Let the journey begin...

Hello and welcome to my blog. I'm Gail Baillargeon, I retired from the US Navy (EOD) on 01 April 2013 and am now embarking on a life's ambition of traveling around the world on a motorcycle. No set destinations or time schedule, just want to see the world. 

My journey started in Lyndon, VT on 23 April 13 with Ushuaia, Argentina and all points in between as the first leg of the adventure.

Start date, 23 April 13, Lyndon, VT.

Just had my 24K completed at European Cycles Sports in Plano, TX. Highly recommended if you need any bike work. George, the mechanic was on top of it. Decided to stay here for the night and get an early start tomorrow. Looking forward to getting, South of the Border!

Crossed into Mexico on May 10th, Presidio, TX - Ojinaga, Chihuahua. Spent the first night in Creel and the next day headed for Batopilas in the Copper Canyon.

Just outside of Mapimi, Durango there is a suspension bridge at an old mining sight, Puente de Ojuela. It's famous in Mexico.From Mexico

Beautiful town. Not much into cities but this is real nice. Most of the streets are narrow with lots of small shops and street vendors selling things to eat and drink, my favorite way to eat. Found a few nice Cantina's!

The road from Guanajuato to the coast was a great ride. Stopped in Autlan De Navarro along the way for the night. Scenario: one way street, two lanes, no traffic. I'm in front of the hotel as close to the curb as I can get. A woman in a mini van pulls behind me and stops. She then starts honking her horn, I motion for her to go around. No, she pulls up closer to the bike and honks the horn again. No other traffic, two lanes. She is now to close to go around so I move the bike forward and motion for her to go around again.

Having a little trouble getting photo's to upload into Picasa. It requires a good internet connection and I'm finding that a bit difficult to find. Making blog entries has been the most challenging part of the trip so far.
Excuse the mix of past, present or future tense mixed together.

May 27 2013
Visitied Chichen Itza today, quite impressive! It was on my bucket list. (16 photo's)
Staying in the town of Piste one kilometer away from the site. Not much going on here. THe lady that owns the place is an American from the Pittsburg area. Her father built the place 45 years ago and she came down to help out and he died and she stayed.
They stop selling beer at the Oxxo store at 9 pm, no good.

Crossed into Belize on May 29, 2013. Simple procedure, they wanted to see passport, copies of bike title and registration. Other than a weeks worth of insurance, $14.50 US there are no other expenses.
Planned on stopping in Beize city however when I got there it didn't look very inviting. It was a great day for riding so I kept going, ended up in San Ignacio. I was here back in '07 with my brother and decided to stop. It's touristy place, lots of young Americans just hanging out. Lots of crunchy's.

Entries are in reverse order but I'm going with it. I have internet that works, well sometimes.
May 31, 2013
Got up early and headed for Guatemala. The border is 11 miles from San Ignacio so I arrived before much was going on. Departing Belize is a pretty simple process, pay 37.50 Belize departing tax, turn in the bike permit and get a couple stamps.
Entering Guatemala is also a simple process however the border agents are in no hurry at all.

Spent the day walking around exploring the city. It was very overcast this morning, I was hoping to see the top of the volcano but it kept hidden most of the day.
Going to put the captions first and then the photo and see how that looks. Still getting the kinks out.

I spent the day just riding slow on back roads and meeting people. Didn't take many photo's, just rode and visited. The weather was very hit or miss and I had to stop because of rain often. It was still a great day for riding. When I stop I often get out my map and start asking directions, even if I know where I am and where I'm going, everyone seems to like being involved and I usually get some good information.

Jun 07, 2013

June 10, 2013

Still in El Tunco hanging out. Been meeting a lot of travelers doing the bus/back pack thing, it's fun sharing travel stories and learning about places to visit. Not sure how much longer I'll be here but plan on heading to Honduras soon. I'll do one more stop before the border and get a couple day plan together.
Finally washed my riding gear today, damn it was dirty.

Song of the day: End of the Line, Traveling Wilburys

Jun 17, 2013
Didn't sleep much last night and was up early this morning, wasn't doing so well. As good things happen, the lady that owns the hotel speaks good English and has a private doctor that comes to the hotel for her and the guests when needed. 20 minutes later the Doc arrives, diagnosed with an inner ear infection and a prescription is written. I've had this before so I suspected that's what was going on. Started feeling better within a few hours and managed to get out and take some pictures. I'll probably hang out for another day or two to make sure everything is good.

Jun 18, 2013
Met up with Montazuma today, and he was one pissed off Aztec. Spent a good part of the day apologizing. What makes me so angry is the fact, I didn't do anything to the bastard. No photo's.

Was feeling pretty good this morning and decided to head for San Juan Del Sur. It's was a short ride so I went pretty slow and stopped a few times to visit and for the rain. Anyone heading south has to take this road and it looks like they keep it nice along here. Everything was clean and the road sides were well kept.

Song of the day: Good Feeling, Flo Rida

June 23, 2013
Great time at the fiesta last night! Ran into a couple people I met in Granada.
Just hanging out today, the big fiesta finally is tonight and I want to be part of it. Not sure when I'll make it to Costa Rica. Meeting a lot of good people and having lots of fun!

June 24, 2013
The pole is up and greased, black axle grease.
From June 25, 2013

June 23, 2013
Today is Sunday and tomorrow is the last day of the festival and there is lots of preparations taking place. Tonight will be one big street party.

June 30, 2013
Heading for Nicoya along the coast road. Met some local guys out of San Jose on BMW's, got some good information.

Song of the day: Video Killed the Radio Star, Buggles

Eric Bray started the IBR 2013, July 01, 2013.

July 5. 2013
BMW dealership:
From July 5, 2013

July 06, 2013

July 14, 2013
Spent the day on the motorcycle riding mostly dirt roads and trails. Dual sport bikes are popular here and I stopped often to chat with other riders. Great day! My spanish is improving. Plan on departing Nicoya tomorrow.

July 16, 2013
The weather looks good so I headed for the hills. I'm going to work my way down to the Osa Peninsula.

Song of the day: Stand by Me, Prince Royce

July 19, 2013
Got up early and went for a moto ride to Cerro Punta and surrounding area. While at the border I met a lady, Bonnie, and this is one of the places she recommended I visit. It's one of the most interesting places I've visited.
The area is mainly commercial farming and it's done mostly by manual labor due to the steep terrain.
It was 62 deg. cloudy with some light rain. Not such a good day for photo's but a great day to ride!

July 17, 2013
Took a ride out to Carate, Osa Peninsula road, and back. Dirt road with six or seven water crossings, nothing technical but lots of fun! It was hit and miss with the rain all day and I didn't stop for photo's much. I was having to much fun riding anyway!
When I got back out on the main highway that leads to Panama I met a guy, Miguel, on GSA coming out of Venezuela making a mad run for Miami. A vacation present to himself. He's going to fly him and the bike from Miami to Colombia and then ride it home. Got lots of good information from him.

