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Central America or Bust!!!! H3 -2003

I'd love to do a trip like that!!!

But I don't think the Feds will let me leave the country...:twofinger
 
End of the Earth

glf said:
uh...guevos?

:confused

you don't mean Huevos?, do you? :teeth

yes, my secret dream is Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (northern most point) to Tierra del Fuego, SA. I was going to do it on this bike in 2007, just to say I could do it.....and then it was stolen. oh, well. plan B.

Nice reading your take on the trip. Brought back lots of fond memories.
You want to live the dream? I'm going to blow off the RTW in '07 and am thinking Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia instead. Your the only moto head that I've ridden with that can hang without bitching. Would be my pleasure to ride with you again.
Blue skies.
 
Re: End of the Earth

ElPacoLips said:
Nice reading your take on the trip. Brought back lots of fond memories.
You want to live the dream? I'm going to blow off the RTW in '07 and am thinking Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia instead. Your the only moto head that I've ridden with that can hang without bitching. Would be my pleasure to ride with you again.
Blue skies.

GOLD!


Paco, good to hear from you, I will start looking into it!

On - On

have already been looking at some Honda XR's and the likes.
 
glf said:
this is probably my favorite if not one of my favorite photos of the whole trip...and of pretty much any of my trips. Paco and Squeely were bullshiting, as we took a break on the side of the road, and I just stepped off to take a photo. I have the hard copy photo, and it's really grainy in that black and white way, and I think it's totally cool. I'm working on having it blown up to frame. anyway, i digress......

2333955-scan10021__2_.jpg

Just read thru this whole thread- sweet story and pics, thanks for sharing. One more reason I kick myself for taking French in high school instead of Spanish. :mad

BTW- the pic above is my favorite of all you posted also. Great candid, and the background looks like its out of a cowboy flick.

Do you have the negative for this shot, and the ability to do a high-res scan to digital? If so, I'd like to take a pass at cleaning it up for you.
 
rama said:
Just read thru this whole thread- sweet story and pics, thanks for sharing. One more reason I kick myself for taking French in high school instead of Spanish. :mad

BTW- the pic above is my favorite of all you posted also. Great candid, and the background looks like its out of a cowboy flick.

Do you have the negative for this shot, and the ability to do a high-res scan to digital? If so, I'd like to take a pass at cleaning it up for you.

rama,
thanks for the compliment. I don't know why, but when I developed this photo, it is the one that stuck out the most. maybe because the two guys were just hanging out, we were all on the downside of an amazing trip, the black and white grainy action of the pic. and so forth.

I have the original negatives. I'll try and get a high res. scan of it.

I won't be back in the bay area, until April 10th or 11th. back in Oakland. i'll post then. would like to see some of the other guys' photos from their trip to panama, and looking for either an SV or XRr for my next purchase.....and going to Mexico in May.
 
Re: Re: End of the Earth

glf said:
GOLD!


Paco, good to hear from you, I will start looking into it!

On - On

have already been looking at some Honda XR's and the likes.

Rode my thumper into Mexico for only a thousand miles and came out with carpal tunnel ass. The DRZ is a hoot in dirt and mud but I'll truck it in the future, thank you very much.
The Wee is the bike for me if I'm going to cross a continent.
As to plans, been thinking (it hurt) as to either taking the ferry from Tampa to Vera Cruz so as to avoid Texas and Mexican desert and then on to the Canal Zone so as to ship from there or ship from home directly to Ecuador. I wish to avoid Columbia for obvious reasons. By the by, once you hit Peru there is a 3,000 mile desert crossing! Still interested?
 
Re: Re: Re: End of the Earth

ElPacoLips said:
Rode my thumper into Mexico for only a thousand miles and came out with carpal tunnel ass. The DRZ is a hoot in dirt and mud but I'll truck it in the future, thank you very much.
The Wee is the bike for me if I'm going to cross a continent.
As to plans, been thinking (it hurt) as to either taking the ferry from Tampa to Vera Cruz so as to avoid Texas and Mexican desert and then on to the Canal Zone so as to ship from there or ship from home directly to Ecuador. I wish to avoid Columbia for obvious reasons. By the by, once you hit Peru there is a 3,000 mile desert crossing! Still interested?

:teeth what do you think? HUEVOS CABRON!
 
Re: Re: Re: End of the Earth

ElPacoLips said:
Rode my thumper into Mexico for only a thousand miles and came out with carpal tunnel ass. The DRZ is a hoot in dirt and mud but I'll truck it in the future, thank you very much.
The Wee is the bike for me if I'm going to cross a continent.
As to plans, been thinking (it hurt) as to either taking the ferry from Tampa to Vera Cruz so as to avoid Texas and Mexican desert and then on to the Canal Zone so as to ship from there or ship from home directly to Ecuador. I wish to avoid Columbia for obvious reasons. By the by, once you hit Peru there is a 3,000 mile desert crossing! Still interested?


Shit yea homie, teh Wee is teh rox0r3.

:loco <-- 3 strong beers at Toronado over lunch

-S
'05 Wee and others
 
oh my god that was the best write up ive read in a long time. I admire the true "pack em up and riders"

Id be interested in doing your ride in may with you. You think a Gixxer 1k can do it ?
 
