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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly !

Miles

By Miles
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Miles

Miles

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Okay Folks, I am home. Made it home yesterday afternoon at 4:00 pm.

 

For those of you that didn't know I was gone, or where I went, the very brief synopsis of the ride is that my "first" ride of this new year was a total of 15,182 miles, during the past 4 weeks, riding from Olympia, WA. down to Bolivia and Chile', and then riding back home.

That was...riding...not trailering, trucking, or ferrying the bike.

 

So, I can now say I just completed my first ride of the year...15,182 miles from start to finish.

 

The Good:

 

1. I am HOME, and you will get the true meaning of that when you read below items.

2. I (we) had fun for the first 25 days of the ride, the last 3 days were hard.

3. My bike, the 2012 Yam Super Tenere' performed flawlessly. His bike, the 2005 BMW R12GS did okay, and he did make it home to Seattle. His bike is getting long on miles, as it was originally my bike, and I put the first 65,000 miles on it. I sold it to him, and that is when we started riding together. Thanks to: Kevin-vic-b.c. for hoping that the BMW makes it there and back. Your good wishes (albeit satirical) are what helped that beemer along.

4. We saw many great sights, got to watch the Dakar Rally for one day, ate great foods along the way.

5. I lost 12 pounds on this trip. Riding long trips like this I always lose weight, but I lost more than expected, due to what occured on the 26th day.

6. Plans were already in place to sell my 2012 Super Tenere' after this ride, and the buyer still wants it...despite the new bullet hole in the right saddlebag. The buyer, my riding buddy, Ross, is selling the BMW that now has 120,000 miles on it, and is buying my Super Tenere' that is just short of one year old, and now has 42,000 miles on it. I have offered to have the right saddlebag replaced due to the new bullet hole, but he insists on keeping it, as a reminder to our ride, and as a conversation piece.

 

The Bad:

 

1. On Monday, January 28th, which was our 26th day on this trip, we left our hotel in Guaymas, Sonora, MX. and headed north. By the time we got to Santa Ana, Sonora, MX., which was 190 miles into our day, Ross decided he needed to stop to use the bathroom, and grap something to drink. We pulled into a Pemex gas station in Santa Ana, and while Ross went into the store to use the bathroom, I was standing next to our two bikes, using my laptop that was inside my top box on the rear seat of the bike. I keep ALL of my electronics gear such as my laptop, all the charging cords for cell phone, camera, laptop, etc. in this electronics bag. I had opened the top box...opened the electronics bag, and was proceeding to make some notes on my laptop...when a car intentionally ran into my right leg, pushing me up against my bike, hitting my ribs against the opened edge of my top box. The bike did not fall over, and it supported me until I could get back upright. The car that hit me...at a rolling stop...was done for effect, as the 3 occupants of the car exited the car, ran up to me, and one of the guys stuck a hand gun into my ribcage, the opposite side ribs that had just crashed into my top box. This was a robbery, and Ross, my riding partner, that speaks very fluent spanish, was not in sight.

 

I could tell by what these guys were saying that they wanted money. I had no problem handing over any money I had in my pockets, as that is replaceable, and both Ross and I keep most of our money hidden in secret places on the bikes. I motioned to the guy that had the handgun sticking in my ribs that I would use my left hand to reach into my pants pocket, and give then all the money I had. I keep all my money I am using for that day in my left pants pocket, and there is nothing in my right pants pocket. My credit cards/debit card is in my jacket pocket, along with any receipts. My cell phone is in another pocket of my jacket. So I reach into my pocket, remove about $ 400.00 US, and about $ 300.00 in Pesos, and give it all to this guy. He forces me to use my other hand, my right hand, to reach into my right front pocket. My right hand is bad, due to damage, and it doesn't work as well as the left. I do it, but when my hand comes out empty, he gets mad. He then sees that my top box is open, and that in plain sight is my laptop. Using his handgun that is still stuck into my ribs, he pushes me out of the way, and grabs the entire electronics bag in the top box.

