THE BIG TRIP

[irondawg]

HOLA,

I´m currently in sunny Guyamas! I had changed plans due to how cold the first two days were and how freakin unbelievably twisty 16 is out of Chihuhua! I´m talking 225 miles of nothing but tight switchbacks without even a 100 yard straight to relax. Magazine Mountain in AR comes to mind. About 500 of them.

I´ve kept a journal so far and will post it as I get a chance.

Day one was WINDY!!! And then it got cold, down to the teens. I stopped in Sanderson because I didn´t want to go up the mountains to Alpine where it was 0F.

Day two was another cold one. I think it got up to 49 but when I hit the mountains west of Chihuahua and started climbing, it got really cold. There was also a lot of ice on the roads. Mind you these roads are decent but like I said, all switchbacks climbing and decending. One spot, an 18 wheeler was stuck on the ice going up. They decided to back all the cars up so he could get a faster run up the hill :shock: which is covered in ice!!! I ask them if I can pass on the side. They let me. The side is nothing more than 6 inches of gravel then a drop off 1000 feet. Oh yeah, the gravel is covered in snow to make it just a bit more interesting. I take my time and make it thru. I had to do this about 10 more times. The last 6 in the dark. I finally had enough and by 8 I find a hotel, which doesn´t have heat of couse. I don´t think any have heat. I pile on the blankets and write in my journal.

Day 3 is a day of extremes. I go outside and the bike is covered in ice. I check the temp...8F! This is gonna hurt. I but on everything I can. I scrap the ice off the bike and load up. It´s 8:30. After about two hours and 4 ice crossings. I took a picture but when I checked it didn´t come out. Turns out I didn´t fully press the button. I had my winter gloves on and wasn´t about to take them off. I start to come down from the mountains and the temp gets to 50F and I´m burning up. I finally make it to Hermosillo and head to the coast where I´ll take 29 north. I told myself that I´m stopping with 2 hours of light left today, so I make a detour for Bahia Kino on the coast and will camp there. I done good! What a gorgeous place, 75F with a little breeze of the water. I find a little RV park and pitch my tent. After, I go for dinner and find a place where the locals eat. I get an order of fish tacos and they were great. I buy a six of Tecate and head back to the camp and take a walk on the beach. Wow, what a view. Off in the distance is Isla Tuberon, one of the biggest islands in the Sea of Cortez. As I´m walking I meet Marv from somewhere near Mt. Shasta. He´s been coming down here for 18 years. The place is a retirement community full of Americans. He invites me to dinner but I decline. Besides I want to get some shots of the sunset. And it was a good one. I´ve got some pics but yáll will have to wait until I figure how to upload. I head back to the RV park. A couple of folks come up and we start chatting about football and basketball. They ask me where I´m headed so I pull out my map. They say that going north is not good. My best bet would be to go to Guyamas and catch the ferry to Baha. Now, a little history, when I went to Copper Canyon, someone tried to suggest we didn´t try a certain road, but we did and paid the price. So, I´ve changed my plans and will head south 70 miles to Guyamas and catch the ferry. ****, I need an easy day after the 3 tough ones I just had. Also, I can do the west and east coasts of Baja like Lone Rider suggested.

Day 4, I´ve done somewhere around 1400 miles now. I´m in Guyamas where I found a parking lot which is attended and parked the bike. I´m taking the ferry at 8:00 to Baja. It´s a 10 hour trip. I went for walk and found this internet cafe. I can´t upload pictures here. I might have to wait till Cabo to do it. Anyway, all is good, I feel good and the bike is running like a top. Gas was easy to find. I haven´t been on any dirt roads yet but will once I hit Baja.

[Tourmeister]

*sigh* AWESOME! It's good to hear you are still alive and kicking. I can't wait to see the pictures. 8 F huh? That is some crazy schizzle! :shock: I'm sitting here reading your report with my maps in front of me, hehe. I fanatsize about Hwy 16. Have to put that on the lifetime "to do list". Keep it coming.

Adios,

[Dirtrideroader]

Wish I was with you. Like the old saying goes, the worst day sailing is better than the best day working. Same goes for motorcycling.

BE safe and keep the reports coming.

[VFRinAustin]

Great to hear from you. Now I have to clean the drool off my keyboard.

Was checking out where your ferry gets into. San Felipe, where the Baja rally starts every now and then. Great place for bars and hangouts, might be a good relaxing place. My dad and I spent some time in Baja when I was in high school, there are some great places.

I suggest, if you have time :wink: , going over to the Pacific Side and checking out Scammons Lagoon, south of Guerro Negro. The grey whales have migrated down from Alaska for the winter and spend it here breeding and just playing around. It can be pretty cool.

Glad to hear all is well. Keep up the reports.

[irondawg]

Howdy,

Well, I finally made it across the Sea of Cortez. The ferry was supposed to leave at 8:00pm yesterday but didn't leave until 6:30am the next morning because of heavy winds. This is going to be fun! NOT! They didn't want anyone leaving so everyone stayed. I slept on the floor with my pad and sleeping bag down between the seats in the sitting area. Imagine the space between seats on a airplane. Had to sleep on my side the whole night. But, I did sleep until about 8:00am. Got up and went deck side for a while to clear the cobwebs. It was gorgeous outside. You could still see some of the islands in the distance. I made my way back to the sitting area and crashed for another two hours and the got up to desk side again and pulled out Da Vinci Code. Read for hours. Not much else to do. Almost finished the book but I noticed I was getting hot. Marcos, a German I met in Guyamas who's bicycling down to Cabo for a month looks at me at tells me half my face is red. Great! And one of my hands is too. So now I've got a sunburn on the right side of my face and hand. Cute. I didn't eat on the ferry cause it was rocking pretty good at times and I was feeling queezy. Not sure if it was because I didn't eat or the boat rocking. But after listening to people puke for hours I decided to wait. Same with Marcos. Anyway, after 23 hours on the ferry :shock: we finally reach port at Santa Rosallia about 7:00pm, we decide to find a camping spot but it's 4 miles away and he doesn't have lights on his bike, so we decide on a hotel room. We check in and then head off for dinner. It's been 23 hours since we both had anything to eat. We ask the locals...btw...Marcos speaks German, English and Spanish, he's living in Guatalahara. The all point us to one particular place and we go. The food is great. The ceviche, pickled fish appetizer is very good and I'm not one for pickles or pickled anything. Marcos and I discuss where we are off to tomorrow. He's headed north to a little fishing village and I'm off west to see cave painting and eventually the lagoons to go whale watching.

All in all it's a good day, tiring having to be confined to a small ferry for so long but good.

Cheers,

[STCPO]

John,
Great reports. Glad to hear your doing well. Looking forward to more updates as the days go by.

Stay safe.

Pete & Kim

[VFRinAustin]

Was checking out where your ferry gets into. San Felipe, where the Baja rally starts every now and then.

Oops, was looking at the wrong ferry.

Santa Rosallia huh. Well by the time you read this you will have already set off west. Did you happen to see the Eifel Church at the center of town. How cool to see a building in the middle of a small Baja town, designed and built by the same guy that did the Eifel Tower in Paris.

Want to here about San Ignacio after you go thru. Never made it there but everyone raves about it. A little oasis in the middle of the desert.

Hope you figure out a way to post pictures soon. It would be great to see some of your adventrues.

Stay cool and keep the, er, shiny? side up (probably not much of a shiny side any more but you get the idea)

[irondawg]

Hola! I'm in San Philippe. Very touristy but I NEED to do laundry.

It's been a helluva couple days. Before I left Santa Rosalita, Marcos and I took a walk around the city. Very nice. We went to the old iron mine and the ruins near the beach. We then spotted a huge cemetary up a hill across town and took the hike. It was worth it. I wish y'all could see the pictures...now! After that, we got some supplies down town and headed for Eiffle Church. The same guy who architected the tower in Paris. I was not too impressed. Very stark and cold inside. A few girders here and there. Nothing special. We headed back to the hotel, packed and said our goodbyes. left Santa Rosalita headed NW to Guerero Negro to do some whale watching. It was a short ride that day. I think about 150 miles. I made my way to town for a bite and gas. After that, I headed to the lagoon which was down a dirt road. Cool thing was there was salt all over the place that looked like snow. I found a camping spot and while I was setting up, a guy from the next camp comes over. His name was Bernard from Austria. He came here specifically to watch whales and this was his third stop. As I started putting the tent up, it began to rain. ****! I hope it clears up! I look towards the sea and wham!! I see a whale breach!! Awesome! I see another and another!! This is going to be good. Next morning we catch the first boat out at 8:00am. There's quite a crowd. I chat with an American who's a adventure photographer and he tells us to get in the front of the boat, best place. He's been here for three days taking pictures of whales. So we get in and the little boat is packed! We head out into the lagoon. We see lots of whales. I get some good picts but they're kind of far off. Way in the distance we see more whales breaching. It's amazing that they can get their entire body out of the water. I wonder what it's like to be close when they do it. Then, to the left, one of the boats has a whale coming right up to it. I see a big fin and a girl reaches out and touches it! Oh man, how cool! Soon we see that it's a baby grey whale and it's mother. Our boat captain manouvers into place and soon the mom is along side our boat! Holy crap! She is massive! I see her looking right at me! Soon the baby comes up and sticks his head out of the water. I reach out and touch his back! Feels like wet rubber. A little soft when I pet it. He swam with the boat for a while and Bernard got to pet it too. All the time the mom is just two feet away. I get to touch the mom's fin once. I pet the baby, who is about 15 feet long, a few more times before he swims away. After, I pull out my camera and get a shot of mom looking at me. What a day! We head back and everyone is chatting how cool it was to touch them. Bernard decides to stay an extra day and do it again. We were out for about 2 1/2 hours.

It's about 11:00 and I've got a long day of riding to the observatory to the north. I pack and get on the road by 11:45. I cross to the west through the boulder park which was cool but the road was much better. Perfect twisties so I opt to stop since I've got a ways to go.

I'm gonna have to stop now because my time's up.

Adios,

[scratch]

Keep 'em coming, John - your reports are fascinating! Can't wait to see the pictures too. 8)

[STCPO]

I'm gonna have to stop now because my time's up.

Adios,

Ah...We rememer the days of metered Internet service.

John. Great reports. We are all living this adventure with you every time you post. Keep em coming.

Pete & Kim

[Anonymous]

Your reports are great. But, they evoke an incredible sense of jealousy. I wish I was there. But, I guess it is not my turn.
Quick question. Habla Si Espanol?

