Day 70
Medellin, Colombia to Guatape, Colombia and back
Day's Ride: 115 Miles
I feel like crap. I think I'm coming down with something bad. I've got a fever and I'm feeling nauseous; it's almost as bad as being on the independence. I'll try and crank this out before I lose my lunch...
Met up this morning with Byron and Isabel for breakfast. Al and his savage beast of an attack dog Missy came along too. It was one big ADV rider happy family gathered at the local coffee shop.
After breakfast we all headed over to Frederico's shop so that the Brits could get some parts and Al could pick up his 990 Super Moto. Afterwords we all decided to ride out to a place called Guatape to see a really famous rock. Al and I went back to the Shamrock; while we were waiting for Byron and Isabel, Al let me ride his 990 Supermoto.
Up until this point, I haven't realized how terrible the motorcycles I've been riding are. Getting on this thing was like switching from a Model T to a Corvette. Holy cow! Hot damn! The throttle is super responsive and snappy, the brembo brakes stop on a dime, and the whole bike turns so fast it's unbelievable! Jumping on a modern liquid cooled, twin cylinder, fuel injected bike was a huge difference from my poor thumper. Wow. I want one!
Byron and Isabel showed up and we were off! Seeing them fully loaded up on their bike is a sight.
Somewhere beneath all of that gear is a R100RS that's still faithfully chugging along.
They hit a nasty pot hole back in Honduras which pretty much destroyed their suspension and cracked both of their wheels. They managed to limp into Nicaragua and send out an SOS. ADV riders came out of the woodwork to help them get back on the road. Various people from around the country shipped parts to total stranger who happened to be flying to Nicaragua. This guy collected everything and took it to them!
They call their bike "The Flying Aga". I had to have them explain to me what an Äga" is. Apparently, back in the UK, an Aga is a combination wood stove/oven. Everything makes sense now. Byron showed me where they had to re-weld their wheel:
On the way to Guatape, my XR650L crossed a major milestone: the odometer broached 10,000 miles!
We arrived at Guatape and finally beheld the rock:
This thing is massive! It's over 200 meters tall and was first climbed in 1954. It's rather conspicuous as it is perched just above a massive man made reservoir and is nowhere near to any other rocks or mountains.
Definitely worth the trip. We huffed and puffed our way to the top while Al stayed at the little café at the bottom and watched.
The view from the top was fantastic:
After the rock we headed into the town of Guatape for lunch.
Byron decided to follow my lead from last night and go American on an entire pizza!
After lunch we started heading back. Byron and Isabel can't quite go as fast on their flying stove as most motos, so Al and I pulled over at major turns to wait for them.
We dropped Byron and Isabel off in Llano Grande where they were supposed to meet up with Isabel's sister in-law (who's Colombian) and go to her house for Christmas.
We then made the ride back into Medellin. Al's way faster than me on his rocket ship. I had constantly strain my eyes to catch sight of the orange blur hundreds of meters in front of me.
Coming down the hill back into Medellin at night was pretty awesome. The lights of the city were spectacular. Unfortunately, my camera doesn't do it justice.
Right as we pulled into the Shamrock, advrider bubbletron came around the corner and surprised us! She and another rider had just gotten in from Venezuela a few hours ago. Time for an advrider Christmas eve feast! Or maybe a festivus.
Thanks again to everyone who is reading along and to everyone who is giving me encouragement, tips, and advice! I wish all of you a merry christmas!
God bless,
Bryce
P.S. I'm going to go be sick now.
Medellin, Colombia to Guatape, Colombia and back
Day's Ride: 115 Miles
I feel like crap. I think I'm coming down with something bad. I've got a fever and I'm feeling nauseous; it's almost as bad as being on the independence. I'll try and crank this out before I lose my lunch...
Met up this morning with Byron and Isabel for breakfast. Al and his savage beast of an attack dog Missy came along too. It was one big ADV rider happy family gathered at the local coffee shop.
After breakfast we all headed over to Frederico's shop so that the Brits could get some parts and Al could pick up his 990 Super Moto. Afterwords we all decided to ride out to a place called Guatape to see a really famous rock. Al and I went back to the Shamrock; while we were waiting for Byron and Isabel, Al let me ride his 990 Supermoto.
Up until this point, I haven't realized how terrible the motorcycles I've been riding are. Getting on this thing was like switching from a Model T to a Corvette. Holy cow! Hot damn! The throttle is super responsive and snappy, the brembo brakes stop on a dime, and the whole bike turns so fast it's unbelievable! Jumping on a modern liquid cooled, twin cylinder, fuel injected bike was a huge difference from my poor thumper. Wow. I want one!
Byron and Isabel showed up and we were off! Seeing them fully loaded up on their bike is a sight.
Somewhere beneath all of that gear is a R100RS that's still faithfully chugging along.
They hit a nasty pot hole back in Honduras which pretty much destroyed their suspension and cracked both of their wheels. They managed to limp into Nicaragua and send out an SOS. ADV riders came out of the woodwork to help them get back on the road. Various people from around the country shipped parts to total stranger who happened to be flying to Nicaragua. This guy collected everything and took it to them!
They call their bike "The Flying Aga". I had to have them explain to me what an Äga" is. Apparently, back in the UK, an Aga is a combination wood stove/oven. Everything makes sense now. Byron showed me where they had to re-weld their wheel:
On the way to Guatape, my XR650L crossed a major milestone: the odometer broached 10,000 miles!
We arrived at Guatape and finally beheld the rock:
This thing is massive! It's over 200 meters tall and was first climbed in 1954. It's rather conspicuous as it is perched just above a massive man made reservoir and is nowhere near to any other rocks or mountains.
Definitely worth the trip. We huffed and puffed our way to the top while Al stayed at the little café at the bottom and watched.
The view from the top was fantastic:
After the rock we headed into the town of Guatape for lunch.
Byron decided to follow my lead from last night and go American on an entire pizza!
After lunch we started heading back. Byron and Isabel can't quite go as fast on their flying stove as most motos, so Al and I pulled over at major turns to wait for them.
We dropped Byron and Isabel off in Llano Grande where they were supposed to meet up with Isabel's sister in-law (who's Colombian) and go to her house for Christmas.
We then made the ride back into Medellin. Al's way faster than me on his rocket ship. I had constantly strain my eyes to catch sight of the orange blur hundreds of meters in front of me.
Coming down the hill back into Medellin at night was pretty awesome. The lights of the city were spectacular. Unfortunately, my camera doesn't do it justice.
Right as we pulled into the Shamrock, advrider bubbletron came around the corner and surprised us! She and another rider had just gotten in from Venezuela a few hours ago. Time for an advrider Christmas eve feast! Or maybe a festivus.
Thanks again to everyone who is reading along and to everyone who is giving me encouragement, tips, and advice! I wish all of you a merry christmas!
God bless,
Bryce
P.S. I'm going to go be sick now.
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