 

At that moment I catch the sight of my riding partner, Ross, out of the corner of my eye. We have a prearranged signal in case we are in trouble, and I can see that he wants to come to my aid, but I know that all that will happen is that he will get robbed too, and/or one of us will get shot. I give Ross our signal to stay away...do not approach...and he obeys.

 

The robber can tell by my reaction to his grabbing my electronics bag that it means a lot to me, and for a monent I ponder the idea of offering him more money, money that I have hidden on the bike, to take the additional money in exchange for leaving the electronics bag. But I know that will only lead to his taking everything. There is no bargaining with a robber that has a handgun stuck into your ribs. Give him what he wants, as little as you can get away with giving him, and then hope that he leaves.

 

And that he did. The three bad amigos got back into their car, backed up, and just before they drove away, the bandit sitting in the back seat, the one that had the handgun stuck in my ribs during this robbery, he points his gun out the opened window and fires off one round, hitting my right saddlebag. We would later find that bullet lodged into my Stop N Go tire plug gun kit, then they drove away. Ross came running out to me, and after a minute of short conversation, we got out of there fast. I would have gladly paid those bad guys $ 5,000.00 to leave the laptop and electronics bag with me, as the contents of that laptop mean more to me than the money. Most of the pictures on that laptop cannot be easily replaced, and it will take me a long time to rewrite all the travel logs I had stored on that laptop, as well as the past couple months of work that went toward the book I am writing...work that had not been backed-up or saved on my home hard-drive.

 

2. Yes, ragtop69gs, you were right about the need for the armed escorts down south, but we had no problems in all the Central American countries, or the South American countries. We had to return to northern Mexico to run into banditos. We were 67 miles from the US border, and we probably lost sight of what we already knew were the dangers of northern Mexico, because we were anxious to get to the border.

 

The Ugly:

 

1. When that car crashed into me, I felt my leg injury. I knew it was more than a bump, but my mind was on the immediate problem of a handgun stuck into my ribs, and my other ribs hurting from being slammed into my top case. After we got back on the road, for maybe 30 miles, I signaled to Ross that we needed to pull over. He got off his bike, walked up to me, and knew I was in distress. I explained that I "think" my right leg was either broken or fractured. Ross, having been a medic in Army, checked my ribs on both sides, and then checked my right leg. He agreed that the problem was with the leg., but we agreed to continue on, get across the border at Nogales, and ride up to Tucson, AZ. to check it out further. Waiting in line at the border was painful, and I had a hardtime holding the bike upright. The Yam Super Tenere' is a tall bike, and with an inseam of only 31", my legs are stretched out to reach the ground. If using only one leg, my left, I have to slide off the seat to hold the bike upright.

 

2. We got through the border, rode the additional 90 miles up to Tucson, and found a Walmart just off the highway. I knew that "KIC" lives in Tucson, but without a way to get ahold of him, we were on our own. In the Walmart parking lot, Ross helped me get off my bike, and I sat down on the curb. Ross went inside to buy medical supplies and a couple drinks. He came back with 6 wooden paint stir sticks, a box of lightweight Kotex pads, and a roll of duct tape. He made very effort to remove my right boot as nicely as he could, but...he and I both knew that this had to be done, and we both knew that my removing the boot correctly, it would most likely reset my bones, if indeed it was broken. If it was merely fractured, then no harm, no foul. We knew it was not a compound fracture, as there was no bone protuding from the skin, and no protrusion of the skin, to indicate a bone that might break through. Days later we would find out that he did in fact reset the bone when he removed my boot. We knew that this was most likely a Fibula bone problem, as in a boot-top fracture, similar to what snow skiers get when they fracture a leg right at the top of where their ski boots stop. I have had this injury before back in 1984, skiing down Heavenly Valley, in Cal.

