Tag Archives: ktm
Day 12 – Placencia
We are taking a day to recoup and bring the bikes back to tip top while we hang out in paradise.
The room is freezing just the way we love it. We have been overheating every day and both nights in Tikal were hot and humid so this has been a welcome departure. I took this opportunity to try to do a thorough sink washing of all my gear. I have worn two different technical shirts for my top layer so far and they are getting pretty nasty. I have three pairs of Ex-Officio underwear I have been rotating to keep as fresh as possible. They aren’t bad but it would be nice to deep clean them now that I have the chance. The last item I really need to work on is the liner of my helmet. It has been getting pretty gruesome in there with all the warm days and rain we have met up with. It is so bad that I often opt to keep the visor at least a little open so I don’t drown in my own stink. No Bueno. This is my first time removing the liner and I am proud to say the Scorpion EXO AT-950 came out with no issues. I have washed everything and it is set up to dry next to the cold air output of the AC unit. Now to tackle some bike maintenance.
This is where I encountered my first real problem of the trip. Apparently, overloading the panniers and taking the speed tables like mini ramps wasn’t a great idea because my right pannier frame has broken dramatically. I am running the SW Motech racks with the QD bolts. The top bolt has gone missing on me so the entire rack is hanging a little. Underweight I bet it would like it’s about to get ripped off. I took a moment to lament the fact that I didn’t change out the quick disconnect bolts with real bolts when I first saw them at installation months ago but that time has passed. There is nothing I can do now to go back and fix my error. Joe and I figured we could probably pick something up along the way to bolt the frame back together properly or we would be able to find a place once we got to Roatan. For now, I just used my Mosko Moto straps to cinch the frame back towards the bike and tight with the other side. It seemed to hold well enough creating an X pattern across the pillion portion of my seat. That ought to hold as long as I don’t act like a Nitro Circus performer hitting topes every day. I lubed the chain again and packed up in the heat to relax a little in our room while I waited for dinner.
This hotel is incredible. Belize has a gorgeous coastline and this place is taking full advantage of the view. They also have a Mexican restaurant across the street which faces toward the bay. We wanted a little change for this evening and opted for Mexican at Jalapenos. The food was good, the drinks were fruity and because it is the offseason we were almost the only two people in the place.
I am glad to have had the rest and tomorrow is a big day as we head back to Guatemala and hopefully into Honduras depending on the border(s). I am not taking the AC in this place for granted or the fact that I can hear the pool fountain right outside our window. I could see journeying back to this place for a vacation all it’s own.
Day 7 – San Pablo to Villahermosa
We got up this morning with the sounds of the ocean just outside our window. It was a nice change of pace from the more urban areas we have stayed for the past few nights. We made our way down to a leisurely breakfast with Joe opting for fruit and I had some rice and beans with eggs. I had no problem finishing the entire meal because I was ready to make up some of the ground we lost yesterday by not making it all the way to Veracruz. Our goal was Villahermosa which clocks in at about 630 km and close to 9 hours of travel.
The beginnings of the ride were incredible as we hugged the coast in the late morning hours. To my left were little resorts set right on the beach with the Gulf shiny bright blue just behind them. To my right were farms and open grasslands that stretched for miles to distant mountains. It was straight, clean roads and honestly, just the sort of easy riding I needed after yesterday.
The only problem with long straight roads in the hot sun of Mexico is my tendency to fall asleep on the bike. Now, please don’t misunderstand, I am not falling completely into a dead coma. Just a little eye close and a quick nod of the head to refresh and rejuvenate because nothing will get your blood pumping like drifting into dreamland on a two-wheel machine going 70 mph. Seriously though, I am struggling and standing on the pegs at 70 mph is tough. I try to change up the music in my helmet with some radio books but I am just ragged. Instead of careening unknowingly to my death we decide to stop at a gas station for a quick bite and a couple side straddle hops.
Inside we found a cashier/waiter that was eager to try out his English and let us practice our Spanish. He was interested in our travels and couldn’t have been more helpful. The heat was destroying my throat so I had an entire bottle of water before we even sat down at our table. Our interactions with our waiter gave Joe the confidence that this meal was going to be different and he might actually get solid vegan fare.
As we were talking a group of 4 big BMW GS 1200s came into the age station. It was the first time we had seen fellow adventurers so far on our trip and these guys were completely decked out. The bikes were beautiful and each rider was wearing a matching BMW riding suit with pants, jacket, and helmet. It was quite impressive. They came inside and sat down to have lunch just like us, so we got to talking. They were from Mexico City and had some updates about the recent earthquakes there. Apparently, it is some pretty bad devastation and everyone that can get out of town is doing so to make room for the emergency personnel. Joe and I were so thankful our route didn’t take us anywhere near the problem areas.