July 18, 2013

July 23, 2013
Departed Volcan on the 21st for Boguete, short ride, which is on the eastern side of Volcano Baru. Rather than go south into David and up, I took a short cut along the base of the volcano which was a a fantastic ride, paved road but lots of hills and turns

Song of the day: Knock Three Times, Tony Orlando and Dawn

uly 24, 2013
The ride from Boguete to Santa Catalina was really nice. Great ride through rural farm country and small villages. Lots of rivers in this area so everything is very green. Sona was a bit dirty and seemed like a place where people go to get things they can't find in the villages. Didn't see much of interest so I got gas and headed for Santa Catalina.

Song of the day: She Drives me Crazy, Fine Young Cannibals

July 27, 2013
Departed Santa Catalina on the 25th and rode up to Santa Fe, a small mountain village. It's a bit cooler and there are some nice roads in the area to explore. Very nice town, everyone is very friendly and helpful.

04 August 2013
I'm in Panama City now. Arrived a couple days ago and have taken advantage of a hot shower and no mosquitos. Went to the Mariflores Locks today, I've been there before, however there were a few tourist buses ahead of me and I didn't want to wait in line so I headed for the Gatun Locks. It's pretty simple how the locks work but it's amazing to see them operate and see the canal. You learn about it in school, but actually seeing the place is amazing! I can't imagine the working conditions back then. USA!

I'm now in Cartagena, Colombia! I arrived via boat on 15 August and plan on staying for a few weeks, I'm taking some spanish classes and then plan on exploring the country. I got a three month visa for myself and the moto. Cartagena is nice but I'm already feeling the need to ride again.

I'm back. Spent three weeks in Cartagena taking some spanish lessons, not really sure how that worked out for me. Cartagena is a nice place to visit but three weeks was to much. It was really hot there and I was glad to get out of the city and back on the moto. I headed north to Santa Marta spent the night there before heading to Meddellin. I needed some elevation and cooler temperatures. Also. I had banged my small camera pretty good somewhere in Panama and it suffered a major head injury, it was unable to focus.

Come to find out, the man with the cow is the father of, Jorgive that owns the hotel, Hotel Las Araucarias, I'm staying at. This morning Jorgive took me to his fathers place and I helped milked that cow, hadn't done that since I was young. We went through the court yard of his parents place to the backyard where they kept the cow and some other animals, two rabbits, a few different breeds of chickens and a pheasant. Very well kept place.

Departed Guatape on the 18th and headed for the small mountain village of Otanche. Most of the day was spent on mountain dirt roads and the going was pretty slow. Took all day to ride 181 miles. By the time I arrived and got settled in it was getting dark, got cleaned up and went to sleep early. The next days plan was to ride to Villa de Leiva. Short distance on a map but the road twists through the mountains and is under construction most of the way. I was told the views are fantastic however it was clouded in all day.

Song of the day: I Shot the Sheriff, Eric Clapton

Spent today just roaming around the city. While riding into Bogota I kept thinking, I need to get some tires and get out of here. Now that I've been her a couple days I'm actually having fun. On Sundays they close some of the streets for a few hours so people can ride bikes. Some of the main streets stay closed for vendors and people to walk and enjoy the days activities.

Got some new shoes for the moto! Got a set of Heidenau K60 Scouts from Gonzalo Bueno MFG. Everyone has a preference and an opinion when it comes to tires, mine is, I prefer the K60's over any other for dual sport/adventure riding.

Departed out of Bogota and headed back to Valle de Leyva on the 24th. It was only a 115 mile ride however, I stopped a few times for water, food and visit. It was actually quite cold and just out of the city I stopped and put my liners in.

Valle de Leyba was designated a historical site in the 1950's and there are virtually no modern buildings and most of the streets are constructed of large stones. It's a fantastic little village, very clean and everything is well kept and painted nice.

Didn't do much in Barichara, I arrived late and by the time I got settled I was done for the day. The plan for the day is to ride to Duitama through the mountains. The map I have isn't very detailed and my gps isn't displaying anything in that area. Oh well.

01 October 13

Song of the Day: Feelin Alright, Joe Cocker

Spent another day in Belen, washed the moto and checked it over real good for anything loose or broken.

Belen El Centro:
From Sep 28-30 2013

Salento is a great little village in the mountains, lots of farms and coffee. The main reason for coming here is to go into the Valle de Cocora where some tall wax palms grow. However, the weather is not cooperating, it's only 10 klicks from town but it rains there often because of the mountains.

03 Oct 13
The weather was good so I took a ride back out to Valle de Cocora. Supposedly the Wax Palms that grow here are the tallest in the world. One of the trees is more that 60 meters in height.

From October 3, 2013

First, to everyone that has sent emails, posted on FB and my SPOT link, thank you very much. I've received lots of compliments and encouragement and I really appreciate it. I apologize if I don't always respond , well hardly ever, I'm not very good at FB. So, to anyone that has had a birthday, birth, marriage, anniversary, had a great ride, got a new motorcycle, won the lottery or any other good things, congratulations. This also apples to any and all fellow travelers I have met along the way.

Departed Salento on the 5th and rode to Buenaventura, it's the only town on the west coast you can drive to and has one of Colombia's major ports. Didn't see anything to keep me there so I rode inland to Buga for the night. I joined up with a dozen motorcycle police riding V-Stroms on the way to Buga, great ride. There was lots of traffic and construction along the way and having a police escort was a lot of fun.

Picked up the bike yesterday afternoon from Ruta 40 BMW, service all complete! Woke up early this morning and headed out for Barrancabermeja. The ride from Barbosa to Puerto Berrio was a great ride the through mountains and small villages. The area has lots of water and cattle ranching seems to the regions mainstay. In one of the rivers I saw two small dredge barges mining for gold.
After a week hanging out in the city it felt good to be riding again! Didn't stop much for photos.

I'm now in San Antonia del Tacharia, Venezuela, border town. Got some not so correct information before crossing the border and now I have to spend the night here. Everything is good however the office that does the documents for bringing the moto in and getting insurance is closed on Sundays. Everyone at the border was helpful and the police told me I could ride the bike to a hotel and come back in the morning. It was 09:00 and the two hotels I found wouldn't let me check in until 2 so I found a taxi stand that had a concrete bench and a shade tree, perfect.

I'm back. Had a some difficulties with my computer however, everything seems to be working fine now. I'm currently in Caracas, had the computer checked and I also need to get more pages for the passport at the US Embassy.
So far everything has been great here. I meet up with a German guy, Mika, that lives in Bolivia, at the border and we rode for a couple days through the mountains to Merida. I stopped in Merida for a few days and he kept on his way to Brazil heading back to Bolivia.

Woke up early this morning and headed back to Rorainopolis for the night. Hoping to cross into Guyana tomorrow and then head for Georgetown on Saturday. It was a great ride today, not to hot and it rained just a little when I was leaving Manaus. I did miscalculate on fuel. I didn't fill up in Manaus and thought I had enough to get to the next village. I stopped at a police station 26 miles from the last fuel stop and asked. I was told the next fuel station was 50 miles up the road. I had about 40 miles of fuel in the tank. I went back.

Departed Caracas on 02 November and headed for Ciudad Guayana to get a visa for Brazil, two day mostly uneventful ride. Arrived on a Sunday and got settled in at the Rock Inn Hotel. The next morning while inquiring about the location of the Brazil consulate the owner of the hotel, Pedro, offered to drive me there and help with translation, Portugese. Come to find out I needed to provide a six month bank and credit card statement to apply for the visa. Pedro let me use his office at the hotel and I was able to print out everything I needed and was able to submit everything that day.

