“Most people go to their graves with their music still inside them.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes
“Sing, baby, sing......................”
From: EGrider
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2012 1:41 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: I must be even crazier
A friend of mine from high school told me of his adventurous Belgian friend who
rode his Transalp 650 from Belgium to South Africa, had it shipped to Buenos
Aires, and then rode it from there to where my friend lives in Maine. Now that
man has an iron butt. I wrote my friend last night and asked him, "How did Luc
get across the Darien Gap?," and he asked Luc and cc'd me on the response. This
is what Luc said:
"As for the Darien gap, the number of people on this planet that have ever
navigated it on a motorbike can still be counted on the fingers of one hand,
even if that would be the hand of a sawmill's worker...
As you know there is no navigable road between the north of Colombia and the
south of Panama, so there are only two options left: by sea or by air.
I investigated both options and decided to fly, sending the bike from Bogota to
Panama City and then flying myself. An alternative would have been to take a
boat from the north coast of Colombia. Maybe I'll do that next time. :-) If
your friend wants more details, he is of course most welcome to contact me."
So it sounds like there will be some down time in Panama, but this thing is
still doable. Will I have the guts to try it, or take the regret to my grave?
On Sunday, November 11, 2012 11:05:19 AM UTC-5, EGrider wrote:
OK, you iron butts. I might have mentioned this before, but ever since I
watched "The Motorcycle Diaries" I've been dying to ride across South America.
Well last May I did a 3-day trip in Peru (that's me in the blue helmet) and
this Christmas I'm doing two rides in Bolivia. But as for the grand tour, I've
checked out companies that arrange bike tours, considered buying a bike down
there, and considered having one shipped. These are all pricey options. Then I
got the idea of just riding something south as far as it would take me and
leaving it there. Disposable bike! That's the answer. Surely there should be
something that runs on regular gas, has a comfortable riding position, on-off
road tires, a big gas tank, could take some ammo boxes on the sides, and has
7-8,000 miles left in it to make it to Buenos Aires? I'm serious about this. I
have also driven cars across Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, so I know a
little about what I'm getting into. I'm pushing 60 and I want to do this ride
while I still can. Any suggestions as to a suitable disposable bike?
Craigslist's winter pricing is setting in. Thanks.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected].
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en-US.