[Tourmeister]

Okay guest, who are you? :-P Forget to login?

[Dirtrideroader]

Okay guest, who are you? :-P Forget to login?

Ok, I admit it, it was me. I didn't even realize I had not logged in.

[hcope1]

The reports are great! Keep 'em coming. Just remember folks: Jealousy is a disease. :angryfir:

[Fangs]

Great reports. Please send more!

Living vicariously. :bow:

[Tourmeister]

We need pics!!! You're killing me! Oh, have you found the voice recorder useful at all, or are you just using your steel trap memory? :-P

Adios,

[Fangs]

Wouldn't that be iron trap memory?

Yes, please send pictures.

[irondawg]

Hola,

mrr1150gs - just enough spanish to get me in trouble. 8)

I´m back in Santa Rosalita. My northern route is over and gladly. I didn´t like Baja Norte. Too cold, touristy and just plan nasty looking. I think if I was on a smaller true dirt bike it would be more fun. That way I could stay in the mountains and ride the trails. I see plenty of them.

Anyway, let´s get started....

I wake up and can´t move. My back and left shoulder are absolutely killing me. Must have been the 60 miles of washerboard up and back from the observatory, which was a freaking bust and then the 50 miles of dirt road to San Felipe, which wasn´t as bad but still tough when you´re crossing mountains. I think I pulled a muscle or got a rib out of whack. I mean I can´t even take a deep bredth.

I force myself up, pop some Tylenol and get the shower hot. It takes a while for hot water down here...anyway, I do some stretching in the shower to loosen things up. Yep, definitely pulled a rib muscle and today starts a full day of riding dirt. This is gonna hurt. I pack up and out the door by 8:30. I hit the coffee shop, yes, San Felipe is touristy, and get a large mocha and wait for the second hand book store to open to trade my Da Vinci Code for a couple other books. When the owner finally arrives, I hold up the book and her eyes light up. She tells me she´s dying to read this. She tells me I can have any three books I want for trade. I pick out a couple Clive Cussler´s including Inca Gold, seemed fitting, and we trade. I tell her I´ve only got room for 2.

I gas up and head down the road. I get turned around a bit since my map and GPS don´t exactly have the roads correct but I find my way. My rib is killing me but I can feel the Tylenol kick in. After about 10 miles of nice pavement, I hit some of the nastiest pot holes known to man. I mean these things are wide and deep. I stand and put my butt as far back as I can to keep the front light. This goes on for about 15 miles and then the dirt which was welcome. The dirt was pretty smooth in parts but once I got up into the mountains it was pretty rocky but still loads of fun. There´s nothing like riding fast on an open dirt road. Even though I´m hurting I can´t keep the smile off my face. In some areas I can manage about 20mph, but some I´m in 4th and doing 50 to 60. The bike feels like it´s dancing under me but not out of control. This is riding! The views are excellent too. I make a corner and I see the most gorgeous cove with high hills surrounding a green lagoon with a perfect beach. I´m surprised no one is down there. Then I realize there is no way to get down there! No road or trail. Cool. Unspoiled perfect cove. Not too many of these anymore.

I keep going south along the beach until I hit a place known for it´s salt water hot springs. I stop and check it out. Hmm...I think I´ll pass not wanting to get sick. The place was kind of dirty, I did snap some picks from atop a hill. I continue down the dirt road. Every once in a while stopping to take a pict. I get some nice shots of a huge rock in a small bay. Man, I wish I could send these to yáll. I press on. The dirt road continues for about 100 more miles. At one point is Coco´s Corner. He´s very popular with adventure types and Baja 1000 racers. I pull in and he offers a coke. After 100 miles of dirt, I´m glad for a cold anything. After a bit he runs, well, limps, he´s got a wooden leg, back to his very small trailer and pulls out a sticker and puts it on the Jesse case. Cool! Then he gives me another and I put it in my journal. He then pulls out his huge guest book and draws a little picture of me and the bike and I write a little something in it. He asks me where I´m going and tell him about the trip. He then draws a little map in the book and I add a star for Austin and a star for Antigua. Since I´ve got my journal out, I ask him to sign it. He writes something in spanish wishing me well on my journey. I see a No. 5 on his book and ask him about 4. He tells me someone stole it but he got a call from policia in Newport Beach, CA and he knows who has it, so Coco is going there to get it back in a few months. I hope he does and kicks that guys ***. I break out the jerky for lunch. I offer Coco some, he takes it but can´t eat it. No teeth he tells me and then plops out his dentures onto the picnic table. Hehehe! I check out is little place and there´s panties hanging all over the place including ones that are about 5 feet across! What crazy brought a pair that big all the way out in the middle of nowhere? Kookie!

Another 25 kilometers and I´m back on tarmac and highway 1. It´s almost 3 and I´ve got over 300 kilometers to Santa Rosalita where I´ll stay the night. I hit two military check points along the way but am waved through once I show my permit. Still no one has gone through my bags.

Tomorrow I plan to head down the east coast to Mulege and Loreta where I may camp and hit the beach for some relaxation after todays marathon ride. I think I did like 175 miles in the dirt and 225 on the road. I´m hungry and I need a shower.

[Dirtrideroader]

I'll say it one more time, you are my idol. Especially as I sit here in my office, watching I-10 traffic crawl by outside. Your adventure makes my wanting to ride to Alaska seem like a ride to Austin.

Maybe when you get back and rest up for a day, you could join me going North...

[Hideandseek]

I'll second that! cant wait for the next post.

[Tourmeister]

A recent message from down there...

Hey dude!

Well, after a good meal and nights rest, I´m feeling a bit better. Still kinda sore though. I´ve been trying to post the latest to advrider but keep getting error screens. Can you post yesterdays report for me?

I checked my laundry today, the folks in San Felipe did it for me, and noticed that I´m missing two pair of socks! The *******s folded one sock each so it looked like all four pair were there. There not the usual kind, there the thin poly wicking ones that I wear under my woolies to keep my feet dry. I´ll never find socks like those down here.

I´ve been having the weirdest dreams lately too, especially last night. I think I´m gonna try and write a short story. Before I go on, I just finished Da Vinci Code which is about ying yang, black white, male female type stuff. So this dream was kinda like a chick flick. I guess it´s a balance thing, you know, macho riding stuff all day and then chick flick kinda dream. I´m becoming balanced. Go ahead, call me a *****!! :-P

Anyway, I´m ready to hit the road. It´s almost 10 and I want to get to Loreta by noon to soak up some sun.

BTW, I´ve been keeping up with my journal, I think I´m up to 27 pages or so. Got about 90 pictures so far. I haven´t used the recorder yet. I like writing stuff down better. I´m also keeping little notes on the map.

Cheers,

John


*sigh*

Adios,

[irondawg]

Howdy,

I'm currently in Loreta. The trip down from Santa Rosalita was probably the best of the trip yet. Awesome vistas, and I must say, Bahia Conception must be on the top 10 list of sites to see. Absolutely gorgeous. On the way, I spot an Adventurer with a Houston sales tag! Cool, they're two up. Once he notices me we pull over and do the greet thing. Turns out he just bought the beast in Houston, had it shipped over to San Diego and is riding south to La Paz to catch the ferry, then to Mexico DF where they live. Their names are Jorge and Bibian or Vivian for gringos. We decide to ride to Loreta together. We get rooms at a decent rate and then head for an early dinner. They ask where I'm going so, as usual, I break out my map. They've been to all the places I'm going and make many suggestions. Cool. After dinner we go check out Loreta. Nice place, but small. This place is known more for fishing and dolphin watching then anything else. We check out a few museums and the mission. We head back and talk bikes and about the mods I've made. Oh yeah, Jorge is a big bike nut. Has had all kinds of bikes. This is his first BMW and he tells me he waited far too long to take the plunge. He's finally found a bike he likes...and he's only got 880 miles on the clock! I give him my journal to sign and he puts numbers for his office, house and a place they rent on the weekends. They say I should definitely join them during the weekend. Cool. I give Jorge, advrider and twtex websites and a couple others so he can get some gear for his new ride. They've gotta make a call and I want to check out places and costs for deep sea fishing and hit the internet. We decide to catch up tonight and grab some beers. If I don't go fishing, I'll ride with them to La Paz tomorrow. BTW, they have run into Marcos on his bike a day or two ago. I show them my picts and it was definitely him. Small world man.

Before I forget. I mentioned earlier that I didn't like north Baja. The reason is because every place I went reminded me of the border towns across Texas...dirty, dusty and just plain ugly. The further you get south, the more of REAL Mexico you see. Which is pretty nice. I'm glad I'm here.

Today marks a special occasion. This is the longest I've been on the road. I've had longer vacations but none riding. I'm having a ball.

[Dirtrideroader]

Where is the closest airport? I am crating my GS right now to join you.
In my dreams.

[Tourmeister]

Check this out!!

http://www.fairpits.com/DustToGlory_1500k.wmv

Mmmm... I'm gonna go see this!

Adios,

[Snoopster]

John~Glad to hear that you are enjoying yourself. Keep the updates coming. The whole whale adventure sounds awesome. Looking forward to seeing all the pictures. Take care~Debutante

[irondawg]

Hi,

I´m in La Paz for the next couple days recooperating. I need a day off the bike.

I decided to skip fishing since, one it was expensive and two, what the **** am I gonna do with 200 lbs of yellowfin tuna? Instead, I take off for San Javier up in the mountains down a dirt road. Ah yesss...more dirt. Question, why is it that all the nicely paved road are in areas where its rather flat and the dirt roads are in the mountains with nasty switchbacks and steep? Anyway, I take off down the dirt road and it´s the usual mountain dirt road with some nasty switchbacks and loose gravel. I´m used to it now but still got to remind myself to take it easy. I´m in the middle of no where and if I bite it, it might be a while before help comes.

I head down the road up and down the mountains for about an hour. There´s a few water crossings, not too deep but a couple long ones with many river rocks. I reach San Javier and can´t believe this place. It´s so clean and well kept. The streets are flat cobblestones and whitewashed. The houses all have thatched roofs. It´s like a little oasis in the middle of no where. I hop off the bike and take a few picts of the town and then head into the mission. Very nice. The courtyard is small but with orange trees full of oranges. Hmmm...they look good. Should I? No, don´t want to push my luck. I´m pretty tired so I lay down on a ledge next to the mission for a while. A Canadian that I passed a while back in a SUV pulls up and says, ¨Texas huh, but I guess you know that.¨ Hehehe, Canadians are so funny. He asks if I´m okay and tell him I´m just resting before I hit the road again. He understands.