Arrived in Manaus around 3;30 pm on the 12th, hot like an Amazon jungle and a mad house for traffic. I had the coordinates for a recommended hotel so I didn't have to search around for a place to stay, good thing. The plan, see the two rivers, get some information on the area and then head north and hope the weather holds.

20 Nov 13
Woke up early and rode into Paramaribo, the capital city of Suriname, to purchase insurance for French Guiana. Before I could purchase a ferry ticket in Guyana for Suriname I needed to prove I had insurance and was told that it was the same when boarding for FG. Most everyone in Suriname speaks english so it didn't take long to get insurance and off I rode to Albina. Found a nice place to stay next to the ferry landing and would catch the first crossing in the morning!

18 Nov 13,
Rode into Georgetown to get a Suriname Visa and insurance along with washing the moto and giving it a good check over.

22 Nov 13
Next stop, Kourou. Just off the coast are the "Iles de Salute" or Islands of Salvation. Three islands which were part of the prison system one of which was called "Devils Island".

I'm in Saint-Laurent, French Guiana for the day. I haven't had reliable internet and am not sure if the SPOT is tracking, haven't been able to check, but when I have a good connection I'll upload my adventures. Thanks for tuning in.

Some people in Rotainopolis told me there was a motorcycle rally gong on in Boas Vista so I decided to spend the night and see what that was about. Met a few dual sport riders and got a lot of good information on roads and weather. Didn't meet anyone that had done the road from Lethem to Georgetown, Guyana.

27 November 2013
All during the trip, day or night there were boats coming along side to exchange people, goods and whatever needed transported or passed on. The boat often stopped at riverside villages or business's.

23 November 2013
Got settled into the Hotel Ballahou in Kourou and inquired about getting out to the islands. The owners daughter spoke English and told me she would take care of it. After a few phone calls I was all set to out the next morning.The owner, Allen, offered to take me to the boat landing and pick me up so I wouldn't have to leave the moto in the parking lot all day.

26 Novemeber 2013:
I got up early the next morning and rode the 30 min ride into Santana and my first impression was, this place is crazy disorganized. However, it didn't take but a few minutes and I found where the boats departed and in short time I had passage to Manaus. The first boat to Santarem would be leaving at 6 pm and then I would change boats there and go to Manaus. From what I gathered there are three boats a week to Santarem from Santana, glad it worked out so well. I really didn't see much worth hanging around the area to see or do.

24 November 2013:
My original plan was to go to French Guiana see the prisons and then head back to Colombia. I decided to keep riding to Macapa Brazil and then take a boat up the Amazon to Manaus. I didn't want to ride the Hell road again and taking a boat up the Amazon was high up on the bucket list. Allen had made the run before and told me it's a good ride. Sounded more fun than turning around.

I'm back in Venezuela slowly working my way back to Colombia. Spent a week in Santa Elena de Uairen and then yesterday I rode to Ciudad Guyana, very nice ride up through La Gran Sabana.

La Gran Sabana
From La Gran Sabana

Happy New Year! I'm now in San Antonio and will cross into Colombia tomorrow or the next day. This month has been pretty low key, stopping in small towns for a few days and then moving on. I've met a lot of fun people and have enjoyed Venezuela but I'm ready to move on. Plan now is to head for Ecuador via Medellin get the moto serviced and then Bogota for tires.
I'm getting excited about going to Ecuador!

January 02, 2014:

Went back to the immigration office and got the moto processed into Colombia and then headed towards Medellin, 350 miles. Got lots of time to get there, Monday the 6th is a holiday so the plan is be at the BMW dealer on the 7th.

Departed Pamplona on the 6th and rode to Medellin. It's a nice 325 mile ride through two mountain ranges however there was rain, fog and holiday traffic so it took all day. I did get a break in weather just before descending into Bucaramanga.

January 16, 2014:
Got started on the days ride a bit later than what I planned but hey, it really doesn't matter and I'm not sure I even have a plan. I met a guy while fueling and he mentioned that Route 24 through the mountains to Popayan is a very scenic and worth taking. Sounded good!

From Pamplona I rode into Bogota and got new tires from Gonzalo Bueno MFG. Gonzalo is an ADV rider and I spent a few hours and lunch getting some good information on SA, it was a great day! Rode south out of the city and found a place to stay in Subia.

January 19, 2014:

Got the moto into Ruta 40, BMW dealer, late Wednesday afternoon and got it back on Friday afternoon, all fixed ready to ride! Thanks Ruta 40, I appreciate you taking care of Jenny. Rode to Popayan on Saturday and then onto Ipiales Sunday. I had lots of time so I rode slow and just enjoyed the scenery and stopped often for drinks and snacks. Between Popayan and Ipiales I passed a guy on a HD with Florida tags, he didn't seem to interested in acknowledging me, I passed him twice and he never looked or waved.

Rode to the equator monument, Mitad del Mundo, in San Antonio de Pichincha, just a few miles north of Quito. The monument was supposedly built on the equator however it's location was discovered by the use of GPS to be more than 200 meters south of the true line.

Spent the evening to the 29th in Atacames, a tourist beach town however it's low season so not much is going on. Got on the road early thing morning and took my time riding south to Canoa along the coast. The route is all coastal jungle, mostly small villages and scattered homes.

Decided to ride out to the coast and would be going past the Solar Museum so I stopped and took the tour this time. The last time I never paid to enter and missed out. In all fairness, I couldn't find anyone to take my entrance fee.

Canoa is a small surf village however there are lots of places to stay along with many small restaurants. The town and beach are well kept and everyone seems friendly.
Decided to hang out for a couple, three days and see what happens.
Hostal Shalmar, $10 per night for a private room. Secure parking for the moto in back.

The two, Dream a Little Dream girls from Argentina invited me to hike into a private beach a few miles up to coast from Canoa. We were also joined by Morgan from Wisconsin.
We took a bus a few miles out and then hiked a mountain trail for a couple hours.
Just got off the bus and looking for the trail:

All is good in my travels. Since my last blog post, 02 Feb 14, I haven't been able to upload photos, I'm using Picasa and was not able to access my account for some reason. Anyway, today I had reliable internet and believe I have solved the issue.

Febuary 03, 2014
Rode south out of Canoa to Puerto Lopez, a short ride 131 miles. The landscape changed drastically just a mile or south on Hwy E15, it went from jungle forest to a dry desert like climate. Lots of trees however instead of being broad leaf they were all small leaf and many had thorns.

Febuary 06, 2014
Woke up on the 6th to a beautiful clear day! The Quilotoa region is known as the heartland of Ecuador and I was excited to ride some of the area along the, Quilotoa Loop. The weather changes quick here so I didn't delay in starting the days ride.

Febuary 05, 2014
Rode to the mountain village of Quilota today. It's the rainy season here and the weather was not very cooperative. Lots of fog, clouds with light rain. When I departed Puerto Lopez it was muggy hot however it got cool rather quickly, 46 degrees. Of course I was to stubborn to stop and put on any warm cloths, just turned on the heated hand grips. I was shivering by the end of the ride.
The summit pass 10 miles from Quilotoa:

Febuary 08, 2014
No luck with the weather on the 6th or the 7th however, later in the afternoon on the 8th the sky started to clear.

