Lima has delivered: new tires, lots of McDonald’s, and some
expert motorcycling advice. While
Charlie and I weren’t originally too keen to spend four nights here, it seemed
to work out pretty well anyway. I’m well
rested and energized to head into the Andes to see what all the fuss is about
Peru. The last 1,000km of dunes set the
bar pretty low, so just about any change in scenery would get the ball rolling
in the right direction towards Cusco.
Charlie and I got up at a leisurely hour Friday morning and
hit the road for three more hours of sand, wind, and corrupt police. We knew that Ty was having trouble finding
our lauded Continental TKC-80’s in Lima, so we made our first destination in
town the KTM dealer that was supposed to stock the tires. We pulled up around 1:00pm letting Charlie’s
Garmin lead the whole way. Lima didn’t
look too promising; the outskirts are several miles of sugar can huts built up
on the sand. Beyond that was a dirty
industrial zone where we found KTM.
Inside the dealership we asked if the warehouse had our tires; they
did. Ecstatic, Charlie and I each bought
a set right there. We considered buying
a spare rear ($170 for two tires is a smoking deal), but decided to wait and
think it over. We left the building
beaming with satisfaction, excited to show off the fresh rubber to Ty at the
hostel.
Outside KTM while we were lashing down our new tires a Spaniard
pulled out of the garage on a cherry KTM 990 Adventure R. It’s a cool bike, so we had some questions
for him. Charlie and I picked Nacho’s
brain for a bit about where to buy gear.
Before long he was leading us across town to his favorite shop. Nacho immediately began giving us helpful
advice. He was very aware of what a
foreigner would and wouldn’t know. He
warned us that Lima doesn’t have a bike culture, so we have to protect ourselves
more on the road. Also petty theft seems
to thrive here. I asked Nacho how he
ever arrived in Lima; turns out he’s a diplomat for the European Union. Not a bad guy to find in a city of 9
million.
The more we all hung out the more information Nacho
had. After the gear shop he had a couple
hostel recommendations. It wasn’t Ty and
Jill’s hostel, but it was nearby and we wanted to ride his coattails a little
further. Nacho brought us to a nice
location in the Miraflores district, Lima’s first class downtown. Charlie and I checked in, showered up, and
half an hour later walked down to the corner to a bar that Nacho had in mind. He took us in, ordered us his favorite
drinks, and called Ivan. We sat there
for twenty minutes listening to Nacho’s previous adventures on his bike all
over South America. As a diplomat, he is
deployed to different places around the world for years at a time. In his spare time, he gets to know them via
one of the coolest adventure bikes on the market.
Soon Ivan showed up, who according to Nacho is Peru’s foremost
motorcycle adventure expert. Ivan was
just as cool to hang out with and had an answer to every question. It’s refreshing to talk to two people who actually
understand what it’s like to be on a bike for ten hours a day. They know what sounds good, and what sounds
like a waste of time. Ivan plotted a
route for us on Charlie’s maps that leads from Huaraz to Cusco through the
Andes. He swears it will be some of our
best riding the entire trip. We have to
go back north to get to the start, but it will be well worth it. Ivan’s stories were plenty, but to prove his
status in the motorcycle adventure world he showed me a picture of himself with
Alex’s hero Hubert Kriegel. Ever since
Al concocted this adventure three years ago, he’s been showing me pictures of
Hubert all around the world. What a trip
to see the man himself with his classic red glasses standing next to my friend
Ivan at the southern tip of South America.
The further I go, the smaller the world.
Saturday morning Charlie and I were up early and off to Ty
and Jill’s hostel. We were also hoping
that Andy and Cass had shown up. We
walked into Ty’s room to find him smiling at us with five brand new TKC-80’s in
the corner. He had bought us each a pair
at KTM just minutes after we took off with Nacho. What looked like a nightmare developing
actually turned into a great success; within six hours we had a home for each
new tire. We’re leaving a pair for Alex
to pick up and Charlie and I each will carry a spare rear for 6,000 miles down
the road. I figure that finding them was
hard enough once and I seem to have enough worries on this trip as it is.
My engine, for example.
It’s running great right now but Saturday I noticed a small buildup of
tar around one of the important gaskets on the engine head. I don’t have a spare, and it won’t be easy to
find. I’ve shown it to the other boys
and everyone assured me that it’s not the end of the world. If I had a spare, maybe I’d change it; since I
don’t, I’ll just keep an eye on it. It’s
not dripping and there’s no pressure behind it anyway, so no sirens. In truth, it’s just a single cylinder engine
with 19,000 miles on it. It’s bombproof,
but it’ll still show some wear. The bike
just isn’t as pretty as it was when I left and I’m starting to accept that as
fact. It won’t get any prettier over the
next 10,000 miles, that’s for sure.
Today, Monday, Charlie’s and my bike went to professional
shop to have the tires replaced. I had
my fourth oil change as well. It’s not
cheap work, but I trusted the mechanic (also named Tato) that Ivan recommended
and every so often it’s nice to have a pro work on the bike and tell you it’s
in great shape. It’s going to have to be
for the next stretch. Charlie and I intend
to get pretty far into the wild while the other four take the Panamerican to
Cusco. Tonight might be the last with Andy
and Cass for a while, at least until I move to Perth, Australia (one of the
ideas I’ve been kicking around [don’t worry, I’ll come home first]). It will be sad to see them go, but I’m used
to it after over five months of goodbyes.
I have no doubt we’ll be seeing Ty and Jill again soon.
I’m constantly eyeing my bank account on this trip, fretting
over money spent and future expenditures.
Whenever I get real bent out of shape I have to pull up a world map and
convince myself just how far I’ve come.
We’re well into South America now yet it seems like last week that Alex
and I were pissing away in Barranquilla.
While the trip still has months to go, it’s time to come up with a more concrete
plan for the ending. We’ve always talked
about getting to Argentina as the goal.
That’s just over a month away. There
will be plenty to accomplish there, but at some point I need to start focusing
on how to get home.
It’s not a backpacking trip where you book a flight online
and hop in a cab to the airport. I’ve
got to find a freighter that will ship the bike to the states for a reasonable
price. Or a buyer that will take it from
me. A freighter might only send it to
certain places; I’d have to coordinate a flight ride it home from the port. And the cheapest option may involve heading
into Brazil, which I never planned to do.
Or I can wait around down here and work.
Maybe a ski season in the Andes?
That would make up for my hernia-botched Baker experiment. There are a lot of options, that’s why I’m
already working on them. For the last
two years my only focus was getting on the road, so it’s a thrill to have a new
project and new dreams to ponder.
I’m anxious to get to Buenos Aires. Not because I’m sick of this, but because I want
to have it under my belt. Every day we
get closer, the goal becomes more feasible.
I don’t want to miss anything in between, but there are times recently
that I’ve wanted to just ride day and night all the way to BA to validate all
the hard work, obnoxious claims, and machismo surrounding this trip. That day will come, and with it a whole new
set of goals. Waiting is the hard part,
even on the trip of a lifetime.
Great report Tom! You'll love your time in Bs.As. as it is one of the best cities in the world to explore and have a great time in. The natives are friendly too! The weather is getting better by the day. Have a great ride and stay safe!
ReplyDeleteGT George
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I like the andre ski season idea! Make a few turns for me.
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