Gypsy Biker

With a few days to kill on my hands, I have decided to keep you up to date with what is happening with a few of the guys I have ridden with, and through my website, you have come to know…

Firstly, that Gypsy Biker fellow has completed his flogging of South and Central America.... Er...sorry, that should read "flagging"...!!

Michel Jongens completed his ride around South America, ending where it all began, in Suriname… He is safely back in Holland and doing something called “work”…

Michel and I share a glass of bubbly on New Years Eve in Santiago, Chile...

Ken and Dariusz have completed their ride through South America as well, and last I heard were planning their final leg of their own Round The World Tour, by riding up to Alaska… If you thought I rode quickly, you gotta see how fast these two guys rode…!!

They started from Santiago a few weeks after I did, and beat me to Colombia by more than a month…!!

Willi's trusty scooter, still going strong....!!

Receiving blessings from Buddha in Thailand.... The red scooter needs every one of them...!!

Willie is still happily buzzing about in South East Asia on his trusty red scooter, and sent me a recent pic of how well he continues to pack his belongings onto his bike…

It seems he has settled into a comfortable routine, and continues to update me on his travels… And other interesting bits of news, such as a recent study that shows coffee drinkers live longer…!!

Thanks Willi…!! I’m waiting for that research paper on Snickers eaters too…!!

I doubt there is someone out there that knows more about this part of the world than he does…!! Need advice on routes and places to see…?? Ask Willi…!!

Keep going Willi, and waiting for a post on your travels that I can put up on the website… Stop riding and get writing…!!

Willi sent me this picture he took of an Austrian biker in Thailand... He promises never to tell me that I am overloading the Big Fella, ever again...!!

Fabio and Tomasso arrived in New York this past week and have flown back to Italy… They have now ridden on all six continents over the last decade or so…

Trevor and Chenty are getting ready for the July arrival of the Gypsy Biker, and our ride together up to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska… Can’t wait to see you again, Guys…!!

Where it all began for Trevor and Chantal Wilson, and I... Palmyra Oasis in the Syrian Desert, December 2010

The Tres Machos are hard at work, and planning to tackle Ruta 40 Norte, riding from San Pedro de los Andes up to the Bolivia border…

The End of the World with my good mates, Agustin, Ezequiel and Pablo, the Tres Machos....

Karl Stankwitz has disappeared off my radar, and rumour has it that he has joined the U.S. Marines… Finally a use for that bullet-proof vest he always wore under his riding gear…!!

And finally, back in Africa…

Sipho is keeping busy by practicing for the upcoming East African Snooker Championships....

And in South Africa, a lady recently called her local Police Station and said,

“My husband went out to buy a bag of potatoes five days ago, and he hasn’t come back…!!”

After a short pause, the policeman replied…”Eish…. So why don’t you cook something else then…??”

©GBWT 2012

In a few days time, the girl who started me on a “new dream”, will jet into Cancun to spend some time with me before the “Assault on Alaska” begins…

Does Patricia look ready for a holiday, or not...??

Roberto and I have spent the last few days interviewing the local upholsterers to ensure that my tank bag is repaired properly; looking for gloves to replace the ones I lost in San Salvador; drinking beer; trying to find a place that can balance my fromt wheel, which has developed an alarming wobble when I let go the handlebars to peel a banana or fiddle with my I-Pod; negotiating deals with hotel managers for Patricia’s imminent arrival; drinking beer; eating some great local food; visiting friends; drinking beer; cruising around town on our bikes to look for decent maps; sorting out Roberto’s internet problems; trying to find an ATM that will accept my credit cards; and when we have found the time, drinking beer…

Needless to say, in between snorkeling in the limestone caves and in the Caribbean Sea; rides on the Big Fella to visit some Mayan Ruins; sampling the delights of Mexican cuisine and the accompanying liquid refreshments; something called “shopping”; and visiting the many Mexican friends I have already made, there MIGHT not be much time to keep you all up to date with what Patricia and I are doing…!!

I have updated a few recent posts with additional photos and details, and if you haven’t seen them yet, you can click on the links below to check them out…

Granada…!!

Nailed Nicaragua, Hammered Honduras, Entered El Salvador…!!

Sailing thru El Salvador and Galloping into Guatemala…

I will “flesh out” my visit to the Mayan ruins of Tikal in due course, as well as my ride through Belize and into Mexico…

But right now, I hear the “clinking” of bottles….

GB

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Made a 700 km, ten-hour ride from Flores Island in Guatemala, through Belize, and into Mexico…!! I arrived in Playa del Carmen just before sunset, and had a happy reunion with Roberto Martinez, who I had last seen in Buenos Aires in February…

Last ride through Central America, and into Mexico... It has taken just five rides to travel from Panama City to Playa del Carmen, a total distance of 3 215 km...