280SQUAGGLER said:
oh my god that was the best write up ive read in a long time. I admire the true "pack em up and riders"

Id be interested in doing your ride in may with you. You think a Gixxer 1k can do it ?

squaggler, i'll post up about the trip and ride down there, i'm probably going on the duc. just got it running, now I should get the sargent seat so I don't end up with no ass when I get there.

i'll finish the pics posting here. the repair shots of the harley were pretty cool. i was hoping to find my other pics. of San Miguel de Allende, but they are at home in texas. oh, well, i'll find them and post them. that's a nice town, a bit americanized with a lot of tourism and expatriates, but still a nice area to ride in and hang out in. it's where they filmed most of "Once upon a time in Mexico"

later
 
so once out of mexico city, and an overnight stay at an OVERPRICED b&b in san miguel de allende...shit, 75.00 US dollars for a bedroom, that we were paying, maybe 15 dollars for in central america, i got on the road, and figured i'd be home by that evening. left early, and made my way north, past queretaro and the central valley highway 57, towards Saltillo, Coahuila. I took the outer ring detour to miss Saltillo and headed straight for Monterrey, Mexico (largest industrial city in Mexico) at the entrance of the west side of the city, there were signs for an outer ring to bypass all of the mess that is the city, and I took it. it was a toll road of course, and i ate up all of my money on the tolls (the cash that I had) i was on my last legs of cash, and paid the final toll, and then was running low on gas, near to Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. I was about 30 km from Reynosa, and on fumes, so i pulled in and got 20 pesos worth of gas. about 2 dollars just to make it to the city. now I didn't have money for the international bridge toll. oh, well, with plenty of family in Reynosa, I would just stop and see what I could do.

I made it to my uncles bar in the central square, it was almost a determined decision, since they were the ones that had had a negative attitude towards this trip, and our abilities to complete it....well, they were mostly concerned in their negativity I think, it was their friends and others that were like "you guys won't make it" and "all the roads are for shit, and why would you attempt this?" shit!

so in I went, and had a beer with them, and took one last photo in mexico outside the bar. and then went and cancelled my permit before heading home.

2409190-mission_bar_kdh3__2_.jpg
 
i don't think i put these up. they were two shots I took in central mexico. one was going into San Miguel de Allende the night before. this one:

2409193-centralmexico_sanmigueldeallende__2_.jpg
 
and then this one, after a toll booth on hwy. 57 nearer to Saltillo. Lots of dust devils along this route as you could see the mountain ranges on either side, and I think the most dust devils I counted during that section of maybe 60 miles was about 12 dust devils off in the fields.

2409197-central_mexico__2_.jpg
 
so on home for me. as I arrived my sister was ouside waiting for me, and my mom came out and my sister just looks at me and shakes her head...hahahahaha, cause I was still pretty dirty and a disgusting site to them i'm sure. I didn't think I was doing that bad, personally. anyway, she points out the jacket and helmet to my mom, who just shakes her head and smiles and asks when that happened, and I say, about 9 days ago.....and I didn't want to worry her. she just smirks and shakes her head again. it was nice to be home, nice bed, a good long hot shower, and cleaning up my knee wound better. it was a fanfuckingtastic journey that I will look to all of my life. i'll never be able to top it, only because it was my first of it's kind. but I'll try all the time to top it. a couple of things about it, that I will pass on.

Just do things! when I was planning this trip, I had 80% negative comments from people about doing this trip. even if they supported me in the end, their initial comments were negative in nature. not mean, just with a negative attitude. i don't like that. shit, that's no fun, think positive, and whatever comes your way, well, hell, deal with it.

it was a freaking blast.

I had a few more days off, before having to go to Reno for work, and when I finally went out that way, I loaded up the bike, and then called the insurance company and made plans to take bike to the Reno Harledy Davidson shop for repairs.

these are some of the photos from the repairs. they had to strip the bike down to the frame, as a small tab that holds the coils (bolts them on) to the frame was broken in the crash, so that totalled the frame....still not enough to total the bike, as it's a harley they still retain a hell of a lot more of their value than any other bike I've seen. so new frame, new fenders, front rear, and new tank, headlight assembly, miscellaneous repairs, new primary cover, floorboards, shifter, bars, and i had it serviced while i was at it.

total: 6k +

thankfully i had insurance.

2409223-new_frame_2__2_.jpg
 
anyway, hope you all enjoyed, for those that chimed in, and asked questions, thanks for the interest, and I hope I answered all the questions.


I have the hard film for the black and white photos with me, and I'm living back in Oakland again. so hit me up for it, if you want, and we can talk photos.

bicyclekid? i think you said, you're at the wall, for some central american chat and photos, let me know when you're up there, I'd be interested to hear about it.

i'm off. enjoy.

I'll post info. on the ride to Rocky Point, once I get the hotel shit squared away.

i'm still making my final decision as to what day to go, and route, but it would probably be a one day ride down there, unless unforseen things happen and it has to be split into two days. and then a day ride back.
it's 800 plus miles.
 
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