Three Teas never ending teatime [Archive]

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lamble

09-11-2008, 05:53 PM

lamble

09-11-2008, 07:10 PM

You put cream in your tea ? :eek

Milk...except for Earl Grey, when I only use lemon.

And I don't take sugar either...it's acting, or as near an approximation as I can muster.

lamble

09-16-2008, 07:01 PM

Can one person truly change the world? If his name is Greg Mortenson, and he has the power of thousands of PARADE readers behind him, there’s no mountain that can’t be moved.

Full and ongoing story of this incredible guys ceaseless efforts to overcome fear and ignorance.

http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2004/edition_02-29-2004/featured_1

It puts riding around on a BMW drinking tea, into perspective.

lamble

09-17-2008, 09:50 AM

How to support Three Teas Tour's charities:

visit-

http://www.threecupsoftea.com
and buy any books you want, that way 7% of all the books purchased will go towards helping a girl's scholarship fund.

Check your local library and see if Three Cups of Tea is there. If not, either donate a copy, or ask for it to be added.

http://www.penniesforpeace.org (http://www.peeniesforpeace.org)
is designed for school kids, here in the West. One penny equals one pencil and a million words. Get your kid's school involved.

Contact: Central Asia Institute,
PO Box 7209,
Bozeman,
MT 59771.
Tel 406 585 7841
www.ikat.org

$1 per day for a teacher's wages
1 penny for a pencil
$1/month for a child's education.

Contact them directly, not me.

lamble

09-18-2008, 11:07 AM

lamble

09-22-2008, 01:57 PM

Seattle is awash, not with rain, but with a culture of alternative medicines, homeopathic this and that, crystals and other mumbo jumbo, which I've never bought in to.

Last year, I spent 3 or 4 months having the best scientific treatment that you can give to an achilles that's on the verge of rupture and the swelling and soreness went away. Two weeks ago, the swelling returned and threw a spanner into the whole ride's possibilities. I couldn't get my boot on.

My wife has had acupuncture and it seemed to help...quickly.

There seems no logic to it, needles in the head, needles in the stomach and finally some in the foot, but also the other foot. This seemed daftness.

But it has worked. I have no idea how, but it has.
Later this week, I'll have another needle session, not only to help the ankle, but, and I'm even more skeptical about this, for my anxiety about vertical edges.
This, if it works, could be a major boon for the Andean roads I face down south.

The_Veg

09-23-2008, 11:28 AM

My wife has had acupuncture and it seemed to help...quickly.

There seems no logic to it, needles in the head, needles in the stomach and finally some in the foot, but also the other foot. This seemed daftness.

This, I think, is what drives the process of science and discovery. Just because something doesn't make logical sense now doesn't mean that it won't later. Faraday observed wires and magnets and compass-needles doing strange things. The scientific establishment scoffed at his ideas as to why they did those things, even to the point of telling him that he was reporting the impossible. Today the ideas that Faraday proved (and Einstein and Tesla built upon) are commonplace in our lives, from our wristwatches to our motorcycles to our spacecraft.

But it has worked. I have no idea how, but it has.

That's the important part. Run with it and have some excellent travels! :thumb

lamble

09-23-2008, 08:25 PM

The departure is on Sunday 5th October from the Seattle Centre and the NW Tea Festival at 3pm.

I'll be at the Festival on the Saturday and Sunday, along with a tea leaf reader that I've found, so if you are in the area come along and exchange hard earned cash, for unrealistic expectations for the future. The cash goes to www.ikat.org and you get to drink the tea.

lamble

09-24-2008, 12:01 PM

From a UK GSer:

May you always sup from a china cup.
May your sugar bowl always be full.
With jersey milk to top up thy brew
and that Sir, i mean - no bull.

Your efforts i praise,
much money do raise!
For no trip could be any finer.

Such adventure is valid,
may thy tea ne'er be pallid,
be it Earl grey, Green or plain China.

I wish you the best,
whether north, east, south or west.
I do hope your waters well boiled.

For we all do admire you,
adventure will tire you.
Many miles you will have toiled.

So keep in fine fettle,
a good copper kettle.
A caddy to store precious leaves in.

A good china 'pot
adds flavour - a lot.
This; the sum of what to believe in.

It just remains to be said,
your leaves will be read,
your blog and your videos seen.

I'll sit with my brew
and raise it to you.
Three cheers from me
and three teas for you!

~~
Og

lamble

09-26-2008, 11:04 AM

There's a lady at the North West Tea Festival that has been taken ill...that's not the excellent news though...she was the person responsible for the Festival's charitable support, but hasn't put anything in place, so, here's the good news, the Festival have asked to adopt the charities I'm riding for instead.

On the personal finances side, all is not so good.

The Sony HD camera won't work with the PC I was taking, and will only recognise I movie on my desktop mac, so I've had to buy a new Apple laptop. Problem then is, Garmin doesn't like Macs, so all my mapping software is "shagged" until I download some intermediary software between mac, garmin and mapsource.

Carnets are the next pain in the pocket. $3k for a carnet, which I know legally I shouldn't need, but which I believe eases passage across borders. I know I'll get some reimbursed upon return, but here's the snag...Tom probably won't have a carnet, so all I'll do is get through borders, then have to sit and wait.

Next, the blog is a problem. The graphics and the template are unhappy web fellows, so for $800 someone can fix them, but I have a budget of a free T shirt.

It's all a bit of a financial drain, above and beyond what I'd already though was an excessive budget.

Totting costs up so far, before setting off:

Insurances: Medical and Bike and medijet- $5k
Cameras and Video things $8k
Blog and promotional things $6k
Bike prep $2.5k
Accommodation, camping and other misc gear $2k, so far.

On top of this I've budgetted $2k/month travel costs for the 6 months
An additional $5k reserved for a possible Antactica trip
A sum for shipping bits back (video media etc and the bike, if I can't cover the distance in 6 months)
Flights across the Darien Gap
Bike spares on the road and services
Tea!!!

So if anyone a has a bob or two and fancies buying an Unchainedworld T shirt for $20 +p&p each (Port Authority, so not cheap tat) let me know. I could do with the extra cash.

Cheers.

lamble

09-26-2008, 01:12 PM

The aversion acupuncture (overcoming my dislike and anxiety about edges) had it's first session yesterday.
Now I'm thinking it may have some sort of psychosematic benefit, because the blinding headache it gave me, must have some dividends.
Apparently I now need to find an edge and stand as near as possible. Come away, then go back and see if I can get nearer. Now that seems to make more sense than sticking needles in my head.

On the ankle side, that's a physical thing, I can conceive that needles stimulating nerves can help. But stopping sweaty palms on a cliff edge...I'll have to let you know...I need to go and take some headache pills now...oh and a malaria pill.

lamble

09-28-2008, 10:20 AM

So, here we are with one week to go and to be quite frank, I'm not looking forward to it at all, and I've worked out why.

For the last two months, with only the distraction of the little video above, my whole focus has been on problems. The what could go wrongs and the preparations to over come them. The spares for breakdowns, the documentation...insurances against this that and the other, visas, places to conceal cash, dummy wallets and credit cards, illnesses, accidents...every unpleasant aspect that could possibly occur has been aaddressed, planned for, rethought and done again.

Not for a moment have any of the pleasant events been considered, because you don't need to plan for those, they happen to you.

By the end of this final week, it will be a merciful release to get underway. To be able to stop second guessing what could go wrong and just face up to whatever does or doesn't. And to encounter the fun, enjoyable, fascinating and wonderous events and people that will inevitably occur.

Roll on the end of this week!

lamble

09-29-2008, 09:47 AM

Paid my last visit to REI yesterday, you just can't leave home without a titanium folding spoon, then started packing.

