Riding RTW and back…for as long as it takes - on as much dirt as possible!!!

Food. I've traveled for the past 30 years for my work and am completely feed up with paying for carp restaurant food. How do you cope long term on the bike? Jam sandwiches only work for awhile

We eat a little better than jam sandwiches - have a read of this from a few pages back

Not sure who's reading this RR and how many, as it seems that its the same names liking and commenting, but for the silent majority and the known names and faces here's a little information you might not know about but maybe you should if you are planning to ride to South America this year via Mexico.

I got an email from Captain Ludwig (Lulu) last night off the @Stahlratte, I think I mentioned it before but Cuba is on the horizon again, leaving Quintana Roo April 16th. The reason I'm telling you the date is that it might become important if S.A. is in your near future.

From what I read, not sure if its fake news or real news but its something to consider (clickable links), Central America seems more unstable right now than it has been for years -

• Honduras could go into civil war soon - this would make it impossible to ride to Panama as you HAVE to go thru Honduras!
• Multiple people have been robbed/ mugged in Guatemala over the last year, riding into areas that are known as unsafe
• TPS regulation changes may lead to a change of friendly and welcoming people to Americans in Honduras, Nicaragua and especially El Salvador as hundreds of thousands face deportation from the US

I'm not posting this to scare anyone just to make you aware. A massive number of riders from this forum use the Stahlratte to get past the impassable Darian Gap, but if you couldn't get to Panama then how are you getting to South America?

We decided last year to head back to the US and go back to SA, my fourth time and Egle's second but we didn't want to go thru CA...solution, the Stahlratte Mexico to Colombia, via Cuba and we set sail April 16th, right now there are only four bikes and riders going, yours truly and Egle, the other two are Simon and Lisa, so there is space but you need to speak with Ludwig about the details so find him and PM him or email him.

ADVrider ride reports would be pretty slim on the ground for new stuff if, CA becomes impossible

rtwpaul, I'm in awe of your ability to compose such great pictures and then tweak them with software, great stuff. I'm gradually learning to stop and turn around when I get a glimpse of something to take a pic of. This is especially true when I have been on the road for a month or two and tell myself there will be something else.

Great job on this report. Egle's report was one of the best. Guys like you inspire and motivate the rest of us to get out there too. Loved the pics, thanks so much for that.
Tony in Tn

Great pics as usual Paul, still following and enjoying, thanks for sharing.


Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk

Oh I think that just summed up ADV...we can all leave now

O, but we are all different.....at least, some bloke told us so



Still following your RR Paul, mostly silent but always liking it. Let's hope CA doesn't see too much problems, a hassle for overlanders but that is nothing compared to the impact on the people living there should things become nasty.

Thank you. Paul and Egle, thank you. I suspect there are a ton of folks out there like myself who have read every word written by both of you across all of the forums and whose days were lifted by something said or a picture shared. I had never thought to post as I always felt like this was your and Egle's show and I did not want to detract from that but please do know that there are folks out there who review and get tremendous joy from both of your posts. As I said, thank you.

And... if you are in the Kansas City area and need a place to work on something, store something for a day or month or whatever, hang out, camp, drink a beer, eat a meal or six, or whatever, drop me a PM. We road trip frequently as well but always willing to help a fellow Adventurer. Especially one has provided as much joy as you two have. Be safe, enjoy life, and all the best to the two of you.

Thanks for the kind offer


It's always nice to have some interaction and to know that the likes are not just from a few select people and 'bots'

...otherwise, it's just like writing - Dear diary, today I...

Very much enjoy your RR and photos. Have followed for quite some time. Please keep up the report!!

I agree with MikePeek. I feel my 2 cents added to your great trip report does not add much. Travel safe and keep up the great reports.

I'll start being a bit more vocal. As a side note the last set of pictures kicked me over the line to enroll in a photography class. I take pictures almost daily and post frequently outside of ADV but your stuff is so good and I'd like to get better. Stay safe and wish you all the best!

