Patagonia By Motorcycle By Scott Pomerantz #85358 (October Owners News)

October 3, 2006 Page 1 of 4    1234

“When I rolled into Pucon after my first night of riding, I realized exactly how unusual I looked on my machine.”

On the route to Puerto Montt (enlarge image) (enlarge image) Modern or Primitive? (enlarge image) muddy ride to Bariloche (enlarge image)

I had never toured extensively outside of North America, but memories of a 2000 adventure through Mexico on my 1989 R100GS sparked my interest in a dual sport trip overseas in January 2006. After investigating the costs and hassle of shipping my own bike, I decided to rent a bike overseas.

Patagonia would serve as the perfect escape – warm in January, alluring landscape, and a good mix of challenging paved and unpaved roads snaking through the Andes. Plus, it featured the only company in South America that would rent me a GS: MotoAventura in Osorno, Chile.

To make arrangements for the trip, I consulted Sonia of MotoAventura via e-mail. She and her husband, a former competitive motorcyclist, maintain a fleet of nineteen motorcycles. Although their primary business is in organized tours, they also rent out motorcycles. They had one GS ready to go in mid-January and would handle the paperwork necessary for the border crossing into Argentina.

After spending a few days touring Santiago by bus, I flew to the small agricultural town of Osorno. I arrived in the evening, and Edelweiss, a very nice woman from MotoAventura and not to be confused with another touring company, picked me up. Even though I arrived around 8 p.m., I did not want to spend the evening in Osorno due to its reputation as a sleepy farming town.

After filling out the paperwork for the rental, I took another look at my map and quizzed Edelweiss on what routes riders typically take. All I knew was that I wanted to do a loop starting north and then east through Pucon and across the Alps into Argentina, south through Argentina, and then back around to Osorno. She told me the routes I was contemplating for the return from Argentina to Chile would be impassable. I would plan my return to Chile from Argentina.

Immediately after launching the Adventure north on the Pan-American Highway out of Osorno, the sky darkened and the raindrops began to fall. I rode for several hours through a cold, dark rain north on the highway and then east on winding, two-lane Highway 199 to Pucon. My introduction to heated handgrips was a warm one, and my high-visibility yellow Aerostich Roadcrafter withstood the Patagonia elements. My ventilated Sidi boots and non-waterproof, all-season Olympia gloves, however, did not. (You simply do not think about these things in Southern California.)

When I rolled into Pucon after my first night of riding, I realized exactly how unusual I looked on my machine. I now know what it feels like to drive a Lamborghini through Iowa. Rural South Americans simply do not see many 1000-plus cc dual sport bikes. Everywhere I rode, I saw heads turn and mouths gape. I cannot count how many people asked me about the motorcycle, and it drew a crowd when it sat idle. Some people had seen it in photos, but never in person.