It's all getting a little "real" now.

Watched Wild Hogs last night, what cliched twaddle. I don't think I'm going on my ride to rediscover myself. If I do happen to cross paths with "myself" along the way, I'll probably be polite, but won't stay in touch.

So, busy week. New gadgets and gizmos to fire up and see how they work...Spot, Mac Book, Blackberry and various media bits and bobs, either learn them fast, or have a spare bike following with all the instruction manuals.

Still have the blog site to complete. It functions, but the design isn't set in place.
There's the web TV thing to do and then a hair cut and other daily chores.

Time has however, compressed into seven days...oooh eeerrr, I should have done more, earlier.

lamble

09-30-2008, 10:53 PM

lamble

09-30-2008, 11:15 PM

Packed today. Will repack tomorrow as there's too much "just in case" stuff. Good job I had the Ohlins re sprung for extra weight.
The Mac is proving to be a pain too.
Had the biking hair cut today, it won't last 6 months though. I was almost tempted to go white, it was my chance to go weird for a while, well weirder.

lockster

10-01-2008, 07:11 AM

Farewell my mate, keep us all updated on your adventures and remember, ITS ALWAYS ABOUT THE BIKES....ALWAYS HAS BEEN, ALWAYS WILL BE !
My order will be a cup of Yorkshire Gold, no sugar and some green top to finish it all off with.
Kind regards and thoughts are with you lamble

Lockster

lamble

10-09-2008, 11:27 PM

Day 4 reached San Diego.

Day 1 So far we've ridden down the I5 to Shasta, which was pathetic, the ride that is, not Shasta, which was spectacular lodgings.
Day 2 Rode across to Ukiah. That was stupendously good. High mountain roads, clinging in an anti gravity manner to sheer cliffs. It appears that my acupuncture worked as I didn't feel any anxiety.

Day 3 was different. After another splendid mountain pass, I left Tom and meandered around, but principally followed the coast road the 1 and 101. Again edges were overcome, although not without some trepidation, but certainly not fear.

I lost Tom all day and stayed in Paso Robles, while he was elsewhere. We met up again at lunchtime in Malibu, before heading to Santa Monica Pier.

So far there have been many highlights and I've got some on film, like day 2 where we ended up in prison, day 4 where Randy the GS800 bought me breakfast (he'd have to tell you where, because I've no idea where we were.

There have been too many freeways for my taste, but we have to do some miles.

Looks like a new plan is needed however as we are heading straight for a storm...Norbert...in Baha.Who calls a storm Norbert, that's a like calling it wufty pufty. It needs a name like Thor, or Helmut, or something to strike fear, not sympathy.

Tom broke his fuel cap, and needs new tyres, so we may spend time in San Diego today...it's Friday now isn't it?

lamble

10-10-2008, 04:50 PM

So, been blogging like a lunatic today, while Tom does his tyres and fuel thing.
Take a look, then buy a book.

Seriously, buy a book and help my charities. Any book you want and at a discount price.
Just use www.threecupsoftea.com as your online bookstore and some of the money you'd have spent anyway, will go towards helping build schools and educate folk. it will also help with pennies for peace, a cultural awareness programme in the USA.

Fear is ignorance, so ignorance is the enemy. Here's a way to help alleviate the symptoms that ignorance can cause, with money you'd be spending anyway.

See, it's a bargain and a charity...what a deal!

www.unchainedworld.com for the latest on the none riding that took place today.

Randy (GS800 breakfast person), what's the name of that Oyster place please?

lamble

10-10-2008, 04:52 PM

Lamble,

May your crusade to the Falkland Islands be for Queen and Country. Please establish order on the way. :thumb :thumb

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XfqRh0D72f8&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XfqRh0D72f8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Can I have that as the ident for my postings here, or doesn't it fit in a 64x64 pixel size?

lamble

10-11-2008, 09:24 AM

Crossing into Mexico today. Baja will have to wait, Norbert and Orile are too strong to want to be the Pacific side of the mountains, 138mph gusts and a fully loaded GS, do not make the best of buddies.

So, vamos muchachos!

lamble

10-15-2008, 01:06 PM

Reached La Paz yesterday, but documents mean a day in line getting temporary import permits (it´s a tax), so missed the boat.

Came down the sea of Cortez side of Bahasd, on the 5. The 5 runs out and becomes desert, rocks, sand, lava, sand, gravel, sand, rocks...120 miles of the stuff. It took us 12 hours to cross and the day ran out of light after 9 of those, so we camped in the desert.
Fortunately one of us hadn´t posted camping gear back home.

Managed to find gas in the middle of nowhere, otherwise we´d still be in the desert mountains.

So, so far, only a lack of daylight and beaurocratic paperwork has stopped our onward progress to Tierra del Fuego, and the best they can do is a temporary halt.

Onward to Guadalajara for the weekend

www.unchainedworld.com

More video soon.

lamble

10-24-2008, 08:00 AM

Finally posted some more video, but I'm over a week behind already. I had to stay in a posh hotel to get the wifi bandwidth I needed.
Tom is still in guadaljara waiting for parts. I'm nearer Acapulco at chilpancingo, having spent a few days in the gorgeous mountain area.
I need to leave. Mexico soon, as it eats into a budget far faster than I'd like
Check out the updates and leave messages via www. Unchainedworld.com.

lamble

10-31-2008, 09:35 PM

Still riding nervously, but Guatemala's lago atitlan helped a lot. Lots of splendid video from santiago atitlan a nominee for one of the modern 7 wonders, with three volcnoes and mayan culture.
Missed a turn today and so I'm now next to the sea in El Salvador, but with Guatemala firmly placed in the must return list.

lamble

11-02-2008, 05:59 PM

http://<embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-7948218648027602321&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:400px;height:326px" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed>

Tom and Patrice passed me today.

Let's just say we must have different concepts of what travelling is about.
Personally I don't care if I dont make TDF, as long as I see and experience as much as possible along the way. It's a challenging journey of discovery and understanding, and that takes time and interaction with more than hotel staff, waiters and waitresses and gas station people.

I sat with an old lady two days ago, as she sewed up her shawl. It was a decrepit piece of material, but she was lovingly sitting on her front step, needle in hand. So I just sat by her and watched. Neither of us understood a word, but when she'd finished, she handed me the shawl for inspection and was happy that I smiled, even though she'd obviously still got some work to do on other holes.
Folks walking by, stopped to speak. Again my Mayan let me down, but we all seemed happy that we were spending a few moments together.

At the Toltec temple, I sat with the curator and security people. Posed for pictures, spoke to a couple of people who had some English and gesticulated a lot to those who didn't.
They didn't want me to pay, then insisted I only pay the local rather than foreigner fee, but I did give them the full $3 gringo fee, just to help keep this incredible structure intact.

I feel that I'm missing out today, because I'm in a proper hotel, (for the wifi and washing) and it's all a bit plastic and impersonal. Staff are okay though, just a few military bods from a foreign nation that have a base nearby, that have dropped in and monopolised the place. Loud and objectionable and with mouths that their mother's wouldn't be proud of.

So, tomorrow back on the road. Honduras calls.

lamble

11-04-2008, 07:15 PM

Honduras is very narrow where I encountered it, so I have little to report on it with any insight.

Had my first and second encounters with the bribery concept here in Nicaragua though.

The first came when I was told my border crossing papers could be processed faster for $20. I said I was in no hurry, paid nada and was processed just as fast.

The second one got me though.

Managua ring road. Came to an island and went round it in the middle of three lanes. As I left a cop indicated that I come to the inside lane then the shoulder. He then accused me of swapping lanes on the island and that this was an infraction. What it was was a method of extorting money.
The game began.
I had an hour to waste, so was happy to play along.
400 cordoba to pay at the bank against a ticket. That's about $20.

