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The Adventure Begins... Tejas A La Tierra

WOW!! Only WOW! Troy, please get back before mid-September so I can be a part of your welcome home reception!
 
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Not something you normally see on a ride report from Austin, TX... I guess my little crack about penguins and leopard seals wasn't far from the mark ;-)

Man all of your shipboard shots really make me miss my previous job...
 
WOW!! Only WOW! Troy, please get back before mid-September so I can be a part of your welcome home reception!

Agreed. I've been reading and following along for your whole trip. I'd LOVE to buy you a beer and shake your hand when you make it back to Austin.
 
So, sorta small world story tonight. I'm at the local's pub tonight after inviting a few guys along, including Harold from Giant Loop. We're bench racing and telling lies and the topic turns to long, remote rides. Of course I have to bring up Troy's ride, saying how I had a buddy who just went *way* remote and rode from Austin to Antarctica, and Harold says "Hey! That's Troy!" Hahahaha! :clap:
 
Agreed. I've been reading and following along for your whole trip. I'd LOVE to buy you a beer and shake your hand when you make it back to Austin.
+1, I bet you don't have to buy a beer in this town!
:sun:
 
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Not something you normally see on a ride report from Austin, TX... I guess my little crack about penguins and leopard seals wasn't far from the mark ;-)

Man all of your shipboard shots really make me miss my previous job...

I don't remember you mentioning what job that might have been. Do tell. I'm sure there is an interesting story behind it.
 
So, sorta small world story tonight. I'm at the local's pub tonight after inviting a few guys along, including Harold from Giant Loop. We're bench racing and telling lies and the topic turns to long, remote rides. Of course I have to bring up Troy's ride, saying how I had a buddy who just went *way* remote and rode from Austin to Antarctica, and Harold says "Hey! That's Troy!" Hahahaha! :clap:

Yes, Giant Loop, Harold and the gear have been great. You Orygunnians are all right.
 
Thanks for all the well wishes. It's been a fun ride. I'm heading north now and I'm going to do some fishing. I'm still going to post, but it may be less frequent and more about general travel than just about where I'm at and what I'm doing.

All those offers for beers will have to wait... all in due time. Cheers.
 
What a great adventure! I have to say when I first saw the thread(as a DR owner) my question was, "Is he actually doing this with the STOCK DR seat?!" When I saw the mods and the Seat Concepts seat, I figured Troy was set up for "multi-hemipshere" travels!

Have a safe trip back Troy!
 
What a great adventure! I have to say when I first saw the thread(as a DR owner) my question was, "Is he actually doing this with the STOCK DR seat?!" When I saw the mods and the Seat Concepts seat, I figured Troy was set up for "multi-hemipshere" travels!

Have a safe trip back Troy!

The seat concepts seat is great! Highly recommended
 
Re: The Adventure Begins... A Slight Detour of 5 Hours

From the town of Rio Grande I planned to ride across Tierra del Fuego through San Sebastian to a little town call Provenir from which I would take a 2 hour ferry to Puntas Arenas.
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The journey started off on asphalt with moderate wind gust of around 20mph. By now any gusts under 50mph are manageable.

When I reached the pampa the wind dropped...but so did the rain.
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From San Sebastion it was gravel and dirt and rain. Luckily it was not cold, so I didn't mind it so much. Actually I kind of enjoyed it. There was absolutely no traffic on the road. Except for a patagonia fox, a few guanacos and some nandus. I tried to stop and take photos, but those critters are fast.

Sometimes when I'm riding in these remote areas with no traffic coming or going I get a little nervous. What if I go down? What if I get lost?

But for some reason today all of those negative thoughts did not occupy my mind. I was open to whatever lay ahead. The total ride should have taken about 4 hours. But the rain, animals and some photo taking slowed me down.

As I neared Provenir I checked my watch... 1:55pm. Uh oh... the ferry was leaving at 2:00pm.

I needed to push. I sped through town.

Just as I was pulling up to the ferry loading area...the ferry was raising it's gate and pulling out to sea.

I had missed it by about 2 minutes. Shucks!

My options were not good. The ferry departed once a day. The next ferry would be the next day. There was an alternative route in which I could travel east and north, take a 15 minute ferry, then west and south, basically making a loop around the Strait of Magellan and a bay. The route would take about 5-6 hours.

I was kicking myself for stopping to take photos of those guanacos. I didn't even get a good shot before they ran off.

Not wanting to stay in Provenir and waste daylight I decide to take the alternative route.

I asked for directions from two different people. It's my way of confirming directions. Each person warned me that the first stretch is ripio (gravel). I asked how bad it was. All I got back in response was a facial gesture that I was not entirely sure how to interpret. Ripio can be fun to ride in if it is compacted, but dreadful to ride in if it is loose.

I filled up with gas, then headed off.