10 minutes later I´m going back to the highway. Í´m making pretty good time. As I´m coming down a mountain and take a tight switchback and look down the road. Up the other way is a guy walking his bike. No...it can´t be. As I get closer, he drops his bike and is jumping up and down...it´s Marcos! Of all the freaking places! I pull up and shut the bike off laughing my *** off. He can´t believe it either. We sit and eat bananas for a bit and I show him my pictures to date. Turns out he was staying in Loreta for a couple days because he knee was hurting and needed some time to heal. He´s done 335 kilometers since we crossed the ferry to Santa Rosalita 5 or 6 days ago. Yeah, I´ve lost track of days and time already. I thinks its Friday. I know I have two days before I catch the ferry to Tompolabomo. He´s going to the San Javier and spending the night and then headed west. I tell him about the observatory and whales and Jorge and Bibian. Both our trips are going well even though his knee is hurting. I tell him about my ribs but it´s just about better.

It´s time to go, he´s got a bit of riding, walking to get to San Javier and I´ve got 225 miles to La Paz where I´m meeting Jorge and Bibian for dinner at Carlos and Charlies. The ride down to La Paz was pretty boring, windy and dusty. There wasn´t even a decent view to take a picture of. It reminded me of HWY 90 to Big Bend...but flatter. The only thing that caught my attention was a huge bloated bull dead on the side of the road. I considered a picture of the bike lying next to the bull and me lying with my boot on a leg, but thought more about it once I caught a wiff! Dang that thing smells!!

I get to La Paz and find Jorge and Bibian. She decided for a very nice hotel since this is their last day of vacation. Jorge found a decent hotel for me just down the road. We head to Carlos and Charlies for the night.

Next morning I walk down to the ferry office to get my tickets and see Jorge doing the same. I tell him I that the picture I took yesterday didn´t come out and I want to take another before they leave so we decide to meet at his hotel. We have a light breakfast and they insist I stay with them for a few days at their weekend place when I head home. I tell them I will and will make sure I´m there for the weekend. After breakfast we head to the garage and take pictures. They leave and I head back to the hotel for a little nap before I go site seeing. La Paz is nice but touristy. Not like San Felipe though. It´s a good place to visit and glad I decide to spend an extra day here. Tomorrow, I´ll pack up and head to Cabo and a place east where I´ll camp on the beach. I think the name is Pointequeros or something like that.

Adios for now...

ps. still no luck with the pictures.

[Tourmeister]

Just out of curiousity, have you tried your cell phone anywhere yet? Was Marcos on a motorcycle or a pedal bike? It's Friday by the way :-P

Adios,

[irondawg]

Scott - yep cell phone works for $5 a minute!!! Marcos is on a pedal bike, crazy german.

AND...wait for it....



















PICTURES!!!!
















http://irondawg.smugmug.com/gallery/66008

[STCPO]

Great pics John. Marcos looks nothing like what I pictured him to look like. I can't believe how small those boats are right up next to the whales. Amazing.

Love the pic of the GS sitting all alone.


Pete

[scratch]

Am I missing something? Can't see the significance of this one -

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/2295231-S.jpg

:mrgreen: :wink:

[scratch]

There is something special about this image -

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/2295199-S.jpg

It's all about expanding your horizons. John is out there taking on some serious challenges, but he's also building a reservoir of wonderful experiences, and he'll have memories to keep with him for the rest of his life that you just can't get any other way. 8)

[Tourmeister]

Awesome.

[brd]

Kickass, John. Keep the reports coming!

[Fangs]

Beautiful pictures John. Thank you for sharing your adventure with us.

[VFRinAustin]

:mrgreen: :mrgreen:

WOW, I like this one

Clicky for big image (http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/2295198-L.jpg)

This is the kind of shot that BMW would die for to add the the advertisements.

Keep them coming, I am reliving my baja adventure through your posts.

[Tourmeister]

:tab That must be some seriously sticky dirt. Those knobbies are clogged up like crazy! I can picture it in my head now... the front tire up in the air... a rooster tail of loose dirt flying out from behind the bike... The boy must be in heaven :-P

Adios,

[irondawg]

Hola from San Carlos Cabo....just north of Cabo San Lucas.

Yesterday was a well needed rest day. I mostly hung out working on the picture upload to smugmug which too 3.5 hours, but managed to catch the sunset. After that headed to a little cafe with some live music and beers.

Today, I took off for the short 120 miles to Cabo San Lucas. Stopped in Todos Santos first for a look around, nice but things are starting to look all the same to me. Didn`t take any picts, just took off after about 15 minutes. The ride down to Cabo was pretty boring, nothing but cactus and sand. When I get to Cabo it`s as if I went north a 1000 miles to San Diego. To each his own I think, but if you want to see the real Mexico, skip Cabo, if you want to see San Diego with a Mexican twist, head to Cabo. I´m gonna do some snorkling and diving but waiting till Cozumel and Belize for that. Gotta budget ya know. After parking the bike and changing in a huge hotel on the marina, I headed over the Cabo Wabo Cantina, Sammy Hagar`s joint and had a burger and a couple Pacificas. Most expensive meal of the trip. Took a picture of the place and headed down the pier to the beach. There´s a couple wild bars a ways down and I go over to check it out. There was a dance contest for the girls and a push up contest with a girl in a bikini lying on your back contest for the guys. I´ll leave it at that. And no didn`t get pictures...good ones anyway :wink:

I hung out for a while until the sun starting going down, managed only 15 push ups...oops did I type that out loud? Uhhh...I head back to the bike, buy some water and take off for San Jose Cabo, or something like that for the night since it`s way cheaper. Tomorrow I´ve got a full day in the dirt.

Adios for now,

[Anonymous]

Hey Juan, that is your name over their right? This is Javier, your conpadre.
I will be in San Juan De Los Lagos. If you want to stop for a day and visit I will be at my cousin's place. The number is 53150 but if you need the whole number I will break it down for you. 011 Country code, 523 State code for Jalisco, then 95, then 78. so the whole # is 011-523-95-78-53150.
I plan on being thier from 2/12/04 to 2/23/04 so lets get together for some coronas. :chug:

[STCPO]

Man...no updates since Saturday. I wonder if he got side tracked doing those push-ups in Cabo.

Pete

[Dirtrideroader]

Man...no updates since Saturday. I wonder if he got side tracked doing those push-ups in Cabo.

Pete

Now let me get this staight, who was on top of who during this contest?

[VFRinAustin]

Man...no updates since Saturday. I wonder if he got side tracked doing those push-ups in Cabo.

Pete

I know, I need my Baja fix. My guess is he has been on the ferry to the mainland and then finding a I-net cafe might be a little more difficult.

[irondawg]

Hola,

I´m in Puerto Vallarta. I´ve been doing some serious miles since my Baja trip has ended. Man was it great.

From San Jose Cabo just north of Cabo, I headed up the east coast along a dirt road. Like I said, I planned on hitting dirt for the next two days in the middle of no place. I load up with water, tortillas, and bananas and some other goodies for the trip. First stop was some beach about 75 miles up the coast. The road wasn´t too bad except in some spots the sand was pretty deep and the road was washed out...completely gone so you had to work you way around. It took a better part of the day to get 75 miles down the road. There were a few water crossing in the beach sand which made things a bit interesting. I came to this beach full of RVs and saw a guy on a KTM so, I thought, this would do. I pulled onto the beach and found a campsite a bit ways down. It was **** windy and had a helluva time getting the tent up. After, I took a little walk around the beach. I met the guy on the KTM and he tells me he´s been coming here for the past 8 years or so. This guy, can´t remember his name, was from Boston. He tells me he has a steel 60ft sail boat that he´ll be taking next year. Wow! That´d be cool. I watched the sun set for a bit and then pulled out Clive Cussler´s Vallaha Rising and started reading. I had tuna and tortillas for dinner. I got up early the next morning and packed the gear for the ride back to La Paz where I need to catch the ferry to Tombolomobo or something like that. On the way I spot what looks like a big crack in the road. There were plenty of cracks where the water would come up from below and crack the hard packed sand. So, I ride to miss it but when I get closer, I see it´s a freaking long snake!! This thing must be 7 or 8 feet easy. Well, I passed up the picture with the dead bull but not this time. So, I turn around, almost dropping the bike and ride back to the snake who´s still sunning itself. I get off the bike and snap some pictures. Hmm...I don´t think it´s poisonous...besides I´ve got all me gear on...so I pick it up a but it on the bike. Got some good shots of the snake slithering around the handlebars and over the seat before getting off at the back. Since he was so cooperative I pick him up and put him on the side of the road so he don´t get crushed. He was a weird looking snake. Small head, thick body like a boa with half red and the other half black with squiggle patterns. I thought he´d make a good pet but...no room.

After this little bit of fun, I take off and before I know it, I´m off the dirt somewhere near La Beira and back on 1. I haven´t been on this part of 1 and I´m glad I took it. This road heads up into the mountains across to the main road, named 1 also. It`s been a while since I was in the twisties and this road definitely was that. There´s something satisfying about hustling the GS through tight twisties. Soon, I´m back on the boring part of 1 to La Paz. I get there about noon. I see a newish strip mall with a bank and I need cash for the ferry. I hit the ATM and spot a Dominos...yep, got two slices and man was that good. After pizza, I head to the ferry where I get the bike and myself on board. This ferry is nothing like the one to Santa Rosalita...easily 10 times bigger with a lounge and live music, restaraunt, and rooms. Since this was only 5 hours I get the cheapest ticket and head to the bar for a beer and then to the salon where I fall asleep. Someone has to wake me up and tell me we are there. Cool. I get the bike unloaded and head for Los Mochis where I´ll spend the night.

Next morning I take off for Puerto Vallarta, but I don´t realize how far it actually is. It´s something like 700 kilometer or 500 miles. A 500 mile day in the states is easy, here it´s rather difficult. I don´t make it. As a matter of fact, I´ve got to ride the last 50 miles in the dark to Tepic where I spend the night. I get behind a pickup and use his lights the best I can. We get to within 15 miles and the road gets curvy. We round a tight right hander at about 25mph and just after I get the bike strait WHAM!!! I´m completely airborne for what seems like 10 seconds but was more like 2. I come back to earth and the front end gets loose but I save it. HOLY ****!!! What was that! Did I hit a dog, rock or what? I tell myself, THIS IS WHY YOU DON´T RIDE AT NIGHT IN MEXICO!!! And vow not to do it again!! I pull the seat out my butt and continue now alone for the last bit to Tepic. I find a hotel where I can park the bike inside and inspect. Hmm...no blood but something definitely sticky on the front of the bike and then I smell coconuts. I hit a freaking coconut. I go to bed.

