The Adventure Begins... Tejas A La Tierra

[troyfromtexas]

Well, last week I began my adventure that I'm calling "Tejas A La Tierra" or "Texas to Tierra del Fuego. Over the next year I'll make my way south from Austin to Tierra del Fuego, the southern most point in this hemisphere and then back. I'm hoping to provide updates with blogs, photos, videos and podcasts of my adventure.

Info about my bike, gear and journey will be chronicled on my website www.theadventurebegins.tv. Please subscribe if you're interested in following along.

I meant to say a few thanks before I left, but things got a little bit hectic. This community and a number of its riders have greatly influenced me in taking this trip and prepping me for this journey.

Tourmeister for managing this great website.
Green Eggs and Ham for taking me on my first ride.
Trailboss for organizing rides and writing manuals on dual sporting in Texas.
The Roll the Bones guys for helping me fix my first flat.
Vinny and Coolhand for pushing my skills out at Big Bend.
Green Eggs and Ham for helping me select a bike for the adventure and providing maintenance advice.
Trailboss for helping me fix my second flat and providing advice on tools and equipment.
Coolhand for great advice on prepping my DR650.
FotoMatt for helping me prep my DR650.
All you guys on the DR650 thread.
And, all you guys that I've ridden with along the way.

I'll be posting updates on my website, ADVRider and possibly on TWT.

Just wanted to say thanks y'all.

You can read the highlights on this website or read the complete story by segments by country on my blog.
Motorcycle Prep
Texas
Mexico
Guatemala
El Salvador
Honduras
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panama
Colombia
Ecuador
The Amazon
The Galapagos Islands
Peru
Chile
Argentina
Uruguay
Bolivia
Paraguay
Brazil
The Road Home

[BeemerlessBob]

Great reporting. I'm following your trip with interest.

[The Bruce]

Subscribed. Safe travels

[way-man]

Safe travels

[troyfromtexas]

Thanks for the support.

Bob, I've followed your trips and blogs and they've certainly provided me some inspiration for this trip.

Bruce, I was looking at your CDT blog earlier this year because I wanted to do the trip this past spring. Well, this big trip came up and I didn't have time to fit in the CDT. I hope to do it when I return.

Troy

[Simmons1]

[troyfromtexas]

The first day in La Pesca, Mexico


A day of dual sport riding


The Adventure Begins: Crossing the Sierra Madre Mountains

Here's a short 2 minute video documenting crossing the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico going from Xilitla to Pachuca to Papantla. Just a little taste of the experience.

[troyfromtexas]

After two days of riding east I arrived in the town of Papantla. The town is known for hosting visitors that wish to visit the ruins of El Tajin.

El Tajin in Totonac is lighting, thunder or hurricane. I didn't want to see any of those, just the ruins. To see photos and more of the story visit...

The Adventure Begins: El Tajin

[The Bruce]

Subscribed to the blog. Good stuff. Safe travels.

[Coolhand]

Oh excellent go for it Troy!!

For those that don't know him, Troy is a good dude. Best of luck man.

[BeemerlessBob]

Troy,

This is GREAT! Thank you so much for showing us this history and I have to admit, I am jealous, I would like to see these places in person someday. I take it you traveling alone?

[VRoss]

What was the guitar music to the video?

[troyfromtexas]

Originally Posted by VRoss

What was the guitar music to the video?

That would be Inspiration by the Gypsy Kings. One if my favorite chillin songs of all time.

[troyfromtexas]

Originally Posted by BeemerBob

Troy,

This is GREAT! Thank you so much for showing us this history and I have to admit, I am jealous, I would like to see these places in person someday. I take it you traveling alone?

Hey Bob, you're welcome to hop on that Beemer and meet me somewhere in the Yucatan. I actually began the ride with another rider that I met on Horizons Unlimited. We were only planning to start the ride together to get through the Mexico border area, then go our separate ways. We split up in Xilitla. I don't mind riding and traveling alone. I tend to meet people along the way and travel for a while together. But everyone has their own path that they must follow. Ya know bikers tend to be pretty individualistic.

Troy

[troyfromtexas]

Originally Posted by Coolhand

Oh excellent go for it Troy!!

For those that don't know him, Troy is a good dude. Best of luck man.

Man, I love that picture that you took of me. Still one of my all time favorites. That XT250 was great, but she had to go for this trip. The DR650 is proving to be a great bike. I need to do an update post on all the mods and gear and how it is working out.

Troy

[cdc]

Good luck, will be following...

[BeemerlessBob]

Troy,

I know what you mean about traveling solo, it adds to the adventure and you set your own pace. My wife does say, however, that I am never to try doing the CDR solo again. Last attempt did not work our well.

As far as joining you, my Spanish is too limited to go very far. Through Rosetta Stone, I was able to lean the most important phrases. I know how to order a beer, I know how to ask where the restroom is and I know how to tell someone that we need medical assistance. My last venture across the border, I had the opportunity to use all three phrases. :-/

But for now I'll ride along vicariously via your blog.

[Hellwig]

Freakin' Sweet man. I cannot wait to get down there!

[Sweet-E]

That is a great blog! Can't wait to read more of your adventure. Stay safe!

[troyfromtexas]

Originally Posted by Hellwig

Freakin' Sweet man. I cannot wait to get down there!

If you can find the time, I think that the trip through Mexico could be done a 250. The DR650 is working out great, but sometimes I do wish I would have tried this trip on the Yamaha XT250 that I owned and just packed lighter.

Here in Mexico, there are mostly Honda 250s and Yamaha 250s. I haven't seen many Kawasakis. I'm working on a post about Mexican motorcycle, but I want to collect a few more photos before I post.