Great - join our group ride north from Cali if you want!

See ya!
Mike

__________________
Keep On Ridin' In The Free World

- Mike

__________________
Keep On Ridin' In The Free World

- Mike

Mike,

in Fortaleza now and with the pace that I'm going it may take me up to november till I get there. If not I'll drop by in Cali.

Take care till then.

__________________
Gertmans
Looking for his buddies on the South American continent
KLR 650
www.gertmans.wordpress.com
www.picasaweb.com/gertmans

Sounds like a great idea I hope to be in columbia around that time Fantastic idea I am sick of everyone saying oooohhhhh don't go to colombia when they have not been there.

I went through the Ecuador/Colombia border yesterday (Tulcan) and it's the easiest South American border I've been through. Also Natalia (the Colombian aduana/customs woman is the most unbelievably beautiful human being on the planet. If you don't get her when you go through customs, refuse to continue until you do!

__________________
Simon

London-Cape Town 2004-06
Buenos Aires-Vancouver 2008-10:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/fitzpatrick

Colombia is absolutely no problem and the border crossing that most bikers do between Colombia and Ecuador (Ipiales) is the easiest and fastest border crossing in South America.

If there should be any problems it would maybe be inside Venezuela, where several travelers now report about being treated badly, two British girls where spit on on the street and told to get the held out of the country. Other similar stories have been told here at my hostel the last couple of month, but I would not worry to much and probably just go there to see for myself

__________________
Keep On Ridin' In The Free World

- Mike

Hey guys, my friend and I are buying ATK bikes when I arrive in Bogota on the 17th of July, when searching their website I found this page of PDF magazines for download:

Rutas AKT - AKT Motos - Poder a tu alcance

Each magazine has heaps of routes and stuff to do, I'm stoked & can't wait!

P.S. do houses / hostels in Colombia usually have gas heated or electric heater water?

Not to burst your bobble, but it is illegal to buy a vehicle new or used in Colombia on a tourist visa. Its not possible to register the bikes and thereby also impossible to sell them again later.

Just had two Danish guys in big trouble here in Cali. They bought two small bikes used in Santa Marta (at gringo price). Never where able to register them and when they tried to sell them they found out it was impossible. Luckily they where never stopped by the police, which would 99% sure have meant confiscation on the spot.

Me and my wife tried to help them get the original owners to sign a new sales contract leaving the buyer space blank, so we could sell them to a Colombian, but they then claimed they never received any money and that they would make a police report of theft if the guys didn't pay even more money.

I eventually managed to sell the bike without papers to 1/4 of the price they paid a month after the guys left the country. But that was not easy!

__________________
Keep On Ridin' In The Free World

- Mike

I don't think it will be that hard from a dealer, last week I sent out an email to about 50 dealers in Bogota and the response was overwhelming, all of them trying to help me and giving me some fantastic offers even after I said we are two Australians only staying for a month.

I believe the very worst case scenario is that I'll have to put it in someone elses name and visit a Notoria to have an agreement stamped, afterall we don't plan on crossing any borders.

Anyway I'll give it my best go and if I'm successful I'll write up a guide for the HUBB so people know.

Hey guys,
I posted this in the other thread but believe I should post it here as well as I said I would make a guide so here it is.


I would like to confirm that my friend and I have successfully purchased two motorcycles from a dealer and have all of the paperwork in our names.

It was a little tricky however there is a box on the papers you fill out which says 'c.extranjero' make sure this one is crossed, it's for foreigners. They will tell you that you need a number from your identification, the number they ask for is only available to Colombians as they don't often sell to tourists however we used passport numbers but I think you can also use the number from your 'International Drivers License' which you should definitely have already if riding in Colombia.

Apart from this all we have to do now is take our licenses to the transito and obtain some stamped piece of paper which says we're licensed to ride in Colombia, we're doing this on Monday.

I would like to recommend this dealer because they helped me with the process immensely, it was AKT Motos on Avenida 1 de Mayo, one of the girls there was very kind but I don't remember her name. Their website is www.aktmotos.com. I do not believe this process to be easy if you do not speak Spanish, take a translator with you if this is the case as nobody at the dealer spoke English.

For $2.800.000 pesos each (approx $1350 usd I think) we purchased two brand new 125cc motorcycles with helmets, jacket for numberplate info, SOAT insurance all ready to go, overall took 5 days but it should take between 3-5 days depending on how busy the offices are.

Cancellation!!!!

Guys!!! Due To Unfortunate Events We Are Forced To Postpone The Colombia Libre Event To A Later Date Next Year.

Albert Our Main Man In Medellin Has Crashed On His Ktm And Seriously Broken His Leg And Will Be Unable To Recover In Time To Take Care Of Organizing Things In Medellin Before The Event.

I'm In Cali If Anyone Still Want To Meet Up. There Are Several Bike Events Down Here During November. Among Others Motofestival De Alto Cilindraje November 13-14-15. The Organizers Expect Some 700 Colombian Bikers From All Over The Country.

And I'll Happily Lead Some Smaller Tours Around The South Of The Country If We Can Make A Group.

Hope You Recover Well Albert. And Sorry To The Rest, We'll Be Back With New Dates!!

__________________
Keep On Ridin' In The Free World

- Mike

Hello Kaiser:

I am so sorry to hear about Albert. It is a shame; I was really looking forward to the meeting. I live in Cartagena and if there is a group that still wants to come, I can arrange for something on a smaller scale here. I have some local contacts and can arrange for housing/apartments/secure parking, etc. Any one who is interested, let me know as soon as possible.

Just let me know as I will need to get right on this. It will be my pleasure. My email is martin@martinpublishing.com

Martin

I am in Cusco now but plan on being in Cali by the 25th. Keep me updated if something else gets put together. Would like very much to meet up with fellow riders.

Bob

Yes, its too bad. I too was very excited about the whole thing.
But we'll try and put something together next year, you're welcome to join the ranks as an organizer. And sounds great if you can put something together for anyone coming your way. I do the same here in Cali. I'll pass on your email.

__________________
Keep On Ridin' In The Free World

- Mike

Hello Mike and Albert:

Is this the same leg injury I saw you with last month in Medellin? It looked pretty bad. I hope you heal and are good as new.

I guess the question for me is how many riders are already committed to coming. Do you have any kind of email list? I was talking to a friend of mine today. He is in the tourist apartment/housing business here. He can get as many apartments and or hotel rooms as we need. Additionally I live on the beach and have a semi private beach. (Vacaciones en Cartagena) I can use that and my patio for some Bar-B-ques, and get together. I have a large secured parking lot next to me.

I do not see a problem in hosting up to 50 or so bikes with riders. I was thinking of some rides/activities for the weekend however before I get to far ahead of myself, I need to see if there are enough people who still want to come. Let me know what you think.

Martin