As we watched other possible cash cows go passed, what little spanish I do have became even less. As they sweated it out, I drank from the camelback.

Then came the offer, "You can pay the bank 400 or you can pay us and not get a ticket".

Part two began.
400 to the cops and no ticket was still more than I was willing to pay. Dummy wallet time, with only a few dollars in it, plus 200 cordoba I'd swapped at the border in exchange for Honduras cash (that's another form of taxation by the way, but so nominal as to not be worth worrying about).

So, 1 hour and about $10 lighter, I'm on my way, but not quite. Now they have my cash, they are my best mates. Questions about the bike, the GPS, the trip. Smiles all round.

It's a shame that an official arm of the government is allowed to tarnish the impression that the local people had generated with their warm welcomes.

More at www.unchainedworld.com

lamble

11-07-2008, 05:43 PM

Easy crossing and Costa Rica roads are the best so far, even saw a Harley riding on them without any bits dropping off. Ship your bike here and ride, it's very English friendly which may become boring, but has its plus sides.

Heavy rain and lightening cut short day one and I'm holed up in Palmares at a splendid "boutique" hotel www.hotel-casamarta.com

My first kit casualty today. A BMW GS glove fell apart across the palm.
Combination of throttle and wet rot.
updates at: www.unchainedworld.com as usual.

BeerTeam

11-15-2008, 07:46 AM

My trip has come to an unhappy end.
I need to return to be with my wife.

Thank you.

Bogota Columbia.

Sorry to hear this, hope things turn out.

Jim

tessler

11-20-2008, 06:51 PM

Okay,

Spent most of today, 10 hours in all at the police station in the airport cargo area. Seems that shipping a bike into a country, not taking it out of customs then shipping it somewhere else, isn't the usual thing to do.

Limited language to Ahora, Motobicicletta, espousa and loco doesn't help matter at all.
Two sniffer dogs (first one was either high or had a cold, couldn't quite make out the Spanish there either).

The paperwork and the lyncargo people were great. They even bought in Ingrid, a dusky maiden in tight fitting clothes, high heels etc, to distract the ever growing line of young police who wanted to get involved and thereby delay the process even longer. I know, I really do know, that all they wanted to do was look at the bike, but for 10 soddin hours. Then one wrote inflamable, instead of inflammable on a document, that some beady-eyed hat wearing pseudo important git spotted and said needed changing, requiring umpteen queues to be rejoined for new numbers, copies and signatures.

I can just hear the flight crew of an airborne inferno screaming, "It was that missing M, that's why we are all going to die".

So, anyway, bike flies tomorrow and so do I.
Back to who knows what and for how long?Steve, Sorry to hear about the abrupt end to your trip, but glad to know you're ok.

kantuckid

11-24-2008, 08:47 AM

I have been both entertained and perplexed by this thread. I'll have to be hard to the point here- I honestly don't understand the concept of "riding for a charity"? Getting on an expensive bike and going on an expensive trip to raise money? I don't just intend to be critical of your intentions, I am seeking understanding. I go on a long trip for what are pretty much selfish if not moral reasons and try to be a "good traveler" along the way.I have a sister-in-law that works for the Shriners Hospital group. I really know the great work that is done there! Still, I have wondered about all these scooters and bikes and on and on that they ride in parades being a logical way to raise money.It is easy to say: why not just save the parade trinket money and give to the hospital?Their circus makes sense-funny scoots, I'm not so sure? Being a curmudgeon is not easy... Habitat for Humanity I understand. Walking for cancer I understand, it is your trip that I don't understand. When one travels to these places it is a selfish endeavor , and one I enjoy, but for charity?
I am planning a return trip to Mexico in Jan/09 and have the kitchen pass to do so. Truth be known, I'll never live long(same for lots of folks!) enough to travel to all the places I'd like to go! Also, my choice of work left me unable to afford to go some places that are very enticing! The thought of doing this trip to raise money never entered my mind; am I missing something? I read a recent article about Chris Mortinsen in Smithsonian magazine , his school crusade and the resultant book. It sounds to be a quite worthwhile cause.
I sincerely hope your personal life can recover to its better times.:lurk

kantuckid

11-25-2008, 07:20 AM

Thanks for some well balanced reasoning and again I hope your personal life turns for the better soon!(even if you are given to prattle!) It's unfortunate that your personal life had to be on full display as a result of this trip... CHEERS:thumb

knary

11-26-2008, 12:30 PM

Hey folks,

I'm okay. I shot this over a week ago now. I wasn't going to post it while I thought there might be a chance of reconciliation with Karen, but now I know there isn't and I'm able to cope with that outcome mentally. Financially and logistically it's a pain in the arse and I still don't think it's the right decision.

But whoever notified the suicide police to come round, doesn't really know me.
I'm busy packing and working on my new life.

This video was just to complete that chapter of the trip. When the bike arrives with all the external hard drives where most of the footage is, then I'll be able to pop some lighter stuff on this thread, but this was what was left on the camera's hard drive, so I used it.

They aren't happy days at present, but neither are they suicidal days and tomorrow is even better as there's turkey to look forward to.

Lamble,
Most of us at some point thought we knew someone well enough to know that they weren't on the brink only to find out how wrong we were.

Oldhway

11-26-2008, 02:11 PM

Llamble, sorry to hear how this ended. All I can say is that I have been in a similiar spot and there really is life in the other side so just hang in there, there are better days too come!!

In the mean time, you got all us cranky olpharts at the MOA forum to hang out with:thumb

FredRydr

11-26-2008, 03:43 PM

Lamble,

Just know that we care, and even if your messages were mixed, the decision by your motorcycle buddies at MOA Central was to act quickly and resolve all doubts in your interest. After all, we do more than just send a tow truck after a rear end failure!

Hang in there. Life is so cool when you compare the good bits with the not-as-good bits.

Fred

lamble

11-29-2008, 04:54 PM

Edited this thread for no other reason than I've discovered there are people in MOA that I'd rather not share anything with. Not those who expressed concern by the way.

Just pillocks!

lamble

11-30-2008, 09:03 AM

Tom, the guy I set of with, was adamant that he could save money by sailing round the Darien Gap, rather than as I did, fly over.

Flying over: went with Girag for the bike-$900 and relatively simple. Ride to Panama Cargo Airport (not the same as the International) pay CASH, so have CASH available, no cards, no cheques.
Take the mirrors off, drain the tank (almost) and disconnect the battery. Leave the bike with them, come back with bits of paper that they give you, to what looks like a guard hut at the entrance to the Cargo airport main gate (by the bus stop), get some more paper and stamps from the guy with the hat and badges who lives there, then that's it until Colombia as far as the bike goes.
Booked a personal flight with Copa Airlines, pleasant enough, $300.

The bike is shipped either that day or the following day (depends on what's ahead of you, oh and Girag will tend to um and err about any specific time, but that's just to cover their bums). In Bogota, collecting the bike involved a couple of walks across from the import to customs building, and for Javier, my new riding buddy, a quick reconnection of battery and mirrors, then off into the city to get the obligatory bib and license numbers.
My case was different, due to the change of plan and need to ship back to Seattle, where my new adventure awaited and is still ongoing.
Bogota and the immediate rural areas and mountains around it are biking delights (I know I was in a car, but you do recognise these things).