Next morning I`m off for Puerto Vallarta which is about 85 miles away. Fun road too. Lot´s of twisties but I go slow just to make sure everything is okay. Seems so...so I speed up a bit then a bit more till I´m back at normal speeds, for me that is. The traffic gets pretty heavy once up in the mountains. Lots of trucks and buses. Then, as I come down through a left hander, I see a bus that lost it and went off the road. It wasn´t upside down or anything just in the ditch blocking the lane. Oh yeah, this road is VERY narrow with no shoulder. Kinda like 337 in the tight stuff. A take a picture and get out of there. The rest of the ride to Vallarta was about the same twisty stuff. It took me a long time to find a cheap hotel where I can park the bike. I plan on staying here for two days before I make the run down the west coast and then across to Yucatan.

I´ve covered quite a few miles the last couple of days. I think Baja south is going to be hard to beat as far a cool places to visit and dirt roads to ride. I´ve been around the west part of Mexico before so that´s why I´m just burning miles to get to Yucatan.

My times up...till next time...

[brd]

Excellent. I was missing the baja fix, too.

Drink a Coca Cola with real cane sugar in it for me!

[irondawg]

Hola from Puerto Escondido!!

Well, what can I say, Puerto Vallarta was...excellente! I ended up staying for two days just checking out the sites and stuff.

I´ve decided to change my plans once again and will head to Antigua, Guatemala before going to Belize and Yucatan that way I don´t back track.

The last couple days was mostly spent hauling butt down 200 which, kicked my butt. Not only was it tight and twisty, which isn´t bad but there were literally over a 1500 topes. What are topes you may ask? Well, topes are speed bumbs of all shapes and sizes that are in the middle of the road when you hit a town. I use town loosely...if there´s one building, there´s topes. The first day I stopped in Larze Cardez and could barely get off the bike. The next day I went to...well can´t remember the name but it was about 100 miles up from Puerto Escondido...anyway, I almost couldn´t get off the bike because my butt and legs were on fire! Serious case of monkey butt or velcro **** if you catch my drift.

Today was a short ride. I found a little cabana called Rock Cabanas and have a little hut for 10 bucks with pool and it´s right across from a beach with some of the best surfing waves around. They are big!! I tried to go body surfing, caught one wave and nearly drowned... it towered over my head at least 15 feet. By the time I stopped I was at the shore and my trunks were down around my ankles! So I go back out and try again, but this time I spot a fish flip flopping out of the water...hmmm...weird. Then I see a little shark about 3ft long chasing it. That´s it for me! I don´t want mama coming around to see what baby is after. I get the **** out and go back to the cabanas and get in the safe pool and cool off. Why does this crap happen to me?

I´m a days ride away from the Guatemala border. I´m not sure if I´m going to stay here another day...it´s pretty cheap and the views are awesome. Okay, there´s a lot of girls around not wearing tops on the beach... :shock:

I´ve also realized that I´ve only got 6 weeks left and with spanish lessons taking two that leaves only about two weeks to spend in Belize snorkling and Yucatan where I want to check out the Mayan ruins and Isla Muera. It´s gonna be tight I think.

[buck000]

Holy moley, what a cool trip, Irondawg...

[Dirtrideroader]

Sounds like you are having a good time. How is the bike doing? Any problems? Tires hanging in there ok?

[Tourmeister]

By the time I stopped I was at the shore and my trunks were down around my ankles! :brainsnap :suicide:

I'm gonna smack you when you get back! I did not need that!! :-P

So are you happy with your packing list? Now that you have been on the road for a while I was just curious if there is anything you's include next time or leave behind next time. Apparently, you forgot to bring a bathing suit with a tie string!! :roll:

I think Smugmug is offline for a while. If you have pics you want to share, let me know and I can setup an FTP account for you and we can host them until Smugmug gets back online. ADVrider is back up, but you won't recognize it because all the purty graphics have not been reinstalled. Baldy is working on it!

Glad to hear you are having a great time. :chug:

Adios,

[scratch]

...I´m not sure if I´m going to stay here another day...it´s pretty cheap and the views are awesome. Okay, there´s a lot of girls around not wearing tops on the beach... :shock:


O.K., I take back all that blather about the challenges you're having to deal with. Man, you're having way too much fun down there! :-)

[hcope1]

OK; I've heard enough. I just got back from buying a map of Mexico, printed off the reports and am about to relax and plot the entire trip. I bet most of those reading these reports have lost a job (if you haven't, you will); but to turn it into a positive experience - well, I for one am both jealous and proud to be a part of the trip. Keep it up!

[irondawg]

Hey there,

I´ve made it to Antigua, Guatemala. Crossing the border was not too bad considering. Only thing that worried me is the crowd of 20 or so kids and men that came running literally up to me when I stopped to help with money exchange and paperwork. Kinda freaked me out but, having read a lot of adventer books, I knew what to do...pick a kid in his early teens and he´ll help crossing the border. Worked out pretty good. He basically ran around getting all the paperwork in order and I stayed with the bike. Took about 2 hours. Permit for the bike and tourista pass for me was about 25 and 20 for the kid. Well worth the money. Once I finally had things in order I checked my paperwork and got the **** away from the border as fast as I could. Stopped at a gas station and organized everything while I had a Gatorade. Oh yeah, it was freaking HOT!! Close to 100F.

The trip to Antigua was unexciting except for the last 25 miles when you start climbing the mountains...man the roads were steep! Reminded me of 16 with those really tight switchbacks. I took CA2 instead of CA1 since the local at the gas station said many banditos up in the mountains and CA2 was actually faster and better road. I´ve learned to listen to locals over the past few weeks.

The guys in Puerto Escondido told me about this bar MonoLoco, crazy monkey, run by an american and found it, which was pretty tough since it was already dark and each block looked exactly the same. I walk in an find the manager and he gives me some tips on hotels. I find one with parking for $20 a night. Since I´m not spending money on gas for the next couple weeks I decide to splurge a bit. Today, he´s going to take me to a spanish school he´s studying at. I´ve been walking around most of the morning getting aquainted with my temporary home and found a lot of schools so I´ll check them out today.

As far as packing, I wish I had brought a couple more shirts to hang out in. I ditched a pair of old sneakers since I haven´t needed them. I´ve been wearing my sandals pretty much all the time when off the bike. So far the only thing I haven´t used is my water purifier since I prepare for when I know I´ll be away from everything.

I´ve done close to 5000 miles so far and the back tire looks like it´s got about 2500 left. I´ll be needing another to get home I think. We´ll see once I get to Belize. Good thing is it´s wearing pretty evenly with all the twisties I´ve been in. Still, most roads are rough down here so they take their toll on tires. The thing I wish I had done was fix the seat with some stiffer memory foam. Topes suck!!

Adios

[VFRinAustin]

Sounds like the border crossing was a little adventure in itself.

Keep up with the updates, cant believe how many of us are hooked on you ongoings down there.

[STCPO]

Keep up with the updates, cant believe how many of us are hooked on you ongoings down there.

It's all John's fault that I now want to add an adventure touring bike to the garage.

Thanks for the udatades. Andy is right. We all really look forward to the updates while we are all here stuck at our desks doing the same old thing everyday.


Pete

[Dirtrideroader]

Topes suck!!


OK, what is Topes? And is sucking considered a bad thing?

Keep up the reports. Let me know if you need me to order you a tire and send it somewhere.

[Tourmeister]

topes = speed bumps of all shapes and sizes in every town

[buck000]

Thanks for the udatades. Andy is right. We all really look forward to the updates while we are all here stuck at our desks doing the same old thing everyday.


Man, that's the truth...

And irondawg, keep a sharp eye out. You never know what you might come upon (http://home.comcast.net/~netters2/twowheeldeal.htm). :chug:

[Tourmeister]

Oh man... the pics of the RC were gone :-(

[buck000]

Oh man... the pics of the RC were gone :-(

Here's one of his: clicky (http://members.ebay.com/ws2/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=-xlax-).

[VFRinAustin]

:dude: :dude: :dude:

GOTTA LUV IT. SWEET!!!

and all that stuff. Gotta love the single sided swing arm. Fastest way to chage a rear tire for those long distance races like Daytona and the 12 hrs of Suzuka. Well at least until the quick change hub came along for motorcylces.

Take a look at these others of his

http://home.comcast.net/~netters2/pics11-3-03/imagepages/3RCs3pilots.html
http://home.comcast.net/~netters2/pics11-3-03/imagepages/donnerrace.html

[Tourmeister]

One of the HSN guys that comes to the bike night ocassionally rides an RC45. That thing is pretty loud. I've no idea what number his is. It's a sweet looking bike. There are actually more than 50 here in the states. Only 50 were officially made to sell in the states from dealers. However, some have been brought into the country from other countries.

Adios,

[irondawg]

Howdy,

I´ve seen a lot of weird bikes down here, mostly dualsport and a few older Zooks...but if I see an RC, be sure I´ll be cashing in a bond or two.

Well, I´ve signed up for spanish classes for the next week, 5 hours a day, and met my foster family that I´ll be living with. Total immersion into spanish...the only way to do it.

Today I´m off to the lake for a few hours. Besides that, I´ve already walked the entire city and seen the art and museums...I´m starting to get bored. I look at the bike and want to take off and go adventuring but I´ve committed to spanish so I´ll have to hold the fort. I met a couple guys who ride that invited me to ride up the volcano...yeah, there´s an active volcano just north of the city that smokes most of the day...you can ride close to the top so they say. I show them the bike and they say no way. The trail is tight. A 400cc bike is as big a bike you can get up the trails. So no riding up the volcano. Tomorrow I´ll take a bus up.

[scratch]

Howdy,

...there´s an active volcano just north of the city that smokes most of the day...you can ride close to the top so they say. I show them the bike and they say no way. The trail is tight. A 400cc bike is as big a bike you can get up the trails. So no riding up the volcano. Tomorrow I´ll take a bus up.

(emphasis added)

That must be one heck of an off-road bus! :mrgreen: ;-)

Good to hear that you're making out O.K. 8-)

[Tourmeister]

Hmmm.... Pompei... Mt. St. Helens... Krakatoa... Pinatubo... Yeah sure, the top of an active Volcano, that's where I want to be :roll: Don't fall in! And let me work up a good sympathy here for you for being bored :suicide: Just think... when you get back you get to do your taxes!! :mrgreen:

Adios,

[Tourmeister]

John, here is a message for you from the ADVrider site:

Tourmeister, pass this on to Dawg,... Cool Trip, whats you're route for the trip home? don't miss out on Chiapas and Oaxaca, I must have missed you in Vallarta by a couple of days

ciao

Adios,

[irondawg]

Hey,

Well, since I was totally bored and did the lake thing yesterday I decided to get on the bike and ride. Yep, tried riding up the volcano...nope didn´t make it. I took everything off the bike and took just a few things in my backpack, buy a local map and headed off.

