51 days are rushing by…

but, there are also 51 days
dragging out. Mix a little anticipation with apprehension, toss in some anxiety,
and that is what is going through my head. I dropped the bike off at Gerry’s
last weekend, now it’s out of my hands until December 28th (if all goes as planned). Gerry has taken on the shipping duties from our end, with his friend Carlos in Chile, and all I can say is thanks. It was tough to see my prepped 990 in the trailer for what seems like the last time.

Now, the issues of “what” have I forgotten are ricocheting around my head. Prior to turning over the bike, we did an inventory of gear and equipment. Gerry has the primary tool kit; I have the tire changing/repair equipment. The goal is to minimize weight by eliminating redundancy. But the nagging questions remain; what did I forget to do to the bike? What did I forget to ship with the bike?

My collection of gear-

Gerry’s paraphernalia collection-

To help answer my questions, I looked over the photos from a trip this last June across the Great Divided Basin in south central Wyoming. Asking the question, what did I need and not need with me. For most of the day I did not see another sole, antelope, wild horses yep, saw them, but not another sole. Knowing that you are totally on your own is an intense rush of adrenaline. At the same time you realize just how small you really are. Help is a long way away. The nearest paved road is over 50-miles away, but which direction? That’s the Oregon Buttes on the western horizon. There are times when the GPS does not always correlate with the actual road in these areas.

Oh and do you ever want to twist that throttle on a simple gravel road. However, one simple fact must remain in your mind; you’re out there on your own. Sliding out or high-siding could lead to a long cold night. I managed to drop my bike in the driveway at the start of this trip. With the appropriate technique I can get the 990 back up on its wheels. But, a crash in rocks, or sand at any speed calls the uninvited laws of physics into play, and they generally don’t play nice. Which explains why riding is so therapeutic, you must stay focused in the moment. Which proves my theory; if I was riding right now, I would not be pondering what I forgot.

Unbelievable, I just noticed the tabs for my bike expire on Dec 31, 2011. This could have been a big problem.

57 Days...Almost Ready

Jim was out this weekend.  His bike is ready except for new tires (which I will take care of this week).

I need new tires and to fix the two steps backwards for the three steps forwards.  I got all the maintenance but the tires finished but had more help than I needed...  One bolt got stripped and the harness for the rear cylinder O2 sensor was damaged under a crash guard clamp.  Apparently this is a pretty common error.  I'll fix the harness and the stripped threads this week and we'll be ready to ship the bikes next week.

This photo shows most of our stuff scattered on the floor.  I'll be happy when the shippers have the bikes and it will be useless to worry about over/under packing.

59 Days to go. Jim is ready!

Jim has finished all of his bike prep.  He'll be bringing his bike to Washington today.

Jim is going to bring the little TTR, seen in the background of the above photo, so we have a pit bike for the Dakar.

I should be able to finish up on Saturday.

74 Days until Departure, Last Big Pieces in Place

We have finally put the last major pieces in place.  We found a shipper to get the bikes to Santiago:

Mike Morrison
mike@pakmail726.com
Pak Mail

2620 Bellevue Way NE

Bellevue, WA 98004

V. 425.803.0627

F. 425.803.2916

www.pakmail726.com

And a return shipper:

Bob Morley

global.biker@gmail.com

SSL Consolidation

Napoleon 3565, Officina 1007

Santiago De Chile

Contact in Santigo is: Luis Echenique <luis.echenique@sslconsolidation.cl>

And to top it off, Carlos Grez will store the bike crates for us while we are in South America so we don't have to drop about $400 to build new ones at the end of the ride.

-Gerry

T-77 days and I’m starting to panic

For some, a little background information is always helpful,
so here I go…As is usually the case, this adventure like most, was born
from consumption of massive quantities of alcohol, which just might be
something your parents never told you. It all started approximately 3-4 years ago. The allure of “Dakar” was hot and heavy in our minds as the race
was underway in Argentina, and I was facing my upcoming 49^th birthday.

Now I’m not sure why but I’m rather lucky in that I have a
really understanding wife, Patty, who has given her blessing on my motorcycle
adventures, even if that includes entering the Dakar. Her only condition for me
entering the Dakar race is that she gets to ride along in a support truck, that
and the funding issue.

I started riding and racing motorcycles back in the 70’s,
raced motocross in high school. I gave up racing and dirt bikes when I started
college, started a career and did not get back into bikes until 2001. I went
almost 20-years without a dirt bike, and yes, there was something missing in my
life, a twisted throttle. In 2002, I started racing desert again, and life is good.

It was not long after that point in time that I meet Gerry and
the world, as I knew it would never be the same again. I worked with Gerry’s
wife Renée for several years before Gerry and I actually met. Renee keep
telling me he was from Wyoming, which is where I grew up (ya really, like that
will ever happen). Well what happens when you get two “old boys” from Wyoming
together and there are no sheep…that’s another story for another day. At that
point in time, Gerry was riding a BMW 1100 RT. His exposure to dirt riding was
very limited (probably need to stress the very limited part). A friend loaned
an old DRZ400, or something along those lines to Gerry for a day ride.