By boat. From Tom:

#3 From Norte America to Sur America
We arrived at the moment of transition from one continent to another. How to bridge the Darian Gap? There are 51 miles of impassable (in any practical sense) jungle between Panama and Colombia. The options are to fly or to boat around “the Darian”. Reasonable people put their motos and themselves on the plane and go. Cost about $1,000 or a bit more all total to get from here to there.
But, there is another way; for the not so reasonable people. Find a guy with a sailboat and hire him to take you across. Cost about $700, takes 5 days including a 2 day stopover in San Blas Islas to enjoy snorkeling and partying on the pristine beaches – and get passports stamped out of Panama. We found an Italian with a boat – 18 meters with 2 masts (the better to tie the bikes to). The bikes are loaded from the beach – onto a small boat and out to the sailboat and lift it over the side with some muscles and a winch from the main mast; then go get another one until up to 5 bikes are loaded and tied in place for the trip to Colombia. Our boat had 5 bikes and 6 passengers including one backpacker.
There are lots of different people here in Puerto Lindo (East from Colon, Panama about 50 kilometers): French, Italian, German, Dutch, American, Colombian, and Panamanians mostly Black rather than Brown or Indios. The common language is, of course, Espanol, but everyone is mixing their mother tongue with their version of Spanish.
At the Wunderbar Hostel where we stayed, the German/Austrian couple who own it are also bikers (used to have a biker bar in Greece) and he runs his 18 meter boat also back and forth to Cartagena, Colombia with bikes and passengers a couple of times a month. They lived on their boat for 16 years and now have a baby – and land base to go with it - lots of stories to tell over long breakfasts and long evenings with no TV. They bought the baby a Honda Monkey (a real, but very small bike) even before she was born.
After waking to the sounds of Howler Monkeys off across the river and competing roosters off in every direction, Patrice and I rode off in the morning to a very nice beach about 5 kilometers down the road. A swim – sunburned again – and lunch at the little home style restaurant near by then back to the hostel for a quick shower and a siesta in the hammocks. Life doesn’t seem to include a lot of stress here. There is an island for sale if you’re interested – see picture. Looks very nice from our beach; might be kind of expensive to keep all white and shinny….
Loading our bikes was easy … if you are very strong and have great balance. Lucky we had a lot of help from locals.
In the morning, we just climbed on board and off to San Blas Isla about 9 hours away – except that the guys who were supposed to put water in the boat tanks didn’t. Instead of leaving in the morning, we left at noon. Instead of arriving before dark, we arrived after dark in a narrow channel into a small harbor – but, we lived to tell about it. We stayed for 2 nights and then moved on two other San Blas Islas enroute toward Cartagena across open ocean - for 2 days – we all got to steer the boat in the crossing – 2 hour shifts at night. There are 5 bikes on board and 8 people including our Italian Captain Leonardo, his Panamanian girl friend, Lilia an Israeli ‘backpacker’ (anyone who isn’t riding a moto) who sells real estate in Israeli and 5 male bikers – two Canadian, two American, and one Venezuelan. This boat trip was wonderfully absurd in the mix of cultures and interests and, in the relatively disorganized nature of it – sleeping on the deck until it starts to rain very hard at 3:15 in the morning then a mad scramble for non-existent comfort inside, for example - and in the simplicity of it – very relaxed pace, no apparent schedule for much of anything, messy boat and messy passengers – the life of Caribbean values and timeframes – way of living.
In the end, after the unforecast 60 knot windstorm half way across from Panama to Colombia in which we had to turn around to run with the wind – or run out of fuel fighting it, after an extra day at sea with frayed nerves and tempers, after the lack of basic cleanliness and food and comfort had taken its toll on the passengers and captain alike, we arrived in Cartagena on a nice calm sea in the sunshine. We were all very happy to have survived and to once again be on land. Removing the bikes from the boat proved another occasion for argument and emotion. But, we all live to tell the tale as each of us experienced it.
The Venezuelan and the Israeli went off together to explore their newfound relationship. The Americans and the Canadian hung out together for a couple of days licking their wounds on land and trying to get clean and rested for the bike trek south.
The captain’s girlfriend was first ashore (she’s Colombian) and was quickly disappeared to find a fix for her suffering cocain habit. The captain found new girl friends on shore and was back to his ex-pat ways. The dog was happy to be again on terra firma and soon forgot being almost lost at sea and being constantly wet and uncomfortable – like the rest of us.
Together we experienced more than just a crossing of some ocean and the pleasures of the beauty of San Blas Islas, we were close and sometimes too close to each other and to the threats of weather at sea. Life slows down on a sail boat. Six days to cover the distance that one could do in 2 or 3 hours on a moto on land. I wouldn’t trade the trip for anything! (An overstatement to be sure, but it was wonderful – some of it at the time and some in hindsight. I would definitely recommend to my moto riding friends that they detour around the Darian Gap by sailboat – just not with an Italian Captain. There are lots of boats doing it, find one with a good reputation for clean and efficient and go for it.
The salt water has caused some problems that I am now trying to resolve. Patrice and I road from Cartagena to Medellin then on to Bogota and then Cali – from which I am filing this report.
Patrice’s wife, Christanne, flew into Bogota from Montreal to ride two up for the rest of the trip - maybe. Patrice wanted to be there when she arrived, so we left Cartagena after only 2 nights on the beach after the boat and got to Medellin late at night – me with no headlights. Medellin is a big city, beautifully spread out into the mountains all around. We stayed at a $12 a night “habitacion” that had no place to safely park the bikes over night. But, the women downstairs that ran the little café, let us park the bikes in the café which was tightly locked up for the night.
In the morning, we woke early and walked in our biker suits into the town Centro where we found an ATM and people having their early morning coffee and chat; we joined them. Then we went to church (it was Sunday) and listened from the back of the crowd to some singing which sounded fabulous in the big cathedral then left for a leisurely walk to a place selling fresh orange juice and hot sugar donuts. We waited not too patiently for the ladies to come and open the café so we could get our bikes and be once again on the road. Back into the mountains.
After the first couple hundred miles out of Cartagena, you get into the mountains – beautiful and fun on a bike. There are thousands of trucks to dodge and try to pass. The roads are not generally too pot holed, but the rain and “geological instability” of the region make for many large and small mud slides and road subsidences – keeps your attention. The vegetation is lush tropical, there are little communities and homes scattered along the route, the roads are constantly twisting and uping and downing – it is a biker’s dream. From this initial mountain section between Cartagena and Medellin on south to the Ecuadorian border (we’re told) there are mountains – steep with coffee plants growing on the sides and mules and carts and little motos mixing with the biggest trucks fully loaded. These are the best moto mountains in the world – or maybe this side of central France or Switzerland. Then again, Peru is still to come.
Two days ago, I left my bike at the magnificent facility that is Autogermania Moto Rad in Bogota. They have all the best equipment and tools that BMW Motorad has to offer. Edgar Gomes, the moto division manager (in Latin America BMW dealers sell cars and bikes out of one operation) is a fantastic guy – he loves practicing his English. I highly recommend this place for any servicing or repairs you might need on your BMW moto when in Bogota.
My headlights were working intermittently, the gas had water in it, the tack sometimes registered about twice the RPMs of the engine, a piece that I had welded on in Cartagena to add strength to the pannier rack disappeared somewhere in the mountains between Medellin and Bogota, the air filter is water soaked …. And, the homemade bags for tools that I’ve roped together and draped over the front of the “tank” for better weight distribution on the bike (it handles much better in curves and rocks) started to tear apart. I asked Jeraldo, our family style “hoteliera” guy, if he knew someone who could sew it – 5 houses down a “susteria” – works great now. With a lot of back and forth in Spanish and laughing and pointing, I left the bags to be not just sewn up where coming apart at the seams, but improved with new straps and some Velcro to secure in place at the sides.
Just arrived in Cali after a rather trying day of constant rain and washouts and mud slides and wet mountain roads with too many big trucks – 12 hours in the saddle from Bogota. This was a baptism of fire for Christianne – her first day of riding behind Patrice on this trip. They have done many other trips 2 up.) We’re staying at the Casa Blanca Hostel – great place with very hot showers!
Tomorrow on towards Ecuador.
Tom
tom@mathperspectives.com

Prior to this boat trip, Tom had spent everyday avoiding contact with people, their cultures and history, by riding through their country's as fast and as directly as possible.