It took me a while to find the road but once I did it was easy going. The dirt road first was pretty tame but soon got out of control. I had some long and deep river crossing where the water was well over the cylinders but the bottom was pretty smooth with small river rocks. After about 20 kilometers, I started really getting up on the volcano. The switchbacks weren´t too bad, however the closer I got to the top, the smaller the road, well, trail by now got. Soon it was a tight single track with a deep rut down the middle. I tried keeping the beast out of the rut but no luck. Instead I just stayed in the rut. Problem though was the trail is getting really freaking steep and the ruts are getting deeper and every so often there was a ´step´ that I had to ride up. Sometimes a foot, sometimes two. There was no turning around at this point. The trees were getting **** close and hanging over the trail. I got another 3 klicks up the trail and then that was it. I´m stuck. The back tire is spinning not getting any traction and there´s almost no way to turn around. I get off the bike and start pushing it up the trail into an area that I can turn around...barely. By now it´s close to 2 in the afternoon and getting hot and I´m sweating my *** off pushing the bike. I finally manage to get the bike turned perpendicular with the trail and rest. It´s kinda lodged in some trees and the rut. Great time for some picts. While trying to get the bike turned downhill I hear crack! ****, I broke my tail light on a tree. I pick up the pieces and put them in my backpack and head back the way I came. I get to this little town and ask a local if the road on the map goes to RN-14 to Tepec. Nope, the map is wrong. According to the map, the road-trail I was on went close to the top and then across the backside of the volcano to Tepec where there are some ruins. Well, it didn´t so I backtracked and ended up going back to Antigua. I didn´t go to far but I´ve been riding-pushing for 4 hours and I´m spent.

Tomorrow I move out of the hotel to my foster family. I think I´ll take the main road to Tepec tomorrow and check out the ruins. Wish me luck...

Adios

[Tourmeister]

:lol: It never fails! Someone tells you, "It cannot be done!" and you cannot resist the urge to prove them wrong! Bummer about the tail light. There are a bunch of guys on the ADVRider site that are willing to get a tire shipped down to you, just say when and where.

Adios,

[irondawg]

I´m not sure where I´ll be in 2500 miles or when so I´ll hold off on the tire for now. Besides, by then I´ll be due for another rest for a few days.

I´ve managed to fix my tail light with some super glue and duct tape. Never leave home without the stuff.

I´ve moved into my foster parents place and got to know them today. There are a few other students living there as well which will be nice. I needed to do laundry so I decide to try and find the school from their house and drop my laundry off at a little shop right across. Hmm...can´t find the school...uh....can´t find my way back to the foster families house!!! I´m lost and all I have is a bag of dirty laundry. I left my map and GPS at home!!! Not good since every block looks just the same. So, I´m cooling off in the internet cafe having a coke before I head out again. I think I´ve got to go 2 blocks over and one block down and at some point I´ve got to pass a bazaar. Good thing is there´s plenty of cafe´s around here.

Wish me luck!

[irondawg]

After 45 minute of looking I finally found my way home. Did I mention that all the blocks look the same. Only reason I found the place is because I saw my bike still parked out front.

Today was 5 hours of spanish. After two, I had a splitting headache but recooped for the last three.

Paul - you´ll be proud of me...the school has salsa dancing lessons for the students at night and I was ´forced´ to sign up. I think I might have two left feet too...I´ll find out soon enough.

Gotta keep this short since I´ve got lots of vocabulary to study.

Adios

[Snoopster]

Hola Senor Juan~I glad to hear that you didn't get stuck up there with the volcano :eek: Sounds like everything is going well except for the tail light incident. Lucky for you, your bike doubled as a landmark and you were able to find your way back. Looking forward to more pictures and stories. :lol: Keep safe.

Adios, Senorita Debutante

[scratch]

...Paul - you´ll be proud of me...the school has salsa dancing lessons for the students at night and I was ´forced´ to sign up. I think I might have two left feet too...I´ll find out soon enough.



Your dance partner will find out soon enough too - to be on the safe side, look for a woman who's NOT wearing open-toed shoes! :eek: ;-)

Big kudos for taking the effort to learn a new language. That's becoming a valuable skill these days; Spanish especially. Heck, you might even decide to "go native" and enjoy the good life down there for a few years. Wouldn't blame ya one bit. 8-)

[irondawg]

Paul - I have two left feet or, dos isquierda pais.

Deb - picts are going to have to wait. The connections down here are not that good. I think part of it is the sheer amount of people on line all day. Lot´s of students here. My class got moved because there were no more desks. BTW, each student has a private instructor and you both sit at a table either in the courtyard or garden. Very nice way to study.

Yet again I´ve decided to change my plans. I´m not going to Puerto Barrios and taking the ferry to Punta Gorda in south Belize. I´m going to ride up to Rio Dulce and spend the night, then ride up to Tikal and visit the Mayan ruins in the area. Tikal has lots of pyramids and ruins to check out...I can´t pass it up. From there I´m going to split Belize in half and ride across to Belize City. I should be on the road this Sunday and am looking forward to it. It´s been a while since I´ve been on the beast...well, it feels like it anyway.

Adios

[Lodo]

Hey John - it's Linda here. Hope you're learning how to appologize for stepping on feet in Spanish! :lol: I always thought you could benefit from dance lessons. Look forward to your adventure tales. Stay safe and don't forget where Lonnie lives.

[Tourmeister]

Eh? Who's Linda? :-P A former, but still employed, coworker? Welcome to the nuthouse Linda ;-)

Adios,

[Lodo]

Yea, I'm one of the still-employed-friends from his most recent work environment. :roll: I've been ready the travelog since the start and figured I'd better let John know his dog is alive... Thanks for the welcome!

[irondawg]

Hey Linder,

Hmm....I figured you'd have taken her to your place by now to show Sara how a dog is supposed to act. Hehehe.

And another thing...you need a bike if you wanna post here!!! :-P I'm sure someone on the list can sell you one.

Well one more day of spanish class and I'm on the road again and can't wait. It feels like I haven't been on WanderZilla for a month.

Yesterday after class we had a field trip to a coffee plantation that was pretty cool. It's amazing how coffee is processed. So many steps just to make a nasty coffee bean drinkable. They also had a Myan music museum. I ended up buying a CD of traditional Myan music. Figured it'd be good music to mix with all the pictures and make a DVD like Arthur and Jim did of their Colorado trip.

Dang, it's raining hard and I've got a twenty minute walk back to the casa!

It might be a while for the next report because the next few places I'm going to are out in the jungle. Look for me in Belize City.

Adios for now

[irondawg]

Well, plans have changed once more. Doris, who I met from Italy, wants to travel with me for a few days while I check out Rio Dulce and Tikal. Who am I to say no ;-) Besides, it will be nice to have someone else to travel with for a bit. This means though that I will be leaving gear in Antigua and coming back, which also means I will be taking the ferry from Puerto Barrios to Punta Gorda, Belize. It also means that I have less time to see Yucatan but I think Tikal will be more fun. I am talking deep jungle with lots of Mayan ruins and pyramids to climb, plus the wildlife. They tell me there is lots of monkeys and lizards and stuff. Should be fun.

Gotta go, off to a Mayan pueblo.

Adios

[Tourmeister]

Doris...? And so the plot thickens... :-P

Adios,

[irondawg]

How do words describe the last five days which have been the best of the trip so far. It was a whirlwind of a tour but we packed lots of Guatemala in five days and were able to relax and visit some truely unique places on the face of the earth. Get your maps out and pay attention...

First day we take off for Rio Dulce and head out towards Guatemala City. We got directions to turn left at a McDonalds but there´s no way to turn left. We end up going to the middle of the city. Not good, but we find our way out and get on the road to Rio Dulce. At first, there´s lot´s of traffic but it soon thins out as we get to the mountains. The road is smooth and curvy. I set a pace of 60mph just crusing through the twisties sometimes touching a foot down here and there but yáll know once in a rythem, all is good and this was the case. Guatemala, as I´ve found out, has lots of roads like this snaking through the highlands, GREAT riding! About 3 hours later we reach Rio Dulce but we don´t stay there. We turn down a dirt road, we had plenty of dirt for the trip let me tell ya, half way down Lake Isabela we head for some waterfalls. Now these are not your run of the mill waterfalls...the water cascading down is hot! I mean really hot and the pool is cold and the water is crystal clear. It´s a short 10 minute hike through the jungle on a nicely constructed path. As we turn a bend we see the falls. Just amazing. Doris and I just stand there for a minute and take in the scenery. Soon we jump into the water and swim towards the falls. I stick my hand under and dang that water is hot. Soon enough I get use to it and I´m fully under falling water, letting it massage my neck and back. Best massage I´ve had in a long time. We spend about an hour before the guide tells us it´s closing time. We head 1 click down to the lake and get a bungalo and decide to go swimming again. The water was a nice temp...about 72 I figure. It´s getting dark so we head for the bungalo and get in the hammocks and chill until dinner. We both agree that it´s been a buenas dia...good day.