From February 07, 2014

Febuary 14, 2014
Spent a couple days in Tena looking inquiring about fishing in the area and it seemed the Coca or Limoncocha area:
Water stop on the way to Coca:
From February 14, 2014

Febuary 15, 2014
When I was in Tena one of the guides services said they could book me on a three day fishing trip to Laguna Limoncocha. It was only a few hour ride out so I thought I'd check things out first.

Febuary 17, 2014
Got an early start on the days ride and other than a few clouds things looked promising.
View from the summit on Hwy E20. I had to wait almost an hour to see the mountain:
From February 17, 2014

Febuary 16, 2014
Decided to head back to the mountains to the town of Papallacta and hopefully get a view of the Antisana Volcano.

Febuary 17, 2014
Rode E35 South in hopes of seeing Cotopaxi Volcano but again, doomed by weather. Decided to give it a day or two in hopes it would show itself so I found a place to stay in Lasso. Day two, rain. The morning of the 19th the weather didn't look promising either so I decided to ride to Guaranda in hopes I'd get a view of Chimborazo Valcano along the way. Wasn't expecting to see it however I didn't want to stay in my room anymore.

Woke up to a very good morning! I was going past the mountain again on my way to Banos and this time I would get a view of the summit. Met Paul and Chloe at breakfast and they were also heading up to the base and then west to the coast.

Made a run to Quito on the 24th for insurance and the BMW dealer. The dealer didn't have a clutch handle however I got a couple oil filters. The ride up was a bit wet so I stayed the evening and rode back to Banos the next day. It rained most of the way back but even so, it was nice ride. I took my time discovering small roads that cut through the mountains.
Train station near the base of Cotopaxi.

A few photos around Banos:

From Banos

It's been raining most everyday since I arrived in Banos however, there was a couple days of great weather and I took advantage of them. I rode some of the back roads in the local area, felt great to tear up some dirt with a naked moto and couple gallons of gas!

April 22, 2014, one year into my journey! It's been a fantastic adventure!

April 23, 2013 - April 22, 2014
Odometer starting miles: 20,673

Countries Traveled: 16 (including the USA)
Border crossings: 18
Miles traveled: 27,746
Odometer: 48,419
Highest Altitude: 15,957' (Chimborazo)

I'm finally back on the trail! Got held up in Quito longer than expected but all is good. Was about to over stay my Visa and moto permit so I extended them and it took over a week to get the customs document for the moto.

Departed Loja, Ecuador for Peru on 12 May. Was hoping my last day would be dry however that was not to be. The roads E35 & E50 through the mountains to the Huaquillas were nice and during clear weather I'm sure the views would be amazing. Once I got to west side and started dropping things cleared up and it got quite warm.

May 17, 2014
Awoke in Calendin to a beautiful day. Started the days ride a bit late, tried finding a cup of coffee however that didn't work out. They seem to like eating soup in the morning, without coffee. Even though the coffee served here is instant, getting them to boil water was difficult for some reason. A bottle of juice and I was good to go.

20 May 14
Departed Huanchaco and headed back into the mountains for the village of Huamachuco. It's good paved road all the way and climbs up to 13,770', fantastic ride.

From May 20, 2014

May 21, 2014
Got a late start, 9:00 am due to heavy fog. The plan was to back track for an hour and take 3N south to Mollebamba.

Water stop on 3N:
From May 21-22, 2014

May 23, 2014

May 24, 2014
Didn't do much today. When I was out getting lunch I met this guy coming down the street. Jeff from Indonesia, six years into his RTW trip. He's heading south and plans on being in Ushuaia for Christmas as well.

May 25, 2014
Huaraz to Yanama via the Olimpica Pass, Huascaran National Park:
Got an early start at what looked like would be a great day riding into the Huascaran National Park.
A mile east of Carhuaz:

May 26, 2014:
Woke up early hoping to catch the morning light however it was overcast with dark clouds. Oh well, I took my time and enjoyed a nice breakfast, included. Got on the trail at 8:00 am. The bus drivers were not exaggerating, it's a rough road. Lots of rocks, pot holes, washouts and more rocks. A perfect place to blow out a tire.

May 27, 2014:
Woke up to a beautiful day and set my directions southeast for the village of La Union. Before heading out I rode north back to Yungay to take some photos of the mountains and have some breakfast in the village of Carhuaz.
Taken in the village of Yungay:

May 28, 2014:
The days plan, ride to Huanuco and then then decide which way to go. I'd been told by a few drivers that this section of road would be rough and even though it's only 104 miles, it was going to take most of the day. Everything was good for about 40 miles and then it got rough from the washouts and rock slides. Much of it was one lane and this is a main route, lots of getting out of the way.

June 02, 2014:
Departed Tarma and rode north to Lake Junin, the lake is at 13,400' and supposedly has flamingos living there.
Stopped along the way for breakfast:
From June 2, 2014

June 31, 2014:
Decided I'd ride back to Von Humboldt (one hour) and then ride south through the jungle to Villa Rica. Looked good on the map and I'd been told it's a good road, pavement dirt mix. I hadn't seen much wildlife since I entered the Amazonia here and was hoping to see some birds and a maybe a few monkeys. Got some breakfast in Von Humboldt and headed south. The road was good and cutting straight through the jungle.

May 30, 2014:
Departed Huanuco for Pucallpa on the 29th however I rode as far as Tingo Maria and decided I'd call it an early day rather than arrive late. The ride out was a bit overcast once I passed over the mountain and started dropping into the Amazon region. It rained some but it was a nice ride all the same

June 1, 2014:
Decided to make it an easy ride day and ride to Oxapamapa, a Greman Village and then decide from there. The weather was great and the road was good.
Along the rode to Oxapamapa there are a few bridges for pedestrians and motos to use when the water is high or you just don't want to go through the water. I went through.

June 03, 2014:
It was a short ride day, didn't sleep good in La Oroya due to the elevation, 12,500' and I was also quite dehydrated. I rode to the Village of Concepcion which is at 10,500' (couple k makes a big difference) and spent the day resting and rehydrating.

June 05, 2014:
Woke up to a beautiful day and got an early start on 22 to back to Concepcion.

Jun 06, 2014:
The road from Concepcion to Ayacucho is paved for most the way, narrow mountain side road with lots of sharp corners. Luckily traffic was fairly light and even though the going was slow it was a great ride.

June 08, 2014, Ayacucho to Andauaylas

June 12, 2014:
Woke up early in Santa Teresa and took a minibus to Hidroelectrica where I caught a train to Aguas Calientes, (Machu Picchu Peublo) :30 min ride. It was a bit cloudy but it looked to be a good day.

June 13, 2014:
The ride back to Cusco was fun despite the overcast weather. Traffic was light and I was pleasantly surprised how few animals there were this time.

From June 12, 2014

June 11, 2014
One of the bests rides I've done! The road runs through the Sacred Valley to Phiri and then north into the mountains over the Malaga pass to Santa Maria. It's good paved road from Cusco to Santa Maria however it's slow going due to animals and curves. From Santa Maria to Santa Teresa (14 miles) its good dirt with a couple easy water crossings, just a bit dusty.