From another guy on the boat:When we got to the hostel there were five other bikers there. Two of them were older guys, one from Bellingham and the other from Quebec. The other three were younger guys traveling together who told us that they had rode through the last five countries before Panama in four days just to get to the hostel on time to get on the boat . They were drinking hard and had spent one night sleeping at the border.

The captain of their ship came by the hostel the next morning when they were ready to go and all five of the bikers told him that they didnt have the money to pay for the boat in advance and that they would pay when they got to Cartagena. This isn´t the normal practice because the captain can´t prove they didnt pay him if they decided to screw him on the other side. One of the guys supposedly didnt have money to pay for the hostel as well so he had to borrow money from the captain to pay for his bed. Right before they left the same guy came around asking everyone if they had seen his $100 pocket knife, no one had so he started making a stink about it getting stolen. When he couldn´t find it they left and I figured we wouldn´t been hearing anything else about them unless we crossed paths on the way down to South America.

Charles and I were already VERY bored so I tuned up my bike and we rode into Sabinitas for money, food, and internet. Nothing of note happened that night, we just sat around and talked with the people who were on our boat that had just arrived.

The next morning we got up and realized that a ****storm was rapidly brewing. The captain had called Guido because one of the guys on the boat (the one who claimed his knife was stolen) was now saying that his laptop and a bunch of cash had been stolen as well. Guido immediately thought this was bull**** and when Silvia told him they hadn´t paid for the boat, and one needed to borrow money to pay for the hostel he was positive the guy was trying to commit insurance fraud to pay for the boat trip. On top of that the guy fingered us as the ones who stole his laptop.

So Guido asked us if he could search our things and of course we agreed. Sure enough there wasn´t any laptop. He called the captain back and told him to wait for him in Porvenir (the island with Panamanian customs). Guido would sail there first and sort out the whole thing.

We didn´t hear anything else about it, other than that the captain had worked out a contract with the guys to make sure they paid on arrival in Cartagena, until the last day of our sailing trip. It turns out that once on the boat one of the guys offered the captain´s young girlfriend (about 30 years younger than him if not more) some coke in exchange for sex and the captain found out. Then they hit a 6 hour long storm and the dog on board got so scared it **** all over the floor in the boat so they were walking through it until the storm let up and they were able to clean it. Four of the guys paid when they got to Cartagena but the guy who accused us of stealing his laptop took another 3 days to pay, and ended up having to borrow the money from one of the other guys. I have no idea how he plans to make it to Ushuaia if hes in Colombia now and already out of money, other than coning people of course.

So, it looks as though the boat offers the adventure, where as Girag will ensure that you do actually get to the next stage of your journey.

Costs seem to equal themselves out when you factor in time, extra gas, food, lodgings etc...

So, take your pick.
__________

lamble

12-01-2008, 09:28 PM

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ubjNLucUow5KdWYc-zCTrg"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SRj39ZyxQVI/AAAAAAAABxc/DHoTWqyA404/s800/IMG_1823.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/JavierSPics111008855PM">Javier's pics 11/10/08 8:55 PM</a></td></tr></table>

I just noticed, on this pic, that my oil and spare gas bottles have already fallen off the bike (r/h pannier).

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ettBolHIBk6YvBFlsHPrOg"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SRj4nAN7k8I/AAAAAAAAByE/ZsP6FpAd4YM/s800/IMG_1818.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/JavierSPics111008855PM">Javier's pics 11/10/08 8:55 PM</a></td></tr></table>

Then the bottles miraculously re appear. Or, this picture series is not sequenced correctly. Depends on your faith!

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1lrQ9FwoQMRsr1sa1KwugA"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SSIsstS5LxI/AAAAAAAACSw/_JznZUpqtVg/s400/PICT0047_2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/NewAlbum111708832PM">New Album 11/17/08 8:32 PM</a></td></tr></table>

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/6CpvfcNJsig-2N-7PfuyAw"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SSItESVwCWI/AAAAAAAACUo/LoS8lR4ZGQQ/s400/PICT0068.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/NewAlbum111708832PM">New Album 11/17/08 8:32 PM</a></td></tr></table>

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9HZ6xe1j9jRbraMrixAacg"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SQ5cbXvEMhI/AAAAAAAABtU/_TcsOiWDzbk/s800/PICT0001.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Guatemala">Guatemala</a></td></tr></table>

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/uMHBWa6O-gxdDJdir8rorQ"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SQ5cdLH2VxI/AAAAAAAABtg/STt_LyO1jW0/s800/PICT0121_2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Guatemala">Guatemala</a></td></tr></table>

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7fU8P1G9efU1ULdcHpshGQ"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SQ5cgSqQihI/AAAAAAAABt4/ydeQ4U3rlm4/s800/DSC00079.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Guatemala">Guatemala</a></td></tr></table>

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oyZr-7KQpMY_rFMgPgcfxw"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SQ5ci3FUXwI/AAAAAAAABuE/qtmTU-xC9gk/s800/PICT0078_2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Guatemala">Guatemala</a></td></tr></table>

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/vdz3_rbPvRT8oiu-RF4ZCw"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SP5lnLOVdII/AAAAAAAABsE/xQUrjyIH34k/s800/PICT0081_2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/PatzcuaroMichMexicoAndJanizioIslandFamousForDiaDel Meurte">patzcuaro Mich Mexico and Janizio (island famous for Dia del Meurte)</a></td></tr></table>

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3zmkF5mL-zDDZ1IxLoZPag"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SP5lNEFm-1I/AAAAAAAABrw/DdyxYhVIRsM/s800/PICT0071_2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/PatzcuaroMichMexicoAndJanizioIslandFamousForDiaDel Meurte">patzcuaro Mich Mexico and Janizio (island famous for Dia del Meurte)</a></td></tr></table>

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HGgXkYuAikpEH-Eia319LQ"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SP5gyHx9K8I/AAAAAAAABpg/OaJbvdoqowQ/s800/PICT0106_2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/JanizioAndBoatBack02">Janizio and boat back</a></td></tr></table>

lamble

12-02-2008, 04:35 PM

http://<embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=1369805548342849272&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:400px;height:326px" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed>

lamble

12-09-2008, 12:41 AM

Bike arrived in Seattle today, just in time to be sent on to Liverpool tomorrow by boat.

Passed through US customs, although I must confess to being confused why a group of customs officials processing paperwork in an office on an industrial estate are required to carry guns and coshes?

"Sign at the bottom y'goddam mother luvin' limey, or we blow y'r ass away. Do you need to borrow a pen?. Thank you have a nice day Sir."

$1500 in total from Bogota to Seattle, plus $55 handling fee at this end.
Be aware if you use centurion air cargo, that they don't accept personal cheques, so you'll need a bankers draft/cashiers check.

lamble

12-17-2008, 06:53 PM

lamble

04-10-2009, 07:14 AM

20th April!

That's the day I'll finally get to see my bike again. First time since shipping it from Colombia. It spent ages in the USA and now the UK seems determined to add as many hurdles as possible too. Customs took two weeks to clear it. Now the shipper has "nothing coming your way" until the 20th. They are 150 miles away at the most. I've paid in advance for delivery. I can't pick it up and ride it, because it's not legal in the spec it's in to ride in the UK (as a potential registered bike). If I were a tourist, I could just hop on it and ride around, couple of hours paperwork in customs at the worst.