Day two - since we liked the waterfalls so much we got up early and went back to the falls for a few hours before heading to the Mayan ruins in Tikal. I decide to try the video capability of my camera and I´m impressed. The video is pretty good. Yáll will have to wait... Back on the bike down the dirt road towards Rio Dulce we go. We then head north towards Tikal, again, the road is outstanding, nice and smooth with the right amount of twisties to keep up occupied. About 35 kilometers from Tikal we stop at a lake, not sure of the name, for a drink and some oranges. Man it was getting hot. After some water, we head the short distance to the park. Along the way I spot what at first looked like a cat crossing the road, hmmm...weird haven´t seen any cats since getting to Guat. As we get closer, I see it´s a grey fox! They are pretty scarce out here and we were lucky to see it. Soon we are in the park and go to Hotel Jaguar Inn. I get a dorm room for 100 Q or 11 US dollars. Doris decides on getting a hammock for 70 Q equipped with mosquito net. After storing our gear, we take off for the ruins. WOW! They are huge and somewhat scary. Since the park was closing in a hour we went directly to the Grand Plaza that´s in all the tour guides. And yes, it is grand! We take lot´s of pictures and start climbing up and down the pyramids. I can´t believe how steep these are...more steep than the sun and moon pyramids near Mexico City. Steeper than Lookout Hill in Wimberley. We stay as long as we can to watch the sunset and head out with the park rangers. After a very much needed shower, we head for the restaraunt for a very good dinner, I had chicken mole and she had chef salad. We split soup and dessert, carrot cake. The restaraunt was full and everyone was chatting with everyone else. It was pretty fun meeting everyone there. Soon it was nine and the hotel shuts off the power. Oh yeah, out here, everything is run by generators and they run from 6 to 9. It was pretty funny watching the waiters run like mad around to clear the tables and clean up before the lights went out. That night Doris heads for her hammock and I for my dorm. But before I go, I see a couple of travelers we met at the falls and we chat till after 10. We would see them again as we are all making the same loop. During the night, you can hear all the animals...birds, monkeys and who knows what else. I fell asleep in 2 minutes. However, I woke up a little while later freezing. If I was freezing Doris must be frozen solid! I was the only one in the dorm which had 5 beds so I told her just knock on the door and I´ll let her in. About six in the morning she finally knocks and says she didn´t sleep at all. So she came in and we slept for another 2 hours before heading back out to the ruins.

Day 3 we head out around 9. Our plan was to catch the sunrise at the Grand Plaza but...she didn´t sleep all night and we woke up late...oh well... We figured we´d have till noon before we head to our next stop in Flores for a late lunch then Coban. Since we have a pretty good map of the ruins...which cover a lot of ground...we head out to the grand pyramid which is 63 meters high and you can climb ladders close to the top. The view is incredible. You are well above the trees and can see the tops of the other big pyramids sticking up through them and way in the distance, the Mayan Mountains in Belize. We end up climbing all the big pyramids and some of the smaller ones. While up one, an animal that looked like a cross between a racoon and an otter comes walking up the stairs. Cool! I take a few picts and he takes off. Don´t ask me the name, I cannot pronounce it. Before we know it, it´s noon and we have to take off. It must be close to 90 and humid as ****. It´s going to be a hot ride today. We get on the bike and head for Flores and eat lunch in a little cafe on the lake. The view was nice but the food was terrible. I needed some cash and we get to a bank in town and the ATM only takes cirrus not pulse cards. However, there´s another bank 4 cuadras, blocks, up the road. So, in all my gear in 90 degree heat and 90 percent humidity, I walk up the road, get cash and head back to the bike where Doris is watching it. I get there and she tells me that she needs to make a phone call so I lay on the ground in the shade, ironbutt style and take a little siesta. Soon we are on our way to Coban and stay in Hostel De Acuna where they are supposed to have an italian restaruant that is authentic. Well, the guide had it right, it was. I had a very tasty lasanga and she had some sort of chef salad with olive bread soaked in olive oil. I had a piece and it was excellent. After a few hymaca cold teas we turn in.

Day 4 - We head out for Samec Champec but first we heard about this guy Oscar who has orchids that cannot be exported, it´s against the law. So we figure since it´s on the way we´ll check it out. Pretty cool place and the orchids were amazing. So many different kinds and colors. He also has been working on miniature orchids that were as small as an eraser on a pencil but had all the parts as the large ones. We end up spending over an hour with Oscar as he gave us a tour of the whole place. We get back on the road and soon are in the dirt. What I should really say is road under construction. I mean there were gravel truck dumping huge loads of gravel and graters tearing up the road we are on. The going was really rough and I almost turned around when we hit some of the rock the use for bedding. This stuff was a foot deep and loose! I didn´t plan on being in the dirt two up for 65 kilometers. But, the payoff was worth it. After two hours of the roughest roads I´ve been on the whole trip...and it just so happens I´m two up... we reach Samec Champec and stay at Hotel Maria. We are in a some sort of tree loft for a room. At the desk they ask if we want chicken or veggie for dinner. Hmmm... Anyway, we change into our bathing suits and ride towards the park about 2 minutes away. We could have walked but we were **** tired after the ride. We get there and didn´t think to bring money for the entrance fee. So, I give them my cheap watch until tomorrow. We head down the path and WOW!!!!! Paradice! The water is gently cascading down a series of 4 tiers about 4 feet high each into pools. The water is crystal, about 10 feet deep in some places and very shallow in others. We both jump in. The water feels so good. Very clean. The source is from high in the mountains and we are pretty close the the start and there´s no farms, villages or anything before this place. There are a few people about laying on fallen trees just below the water level and swimming around. There´s also a little cave you can go in under one of the tiers. We didn´t want to leave. All the soreness of the ride was soon gone. I sat under a little waterfall near a tier just letting the cool water hit my head and shoulders. I must have stayed there for 15 minutes when Doris told me it was time to go.

When we got back to the hotel, we changed and made our way to the deck-reception-restaraunt area where everyone was gathering for dinner. We all shared stories and the crew brought us our dinners. It was pretty cool everyone ate at the same time. I guess there were 20 or so people there and all the plates came out together. After dinner, a girl from Switzerland gave us a show with some flaming torches on the end or chains. She´d twirl the things around herself and dance. I got some video of it. Soon the light were off and I was beat. I went to bed feeling the best I´ve felt in years.

Day 5 - We decide to head out to the pool for a few hours. We ended up staying till noon. Crap, this means we don´t get to stop in Coban and eat lunch at the italian place and we have to ride hard to make it back to Antigua before night. Luckily the road crews have been working on the road so it was a lot easier going back to Coban. We gas up and a bunch of cops on Zook DR200s come up and look at the bike. They can´t believe how big it is. So, I pick the smallest one and tell him to try it out. He hops on and can´t get it off the sidestand. All his buddies crack up. I push the bike up for him and he takes off around the parking lot...we all were cracking up because he looked scared as ****! He pulls next to me and get off with a big smile. He then let´s me ride his bike. Hehehe, big mistake. I take off down the parking lot into a dirt lot, lock the back wheel up and swing the bike around. Get back to the parking lot and attempt to wheelie but there´s just not enough power. The cops are all cracking up!!! They end up giving us an escort to the road to Guatemala City. The rest of the ride back was pretty nice but long. Well, it felt long. By the time we got to Guat City it was dark and we couldn´t find the turn to Antigua. After about 15 mintues we finally find it and head off. We get home about 8 at night.

What a trip. Guatemala is like a little paradice. There´s so much to see once you get out into the mountains. So unspoiled, clean and just breathtaking. I wish I had more time to spend in the highlands of Guat.

I´m spending the day resting and doing laundry. Tomorrow I head to Puerto Barrios and catch the ferry at 2 to Punto Gordo Belize where I´ll spend the night and then head to Belize City and Caye Caulker to do some snorkling with the sting rays and...possibly...sharks...my biggest fear! After seeing Jaws when I was 13 I vowed never to get in water when sharks were around. Now I´m going to pay someone to take me to sharks and snorkle. What the **** is wrong with me??

Since I ended up spending 3 weeks in Guat I might have to skip parts of the Yucatan. Time sure is flying down here. I thought things were supposed to slow down. They haven´t.

Next post will be from Belize in a few days.

Happy travels!!

[brd]

2 up through foot-deep rocks, then he tries to wheelie a policeman's bike. Good to see you're being careful down there. :roll:

[Dirtrideroader]

If he doesn't have the basis for a book, I don't know who does.
He could make it a historical fiction. that way he could embellish on the parts that didin't quite turn out the way he would have liked...

[VFRinAustin]

Wow that sounds like a lot of fun. I was starting to get withdrawl from not having a write up to read.

BTW, is Doris going with you to Belize?

[irondawg]

Howdy from Caye Caulker in Belize!

I'm going to try and get everything in but I'm going snorking in 30 minutes so there might be some stuff for later.

Days are melting togeather faster than I can keep up. But it's all good. Well, almost all good. When Doris and I returned to Antigua, she got a bout of Montazuma's Revenge and delayed her trip to Lago Atilan. For those wondering, she's heading back to Italy on Tuesday. Is that today?

Next day after I posted, I got it. Not good. I spent most of the day in bed when I wasn't running to the banyo. But I was determined to head to Belize so I poured about 2 gallons of water down my throat to flush everything out. It was helping but I was still not 100%. By noon I was able to get on the bike and take off for the 5 hours to Puerto Barrios where I'll catch a ferry to Punta Gorda.

The ride was okay. I was on this road to Rio Dulce so I knew most of it. I made it in good time thank god cause I REALLY need to find a hotel and bathroom since public bathrooms are no where to be found. Anyway, after checking in and taking care of business....I head for the docks. I found a group of guys and asked where I could catch the ferry. I found the office and told the agent what I needed. Well...to my surprize the use of the term ferry is very loose here. They said lancha. A boat about 20 feet long that sits about 25 people with a cargo hold up in the front is what they run out of Puerto Barrios. The agent assured me that they could get the bike on. Okay. So I next go to customs to check the bike out of the country. They think I want to go to Honduras. I show them my ticket and tell them regresso to Belize. After about an hour they finally get it and tell me to come tomorrow morning because I have to check out on the day I leave. What a freaking pain. So that night I head back to the hotel, try and eat a hamburger, get about half down and crash. I'm totally exhausted from the heat, humidity and bathroom runs.

Next day I get up and head for the bank for some cash and then to customs to do the paperwork. 10 minutes later and I'm out. I head over to the lancha office and they tell me to follow them to the dock. When I get there I cannot believe how small the boat is...and they want to put my bike in the front? I don't think it will fit. So, I start pulling off the bags. Now, the boat is about 2 feet from the dock because of the big rubber bumpers to keep it from hitting the side of the cement dock. The dock is almost as high as the side of the lancha but once the bike is over the side, it's a long way down, about 4 feet to the floor of the boat. This is going to be interesting. Here comes about 7 or 8 guys to muscle the bike into the lancha. They don't want me in the way so I stand back and then decide to grab the mooring line and keep the boat as close to the dock as I can just in case they drop it half way over. Up the front wheel goes and into the boat. Phew!! However, the bike is now balancing on the skip plate on the side of the boat!! Holy ****, please no one let go. I'm keeping the lancha tight as I can to the dock. My hands are burning on the rope. Next the back wheel goes in and I relax. They lift and manhandle the bike around so that the front wheel is in the V of the hull and strap it down. Next the fill the empty area with all kinds of cargo. My bike is going nowhere! Good. Soon we take off. This lancha is fast! I'm guessing about 40 or 45 knots. Only problem is when we hit a big wave, the bike cargo and us go up in the air. Whoa! But everything seems okay and the guys who work on the boat seem relaxed. Soon we are in Punta Gorda and the same ritual takes place but in reverse. All the cargo comes out and then the bike. I notice a new scratch on the right side of the tank. Well, it gives the bike more character I think and a good story to go along with it.