Joe was delivered his almost perfectly vegan meal, except for some cheese crumbles, which he gleefully downed. I had more beans and rice with cheese and some sort of meat. It was tasty, especially compared to what I was expecting from a gas station diner. I finished my Fanta, we said goodbye to the other riders and made our way down the road. Before long I saw the single headlights trailing us in my side mirrors and knew the BMW gang was gaining on us. I am way underpowered on the CB500X so I moved to the right and waved as the crew passed me by just slightly faster than my pace. I never really understood the fascination before but seeing those bikes shimmering along the blacktop made me just a touch envious. I am sure it killed Joe to let the BMWs pass his KTM but he was definitely dragging an anchor. The good news is that, at least, that anchor was no longer falling asleep.
It wasn’t long after leaving the gas station that we started noticing a subtle change in the landscape. The mountains that had previously appeared miles away to my right were slowly making their way closer and closer to our roadway. The flat open areas we began the day with became congested with vegetation and emerald green topped trees. We went from being bathed in sun to spending about half of our ride in the strobe light effect of shadows falling across the tarmac. It was surreal to feel as though the jungle was ever so slowly rising up to devour us whole. The stifling heat of the morning was slipping away to cooler, more humid stickiness. It was during one of our rides through the winding roads climbing the mountains towards the pass that I realized this was totally unique riding for me. I had been in cities before. I had seen the desert in southern Texas. The rain was no big deal for me coming from NC. But this, this was absolutely my first time riding in a jungle. It was totally foreign to me but I wasn’t entirely unused to the look because I had grown up with it in every Indiana Jones movie I’d ever seen. Vines hung from the trees like long snakes dangling over our heads. The trees reached out for each other from opposite sides of the road and every now and again, they met at the top completely blotting out the sun for moments before opening up again on the other side. It was invigorating and demanding as the twists and turns arrived more frequently.
We crossed over the mountains and continued to ride as the sun fell lower and lower in the sky. Our goal of making it all the way to Villahermosa was seeming like an unlikely conclusion to our day. Even though we had been told by people who had traveled in Mexico before, from forums and in person, we persisted because we were not going to let another day pass short of our goal. It is definitely a different feeling riding in Mexico at night. Obviously, we slow down some but one of the most exciting parts is just how dark it was around us. In the States, there are Applebees and Best Buy dotting all the paths you might take. You have lights from nearby cities reflecting off the drooping clouds. There are streetlights and billboards everywhere. In Mexico, where we were, none of that was present. If I turned my head 90 degrees and looked left, it was like staring into the abyss. There were passing trees but not much beyond that. It felt like how I would imagine space would be. I was having the time of my life.
Before it got too dangerous out there we started seeing the lights of Villahermosa ahead of us. Joe found directions to the Marriott in Villahermosa because we both agreed now was not the time to press our luck with the adventure mindset, instead opting for the familiar. We rode into a city that seemed to be pulsing. The roads were packed with cars and it seemed like a traffic jam at 11 at night was just ordinary to everyone. We moved in between cars and I could easily see the shadowy faces inside watching as our two bikes weaved in and out of traffic. At one stoplight I saw a particularly interested group of men pointing and talking to each other about the bikes. I decided there was no time like the present so I grabbed four stickers from my tank bag and rode up alongside them. They rolled down the windows with smiles on their faces as I tried on my best, “Hola, Buenos Noches…” They took the stickers saying plenty but all I caught was, “Gracias.” When I pulled into the hotel behind Joe after navigating the most complicated roundabout I have ever seen, we talked about the experiences and remarked about how glad we were to finally be somewhere we could sleep. It had been a long day but with English speakers inside and a stocked hotel ready to satisfy any appetite we had built, we knew we had made it.
Day 2 – Mobile, AL to Austin, TX
We arrived in Mobile late last night and strangely slept in a little late today. We got down to breakfast and scrounged through what was left of a pretty weak continental breakfast which wasn’t a big problem for me because I only, usually, have cereal and yogurt. For Joe, however, it is a first hurdle of trying to maintain a pretty strict vegan diet as we head through Central America. I am a bit nervous about what places like Guatemala hold in terms of meatless options while remaining glad that I have precious few dietary restrictions short of eyeballs, brains and most guts.