Mexico is the 99th country on my World Tour…!! I am still digesting this bit of information myself…!! I also think it is rather fitting that the USA will be the 100th country I visit to achieve my goal of 100 countries or more on my journey…!!

Until I write about my ride today, here are a few photos to keep you interested…!!

Between Flores Island and the Belize border, there was a few short stretches of hard-packed gravel roads to deal with....

On entering Belize, the Big Fella received another fumigation....

Belize turned out to be as boring and mostly unfriendly as people had said it would be...

This simple message was painted on a wall near Hattievale...

Wet to the bone, after being caught in the mother of all rainstorms just before Belmopan...

Welcome to Mexico, and a $500.00 fee for entering...!!

"No fear, Amigo...!!"

Having "lost" and hour with the changing of the clocks when I entered Mexico, I still had a way to go to get up to where Patricia would be meeting me...

"Viva Mexico...!!" The 99th country on my World Tour....!!

My final destination barely an hour away, and a wide highway to crank the speed up on....

And there to meet me was my good friend, Roberto Martinez, whom I had made the ride across Terra del Fuego, in Chile with....!!

We may have stopped here to ask about directions.... But I can't be sure....!!

GB

Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

The news of my friend’s death last night, has brought about a mood of reflection and introspection…

I have sat looking out over the lake for hours this morning, thinking about my journey and all the good fortune I have been blessed with… Not only have I stayed relatively healthy, but I have also avoided so many of the dangers that could so easily have overtaken me…

Quiet time, Lago Peten Itza, Guatemala....

I have traveled over 150 000 km, 115 000 of those on the Big Fella, and although I have had some close calls, I am still physically and mentally in a position to complete my ride…

I read through the emails that Kenny and I have exchanged over the last two years, wherein he often mentioned how much I had inspired him… In part, I am happy that in some small way I was able to help him achieve some of his own dreams…

The Cathedral Nuestra Senora de las Remedios on Flores Island...

I sat thinking about the inherent risks we take, not only by simply riding a motorcycle, but by taking it through difficult terrain to strange and far away places, all in the name of appeasing the wonderlust and desire for adventure that courses through those of us that undertake long-distance, and continent covering rides…

I thought about the loved ones we leave behind.. The people who count on us to return…

The responsibility we owe to them; and ourselves; to make it back safely…

It’s a big thing…

I later went up to the church on the hill behind my hotel…

Lit a candle for Kenny, and my family, and for Patricia and I…

The old woman sweeping the area leading up to the altar paused in respect, seeing the emotion written all over my face…

I looked over at her and gave her a half-smile…

She put her broom down and sat on the pew nearest her, and waited until I got up to go, before she resumed her sweeping…

I said a prayer for Kenny… And myself…  And for all of us…

©GBWT 2012

It is with enormous sadness that I received news of the death of Kenny Hadden, a fellow adventure rider with whom I have communicated often over the past few years…

Although we had never met in person, I was looking forward to sharing a beer with him when my journey ends…

Kenny Hadden. adventure rider and fellow road warrior....

Kenny was tragically killed while riding his motorcycle on the road between Lusaka and Chipata in Zambia, on the 3rd of May…

Although I have no details of the accident he was involved in, Kenny was an accomplished rider and used to the rigours of long distance riding…

The Great Eastern Highway from Lusaka to the Malawi border is a tough stretch of road, a minefield of potholes and other dangers…

Before he made the Cairo to Cape Town run in 2011, I shared ideas and advice on what he could expect during his ride…

I later heard that he had proposed to his fiance while in Kenya on that same ride… He married Marlene in January this year…

My heartfelt condolences to both her and his family…

Although this will in no way ease the burden of grief that you are now experiencing, know that Kenny left us doing the thing he loved; feeling the freedom of the open road beneath him, and riding under an African sky…

Hamba Kahle, brother…

GB

Flores Island, Guatemala.

So…. What have you guys done today…??

I spent the morning rambling around the Mayan ruins of Tikal in the jungles of Guatemala… As you do on a Friday…!!

Early morning on the road to Tikal National Park... It was a 70 km ride from Flores Island....

Entry to the park... From here it's another 17 km to the visitors centre where you begin your "trek"...!!

Temple of the Masks... The first temple you see as you enter the Gran Plaza... Awesome...!!

Easier said than done...!! I have a squadron of mosquitoes trying to carry me away...!!"

From atop the highest temple in the complex, Temple IV, you can see other temples rising up from the surrounding jungle....

The "I was there...!!" shot... In the background is Temple I, known as The Great Jaguar...

From the wet patches on my T-shirt in the photo above, you might be led to assume that it was hot…!! You’d be dead right…!!

More on my visit to Tikal later, first I need to stand under a cold shower for a while, or take a leap into the Lake Peten Itza across the road….as you sometimes do on a Friday…!!

GB

Flores Island, Guatemala.