June 23, 2014:
The days plan was to ride to the Canyon del Colca, second deepest canyon in the world and home to some Andian Condors.

The pass before descending into the village of Chivay, 16,018':
From June 23-24, 2014

June 26, 2014:
It's a short ride from Putina to Puno so I decided to take short detour to the Northeast corner of Lake Titicaca. It was a great day and there was very little traffic. Amazing views!
From June 27, 2014

June 15, 2014:
Departed Cusco on the 14th and rode back to Abancay for the evening. Woke up early on the 15th and headed for Nazca. Around ten miles out of Abancay the road started to climb up to a height of above 14,000' and staying there for 140 miles with a couple points above 14, 900'. It was cold and desolate.
There had been a recent dusting of snow:

June 25, 2014:
One of the items on my "Bucket List" was to visit the town of La Rinconada. I don't remember when or how I learned about this place but it's on the list. The town was built and exists because of the gold mining in the area. It's supposedly the highest permanently inhabited town in the world. Depending on the source of information the towns altitude is from 16,700' to over 17,700'.

June 28, 2014:
Saturday, market day:
From June 30, 2014

July 01, 2014:
Rode to the Bolivian village of Cocacabana just over the border on the south end of Lake TIticaca. Checking out of Peru was quick and clearing the moto and myself into Bolivia was easy, not much going on. The border personnel see quite a few motos coming through and were friendly and efficient.
Along the road to Bolivia:

July 06, 2014:
Spent a couple days in La Paz and then headed for Coroico to ride the famous "Death Road". There really isn't much of the original road in use now and what there is used by tourists, mostly for a mountain bike run.

July 11, 2014:
The TMK's and myself departed La Paz on the 11th headed back to the "Death Road" in hopes of better weather. Didn't work out that way but it was a good ride just the same.
From July 18, 2014

July 26, 2014:

August 03, 2014:
After a few days in Sucre it was time to head north back to Santa Cruz. While in Sucre a fellow rider told me about a dirt road from Villa Serrano to El Trigal that's part of the famous Che Guevara route. Che is still very popular in Central & South America. The route twists through valleys and mountains, the scenery was great but it was slow rough going, lots of sharp rocks.

August 15, 2014:
Crossed into Brazil and worked my northeast towards the coast. The first couple days were cold and a bit rainy. Did a stop in Ribeiro Preto and changed the oil along the way. The area so far has been pretty much sugar cane fields and other agriculture. The people are friendly and It's very clean and modern.

Song of the Day: How Bizzare, OMC

August 26-30, 2014:

I've been continuing up the coast, visiting many of the small beach villages along the way. Not much exciting has happened in the past few days however, the weather has been great for riding, other than some rain.

September 01, 2014:

Took a short ride up the coast to the village of Arraial d' Ajuda. I was only planning on staying the night however a storm front came in so I stayed put for the week. I found a street vendor selling used books who had a good selection of ones in English.

September 25, 2014:

Ocotber 04, 2014:
Headed south to the coastal village of Paraty. It's an old fishing village that now mostly exists from tourism.
Arriving in Paraty:
From Back on the coast

Departed Lencois on the 25th and headed SW to Janauba before working my way back towards the coast. This area of the interior is hot and dry with not much scenery.
Many small basic houses scattered throughout the country side:

October 08, 2014:
Spent the night on the Ilha de Santa Catarina (island of) in the beach village of Barra da Lagoa. It's a bit early for the beach crowds and many of the business's weren't open for the season. Finding something to eat was a bit of a challenge, ended up buying some items from a market.
Arriving Barra da Lagoa:

October 11, 2014:
May last ride day in Brazil from Rio Grande to Chuy, Uruguay was a bit wet in the begining. I got break in the afternoon and it turned out to be a great day.
At a school bus stop putting in rain gear:

It's been slow going since I've entered Uruguay due to thunder storms and rain showers. I've done some short day rides however the sky doesn't want to stay clear for long. Even though I've been weather bound, Uruguay is a great place to hold up.
After a night of severe thunder storms I was once again on the trail. Decided against attempting this crossing:

October 18, 2014:

A rainy afternoon in Salto, Uruguay:
From Argentina Oct 2014

October 31, 2014:
Arrived in Mendoza on Friday and planned on staying a day or so and then crossing into Chile on Sunday. However, there was some sort of Chilean holiday and the city was full of people from Santiago and I was told it would be best to wait until Tuesday to cross the border, it would be busy. Just as well, the weekend was a little wet and cold so I just hung out and enjoyed the food and wine!

November 8, 2014:
With the moto all serviced along with a new set of hiking shoes put on I was back on the trail. I took a short ride to the Farellones, a ski resort area just east of Santiago, and then a ride to the coastal village of Pichilemu.

November 15, 2014:
Volcano Villarrica near the village of Pucon:
From Chile to Argentina

November 18, 2014:
Esquel to Rio Mayo and the weather isn't looking so good. It rained some and the wind was getting stronger each hour:
From Along Ruta 40

November 20, 2014:
Got an early start to a beautiful day, clear skies and moderate wind. First leg of the days journey was to Perito Moreno and then a 35 mile ride west to Los Antiguos to get a view of Lago Buenos Aires.
Lago Buenos Aires:

November 24, 2014:
Woke up early with plans to ride into the Torres del Paine National Park however, an inspection of the moto revealed I had an oil leak coming from the differential. I rode to the gas station down the street and pulled the rear tire, I was hoping something was loose but that never seems to be the case.

November 22, 2014:
Glad I held up a day, it was a clear day with moderate wind. I hit gravel road 37 miles out of Gobernador Gregores however, other than a few section of loose rock it was good road, in a strong wind it would be very challenging. The dirt section was only 60 miles.
One of the better sections:

December 02, 2014:
Woke to a beautiful day, strong wind but nothing like the day before. 135 miles to Ushuaia!
From Ushuaia!

November 30, 2104:
Got the moto back, a Sunday, all is good to go. The weather has been rainy and windy all week however I did manage to get a break one afternoon.
From Punta Arenas to Rio Grande

December 03, 2014:
A beautiful day, little to no wind, very rare condition down here. Took a short ride out to the Tierra del Fuego National Park. It's a small park with lots of hiking / walking trails.

From December 3, 2014

December 03, 2014:
Ushuaia was the prize in the first leg of my journey and getting here has been one of the greatest adventures of my life. What a great way to see the world! Life is good!
"It's only far away until you go there", I read this somewhere.
Evening in Ushuaia:

December 08, 2014:
Got an early start on the days ride heading north however the wind didn't take long to start up again. It wasn't to bad but I was getting tired of fighting it. It wasn't raining and the temperature was comfortable so all and all it was a nice ride to Esquel.

April 10, 2015:

Since my last post I've been spending time in the village of Helvecia. It took a few weeks however I finally received the, Carnet de Passages (motorcycle passport) I need to continue on the journey. I'm now in Buenos Aires and have completed the process of getting the motorcycle sent to South Africa. The moto should arrive Cape Town on April 13, I'll be arriving the 15th.
I'll miss South America however, I'm excited about exploring another continent!