The first few miles it was all asphalt. And then came the ripio. I slowed down. At first the road was primarily hard pack dirt with small pieces of gravel the size of peas. Easy to ride on.
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Then I came across some larger gravel the size of olives. Still easy to ride on, but the larger pieces of gravel allow the tire to slide around a bit more.
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Then came grooves of hard packed dirt with banks of loose gravel. It's fine to ride in the grooves, but to move over one of the banks or to react in an emergency could be tricky.

I relaxed and rode on. Every once in a while I'd come across a grapefruit sized rock in the middle of my groove that I would have to avoid. OK, hop the bank, no problem. But honestly, I was kind of in the zone.
See video
The weather had cleared and the wind was moderate. I was riding and standing and weaving between the obstacles like it was second nature. I was enjoying this.

After about 2:30 hours of pure riding bliss I came upon the Strait of Magellan where I would catch a 15 minute ferry to the other side of the bay. This ferry was still waiting for me.

Since this was a short crossing the ferry crew did not even strap down Emi. I was kind of surprised. I was wondering if they were just playing games with the foreigner, but no, no one came to strap down Emi.

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While we were in transit I got off Emi to take this picture. As we crested a wave Emi was rocked and almost fell over. I decided that I should sit on her to hold her steady for the remainder of the crossing.

After crossing the Straight of Magellan I headed west and south along the bay.
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I came to an intersection. Staring at me from across the road and up on a plateau was this guanaco. It was all by itself... just standing there... staring at me... after about 2 minutes it left... then I left.

The road was asphalt, but the wind really started to pick up. I leaned into the wind to keep my bike straight. Also, I employed the technique of sticking leg out to act as a sail to capture the wind...I call it the chicken wing technique. It was a pretty uncomfortable ride for 3 hours.

What started out as a nice ride in the dirt during the morning turned into a brutal ride against the wind.


I did see some more guanacos.

And some nandus.

I arrived in Punta Arenas at about 8pm. It was already dark. I found a hostel and found the bed. It had been a long day, but I reached my destination. I was happy.

For the full story visit A Slight Detour
 
Re: The Adventure Begins... Into The Wind

Punta Arenas was a stopover. My real intention was to reach Puerto Natales. In Puerto Natales I was going to meet my friend Sarka (Chech Republic) and we were going to trek in the Torres Del Paine Park.
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The road from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales was pretty straight and all smooth asphalt.

But, the wind was tremendous.

I believe the wind gusts were probably the strongest that I have encountered... somewhere between 40 to 50 mph. Strong consistent wind is not hard to ride against... it is predictable. However, wind gusts hit you at variable times and with variable strength. Usually when you least expect it.

On occasion the gusts were blowing me 3 to 4 feet across the road. Thankfully, the wind was blowing left to right. Thus, I was being blown toward the shoulder of the road and not into oncoming traffic.

I typically ride at 60 to 70 mph. Because of the gusts I thought that it would be prudent to slow down... 45 was about right. Luckily there wasn't much traffic, just Emi and I and open space.

I clutched my handlebars a little firmer, crouched down, grinned and bared it.

Into the wind!
 
Re: The Adventure Begins... Torres Del Paine - Trekking The W

I met my friend Sarka in Puerto Natales.

I first met Sarka in San Augustine, Colombia and we went horseback riding. I saw her again in Quito, Ecuador and we shared a meal. Once again in Banos, Ecuador and we went out for a drink. Then in Ushuaia, we connected again. It's a small world.

It was in Ushuaia that we discussed that we were both heading to Torres del Paine and we decided to try to meet up and trek together.

Torres del Paine National Park is a park encompassing mountains, a glacier, a lake, and river-rich areas in the southern Chilean Patagonia. The park is located 112 km (70 mi) north of Puerto Natales. The landscape of the park is dominated by the Paine massif, which is an eastern spur of the Andes located on the east side of the Grey Glacier. Small valleys separate the spectacular granite spires and mountains of the massif.

Sarka and I met at the Eratic Rock Hostel which hosts a briefing every day with good info about trekking in the Torres del Paine Park. After the briefing, we assembled our gear, bought groceries and purchased bus tickets to the park. The next day we would start our trek.
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Our objective was to hike the W.
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Here is a satellite image of what the terrain really looks like...lakes, valleys and mountains.
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Hopefully as we trekked the W we would have a chance to see the Torres del Paine, French Valley and Grey Glacier.

For the full story see Torres del Paine Trekking the W
 
Re: The Adventure Begins... An Ounce Of Prevention

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I woke up this morning and heard raindrops on the tin roof. A pleasant sound if you're planning to stay under the covers. Not such a pleasant sound to hear if you want to ride some miles on a motorcycle.