Now this dock in Belize is rather different. There's two levels. One lower one that's even with the side of the lancha that's about 3 feet wide, and another that's about 3 or 4 feet higher that's the main dock with steps at the far end. We get the bike out easy enough to the first level. I jump on and was going to ride up the stairs but it's pretty narrow and when I get on. I cannot put my foot down on the left and the engine guard is about and inch away from the side of the dock. So, remembering a show from Speedvision about rock crawlers, I tell the guys to tie ropes to the right side of the bike and one around me just in case we get close to the edge they can pull us over a bit. This works pretty good and I gun it up the stairs and am on the dock with a loud cheer.

Before I forget, there's no gas in Belize, they were on strike so I filled up by a 5 gallon can after the bike was in the lancha. I should have enough to reach Belopan, the capital of Belize.

Going through customs was a snap and costs me nothing. I head out and soon I'm on the Southern Highway going north. Lucky me it's dirt!!! For about 30 miles anyway.

Sorry but I've gotta go...to be continued...

[scratch]

Hey John, if you ever get Montezuma's Revenge again, drink a bunch of Gatorade or some other sports drink with lots of salts in it. That will keep your electrolytes close to normal as well as minimizing dehydration. It can make a big difference in the severity of the episode and how fast you recover.

Can't wait to see your pictures - of everything except the above mentioned episode of course! ;-)

[CycleCat]

(I posted this on ADVRider, then remembered you are not able to access that right now.)


I'd have had a cow if they tried to load & unload my bike that way. :eek: Even if they got it in the boat I'd worry about capsizing with all that topheavy weight in the bow.

Scratches from a stupid parking lot tipover suck. Scratches from a south-of-the-border adventure like this are a badge of honor. Wear it proudly. :mrgreen:

[irondawg]

Howdy!

This is going to be another quick post because I've got to catch the boat for Belize City.

I had a ball yesterday snorkling. Ras Creek, the captain of this little touring boat gives the best tour on the island...in my book anyway. I swam with nurse sharks, sting rays and very cool spotted eagle rays with a wingspan of over 8 feet. We spent a about 3 hours snorkling the reef. Saw some weird and interesting fish. The coolest one was a peacock flownder. I spotted it on a rock. The only reason I saw it because I was looking at the coral and then he moved his eyes that were on short stalks that looked exactly like the coral. Cool! He was completely camoflaged. Then he moved to the sandy bottom and changed colors exactly matching the sand. Wow! We get back to the boat and Ras is surrounded by about 10 rays. One of his pets comes up to him and he's holding it. He calls me over and says he's going to show me how to hold the ray!! I ask my travel buddies...I've got plenty it seems, here on the caye 8 total...to get my camera and take a picture. I've got a couple good ones of me holding this ray just out of the water and the thing is huge...about 5 foot wingspan.

After this, we head to deep water and a coral garden for more diving. I dive to the bottom...about 30 feet and my head feels like it's going to explode and I can't equalize the pressure, so I swim back up. The fish here are bigger and less colourful since the water is deeper but still interesting. After the dive, Ras cooks us some conche and veggies for lunch and we head to see some sea horses in the shallow mangroves. He's the only one who does this. It was pretty cool seeing them in their natural habitat.

Well, it's time for me to take off. Today I plan to go to Tulum and see some ruins on the beach and meet up with a few people I've met in Guat and here on the caye.

Adios

[BLTN]

I'm loving these tales of adventure. I've already got my maps out and am planning to getouttahere asap! :chug:

[Tourmeister]

So where you gonna go Thumpy? And what are you gonna ride?

Adios,

[irondawg]

Hola from Isla Muerera!

Crossing the border from Belize to Mexico was a piece of cake...the easiest of all crossing so far. Very organized and all paperwork easily accessible. I think it took about 15 minutes for both exit and entry. It was a boring ride up to Tulum but the road was smooth so I just cranked the tunes and headed down the road.

From the border, Tulum was about 150 miles so it was a short ride. I get into Tulum and the hotel my travel buds, who are going by bus, and I picked in the guide is full up. So I start heading down the beach and stopping at all the cabanas...all full up...oh crap, it must be spring break. After about 10, I finally find one that has a cabana. I´ve also figured I´ll never find my travel buds so I just hit the beach, relax and have dinner with some of the other guests at the cabanas. Next day I get up early since the sun is directly in the cabana...no windows...and head for the ruins. Hmm...I guess after Tikal other ruins are going to look small...and these are but nice since they are right on the beach. Other thing was you couldn´t climb them, so after about 45 minutes of walking around and taking a few picts I head back and hang out on this balcony looking over the ocean for a few hours before I head to Cancun and Isla Muerera. Again, the road was smooth and straight.

I get to Cancun about noon and find the ferry and catch the 2:45. Isla is about 8 clicks long and about 500 to a click wide. There´s a little town on the north point where all the hotels and eateries are and where you catch boats to dive and snorkle. I found a decent one where I can park the bike in the courtyard and also find that they have internet across the street and a laundry too, which I desperately need! I have had nothing clean for 3 days and am starting to get a little funky with all the saltwater and swimming! I drop my cloths off and do a little tour of the island to get my bearings. I find a couple cool places I need to check out...one is a turtle farm...no not for eating...for releasing. They catch baby sea turtle and keep them for a year so they have a better chance of reaching adulthood. You can take a tour and if the time is right help with a release. The other place was a beach with one of those rapelling ropes over the water and a spot where you can swim with dolphins.

This is my last stop before I make the mad dash back to the states. I think I have enough back tire left since I´ve been taking it really easy...no more jumping topes. I´m also to the point of getting a little homesick. I guess it´s because I know that my adventure is almost up and this is the first time I´ve been travelling alone for a while. But, all good things must come to an end. I´ve still got Isla to check out and it looks like it´s going to be fun.

Adios,

[Blue Bomber]

Hey John,

I am glad that you are having such a great time! When do you think you will be back home? For some unknown reason I'm kinda missin ya. :-?

Have a safe ride!

[irondawg]

Hey Blue,

Kinda missing home too. Not sure when I´m coming home. But it´s soon. As a matter of fact, after tomorrow I´ll be done with Isla Muerera. I went snorkling today and hung out on the beach. Tomorrow is dolphins and the turtles. After that, there´s not much else for me to do so I might take off. I´m pretty well rested and, if I push, I could be home by Friday of next week.

Snorkling was a bit of a let down today. For some reason, we had to wear life preservers while in the water :-| which meant no diving. The reef wasn´t that great but I did see lots of baracuda and some of the biggest blowfish ever! I mean I´ve seen blowfish in aquariums before and the biggest was maybe 10 inches...these things were at least 3 feet long! Two of them with huge eyes. The baracuda were interesting and scary because they´d follow us as we swam around. Some were about 4 feet and some about 6 or 7 feet with BIG teeth. The water was crystal clear so you could see pretty far ahead of you and all the cuda in the water. And the current, man is it strong. We started up current and swam down but once, I saw some cuttlefish...kind of like squid but with short arms...and swam back to get a closer look. I was swimming pretty hard, with flippers, and getting no where. So this is why they make you wear life preservers. I´m sure some people can´t handle the currents and effort to swim in them. Anyway, we were out for about 2 hours, not a bad little trip.

Once back on shore I spot someone on the beach...holy crap it´s Tesa! She was one of the students living at the house in Antigua. She took off about two weeks ago for Honduras...what the **** is she doing here? We chat for a while and she tells me she changed plans and decided on Isla but she´s leaving in two hours. ****! We hang out on the beach until she has to leave. You´d think I´d be used to running into people I´ve met by now but it still amazes me that I see people in another country on a beach that´s out of the norm. Why Isla and not Cancun? Who knows.

After she catches her ferry I head for the south end of the island on the bike and find this little dirt road that looks like it hugs the cliffs around the far southwest end. So I take it. The views are awesome from here. I get a couple good shots and then about a click down I see a natural bridge, or more like a hole in the rocks or coral so I get a few picts. BTW, this is the less inhabited side of the island due to the high winds and rocky shores plus the current is very very strong so they don´t recommend swimming.

It´s been a good day. I´m off for a shower and a nap before dinner. Swimming is hard work!

Adios,

[Tourmeister]

Cool, you might be home in time to help me pull the Ohlins rear shock off the 98 VFR!! :-P I'll buy the beer of course ;-)

Adios,

[Anonymous]

IIII'MMMMMM BAAAAACCCCCKKKK!!!

Yes it's true. I'm back home after 3, 600 mile days of riding. It's good to be home.

Well, before I get into things let me tell you why I left Isla Muerera. I was going to go swim with the dolphins at this resort on the island the next day. I get up and head over about 9:00am. As I'm riding to the place I notice there's a lot of people around and then I see it...7 cruise ships have pulled into the harbor and unloaded what seemed like 10,000 passengers!! Holy crap! The closer I get to the south side of the island, the more people there are, not to mention all the freaking golf carts, scooters and people on bicycles. The place is over run with them. I finally make it down to the dolphin place and what I saw made me want to head for the hills. The parking lot was full of golf carts and scooters and there were people all over the place trying to get in. No thank you. I turned around, packed up and hopped a ferry back to the mainland. No dolphins for me.

The next three days were nothing more than riding from sun up to sundown hugging the eastern coast since it was the most direct route. I thought about going to Mexico City but decided not to because it was an extra 500 miles. I managed to put in 2, 600 mile days in Mexico. Now you might think that 600 is no big deal and you are right...if you are in the states. In Mexico, you have to deal with topes, and lots of em, military check points, state line crossing inspections and traffic. I was pretty much wiped out at the end of each day.