It's being shipped to a dealers, who can adapt it to the higher Euro specs required, then MOT it (a road worthiness test), then I can register it, insure it and ride it.

So May.

I'll start riding three teas again once it's on the road. I've just been emailed by an Aussie I met in Canada...2010 up to Scandinavia and the Arctic Circle.

Now just get a job and some funds...

jdmetzger

04-10-2009, 07:24 AM

lamble

04-10-2009, 07:32 AM

Isn't bureaucracy grand? :ha

I look forward to reading about (and seeing the photos) from a trip up to Scandinavia. In the meantime, I'd like to see some nice photos of your homeland - plenty of adventuring to be done around there, right?

One thing I determined when I left the UK for the USA was, should I ever return, to look up all the places I'd missed when assuming I'd always have them available to me. That's the plan. Lot's of UK riding. A trip down into Spain to see my Mom and whatever else I can throw together.

Trying to get support for "Three Teas another cuppa", as a TV project...move over Ewan and Charlie....

lamble

04-10-2009, 08:30 AM

It is strange that when riding around Central America, the idea of a border crossing spread fear through any Americans I encountered. All that "Spanishness" with crossings taking a couple of hours and bribes and corruption rife. Worst for me was entering Nicaragua when I hit the crossing at lunch time, so I went and had lunch too.

Yet, with all of their "backward" paper filling and photocopying, everything worked really rather well. I managed to fly a bike from Panama to Colombia and from Colombia to Miami with little fuss. I'm sure if extra dollars had changed hands things might have been even faster, I blanket refused to pay anything and even congratulated the one guy for watching my bike, by praising him for his "donation" to the charity I was supporting, but even so everything worked fairly well.

Yet get into Miami and from Miami to Seattle and Seattle to the UK, with all of our super slick systems and computerisation and it's all turned into a lame pig on a mono-cycle kind of slow.

I guess it's the not being able to understand that causes the fear at Central American borders. The reliance on other people who aren't quite "the same" and the fear of fear itself. But, if you are accepting, polite and a little street savvy, then you'll find the biggest pain in the bum is here in the "civilised" world. The one you know, the one where you can and do spend ages calling up, texting, emailing, chasing again and telling someone new all the facts you've already been through umpteen bloody times already and knowing full well you'll be doing the same again in a few days.

For all this extra technology and certificates posted on walls, is the service any better?

No it is not, it's much worse.

So, get down south of the border and have an experience that will be an eye opener, and very humbling too.

lamble

04-13-2009, 01:57 AM

In the absence of my bike, I still need my road fix and bike tyre kicking sessions.
Easter Saturday I took a trip up to the moors of Yorkshire. Some pics:

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dHoZWRbIXN8tNkWITk5xKg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeEsM6OEbrI/AAAAAAAAFfs/Wh__Mb73Eio/s800/SDC10392.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>
Made in India. One of the last to be built according to the owner, as new EU emission laws will not allow it.

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SQSrQdIsLS_bra8Fjib9vw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeEsQloLJdI/AAAAAAAAFf0/1okYcsLVdG4/s800/SDC10393.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/VIuMzp3JqEfAgyH56kW70Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeEsYdVajSI/AAAAAAAAFgU/u59aJdKQXnQ/s800/SDC10395.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>
Unlike North Wales the weekend previously, the police in Settle were handing out DVDs, rather than tickets.
http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/f3xNS5_tNmbmfwvvObERsA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeErmENZhBI/AAAAAAAAFeI/ZnOvaHJ8pUc/s800/SDC10378.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>

Venison, Wild Boar and Pork and Beef with all sorts of additions were a sausage fans heaven.
http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OjmYCPNIQqCT9-8tv-jzDA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeErsc2V1-I/AAAAAAAAFeY/3i-Wb4SZwtA/s400/SDC10380.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GO1p7Ib6mN_fMqFXtD8fcQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeEsFgfnSHI/AAAAAAAAFfc/WtBlcZCLVrA/s800/SDC10390.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>
The local countryside was very pleasant too.
http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fb0tS1-gc1lo7bOrnOmRUQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeEtRwR8UgI/AAAAAAAAFiw/IhfopzsMtFQ/s400/PICT0034_2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UZleg0QrjRbQ8KsHQQqNzg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeEtBRyFPAI/AAAAAAAAFiA/V6cC8D4fBR8/s800/PICT0030.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>
More subtle than the larger sights I'd become used to in WA and the USA. Sort of manageable and easier to comprehend.
http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nwxKDdgLAZTiLSCI5RsOQQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeEs-sQXchI/AAAAAAAAFh4/A8EB6EPUn9s/s800/PICT0025.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>
http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/D79_5SJzcmX8b6MaME08cQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeEr0-s-_yI/AAAAAAAAFew/3B4WAjhsMLs/s800/SDC10383.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>

...and there's always a castle to visit or clamber around, when the history bug bites.
http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kTSr9_B8Foyl8smmRGrtnw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeErWxjWEtI/AAAAAAAAFdg/ObqHvE5pRl4/s800/SDC10408.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>

I logged this bit of road on the gps for a return visit when I have fewer wheels on my transport (nearly ready to ride, I guess May will have all the crapulent bureaucracy sorted)
http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/b3Mpd1z05XoB39jabP4Ezw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeEqdSXKKcI/AAAAAAAAFa0/6bZU1MEKJVI/s800/PICT0040.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>
And by May, these cuties will almost be ready for the table??

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/JT51wCs6y7OhUq_JtebTSw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeEqC12vfGI/AAAAAAAAFZY/JOecFuAlhCs/s800/PICT0022.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/k5blV05-XX5WExCgT4y4pQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SeEoJUBgitI/AAAAAAAAFTQ/iyoCiefipWg/s800/PICT0029.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/Yorkshire412091223AM?feat=embedwebsite">yorkshire 4/12/09 12:23 AM</a></td></tr></table>

Just need to remember with dry stone walling there's no run off when a tractor comes the other way on the single tracks, and that you'll find that some sections are gated. Always close the gates behind you.

Oh yes and The Ole Naked Man in Settle...giant meringues that explode...brilliant. You'll have to go to understand.

lamble

04-21-2009, 12:41 AM

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mkWgi4DPOP6sE5JKVm-01w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SezLMGDjukI/AAAAAAAAFzM/YT7umdCv_4U/s400/SDC10414.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/BikeArrives42009819PM?feat=embedwebsite">Bike arrives 4/20/09 8:19 PM</a></td></tr></table>

Not too bad only a couple of hours late.

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UTTC4BH6nn57NY2-Q8I5Eg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SezLTfQxefI/AAAAAAAAFzk/IQcW3y1ycSU/s800/SDC10416.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/BikeArrives42009819PM?feat=embedwebsite">Bike arrives 4/20/09 8:19 PM</a></td></tr></table>

So that's about....

http://<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HNtz57Fm3DCU2deobveVew?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/SezLOiuxPRI/AAAAAAAAFzU/Db1TZej0ZZE/s800/SDC10419.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lamblebaker/BikeArrives42009819PM?feat=embedwebsite">Bike arrives 4/20/09 8:19 PM</a></td></tr></table>

3 months, 20 days and a couple of hours late in total, plus, over twice as expensive as first quoted, nearly $6,000 in total and that's so far. I've now got the costs to make it UK spec and get it registered, which will cost less financially than it will in frustrations no doubt.
But here it is in the UK. This bike has never been here before, I hope it will cope with being on the correct side of the road!!!!!

You'll also notice, that some thoughtful officials along the way have decided what a "good idea" it would be to adhere their stickers over the top of mine, so that when it comes to removing theirs, it will rip or discolour mine...thanks for that, remind me to come back and paint your car with dayglo green one day.