We are preparing for a long day from Mobile, AL through to Austin, TX at about 650 miles. On our way down the elevators in the morning I realized very quickly that I need to find a better way to carry my gear as I have two very heavy panniers, one in each hand, and a Mosko Moto Backcountry 40 pack on my back. In order to carry all this stuff I need to have my jacket on already which is starting to heat me up before we’ve even hit the sun. By the time we get down to the bikes in the courtyard of the Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel I have already started sweating quite heavily which wouldn’t be a problem but it definitely makes for awkward casual conversation with the people gathered near the bikes who think you may pass out at any moment.
We met a brother and sister who had arrived in Mobile from Florida to welcome their sister’s new baby girl. They were quite overjoyed with the newest arrival to the family and I took the opportunity to practice my goal of reaching out more while on the road. The conversation felt free and easy with their interest in our travels bounding with the same sincerity as their own joy. I got to hand out my first stickers of the trip which felt really great and a little like a necessary hurdle to get over before we got into Mexico. I was glad to have tackled it early. The pair wished us luck and we boarded the bikes with a little extra lightness from the positivity of the morning.
The mileage today wasn’t particularly fun or interesting but I loved watching the surrounding landscape morph from the familiar tree lined highways to raised concrete bridges spanning for miles over the watery bayous of Southern Louisiana. It brought back memories of reading Ted Simon’s journey around the world in Jupiter’s Travels where he spoke of the major difference between traveling by plane to a destination and by roadway because you had the opportunity on the road to view all the nuance change and similarities of neighboring communities. It struck me as a similar difference between flicking on a light in your bathroom and immediately being granted light so quickly that the dark is no longer evident as opposed to watching the night slowly fade moment to moment as the light conquers it with the sun rise. I was hopeful to see the changes in population as we traveled through countries I’ve only ever read about before.
There was another realization that washed over me as we cruised across Interstate 10 hovering over the water and it had me a little concerned. In all the head turning and gawking I was doing, I noticed my eyes and mind were spending less and less time on the road immediately ahead. This just would not do traveling 70-80 mph but it would almost certainly be a problem when I got into Mexico where the rules of the road are a bit more lax. It was time for my to buckle down and recognize my first priority is to complete this trip safely because if I died on the road my wife would never let me do this again. This is the great paradox of travel. We want to see everything but you can’t possibly view it all. I have to be okay getting bits and pieces and knowing there will always be a reason to come back because I have either missed something or the inevitable change has made the old, new again. Each new mile makes my life more full exactly because of the fleeting nature of the experience.
Joe and I were still well within our cell signal so we decided to practice using the bluetooth headsets in our helmets while we could still have a back up. It was fun being able to push a button and immediately get into Joe’s head while it was a little unnerving when the reverse happened. For some reason my main fear was he would click in and I wouldn’t catch it until he had already heard me singing a few bars of Abba’s Take a Chance On Me. For those that might share a similar concern, the headsets do a pretty good job of making you aware of the changeover so you can compose yourself appropriately. We soon found ourselves punching the buttons for all manners of attractions we passed to let the other guy know before it was nothing but a glimmering mirage a mile behind us. One of Joe’s best was letting me know from behind that he had spotted an alligator swimming in the canal just below where we were riding. As I didn’t see it, probably because of previously mentioned singing fit, I choose to believe he was simply lying about it.
We pulled into Austin pretty late that night and I made a phone call to my buddy who was putting us up for the night to apologize for arriving not at 5 or 6 pm but closer to 10 or 11 because we cannot bring ourselves to keep a tight schedule on this trip so far. He guided me through his neighborhood in the high hills overlooking downtown Austin on what amounted to a much more exciting ride than it should have been. Being relatively new on a bike I didn’t consider just how troubling steep hills could be on travel while on a bike if you didn’t think about your path beforehand and decided to stop. After a couple of close calls where I almost turned around and dropped/fell off the side of the mountain we finally rolled into his courtyard driveway to complete a long second day of riding.
Joe dismounted and was ready to step inside quickly because he didn’t pack like it was the end of the world. I, on the other hand, took a few minutes longer because arranging 40 pounds of gear is seldom easy but it is hampered even further by having a tank bag and helmet to contend with as well. I eventually made it inside to be greeted with a warm kitchen and a cold beer to celebrate the end of our USA-only travel days. We quickly decided that with our late arrival and a big day of travel to get all the way to Tampico, it might be best to spend an extra day in Austin to recover. It will be nice to see some of the life we have been blistering past over the past couple of days. Plus who doesn’t love spending time in Austin?