided to go for a visit, so we jumped in two cabs and headed off to show a bit of support for her!!



We arrive and she is out in the courtyard, Albert had brought a Bottle of Wine .... Toasted to a quick and successful recovery!





Annie was in great spirits and waiting for her surgery. Guess they were waiting for her "parts" to arrive for the surgery. Albert had leg surgery after a crash here years ago, and the hospital here is probably one of the best places to have this surgery, as they do this everyday. The number of motorbikes and scooters here is huge. We talked with an english speaking doctor and asked him about how many bike accidents that they see ..... Basically he said that they see tons, and when it rains even more

Albert wanted to make sure that he checked in with Annie as she does not speak much Spanish. He said he would.



We wheeled Annie back to her room...







Her roommate a Colombia girl had a broken leg as well from a moto accident.



The nurses station had a full list of patients and what insurance they had.



Goofing around with the wheel chair.... Looking serious...



Goofing around....



Ooops... Time to go.




So the recap, I am totally fine from the get off. The bike will certainly be fixed ..... and I will be back on the road soon. :) Very thankful that I am Ok, as I have seen what can happen in an accident. Will slow it down and be a bit more cautious as I continue. Got the message thsi time. "slow learner"

Of course it is also a time of reflection as I think about my adventure, thankful for this opportunity to ride, explore the world, and grateful for this time.

Thanks for all the comments and concerns about safety. Truly I am not a reckless rider, this has been a very interesting experience after so many years of no issues. Riding certainly has risk and things change in moments!

[Throttlemeister]

The bright side: You picked a mighty fine place to break down

Goodluck man!

[TowPro]

Originally Posted by Radioman

Once we pulled apart the bike, we met up with a couple other Moto travelers.... Conor had arrived 2 days ago (https://twowheeledtravels.wordpress.com/), and Sherry Jo Wilkins (http://www.sherrijowilkins.com)arrived today.

Was fun to reconnect at the Shamrock!

We got to catch up on there harrowing experience on the boat Independence from Panama to Colombia, riding and experiences!

Wow, Sherri must be flying, Her blog shows her in Alaska on Sunday
Thats 6200 miles to the Panama Canal.


Sunday, 22 January 2012

Alaska Ferry


With the bike tucked nicely on to the ferry in Haines Alaska, I settle in myself on the dry warm deck upstairs.

[rallyman1978]

Good effort Mark - glad to see you didnt damage yourself in the get-off

[Parcero]

Wow, Mark, you might still be in Medellín when I return in a couple of weeks. Did they have ADV wheelchairs there like the ones in Honda?



Ride safe!

[larryboy]

Good thing you went back with that bent fork tube.

Glad you're okay!!!

Maybe crashmaster will loan you his screen name?


Ride fast, take chances!!!

[mike54]

That's a lot of energy to bend that fork tube like that.

You know, you ride for years and many miles with no incidents and you're convinced you're being cautious. Then bam! the wheel go away. It's happened to me. It's happened to a lot of folks. I don't know if it means we weren't being careful or didn't really have the experience to deal with the situation or it's just plain bad luck? But what can you do but ride on?

The night at the hospital with Annie and the rest looks like a pretty good time although the circumstances could've been better. I had a chance to briefly chat with Sherry Jo at the HU meet in Cambria. She's good folk.

Take care Mark and may better luck follow you the rest of your journey.

[MortimerSickle]

Good on James for riding back with you.




Looks like you are managing to turn lemons into... wine?

Originally Posted by Radioman

...



...

Originally Posted by mike54

...

You know, you ride for years and many miles with no incidents and you're convinced you're being cautious. Then bam! the wheel go away. It's happened to me. It's happened to a lot of folks. I don't know if it means we weren't being careful or didn't really have the experience to deal with the situation or it's just plain bad luck? But what can you do but ride on?

...

+1

On the day of my first get-off, I had been riding for over 35 years, and had thought I might never go down.

Wrong.

Afterward I thought "OK, now I have that behind me, lesson learned, just watch more carefully for slick spots."

Wrong again: About 10 years later, the MotoGods felt I needed a refresher course.

[BELSTAFF]

Originally Posted by MortimerSickle

Good on James for riding back with you.




Looks like you are managing to turn lemons into... wine?









+1

On the day of my first get-off, I had been riding for over 35 years, and had thought I might never go down.

Wrong.

Afterward I thought "OK, now I have that behind me, lesson learned, just watch more carefully for slick spots."

Wrong again: About 10 years later, the MotoGods felt I needed a refresher course.

How true, Thats why I don't claim to know how to ride a motor bike, because just the moment you think ---- Hay,I'm doin perty good here-- ---- at that exact moment it will throw you off ,climb on top of you & begin to grind away at your leg with its chain.

And I swear to god , I've heard it laffing at me while grinding away

[GhostRiderFC]

Wow Mark! Glad you're alright!

I think that you should be shopping for new tires, too. There's a lot of pavement between Colombia and TDF and certainly a lot more potentially slick spots with any rain or other iffy weather.

Glad to see you and James are making the best of things!
Prayers for safe travels!
CJ

[(sp?)]

Wow!

I've not checked in lately - been busy. See what happens?

Take care of yourself Mark. As Tom said, do that falling down crap in the dirt on the Husky.

P.S. - Rode the Husaberg last week here in the snow. Trials tires work great!

[Radioman]

Originally Posted by GhostRiderFC

I think that you should be shopping for new tires, too.

New TKC 80 will go on tomorrow! Comfortable that will help, and of course slowing it down a bit and reducing my risk of riding over my abilities :)

[MortimerSickle]

Originally Posted by Radioman

New TKC 80 will go on tomorrow!
...

This is better?