Well I guess I count as one of the many who are part of the silent majority. I’m the same way in real life as well, as I never have a whole lot to say and usually just keep mostly to myself. Couple that with my mundane routine of working and boring daily life as well as lack of traveling experience, I don’t often feel I have much useful input to a thread as amazing as this one.

However I certainly enjoy and appreciate all you put into this forum and am grateful for the pictures, stories, etc. Many of us may not speak up much but the number of views for your RTW thread says a lot in itself.

Hey man I was looking for ride reports or something from you here at advrider and did t find anything. Got a
Website or a blog where you chronicle your travels and stuff?
If so and you do t want to post it here, you can PM me instead?

Thanks!

If there's anything I've learned over the years it's that when traveling, you HAVE to get the photo when you are there, when you "see" the image. You MIGHT see this place, this thing- whatever it is, again... but maybe not. Probably not.

Today's modern SD memory cards allow you to take literally thousands of photos and carry them along quite easily.

So no excuses.
Stop the bike.
Get the pic.
Be like Paul.

• Have you ever ridden down a road so steep it kind of feels like you are going over the bars?
• Have you ever ridden down a road covered in cobbles that all seem to want to bounce your front wheel in the opposite direction you are trying not to go?
• Have you ever ridden a road that there is a sheer drop off one side down to certain severe injury or death?
• Have you ever ridden along and tried to slow down and your clutch cable starts to snap and the bike surges forward instead of finding neutral it just stays in gear?

As we roll out of the back side of Real de Catorce, I lead the way out of the little town onto the steep badly cobbled road that leads to the valley below.



On the steepest part of around a 200-meter stretch, I hear an almighty crash behind me, I look in my mirror and Egle is down trapped under her bike. I stop immediately kill my bike, but the road is so steep even with the bike in gear it wants to roll forward, the compression isn't enough to hold it. I spot a rock sticking up that I push my front wheel up against and get off the bike, it stays. I try to run up the hill but altitude, slippery cobblestones and the steepness of the slope slow me to a walk.

Egle is freeing her leg from under the bike, she looks up, "it was either go over the edge or dump the bike!" She stands up, "I love these Gaerne boots, the full weight of the bike landed on my ankle and I never felt a thing".



it looks almost flat in this shot, believe me, IT IS NOT!



We get the bike back up and find out all of those questions were answered "yes" in a nanosecond by Egle!

The clutch cable had about 3 or 4 strands left, but it had allowed it to stretch enough that the clutch couldn't stop the transmission being engaged. She was shaken so I rode the bike down to a relatively flat spot and made an adjustment on the cable to get us to the bottom of the hill. I give her options - ride the bike, hit the kill switch if the cable snaps so instantly doubling the stopping power...or would you like me to ride it down and you ride my bike? what do you want to do?

Egle is a rider and will ride in any conditions thrown at here (read her ride report) before I can finish my sentence she is riding by me! I walk down to where my bike is and she tries to capture the steepness of the slope from where she stopped. Impossible to get that shot, the road feels like its a 45-degree angle in parts.





Its only about 20km down to the paved road, we were so happy there was no rain, as there would be no way of getting any traction on this section of cobbles.

On the flat section, we stop right after crossing the Tropic of Cancer sign and do roadside maintenance and switch out the clutch cable for the spare that I have in place next to the old one



At the next gas station, we pull in to fill up and talk boots and what would the situation have been in adventure boots, broken ankle, broken leg, bad location etc. etc. and then right there as a car pulls out of a parking spot, we find a way to lighten the mood and make some fun - some concrete cowboy boots and a photo op

/snip

Just so Ya know, I am still following and enjoying the posts and pics.

Many poster's in RR's state "the pic does not show how steep it is". These 2 pics to me look STEEP! So if they do not show how steep it is it must have been a right bitch!

Disappointing to read about the increased instability in CA. I do not know if I will ever be able to make the ride, but I want to believe the path is open and the possibility exists.

Ride on, keep posting!

@rtwpaul - as you left Real de Catorce which town did you head for, I was trying to look at your route from google earth.