 

With boot removed, and my tall riding sock cut down to only ankle height, he then placed six Kotex pads around my lower leg, placing each one vertically, and then placed the six paint stir sticks on top of the Kotex pads, then wrapped the entire leg up with the duct tape, as tight as he could. For those that don't know, a very good item to have in your First Aid kit is a couple Kotex pads, as they are very absorbent. The IBA recommends putting these in your First Aid kits for long rides. Our use of then here was to absorb any sweat on my leg, inside my boot, and to not have the paint stir sticks rubbing up against my skin. It acts as a buffer that absorbs. Then, getting my boot back on was a major pain, but it had to be done.

 

After drinking our cold drinks, be left Tucson, and headed northwest. We stopped for the night in Blythe, CA. It was only a 608 mile day, but we had problems that kept us from making more miles. We left Blythe on Tuesday morning, and rode 850 miles up to Redding, CA. We had to stop here, because this is where our winter tires had been taken off our bikes, and our heated clothing had been left. Our friend that owns the shop took care of our bikes that night, reinstalled our good winter tires, and threw our raggedy very used road tires away. We had gone about 14,000 miles on those summer tires, and they were well worn out. Given that I had a boot on my right leg that I was not about to remove until we got home, I had to go for three days and more than 1900 miles without showering, or removing my boot. We left Redding on Wednesday morning, rode the last 535 miles up to my house, and dropped our bikes off at the ranch. We called my wife at the State Dept. of Health, and told her to meet us at the hospital after she gets off work. By the time we could leave my place, in my car, with Ross driving, and drive the 20 miles up to the hospital, and then get checked in, X-rayed, and then processed, my wife would just be getting off from work, so why ask her to come any earlier ?

 

The x-ray of the right leg did show a break of the fibula. It was not just a fracture, and the doctor commented that it had been set right back to where it should be, so I was lucky. We let the doc know that the boot removing trick probably set it right. They put a cast on my right leg/foot, and gave me lots of meds, and sent me home. BTW, both Ross and I carry certain pain meds along with us on our trips, but I knew that I would rather deal with the pain, and ride...than to be doped up, and not ride. We also knew to let me take the lead all the way home, so that my mind was on the ride, and the road, not on the pain in my leg, while I followed him.

 

So, I am now home. VERY happy to be home. I wish I didn't have a cast on my right leg, as I have things to do. Ross is coming back this weekend to buy the Super Tenere' from me, bullet hole and all. I was supposed to be buying my next bike next week, a 2012 Suzuki DL650 V Strom, but I think I will wait until the cast is off, so I can ride it home.

 

Regarding my Royal Star Midnight Tour Deluxe...I took that bike all apart to do the valve adjust, prior to my leaving for this trip to Bolivia/Chile'. I measured all my valves, knew which ones needed adjustment, and was waiting to return from this trip to find the kit from Earl, Skydoc_17, waiting for me, so I can replace the shims. I will write that story up in a couple days.

 

Okay, enough already.

 

Miles

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MikeWa

MikeWa

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Miles

 

Wow. What a story and harrowing experience. Very well written. I am sure glad you lived through it and made it back ok. You did the right thing giving up your stuff to the robbers. Those guys are killers and would have thought little about putting you down. I hope you didn't have any information on the laptop that might compromise you.

 

Mike

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bongobobny

bongobobny

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Welcome home Miles!! Quite the adventure you had, and compared to what could have happened you got off easy! I won't have a thing to do with Mexico myself these dasys, the last time I visited that country was in the late 60's and we never travelled alone even then!

 

I'm thinking you will like the VStrom a lot, it is a very nice bike!

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Miles

Miles

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Miles

 

Wow. I hope you didn't have any information on the laptop that might compromise you.

 

Mike

 

 

MikeWa, thanks. The laptop is password protected, twice over, so they cannot get any personal info. That is not what they want anyway. It was probably sold to someone else within 24 hours, and all they will do is use it for parts. But all of my SD cards with 130 photos from this trip were also in the electronics bag. That is what bums me the most.

