If you have an itch , the best advice is : Don’t scratch it.

My itch is a South American tour by motorbike.

It is not that I haven’t tried cures. I have motor bike toured my home country New Zealand, Europe,Ukraine, Turkey , Morocco and for three months in 2014 I travelled 8000 km through Central America on a Suzuki GN125. In 2015 , I rode my pushbike 2000 km through Cuba. I have also made cycle tours through New Zealand, Europe,UK, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Most of these have been solo tours - not by choice but not many people can just drop their lives and go. There are some blogs on this site and on crazyguyonabike.com

I retired nine years ago ,at 58, from the corporate world. My job gave me satisfaction, travel, security and a pension and for that I am grateful. One of the great things about retirement is you don’t have to worry about or save for it.

In between my two wheel adventures, my spouse and I have motor homed Europe for four years in the NZ winter ( May to October) and in 2016 we bought a pickup and fifth wheel in New Hampshire and travelled the Eastern Seaboard down to the Florida Keys up to New Orleans , followed the Mississippi north, looped around the Upper Peninsula states of Wisconsin and Michigan. As I write this , we are just outside Detroit and planning to visit the Henry Ford Museum. We intend to do the midwest in 2017.


But back to the itch.

I have avoided looking regularly at the HUBB site because it tends to inspire me in a direction that often takes some long explanations to my spouse. However, about a month ago I said what the hell, logged in and got inspired. I contacted Toby at around the block in Peru, we had some e mail discussions and I ended up the owner of a used 250cc Sumo Tekker. The bike had done a trip to Chile and back and didn’t even have a puncture. He has some very positive write ups on HUBB and elsewhere . After his mods the bikes seem reliable and being local and relatively unsophisticated mechanically is another positive. I don’t mind the smaller capacity after my V Strom 650. I enjoyed riding the Suzuki 125 and we tackled some challenging roads and it never missed a beat - not even a puncture in the three month/8,000 km ride. When I first got into biking after I retired I bought a 250cc Virago and toured New Zealand on it for a month. It underlined to me the capabilities of a smaller capacity bike.
I leave NZ on September 27 , pick up the bike a couple of days later and head south to Cuzco and Lake Titicaca. Then I travel North on a mixture of coastal and mountain roads. I am looking at a side trip to the Galapagos for some diving, but no firm decision yet. I would like to hit Ecuador and if time poke into Colombia . I fly back to NZ from Lima on Dec 22.

I travel light and will be staying in small hotels, hostels etc. My gear will be stowed in a rear dry bag and tank bag. I have a gps and a tracker to keep friends and family informed and in case of emergency.

I have received much information and encouragement from this site , so I will try and reciprocate with a blog of my tour.

The pics below show my bike evolution.

Sumo Tekker

V strom 650 on the Molesworth track, South Island New Zealand

Suzuki GN125 crossing the border between Guatemala and Honduras. The number on the helmet and vest are to prevent drive by shootings!

Ride safe

Peter

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