Several months go by, and I get an e-mail from Gerry, he had
just bought a used KTM 520exc, his first real dirt bike. At that point in time,
I was riding a 2001 KTM 520mxc. While they are great machines, they are not for
beginners. So with some level of apprehension I started riding with Gerry. I
watched him throw that bike, and then the bike would throw him, similar to two
pigs wrestling in the mud. After about 4-6 months of trail riding in the tight
woods of the Washington peninsula, I talked Gerry into trying his first desert
race, “there a desert race in Idaho, let go”. I enjoyed it. Gerry on the other
hand kept stammering about how scary fast it was, how sand is different that
hard packed dirt, and that massive (in his mind’s eye) rock ledge he carried
his bike up and over. Strange, I don’t remember any rock ledge. I know for a fact that Gerry never used 5^thor 6^th gear in that KTM.

Now I should point out that Gerry is an uber-geek to the
nth-degree, an engineer who does crash-accident investigations. Every crash he
has taken has been over-analyzed within seconds of picking himself or the bike
up. Myself on the other hand, I’m just a trained observer, with an uncanny ability
to point out the obvious. I have watch Gerry hit the same tree twice, within
the span of one week.

Our bike of choice for this adventure is a pair of KTM 990
Adventure (coincident on the name of the bike? I think not). Over the past 12
months I have managed to put over 11,000-miles on my bike, with several long
trips thrown in for good measure (Las Vegas, San Luis Obispo, Seattle and
Denver). I started off my trip this spring to Denver by dropping my 500-lb bike
in the driveway, as Patty watched, while I was trying to get on the tall bike.
I’m vertical challenged, being just over 5-9, and I managed to hook my paint
leg on the foot peg as I was getting on. Needless to say, I could not reach the
ground as I pushed off my left foot to the right side. Only a few minor
scratches on the bike that and a broken seal on the right side pannier.
(Pannier: motorcycle suit case).

Getting back to South America, we are slated to depart in
less than 80-days. We are both going over the spread sheet which Gerry has put
together, and yes, I have been accused of being anal by more than one close
friend. But this spread sheet is impressive and extensive.

Currently we are both starting to prep our bikes in
preparation for crating them up and shipping to Santiago, Chile. Gerry is at
his bunker in Shelton, me in my garage in Idaho. The leaves are starting to
change colors, it’s getting colder, time is starting to run short and I still
need to get that seal fixed on my pannier.

jim

91 Days until departure, Shipping and riding.

Things are heating up with shippers.  We have found one reasonable rate to get the bikes to Chile.  We are waiting for a couple other quotes before we pull the trigger.  Getting the bikes back may take a bit more effort, but that direction is not time sensitive since we can give power-of-attorney to our friend in Santiago if all else fails.

Jim and I finally got to go on something like a substantial ride.  Last Saturday we rode 450 miles from the Seattle area to Pendleton, Or.  On Sunday we split up and he headed home to Boise and I returned to Redmond.  A great time was had by all.

View to the north of Washington & northern Oregon.

I had tracking from the Spot on the entire ride.  The waypoints stay on the FindMe page for two weeks.  Click through to see any current check-ins.


Note to self: Be more conservative about getting gas, even if that means some back riding.  I pulled into Desert Aire, WA, with 197 miles on the tank.

101 days - Missed connections

Jim and I have been trying to get together for a shake down ride.  Our schedules never seem to work out.

Jim has been doing a lot of long distance riding related to work.  I've been doing a lot of commuting on the 990.  It is a great commuting ride, feels like playing in traffic on a hooked up powerful dirt bike.

One of my early concerns was being skilled enough on the bike to be able to handle riding in heavy traffic while lost and confused in a foreign city.  I figured there was time to learn since I'd have the bike for 1-1/2 years before departure.  I was right.  It has been a great bike to ride but not the most forgiving.  On my very first commute in  June of '10, it was raining (it was Seattle after all).  I was on I-5 in light traffic.  All of a sudden traffic came to hard stop in front of.  No sweat, I have lots of room, easy rear brake and we'll shut her down.  PROBLEM, it locked the the rear brake faster than instantly!  No sweat, let off the rear brake. PROBLEM, the engine braking was enough to prevent the rear from hooking back up.  Seemed like forever to get the clutch pulled (was probably just a fraction of a second).  Ok, note to self, it is a tall bike, it wants to lift the rear on braking and the rear is best used like a dirt bike for steering, not for any substantial slowing, and be ready with the clutch if you do.

Now that I have all the gear I intend to bring to South America now I've got to sort out packing.  I've had all but the new cot on the bike and there is plenty of room.  The bike still rides well all loaded up, which is exactly why we went with larger bikes rather than smaller bikes.

We are stilling up in the air on shipping.  We found a great shipper to get the bikes to Santiago for $637 per bike.  But we haven't been able to find a return shipper.  We are looking for help.