My boots have not proven to be waterproof despite being marketed as waterproof with a gortex liner. I've tried protecting them with creams and waxes, but nothing has proven to work completely.

I thought that I'd make my own provision using duct tape.

I think it looks pretty diesel...what do you say?
 
Re: The Adventure Begins... Escaping The Cold

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It started to snow in Puerto Varas. It was already cold. It was already raining. I should have known that snow could not be far behind. I've been chasing Spring, but Winter has been chasing me...and it caught up.

I had to make a decision. I could travel north via Ruta 40 in the snow or travel north by water ferry on the Navimag.

Ruta 40 is a famous road which stretches south and north in western Argentina. It has a similar mystique as Route 66 in the states. However, the southern part of Ruta 40 is famous for having loose gravel and strong winds. Not such a great combination to ride on bike when you mix in a little snow or ice.

The Navimag is a water ferry that travels from Puerto Natales to Puento Montt in southern Chile and passes through picturesque fjords. It's a relaxing way to see southern Chile, but not exactly exciting.

While I was walking around Puerto Natales trying to make a decision, I saw a sign.

I saw what looked like a new yellow BMW800 GS, a motorcycle that typically costs about $16,000. However, this bike had a broken windshield, scrapes on the side and was being trailered. I can only guess that it was a casualty of Ruta 40. I've heard many stories from riders whom have ridden the southern section of Ruta 40 and regretted it. Some recount days of torture. Some recount stories of wipeouts. I was not feeling up to Ruta 40. Maybe if I had a riding partner, but not riding solo.

I decided to take the Navimag.

I booked my ticket in the morning and I boarded that same evening...escaping the cold.
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Emi had some company in the cargo area. There were two BMW1200 GSs along for the ride. One GS was being ridden by Andrew and Cathy a couple from South Africa. The second GS had a sidecar and was being ridden by Matt and Kristen a couple from Texas.
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There were also a few trucks and a flock of sheep down below.
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On deck we had nice views of the fjords.

Clouds obscuring the mountains.

Mountains obscuring the clouds.

And when the light lined up correctly with the clouds there were rainbows.
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The sunrises could be spectacular.
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But they were sometimes overshadowed by the sunsets.
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I'm not exactly sure how these colors were produced.
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Even when it was cloudy and gray there was some dramatic scenery.

We eventually reached Puerto Montt.

See Video
Here's a short 30 second visual of the Navimag experience.
 
Re: The Adventure Begins... New Tread

I had a little over 14,000 miles on my bike. About 7,000 on the current tires. It was about time to put on some new tread.
I inquired around Puerto Varas and no shops seemed to have a tire in the size I needed. I was told that there was a shop in a town called Osorno that might have the right size.
I looked it up on the Internet and sent the shop, MotoAdventura, an inquiry by email. They responded back that they had the tire that I needed and that they could hold it for me.
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In Osrono, I found MotoAdventura.
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They had a nicely equipped store and were a retailer of BMW bikes.
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They helped me put on a new Perelli MT60, the same tire that I was currently riding on.
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The front tire seemed to still be in pretty good shape so I opted to leave it on.
New tread for some new adventures.
 
Re: The Adventure Begins... The Seven Lakes

I left Puerto Varas and once again crossed from Chile into Argentina.

I traveled through Parque Peyuhue and over the Andean Mountains. It was a rainy and cold day, but the route was scenic. I was heading toward an area known as the lakes district and specifically a picturesque route called The Seven Lakes.

The first stop was a town called Villa de la Angostura... nothing special.

From Villa de la Angostura I would ride to San Martin de Los Andes and then to Junin de Los Andes.

This is what I passed along the way.
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The route was 110 km...40 km of which was gravel.
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Finally arriving at San Martin de Los Andes.

I took a short break for lunch in San Martin then headed on to Junin.

See Video
Here is a short 2 minute video about the experience of traveling the road along The Seven Lakes.
 
Re: The Adventure Begins... Gaucho

After arriving in Junin de Los Andes I decided to ride around a bit to scout out some fishing locations.

As I was riding down this one road in the middle of nowhere I saw this gentleman.
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His name is Estuardo... and he is a genuine gaucho. I stopped to talk to him.

In Spanish, I said, "I'm looking for a river to go fishing." He said, "You need to keep following the road for another 10 km to the river."

I said, "Are you a gaucho." He said, "yes." I said, "Do you ride a horse?" He said, "yes." I said, "Do you work with cattle?" He said, "yes." I said, "Cool."

Estuardo wasn't real talkative. I think that he may have been a little surprised to see a guy on a motorcycle wearing a space suit riding around in the middle of the pampa.

I said, "Can I take a photo of you?" He said, "yes."
 
So now you guys know what happens when I decide to go fishing... I get real far behind on my storytelling. I've just about caught up with the posts. I appreciate y'alls patience.

Troy
 
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