May 03, 2015:
Well I made it to Africa! Internet has eluded me so I haven't been able to update the blog or anything else. All is good though, having a great time! The moto arrived Cape Town on the April 14 and I arrived the evening of the 15th.

April 16, 2015
Getting the moto out of customs at Cape Town Intl. Airport. I was informed that I would need a clearing agent however the customs lady was nice and didn't require me to hire one. The whole process took about two hours, including putting the moto back together and visiting with everyone.

April 28, 2015:
On the way to Coffee Bay getting a much needed shower:
From May 03, 2015

May 04, 2015:
Swaziland - Spent two days riding around the perimeter of the country, it's 180 kilometers tall and 120 kilometers wide. The eastern part of the country is planted in sugar cane and the western half is tree farms.

May 09, 2015:
Departing Lesotho: Not much happening here, I was told that somedays no one passes through.
From May 10, 2015

May 27, 2015:
Got a good nights rest and took my time getting on the trail. The plan was to ride to Luderitz and stay a day or two if I liked it, mostly hoping to find wifi and wash some cloths.
This guy seemed to keep a close eye on whatever was gong on, which wasn't much.

May 18, 2015:
Back in Cape Town to get a service and some new tires before heading into Namibia and beyond.

May 23, 2015:
Ended up staying a bit longer than planned getting everything accomplished however all is good, back on the trail! The weather had been great however my day started off overcast with light rain. It got a bit worse but by mid afternoon the rain stopped and it was just overcast and foggy. Worked my way up the coast to Elands Bay and stopped for the evening. The hotel was 100 meters from the shore however I couldn't see the waves.

June 16, 2015:
Headed for Botswana! The road to the border goes through the Mahango Game Park and I needed to stop and tell the gate keeper my intentions. She said I needed to stay on the main road and go straight to the border control, I didn't. Mine as well take a ride around the park.

June 07, 2015:
Spent a couple days in Swakopmund, cold and windy, and then headed for Otjuwarongo. Arrived in RUndu on June 07 and set up camp on the Okavango River.
From June 07-10, 2015

June 14, 2015:
I spent a couple days in Katima Mulilo and then rode back to Divundu, wanted to ride into Botswana. I ended up stay a few more days in Divundu. The owner of the campsite invited me along with his brother for a drive into the Mahango Game Park. He had loaded a cooler with a few beers and a bottle of brandy! The parks is about 8 miles from the campsite.

May 31, 2015:
Departed Luderitz and rode back to Aus to take the C14 north to Walvis Bay. It's supposed to be one of Namibia's most scenic routes. It was a clear day however the wind had kicked up so most of the ride was pretty much a hang on and get to shelter. The road was in pretty good shape, just a few areas of lose sand, some that got pretty squarely. Spent the evening in Maltahohe.

June 24, 2015:
Been held up in Maun for a week now, it's a great place to get held up though. A couple days after arriving I chipped a front tooth, no big deal however I wanted to get it fixed before moving on. It took a couple days to see a dentist but the delay worked out great. I met a couple safari guides, Clinton and Brend, where I'm camping and they invited me on a two day trip, June 22-23, into the Chobe NP to check on a new road being cut through the park. Another local guy I met, Steph was going along as well and I rode with him.

August 11, 2015:
I'm still on the trail, at the present time I'm in Malawi in the village of Cape Maclear on the southern part of Lake Malawi. Everything is good I just haven't had wifi or a reliable connection in order up load photos to my Blog. The place I staying now, Indaba Lodge, has a wifi hot spot however I need to purchase 100MB access cards which don't allow me to do much, oh well, it is what it is.

I'm back in ZA, the drive shaft went out in Zambia soI bused the moto to Pretoria. My laptop has been acting up since my last post and finally gave out in Zam as well. Will start posting again soon, thanks for following.
I bought an iPhone today, it's nice however I've got lots to learn.

October 06, 2015:
My computer has been repaired and it looks like I'm back online.

October 2015:
Along R396 just east of Rhodes heading towards Naude's Nek (pass)From October 2015

Decided to hang out in South Africa for a bit longer to attend the Horizons Unlimited travel meeting being held at the Elgro River Lodge near Potchefstroom. The event went from the 12th to the 15th of November and then a group of us rode to Hazyview, near Kruger NP, and spent a few days doing day rides in the area.
The HU event and ride was a fantastic time, it was non stop fun and laughter from the start to the last, ride safe and see ya later.

November 26, 2015:
I crossed from South Africa into Zimbabwe on November 25 and rode to the village of Masvingo. There's a World Heritage Site, Great Zimbabwe National Monument, close by I wanted to visit. It's believed to be the birth place of Zimbabwe's modern civilization and the first capital. It was inhabited between AD 1150 until the 1800's. At one point there were 2,500 inhabitants and the ruling King had as many as 200 wives. I did a guided tour however it was Africa hot and I lost interest half way through. It's a nice pile of rocks though.

December 13, 2015:
Crossed into Tanzania. In the northern part of Zambia and then after crossing into Tanzania I started seeing a lot of big trucks that had gone off the road. I was told it happens mostly at night, drivers are tired and often have been drinking.

December 12, 2015:
Stayed in Lusaka a bit longer than I had planned. After a couple days there I started developing what I thought was a head cold, turned out to be a a sinus infection. Nothing major but it had me down for a few days and then a few more until I felt somewhat normal again. I was feeling good enough to ride by the 11th and had decided to take the T2, The Great North Road, to Tanzania. Best explanation I could find for it being called the, The Great North Road, it's long, a main route and goes north.

December 18-19, 2015:
Went out to the island of Zanzibar on Dec 18 & 19, needed to get out of the city. Returned to Dar es Salaam on the 20th to apply for an East African VISA before Christmas holiday.

December 25, 2015:
Did a short ride from Dar to the small coastal village of Bagamoyo. Not much going on however it was nice to getting out of the city. Spent the afternoon and evening hanging out at the Funky Squids, a restaurant & bar on the beach. The owner is originally from Montreal.

January 15, 2016:
Crossed into Uganda on January 13. The weather has taken a turn for the worse and it looks like I might be held up here in Kisoro for a few days. Not much going on, however I've got a decent place to stay with a restaurant and cold beer.
Checking out of Rwanda:

January 09, 2016:
Rode into the village of Musanze which is located near the Volcans or Virunga NP were the gorillas of Rwanda live. I spent the afternoon getting information on taking a gorilla tour and then settled in for the night. It was raining the next morning and didn't feel much like hiking in the rain so I just hung out around the hotel. Things cleared up later in the day and on the 11th I did the hike to see the big apes.

January 06, 2016:
The first night in Rwanda I stayed in the capital city of Kigali and then the next morning rode to the village of Kamembe, at the southern end of Lake Kivu. The roads are good and the country is all hills and mountains so it makes for great riding. One thing that really stands out is how clean and well kept the country is. I was told that littering is illegal and that plastic bags are not allowed in the country. It's really impressive as to how clean it is.
The weather was a bit overcast and there was some light rain so I stayed in Kamembe another day.