Voni

04-21-2009, 07:54 AM

But now the next chapter can be written.

Ride safe and have huge adventures!

Voni
sMiling

lamble

04-22-2009, 08:26 AM

But now the next chapter can be written.

Ride safe and have huge adventures!

Voni
sMiling

Well let's hope so and soon. Just the Governmental requirements to wade through, probably about 2 weeks of waiting for forms, then another two weeks for them to be processed. June perhaps?

That'll be 9 months. It would be quicker to have a child. I still can't get over how simple these things were in the "backward" Central and S. American countries, even not being able to speak the language, I got a bike from Colombia to Seattle, (with the biggest delay being in Miami) in 3 weeks. To get it out of the USA and to the UK has taken all this additional time and stupid costs. And yet, we believe that these other countries have got it wrong!!

I think we are all victims of a lie that appeals to our egos and so we are happiest when accepting that lie. That somehow "we" are always superior and better than, "they" are. That by adding layers of systems, we are somehow more sophisticated. But sophisticated and efficient aren't the same at all. And I'm not preaching Ludite-ism, just that with a system, "responsibility" seems to become obscured. Just as people will happily say, "Well they aren't like us, they don't believe what we do, so it's okay to blow 'em up and their kids and anyone who gets in the way", that seems to be far enough removed from looking a small child in the face then deciding that because you don't like a book they read and they don't like the book you read, you are going to end their life, that distance is carpeted with enough systems and layers of disassociation, far enough from our having to act personally, that it becomes acceptable to say and support, abstaining from responsibility behind the system, hiding behind a lie that we are sophisticated.

Oooh that got deep.

lamble

04-29-2009, 10:20 AM

The Two Brothers exhaust system doesn't meet with EU regulations, so a new end can is needed before the bike can go for an MOT (our annual road worthiness test for vehicles over 3 years old).

More money and more time...seems to be endless.

lamble

04-29-2009, 10:44 AM

Add the increase in income tax to help pay for your safety.

I'm not paying tax yet, you don't have to when you can't get a job. And if you've been in the USA and not paid national insurance, you don't get any social benefits either.
By the time it can go on the road, I won't be able to afford the insurance, or a tank of fuel at this rate.

lamble

05-12-2009, 07:50 AM

Okay get ready. If you ever think of moving back, or indeed moving over here and want to bring your bike/s, don't, it's a nightmare.

Today, having spent a couple of months dealing with customs, custom's website, shippers (who were shiite beyond belief-here's a tip, get in touch with Globe Busters the bike travel company they can help-I found out too late), then the DVLA, driver vehicle licensing authority and their website and their call centre, BMW Motorad and their customer help call centre and then their useless un-friendly homolgation department, the VOSA a vehicle testing authority and another government web site and call centre, I finally got back to a point where I was in front of someone, or not as the case turned out to be.
VOSA have a centre where you take your bike because BMW don't have a certificate of conformity for my bike, or any US bike I believe. There you will join a queue of truckers, if you happen to be in Liverpool region. Two girls are at a counter. You will get to the front and they'll look at you blankly when you say the word "motorcycle". You will then be sent to find Phil. Once found, Phil will tell you to fill the form in, which you should have from the VOSA website. I had it and I filled it in for Phil. Phil will then send you back to rejoin the trucker queue. Now remember you've already been here once and they looked stupefied, so it won't feel promising.

You'll get to the front and say, "motorcycle sva test booking please".

Now at this point it's worth recalling the millions of pounds of tax payer's money that you have seen spent on this technologically slick and integrated system designed to simplify the collection of data critical to maintaining the well-being of the road system. You will recall the number of people that batted you round the call centre, once you managed to cascade through the endless options. You will no doubt recall all the time doing the work yourself, because despite all the man power that is employed to help, the best they could ever do was direct you to a tosspot of a website, where you couldn't quite find anything that fits in with your specific requirements and therefore required another session with the call centre at VOSA, who then tell you the DVLA are the people you needed in the first place and "have you seen their website or been in touch with the DVLA call centre?" and you say, "not yet," but know all they will eventually do is refer you back to the person who is currently speaking to you at VOSA after having been through their call centre options, the joy of being passed from pillar to post and the obligatory refer to our website/call them back scenario, at least twice,...so do not be surprised when the same two counter attendants look at you and say..."We don't do bikes. You need to speak with Anne". That's right, WE DO NOT DO BIKES, YOU NEED TO SPEAK TO ANNE".
So, at the end of these millions of pounds of bureaucratic fiasco, annoyance and ignorance, there's Anne, just Anne, the only person capable of sorting out several months of anxiety and stress...just Anne.
"So can I speak with Anne please?"
"She's away on indefinite sick leave".

And that's where the whole system goes completely and utterly arse up and finally farts in your face. Anne is away and all those millions, all those call centres, the whole mechanics of government stop.

I was less than impressed. I passed on my lack of being impressed to the two girls as effectively as possible, without causing offence.

A few calls were made and now my bike is booked in for its test next Monday. It appears Anne is not indispensable after all.

So that's all sorted out, done and dusted.

Not so fast. That would just be too simple wouldn't it?

Monday is the day the BMW dealer, who currently stores my bike, is closed. I am allowed one ride to the test centre and then another to a suitable place for any modifications if it's not passed. But if the dealer is closed, I'll need to get the bike on Saturday and ride it somewhere.
I called in at the police station. "You will be riding illegally and will be fined if we stop you".

So there you have it. A smooth integrated system, that falls to pieces when one person falls ill and can't be fulfilled anyway unless you have a car and bike trailer.

What a complete load of Taurus turds.

Come over as a tourist with your bike, that's just a snip in comparison, although you will be charged and have paperwork to do which will make a Nicaraguan border crossing seem like a picnic and a bargain. Just don't bring your bike over with the intention of registering it here, Customs don't want you to do it, the DVLA will hate you, BMW Motorad won't even speak to you, VOSA won't know what the hell you are talking about unless Anne is there and the Police will be looking to issue you with a fine and penalty points if they can, and as if this isn't enough, they will all charge you money while taking the piss, for example, a question on a form today...what is the weight of your battery? Who knows that? I asked if they meant a battery that was fully charged or flat? Well they started it!!!!

lamble

05-13-2009, 02:54 AM

Today is a special day...it's now taken longer to get my bike from the USA to the UK and back on the road, than it would have taken to complete my ride from Seattle to Tierra Del Fuego...and back!

This coming Monday the bike has another test, then documents go away (if it passes) and I wait, again, for the government to send me a registration document..however long that may take.

So, here's a thought, instead of shipping a bike to the UK, take a ride to South America instead, it's cheaper, quicker, less stressful and you get to take photographs!

lamble

05-17-2009, 10:20 AM

Dusting down my riding kit, because tomorrow I get to ride again. First time since Panama in November. I get to ride an epic 10 miles from the dealer's to the VOSA test centre and back, to be put back in storage until the documentation is processed and the bike is officially registered.

20 miles...whoo hoo!

Oh and USA Insurance no claims bonus isn't transferable, so insurance cost is very high, as despite insuring with the people I insured with, before moving to the USA, the discount from no claims then, has also expired.

lamble

05-18-2009, 02:28 PM

First ride in over six months should have been the 20 minute trip between the dealers and the test centre. Unfortunately the dealer removed my GPS mounting for some reason, so I was riding on a single visit recollection from a different direction. http://www.ukgser.com/forums/images/smilies/reynolds.gif
One and a half hours later and over an hour late, I arrived.

Now unfortunately at VOSA test centre, I asked if I could take pictures for my blog. Big mistake.

I'm not sure what secrets I could have revealed, but I was told in very strong terms that I could not mention what took place during the test. What official tosh. There's a guy that measures things, weighs things, measures other things, then passes or fails you.

