I finally got to ride some dirt roads. A lot of fun till the hard red clay got more slick than an ice rink and the front end went out from under me. Down I went for a 50 foot head first slider. It's been a while since I had a working email connection. The first day out of Iguazu falls was the first day the weather wasnt perfect. In fact, it sucked. Cold rain the whole day. But, I finally got to ride some dirt roads. A lot of fun till the hard red clay got more slick than an ice rink and the front end went out from under me. Down I went for a 50 foot head first slider. Loaded and fueled, the Great White Pig weighs around 480 lbs and it was ALL I could do to stand him up again. Several bent parts - the pig does not crash well. I got going again then stopped to straighten the shift lever. Then it refused to start. Got the tools out as the lightning got closer and closer, still pissing down rain. Turns out, the RUN botton was off. DOH!

Made it into town then it started dying on me! It felt and smelled really rich. Would not run at an intersection, again, as the lightening got closer... I finally nursed it under a roof in front of a tire store and tore into it. When I pulled off the left side cover that comprises one side of the airbox, about a quart od muddy water gushed onto my boot! Apparently, in the crash, the side cover scooped a bunch of mud into the airbox and plugged the drain at the bottom. The airbox then filled with water. I think the filter stopped all the water and mud from going thru the engine.... I also lost one of my shoes and both my spare inner tubes that day - they just fell off somewhere. Thats why they call it an adventure.

The last 2 days, I have been putting in the miles- 480 the day before last. Yesterday, through sheer force of will, I made 580 miles, including a jaunt thru Rio (not nearly worth the large effort). About 400 miles were on twisty 2 lane road with beautiful scenery. The last 100 were in the dark with occasional light rain. Great White may not yank my arms off like my other bikes, but yesterday, I passed about 300 trucks (NOT an exageragtion) on the 2 lane road and he always got the job done in the left lane (or on the shoulder, as Ive become fond of doing).

Need to change the oil and buy some shoes before I leave Vitoria this morning. I'm getting close to my friends. It will be good as I am not catching on to Portuguese at all.

===== Jim Stanley
Managing Member Stanley Alpine, LLC
www.sopgear.com

Somewhere WAY, WAY south of the border... "Sieze Liberty"