January 13-20, 2016:
Waiting on the weather took a bit longer than I had hoped. One storm that came through brought large hail and gale force winds, four people were supposedly struck by lightning, two were killed. Electricity was out for two days. There was also word going around the village that someone had been killed in a landslide. Crazy.
Not much to do, read a couple books and when there was a break I'd do short walks around the village.

January 23, 2016:
The plan was to make a short ride up to Fort Portal, spend the night and then maybe ride to the Kibale NP, chimpanzees live there.

January 22, 2016:
Got an early start on the day and headed into the Queen Elizabeth NP. It's one of the few NP where you can ride a motorcycle because main routes run through the middle of it and there's a few villages located within the boundaries. I wasn't allowed to ride any of the game viewing routes, which you must pay entrance fees, however there's plenty to see along the main routes and on the side roads to the villages.

January 25, 2016:
I'm still in Fort Portal, it took two days to get the blog updated, wifi was intermittent so loading photos was very time consuming. Luckily the place I'm staying has lots of cold beer. It's been very hazy however things cleared up some today and I went for a short ride toward the DRC border. Not much to see but a nice ride.

I'd like to share a little of my day in Uganda with you.

January 28-29, 2016:
Uganda, rode from Fort Portal to Murchison Falls NP, a one day ride on dusty roads. It was a fairly uneventful day aside from getting a puncture in the rear tire. This was hole number five and it took two worms to plug it, even then I wasn't sure it would hold but it worked, good for me!

February 04, 2016:

March 03, 2016:
Spent a few days riding in the area of Mt Kenya. Met this guy at a local market loading his moto taxi. It was a hot day so I'm thinking the scarf might be more for urban camouflage than warmth.
From Kenya, Feb 2016

March 19, 2016:
It's time to say kwaheri, goodbye, to Kenya and to this part of Africa. TOmorrow I catch a flight to Spain, the moto is departing today and will meet me in Madrid. Africa's been a great adventure along with meeting lots of good people and making many great friends.
I'm excited about moving on though and hopefully I'll be back in the saddle in a few days.
Laundry day somewhere near Mt. Kenya:

March 21, 2016:
Arrived in Spain however the motorcycle was still in transit from Kenya. I hadn't realized it but Easter weekend was approaching. I was informed by Swiss Cargo the moto would be delayed in Zurich until the 29th or 30th. Not sure when it actually arrived in Madrid however when I went to the airport on the 30th it was there. It took a few hours but everything was good.

April 17, 2016:
Arrived in Casablanca and then on Monday the 18th I took the moto to Moto Express (Kacim) to have the work done. Greg from Wheels of Morocco, met on the HUBB, told me about the shop. It only took a couple days to have everything done however I stayed until Friday. Kacim, Greg and Soufiane (BMW Motorrad SMEA Morocco) invited me as a guest on a three day ride sponsored ride out to the desert in Merzouga. Sounded like fun!

April 28, 2016:
Some photos from the past few days of riding the Gorges du Dades area:
From April 28, 2016

April 24, 2016:
After splitting from the group I road to the town of Boumaline Dades and then took the R704 north to Gorge du Dades.
From April 24, 2016

April 29, 2016:

May 01, 2016:
On the way back to Imilchil along the R703 this time.

April 30, 2016:
Departed Gorges du Dades around 09:30, took the R704 north to Agoudal and then onto Imilchil. Great ride back up into the mountains, I had the road to myself, except for the donkeys and mules.
Camels on the mountain horizon:

May 04, 2016:
The weather took a turn while riding north, grey skies, wind and occasional rain.
Lunch stop in Meknes for some tajine, a local dish, meat or chicken cooked in a clay pot with vegetables, very good!

May 10, 2016:

May 29, 2016:
Riding through Italy I started getting the feeling something wasn't quite right with the moto, something in the rear differential. No oil leaking however, I could feel some play in the drive system. Decided to ride into Piding, Germany and have a BMW shop diagnose the issue. The town is very close to Berchtesgaden and I was planning on going there to visit the, Eagles Nest.
It was a bad day for riding, got held up a few times due to rain however I made it to Piding and got a place to stay close to the BMW shop.
On the way to Piding, rain coming.

June 03, 2016:
On the trail again, moto feeling much better!! The shop also put new front brake disks and pads on as well, very nice! First on the days ride is back into Austria to get my passport at a FedEx station just outside of Linz. I had sent it back to the USA from Portugal to get a Russian Visa. All is good!
Water stop somewhere in Northern Austria. Lots of wheat fields throughout this part Europe.

May 25, 2016:
Spent a good part of the day getting out of the Genoa area. I attempted to stay off the highways and ride along the coast however after a few hours of traffic and getting nowhere quick I got on the E80, the number and length of tunnels is impressive along this route.

June 04, 2015:
Rode to to Poland under mostly fair skies, a little rain but not enough to cause me to stop. Found a place to stay in Brzeszcze, I can't pronounce it either and I was there. Just north of Brzeszcze is the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum which I planned on visiting the next day. It was a long ride day, a hot shower, warm food and a couple cold beers were welcomed.

June 06, 2015:
Got an early start to a nice day, rode into Krakow and had the engine and differential oil changed. The rear gear box is under warranty and so I had a BMW dealerhip do do the work. I didn't have an appointment however they worked the moto in and had me going in a few hours.

June 11, 2016:
After a short ride to Korycin, Poland on the 10th I rode to Kuivizi, Latvia, a very long, wet, cold and windy days ride. Heated jacket type cold.
June 12, 2016:

June 17, 2016:
Got and early start on the day, the weather looked like it was going to hold! The plan, depart Croatia, ride through Bosnia-Herzegovina and stay the night in Montenegro.
The remaining ride through Croatia was great, found lots of small roads and good weather!

June 18, 2016:
Got an early start on the day and crossed into Albania. The weather was looking good!
Welcome to Albania:
From Albania, Macedonia, Serbia

June 22, 2016:
Took an off day and visited the Bran Castle. Most everyone I had spoken to about it didn't say much or didn't seem that impressed, I however, thought it was incredible. The architecture was amazing.

June 20, 2016:
The days plan, cross into Romania and ride to the town of Curtea de Arges, located south of the famous Transfagarasan Highway Pass.
Checking out of Serbia:
From June 20-21, 2016

June 23, 2016:
Departed Bran, crossed Romania and did a short ride through the southern part of Moldova and then back into Romania.
From Romania to Bulgaria

July 06, 2016:
Onward from Batumi to Misaktsieli, Georgia.
From Georgia to Russia

July 09, 2016:
Crossing into Kazakhstan was quick and painless. Rode into the city of Atyrau, no much to see along the way, flat and 50+ feet below sea level. Much of the road was tore up, pot holed tarmac.
Welcome to Kazakhstan:

July 01, 2016:

July 13 -15, 2016:
Crossed back into Russia, very smooth border crossing. There's not much to see in these parts however, it's green and there's trees. I did get some terrain crossing through the southern Ural mouton range. It's been long ride days, traffic's ok however there's been a lot of construction along the route. Good thing is, everyone lets the motorcycle guy go to the front. I've only seen a few travelers riding motorcycles and they've all been Russians.