One thing for GS rider and this is a biggie, if you ever need a VOSA test, you know how we have two front mud guards? Well, the one nearest the tyre IS NOT A MUD GUARD, okay. Remember it's a finger protector, or after market add on to keep sheep or monkeys off. It can be for anything else, but it's not your mud guard. The beak is your mud guard. Get this wrong and you will fail, because the mud guard nearest the tyre doesn't have an edge rim radius of 2 millimetres, but your beak does. Yep I know it's rubbish, but we pay taxes so a man can look and measure that. Also on a GS, for the hazards to work when the ignition is turned off, you need to turn it on, activate the hazards, and THEN, turn the ignition off.
Anyway, I passed, so I now have another certificate I can present to whoever is next in the list.
To be honest, the guy today was quite pleasant, but only once the test had finished, it was as if chatting could in some way influence his decisions, as if by bantering back and forth the tape measure or scales would have been mysteriously biased in my favour. It's that sort of bureaucracy that ticks me off.

lamble

05-24-2009, 04:19 PM

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/ShmqvzdF7CI/AAAAAAAAG-A/hRRf8rZrH4o/s800/SDC10555.JPG

Sun is shining, the bike is taxed, registered, insured and full of fuel...time to ride.

North Wales.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/ShmrE0-DAzI/AAAAAAAAG_c/VTAJK17N7M4/s800/SDC10542.JPG

Great Orme is a rocky outcrop near Llandudno, home to wild beasts with horns.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/ShmtQv6li1I/AAAAAAAAHEE/FAtN-vO27gM/s800/PICT0019.jpg

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/ShmuE1-B1UI/AAAAAAAAHGY/5jNNn_N2gho/s800/PICT0032.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/ShmuUhsRqII/AAAAAAAAHHI/6D7WNOxNFCY/s800/PICT0038.jpg
Fortunately, the bigger ones seemed pre-occupied with other things.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/Shmu2vOjhHI/AAAAAAAAHI8/0Gl0M1lTAc4/s800/PICT0045.jpg

If you don't want to ride to the top there's a cable car and a funicular tram.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/Shmu_zAnzqI/AAAAAAAAHJU/zUYdZ3PaebA/s800/PICT0047.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/ShmvDkjJQDI/AAAAAAAAHJk/ChrNz6WVOio/s800/PICT0049.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/ShmvKUYQkcI/AAAAAAAAHJ8/HcbWqrMzJvM/s800/PICT0052.jpg

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/ShmvPDfwQpI/AAAAAAAAHKM/lqkuQ1q0U30/s800/PICT0002_2.JPG

There was a heavy police presence in places and the walkers and tourists were swarming around Mt Snowdon, lots of spandex in evidence in bright colours. Lots of bikes mainly Japanese but a scattering of Beemers.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/Shmra9ahJNI/AAAAAAAAG_8/NWmvr1W3yIY/s800/SDC10572.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/Shmr7bznDAI/AAAAAAAAHBQ/r44oibY4y3Q/s800/SDC10560.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/ShmsDQ2-1LI/AAAAAAAAHB4/pS3KTyVF13o/s800/SDC10564.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v5FTMdTsgPg/ShmqyQ2CbPI/AAAAAAAAG-I/uzlaDl6J230/s800/SDC10556.JPG
Tea was taken in a converted railway carriage in Bets Y Coed, along with a salad with cheese,
"What sort of cheese?".
"Welsh cheese",
"Yes but what sort?"
"Dunno, it's just Welsh".
Ah national pride and staff that can't give a toss.
"I'll have that then please, but can you add extra Welshness".

Great Orme has switchbacks that are tighter than a bankers tax return, not many of them, but tight enough to require a stop and three point GSA turn when confronted by a car coming up, as you go down. Pay a pound to the man then on to the rock face road that sinuously hangs above the sea, in a tight one way road of contours. Again, as good as anywhere I've ridden, just not very much of it. Britain is compact, which is good as you can comprehend it and bad because it doesn't challenge your boundaries of comprehension in the way vastness, or extremes, do.
Also on the summit of the Orme is a Bronze age copper mine...surely that will be a copper age mine then...(I know...just playing).

Good to be back riding, I will sleep the deep sleep of the satisfied and pleasantly tired.

129654

05-24-2009, 07:41 PM

Nice photos. Brings back memories - went to Wales & Northern England 2 summers back with the family. Did lots of hiking in the Lake District, Snowdonia, etc, but didn't get any riding in. Beautiful country. Keep the pics coming.

Cheers

lamble

05-25-2009, 05:20 AM

Holly

05-25-2009, 09:03 AM

riding at last! I don't know if the long struggle to get your bike on the road made the ride any more sweet, but we are all happy for you that it is finally happening. Looks like a fun ride and great pics. Keep on rolling...

Holly

lamble

08-25-2009, 03:52 AM

Statdawg

08-27-2009, 01:19 PM

Okay, Three Teas is just being rekindled. From the suddenly extinguished flames of the S. America ride, I may be stoking some life out of the embers.

A large UK tea company are interested in how the idea can be developed of riding and stopping to make tea for strangers. A draught treatment is now being revised, with a production company adding their bits. A new website is being created and then hopefully, and it is very likely nothing will come of this but it's an opportunity too good to ignore, a presentation to the tea company execs will result in a filming budget for a trailer at least, then a pitch for a TV series (and with this tea company's support and ad spend, they may be able to add considerable clout).

So, Three Teas may, just may be, coming to a TV screen near your living room.

Long way to go yet and probably harder to navigate than an El Salvador port, or UK custom's documentation.

There is a great idea here, just think about riding and making tea within the UK motorcycle community. A day with Nick Sanders, a trip up a GS path with Simon Pavey, a visit with returning UK riders that went around the world or to an African raid. Then lets not forget the race tracks, the speed camera repair man and the lurking Sheriff to catch Robin firing his bow. Mix it with food, places, history, and of course Brit humor and you will have the perfect cozy fit for a remote controller.

lamble

08-27-2009, 01:45 PM

There is a great idea here, just think about riding and making tea within the UK motorcycle community. A day with Nick Sanders, a trip up a GS path with Simon Pavey, a visit with returning UK riders that went around the world or to an African raid. Then lets not forget the race tracks, the speed camera repair man and the lurking Sheriff to catch Robin firing his bow. Mix it with food, places, history, and of course Brit humor and you will have the perfect cozy fit for a remote controller.

I was thinking more of rides to China, India, Sri Lanka, S. Africa and S.America. tracing from source to cup, with the interviews and Three Teas ethos being followed.

From a personal point of view, the highlight would be if I could get to one of the Three Tea schools in the Karakorma Valley.

But start local to define a demographic and keep logistics and trailer production costs down.

Early, early, days, but an opportunity that has to be followed as far as possible.

tessler

08-27-2009, 04:10 PM

Lamble, here are some interesting Tea Bags (http://planetagadget.com/2009/08/22/nuevas-bolsas-de-te-filtrante/) for you.

http://planetagadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/tea-bags-1.jpg

lamble

08-27-2009, 04:17 PM

Lamble, here are some interesting Tea Bags (http://planetagadget.com/2009/08/22/nuevas-bolsas-de-te-filtrante/) for you.

http://planetagadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/tea-bags-1.jpg

I never knew our Liz was so stacked, no wonder they only use her head on stamps, think of all the ink they save.

tessler

08-27-2009, 04:34 PM

I never knew our Liz was so stacked, no wonder they only use her head on stamps, think of all the ink they save.

:laugh:laugh

lamble

08-28-2009, 04:11 AM

Where's the, Phil the Greek's tea bag?