The first day I decided to stop at Chichen Itza, another Mayan ruin that was the biggest in the region. After about an hour walking around and climbing the big pyramid, I took off and stopped at a little fishing village on the coast called Champotan and spent the night. Day 2 I take off and I see a cop up the road...now I'm following a dump truck that's going about 40 and there's no way around him because of the traffic coming the other way. When we get to the cop he waves me to the side. He gets out and asks if I know spanish...I already know what's coming...I tell him just a little. He jestures that I was cutting in and out of traffic and he was going to give me a ticket...but he never pulled out his ticket book. So in English I start telling him there's no way I could with all the traffic and that I was behind the truck. He just looks at me. I can see by the look on his face he wasn't expecting this from me. It's a Mexican stand off. We just look at each other for about 30 seconds. I jesture, well what now by raising my arms and turns gets in his car and takes off with me just standing there. No free dinner for you I thought and took off down the road again...this time hauling *** and passing every **** thing that was in my way. I pull into Vera Cruz just at dark and considered spending a couple days there but when I woke up the next day, the weather was bad. Not raining but a light drizzle. So, I packed up and took off. The drizzle turned to rain and it rained most of the day. But I was determined to make Ciudad Victoria. The going was pretty rough since the rain wasn't really rain but more like mud. I was continually having to wipe my shield because of all the dirt on it. You should see the bike, it's completely filthy. About 75 miles from Victoria the rain stopped and to my luck, there was a new road built that followed the train tracks. Now this was probably the nicest road I've been on since leaving the states. Two lanes with shoulders and smooth. Everyone was doing 90...me too. I got to Victoria in the dark but, with the good road and plenty of street lights I had no problems. Oh yeah, NO TOPES!!! Day three started where day 2 left off...good road and no topes...I've had my fair share of the **** things. The border was 300 kilometers away...about 200 miles. It went by in no time flat. I decided to cross at Matamoros instead of Nuevo Laredo because of the traffic. It took about an hour to check out of Mexico and before noon I was back in the states in Brownsville. I stopped in a Whataburger for lunch. My first junk food in 2 months. I was a bit disappointed. I call Arthur and tell him I'll be home in 6 hours. The ride from Brownsville to Corpus Christie was nothing but a race. So I follow a truck and settle in for the ride with Ozzy on the minidisk. I make it to San Antonio by 5:00, just in time for rush hour...crap. But, it's not too bad. I get to Austin by 6:00 and hit Austin rush hour which really sucked, but I manage and pull in the driveway by 6:30 totally exhausted but happy to be home. I head for the back yard and am greeted by my pup Loni who looks a lot bigger now, if she wasn't big before I left ;-)

Not wanting to do anything I order a pizza since there's no food in the house and crash. The pizza was another disappointment. I didn't unpack the bike, only thing I did was check the mileage...9540. Wow! And all on the same set of tires I started on. Metzeler's rock!!! I can't believe the punishment they have taken and there's still a bit of tread left.

WanderZilla is still running as strong as the day I left...just a whole lot dirtier :lol: I did change the oil once in Guatemala. I'll do a complete tune up including valves, brake pads, transmission and final drive oil changes this weekend. This bike, to me, is the best choice for this type of adventure. I've been in just about every road and none road condition you can think of. Sure it's not perfect but for all around adventure riding, the big GS is hard to beat. Only thing I wish I've done is restuff the seat with some of that memory foam.

What can I say about a trip like this. It was like 4 in one...Mexico mainland west and east coasts, Baja, Guatemala, Belize and the Yukatan.
I managed to cram a lot of sights and culture in 2 months. I've seen things and been to places only a few even know about like Semec Chempe. Unless you talk to the locals or someone who's been there, you'll never know the place existed. I've climbed 2000 year old pyramids and looked over the top of a jungle. I touched whales and held a stingray in my arms. I trekked up a volcano...well almost all the way up. Before, I used to wonder how people could spend years on the road...well now I know why...there's just too much to see and learn out there. I've only scratched the surface during my trip.

I've met a lot of people on the way and made some new friends. For a trip I went solo on, I was hardly alone. There were plenty of folks traveling about and I kept on running into the same people for a better part of my travels. Most people I met were from Europe with many from Britain but also loads from Holland, Germany and Switzerland. I met a few people from the states, but not many.

I'm going to have to stop here...but I'll continue later plus I'll spend some time today organizing all the pictures and get them uploaded with comments.

Until next time...

[irondawg]

If you haven't figured it out...the guest was me...

[Tourmeister]

:tab Woohoo!! Glad you are back!! Now come over! :-P You need to help me do some bike work, finish off some really good tequila, show us your pcitures, go to Hodges with us in two weeks, then go to Colorado with us in June, then... Oh... and I have a big surprise for you, muhahaha!!

Adios,

[Snoopster]

Hey John,

Welcome back!!!! :-P I'm glad to hear that you are home safely. So when are we going to celebrate your return? :chug: I'm sure that you have many funny stories to share with us. Can't wait to see all of the pics. When will the book be coming out?

Hope to see ya soon, Debutante

[STCPO]

Welcome back John. It was a lot of fun tracking your travels and hearing your stories.


Pete

[Hideandseek]

that was a great adventure! when are the pics coming?

[Trip]

Big John !!!!! I've been wondering where the heck you were. Somehow missed this thread until just now :lol: Of course you know me, I can get lost even on the internet ;-)

What a GREAT ride, what a great story. You are my new hero, among few.

Hey, give me a call sometime. We are having a our little Hill Country Motomeet back at the Foxfire over the Easter weekend. All your friends will be there.

:chug:

Later my brutha,

[Dirtrideroader]

Glad you made it home safely. Hope to meet you one of these days.

[scratch]

Pictures John, PICTURES! :mrgreen:

It's good to have ya back. 8-)

[irondawg]

Big John !!!!! I've been wondering where the heck you were. Somehow missed this thread until just now :lol: Of course you know me, I can get lost even on the internet ;-)

What a GREAT ride, what a great story. You are my new hero, among few.

Hey, give me a call sometime. We are having a our little Hill Country Motomeet back at the Foxfire over the Easter weekend. All your friends will be there.

:chug:

Later my brutha,

Hey Bro!

Nice to hear from ya. Fox Fire in April sounds good! I'll see if they have any cabins left. I'll let you know what the situation is.

Later

[Trip]

I should be arriving down there Thursday, April 8th. Hey, that's only 2 weeks away!

Yeee-haaaa, can't wait. Hope you can make it over.

Cheers,

[irondawg]

I'll see you at Fox Fire. Reserved a cabin yesterday.

[Trip]

Most excellent !!! Will you be there Thursday nite or Friday?

I'm riding out on Thursday (the long way of course) and probably will not hit Foxfire until late.

Friday and Saturday riding all day, probably do the standard 335 336 337 on Friday before all the tourists show up for the weekend. Saturday maybe due some of the more out of the way roads like 470 over to Tarpley, and then maybe the loop up around Sisterdale, Blanco etc.....

[irondawg]

I'll be there Thursday afternoon.

BTW, and for everyone else...here's pictures...if you want to see the rest of them, here's the linky (http://irondawg.smugmug.com/gallery/66008).

Here's a couple of my favs...

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/2295197-M.jpg

Coco of Coco's Corner

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/2295276-M.jpg

Southeast tip of Baja

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056238-M.jpg

My riding companion

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056244-M.jpg

AAHHHHHHH

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056247-M.jpg

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056249-M.jpg

Kids watching the bike as I do paperwork to cross into Guatemala

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056272-M.jpg

Road up Volcan Agua...well it WAS on my GPS...

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056277-M.jpg

After getting stuck and trying to turn the bike around on the 'road' broke my tail light on the tree.

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056278-M.jpg

Up in the Guat highlands

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056290-M.jpg

Swimming at the HOT waterfalls near Lago Isabel

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056295-M.jpg

Tikal Grand Plaza

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056315-M.jpg

63 meter high pyramid. The black dots below the big square black hole are people.

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056321-M.jpg

Climbing to the top.

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056322-M.jpg

View from top looking over jungle at other pyramids...the blur is from my camera...I had a big smudge on the lens that I didn't see till later.

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056323-M.jpg

View looking down.

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056324-M.jpg

A secret place in the highlands...

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056335-M.jpg

Okay...it's Semech Champe. You'll need to ask a local where it is

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056338-M.jpg

Loading the bike into a lancha for the ride to Belize

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056339-M.jpg

Hmmm...not sure if this is a good idea...but everyone give thumbs up!

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056340-M.jpg

Sharks and rays in Belize off of Caye Caulker

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056344-M.jpg

Ras Creek, our guide, holding a ray

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056346-M.jpg

My turn!!!

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056347-M.jpg

Ruins at Tulum, Mexico.

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056355-M.jpg

Huge iguana...they were all over the place.

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056354-M.jpg

Isla Muerera, near Cancun.

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056361-M.jpg

Pyramid at Chichen Izta, Mexico

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056366-M.jpg

Looking down

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056368-M.jpg

View from the top

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056369-M.jpg

Campeche

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3056375-M.jpg

My last sunset of the trip in Champotan...next 2 days it rained and the last I was in the states and home

http://irondawg.smugmug.com/photos/3059072-M.jpg

[Hideandseek]

all I can say is WOW that had to be one of those once in a life time trips.
it looks like you had an awsome time. do you have a pic of your route?
or maybe a pic of your GPS tracl log? that would be cool to see.

[Trip]

Well Big J, all I can say is.........ahhhhh, uuhhhhh, I really don't know what to say :-) Amazing, simply amazing. You have done something, my man. :chug:

The Hill Country will probably seem a bit of a let down to you this year
:roll:

I'm still on the lookout for a good cheap DR-350. Maybe next year we could do the backroads ;-)

[irondawg]

The hill country won't be a disappointment...trust me ;-) :twisted:

[Anonymous]

Well, I hope you have changed out your knobbies :eek:

And I don't plan on slowing down in the straights, this time ;-)

[Trip]

Well, I hope you have changed out your knobbies :eek:

And I don't plan on slowing down in the straights, this time ;-)


:roll: :oops: :evil:

[brd]

Very cool, John. Glad to see you back safe and sound.

However... where are the pics of Doris? :-P (inquiring minds want to know)

[irondawg]

Those are for me... ;-)

[Tourmeister]

STeve,

When have you ever slowed down for anything? Well... other than Wal-Mart bags... :-P

Adios,

[irondawg]

I beg to differ...he didn't slow down a bit...no time...the thing was on him quicker than, well put you favorite saying...grease through a goose.

NOW, if you want to talk about slowing down...he did slow down for the buzzard. :mrgreen: but it didn't help much :eek:

[Dirtrideroader]

Ok, where are the REST of the pictures???

[Photojojo]

Well I'll breathe life into an old thread! You started this adventure before I even knew how to ride a motorcycle. Makes me sorry I didn't get a bike and find TWT sooner as I'm sure the experience of reading the posts as the adventure unfolded would have been that much better.

Right now I'm looking straight at my computer screen but my mind is 2000 miles away. :clap:

You'll have to re-live some of these adventures for me in Broken Bow.

[Tourmeister]

The stories have of course gotten better with time ;-)