 

 

And, ragtop69gs, I will be back to riding this weekend, as I also have a Burgman 650, renamed my ST-650 (half the engine, but twice the heart of an ST), so I can ride it even with a cast on my leg.

 

Miles

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CaptainJoe

CaptainJoe

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So, whos keeping the Stop N Go tire plug gun kit, with the spare bullet in it?:whistling:

 

 

Seriously though, you did good. Money and cameras can be replaced.

 

Like hiding money though, starting today, I won't be putting all my valuables in one place(like i have in the past.)

 

doc say 6 weeks for the cast?

 

Hope you heal fast, and i believe someone was looking out for you...

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Miles

Miles

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What an adventure!

Like has already been said, glad you're back alive and VERY well written!

I also live in Tucson. You could have called me!

 

One question:

How did you manage the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia?

 

Very good question, and quite frankly, I was hoping that someone would ask that, as it takes someone familiar with the gap to know that there are no real roads (by northernors standards) to drive through from Panama to Columbia. That is why most of these trips are taken on adventure bikes, rather than Goldwings.

 

Once you get down to the Pinogana District of Panama, there is a small village to the east of the main dirt road. The track that leads to that small village also continues over the mountains, still heading east, and down the eastern slop of the mountains. It is nothing more than a cart track, or horse trail. That leads down to Marriaga, Columbia, and that is where we pick back up on the main (still dirt) road.

 

The locals know this road, and most times there is some local resident there to take a small toll for using their road. It is kinda funny, but it is also respectful to pay the small toll.

 

Once in Columbia, then we had to deal with the patroled road stops, get grilled as to how we got there, and pay a little token bribe to go on.

 

Miles

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DarkLeftArm

DarkLeftArm

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Very good question, and quite frankly, I was hoping that someone would ask that, as it takes someone familiar with the gap to know that there are no real roads (by northernors standards) to drive through from Panama to Columbia. That is why most of these trips are taken on adventure bikes, rather than Goldwings.

 

Once you get down to the Pinogana District of Panama, there is a small village to the east of the main dirt road. The track that leads to that small village also continues over the mountains, still heading east, and down the eastern slop of the mountains. It is nothing more than a cart track, or horse trail. That leads down to Marriaga, Columbia, and that is where we pick back up on the main (still dirt) road.

 

The locals know this road, and most times there is some local resident there to take a small toll for using their road. It is kinda funny, but it is also respectful to pay the small toll.

 

Once in Columbia, then we had to deal with the patroled road stops, get grilled as to how we got there, and pay a little token bribe to go on.

 

Miles

Wow. The Darien Gap has a horrible reputation for being a very dangerous place. And as you found out (the hard way), The Mexican Frontera is where the real danger is. Darien was what made our big Peru/Ecuador adventure NOT start in Panama!

By the way... I've been considering trading in my Roadstar on a Super Tenere.

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Miles

Miles

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Wow, A long trip to Alaska and another long trip to South America and no pictures to show for it. That is some really lousy luck.

 

Back in my younger days, in the days of yore, I used to take a lot of pictures, on film. More recently, in the past 10 to 15 years, I hardly take any pictures. Some trips I take no pictures. Only very recently, since being on this forum, have I had the thought and desire to actually take pictures on a ride. The book I am writing will have almost no pictures in it. It is not a phot album, but a written composition of riding where I have been, and the miles I have been on.

 

Yeah, real dumb luck to have no tangible pictures from either long ride recently. When Ross (my riding partner from this trip) gets all unloaded, and uploaded from his pictures he took, he will send me some, then I can post the ones he sends me.

 

Miles

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KIC

KIC

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Miles,

 

Wish I would have known and could of helped in any way possible. In fact my dad is just off the freeway and I was over there.

 

Santa Ana is definitely not a nice place. Had my own run in and chase out from the $#it hole 25 years ago. I hate that little rat hole and the scum living in it.

 

Glad you are safe.

 

You didn't happen to run into a Canadian named Brian on a Honda XR650 on your trip did you ?

 

Bill

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