July 28, 2016:
Onward to Mongolia! I was informed that the borders, Russian & Mongaolian, open at 8 am and it's best to be there in advance. I arrived early however there was a long line of trucks and a few vehicles. I figured I'd just ride to the front of the line and all would be good when they open the gate. Nope, a female guard was having none of that. Even after a fairly good attempt at humoring her, she laughed, she sent me back.

July 20, 2016:
I had met three German riders in Berdsk, 3 months into a RTW, and then again in Kosh-Agash. They have a 30 ride tour through China booked, Mongolia to Laos, and had invited me along. It was short notice and the agency they booked it through was going to try rushing the permits and permission for another rider. The trip departs Mongolia on Aug 25 and none of us wanted to stay more that 30 days in Mongolia (need permission over 30 days) so we hung out in Russia. I mostly wanted to wait on information about the China trip.

August 01, 2016:
Got an early start on the day, watched the sunrise while departing Khovd, very nice!
The first 180k is good paved and then it's gravel, sand, trail and construction. Some of it was little tricky, sand, but it was a very good day!

July 31, 2016:
Ended up staying a couple days in Ulgii, meet some other riders, Russians, and hung out with the them. I was planning on taking the Northern Route across to Ulaanbaatar however I had been told by a few sources, one being the Blue Wolf Tour owner, that rains had swollen rivers and caused a lot of wash outs and it wouldn't be a good idea to attempt it alone.
The Southern route it is, off to Khovd!:

July 18, 2016:
Riding to Kosh-Agash, Altai Region west of Mongolia This area is popular with outdoors enthusiasts, beautiful mountains and lots of rivers and lakes.

August 23, 2016:
All is good, I'm in Zamiin uud, a small town near the Chinese border where I'll stay another day then cross into China on the 25th.

Entered China, August 25, 2016. It took most of the day to process out of Mongolia and then into China. The motorcycles and vehicles had to remain at the China border for the night, drivers licenses and permits need to be processed. Middle afternoon on Aug 26 we were ready to travel!

Trying to add photos with comments.

Test, attempting to add photos with comments.

Taking a break.

Sorry, photos won't attach

Working on attaching photos and text.

 At the present time I'm in the border village of Poipet waiting on a vehicle permit to enter Thailand. I'd applied for the permit in November 2016 and was informed it would be completed and approved by January 16, 2017. The powers to be are working on it and it should be approved within the next couple days.

 I'm having some issues with the rear drive assembly, I believe the bearing is shot and I'm leaking oil, lots of oil. I just need it to last for another 160 miles, Bangkok, for repairs. Not being able to ride and cross borders at will is getting a bit boring.

Attaching photos

 Not sure on the permit status. Rceived an email today from the agency requesting information I've sent them twice already. 

 My home, I hope it's not for much longer.

May 31, 2017:

 I’m still on the trail, currently in Jakarta, Indonesia. I’ve been held up, however I’m hoping to get back in the saddle soon. So this is what’s been happening.

January 20, 2017:

Just a few random photo's, trying to figure out how to use this new and improved website. I think I've solved / figured out the issues I was experiencing! I'm feeling much better now!

 To those who have posted comments, thank you. I have seen them however I'm not sure how to respond or if I can. 

Bromo Valcano.

Met some local riders out for a weekend ride:

July 12, 2017:

 Due to technical difficulties or operator error, I'm back to having major Blog issues. I'm able to type in text however, loading any photos or other information and organizing it, isn't happening. I'm going to keep working at it, however the prognosis isn't good. 

 I arrived Darwin on July 20, 2017 and the cargo container arrived on time, on the 23rd. Everything seemed to be going good, however, they didn’t. Quarantine, customs and inspections didn’t go so smoothly. The motorcycles, Norman and Maggie Magowan from the UK had motorcycles in the container as well, didn’t pass the cleanliness inspection. All three needed to be transported to a certified cleaning place and reinspected. We finally received the motorcycles on August 04!

September 2017. Made a my final ride in Australia down the east coast from Cooktown to Sydney. Vistied freinds and attended a HU meeting along the way.

I got everything set in motion for shipping the motorcycle out of Sydney (destination, Chile) on the 28th and I flew out on  the 6th of October. Oz was a great ride!

It took more than seven thousand miles of riding, however I finally saw an emu.

October 14, 2017:

The plan is to ride north and cross over into Argentina on the Passo de Jama and then take Ruta 40 Soouth. First stop, La Serena, Chile.

Hostal El Punto:

  The weather was looking good and I was hoping for a sunny coastline ride however things change quickly. The northern Coast of Chile is barren and rough.

November 12-13, 2017:

 Just a few scenery photos along Ruta 40 Chos Malal to San Carlos de Bariloche. A great couple ride days!

November 15, 2017:
 Crossed over into Chile, very cold with light rain. Went into Osorno for a new front tire and then south to Ensenada. It was quite cool with cloudy skies however it was a very nice ride. Got settled in with the plan of getting an early start in the morning. 

November 16, 2017:
 The early start didn’t happen, heavy rain and strong winds put everything on hold. 

November 19 -22, 2017:
 From Chaiten I rode to Puerto Asyen, then to Puerto Rio Tranquilo and then to Villa O’Hiiggins which is the end of the Carretera Austral. I stayed one night in Villa O’Higgins and then rode back north  to Chile Chico. Four days of long riding but it was some of the best scenery and gravel road I’ve done on this journey! Amazing place.
 

November 25-26, 2017:

December 06, 2017:
 Departed Rio Gallegos with crazy wind blowing from the west. Along the way I passed a rider from Germany, Tobias, riding a KTM 690 that I had previously met in Goernador Gregores along Ruta 40. 
Not the best of conditions to stop and have a chat so it was a  head nod and I was on my way.

 I stopped for lunch in Comandante Luis Piedra Buena and took an extended break. There’s no reindeer in the Southern Hemisphere so Santa Clause uses guanacos.

 I'm still on the trail. My computer is done. It was having issues after my last post and finally gave up. Attempted repairs from Argentina to Panama, I need a new one.

I crossed from Colombia to Panama on the sailboat, Stahlratte. Spent a few days in Panama and then headed for El Salvador. I was informed about safety issues in Nicaragua however, when I crossed through, Aug 01 - Aug 02, I didn't see or experience any problems.

I departed Argentina on May 06, 2018 and other than a few days break at different times I rode straight to Cartagena, Colombia. Took the sailboat Stahlratte to Panama and then headed north to Presidio, TX, crossing into the USA on August 31, 2018. It was a great run even though it was over trails I’ve mostly traveled. It was still a very good ride! I stayed at, and visited many of the places I had on the way south and most of the people along the way remembered me.

 I rode across to SOuth Dakato into Minnesota and then south into Iowa. The, American Pickers television show was one I enjoyed and after returning to the USA I see that it's still showing. I had to visit the store. It's to small stores, however they have some amazing items, motorcycles! I actually spent more time telling people about my journey than anythng else. It was enjoyable experience for sure.

It was truly an amazing journey. To everyone, thank you.

Start date:      April 23, 2013

Return date:  September 14, 2018

Duration:        5 years, 4 months and 23 days

Distance:       150,625 miles (242,407 kilometers)

Countries visited - 80 (Ridden in - 78)

Territories visited - 2 (Ridden in - 1)

Border crossings - 104