After doing my 3.5 year trip from California to Ushuaia and Antarctica....no the Argentine Navy would not take my bike. BMW would have paid a lot for that picture. Then up the Amazon on a river ferry then into Guyana 98% solo at the age of 62 to 65...enjoy the time and ride by yourself.
Not only that but I had not ridden
a motorcycle in30+ years before.
Thinking about a repeat next year.

Thanks very much for that post fast103.
VERY VERY inspirational!
Glad to hear you want to get out and do it again but don't put the pressure on yourself to top that trip! That would be tough to do.

A delicate subject for men of a certain age. The hard bodies of our youth are distant memories for "most" men over sixty. I need to loose a few pounds but compared to my friends, I am more active and in a "little" better shape. Regardless, there is a word, there is a topic of discussion that is as depressing as the sound of a snapping rubber glove................. sag.

Hey Billy, did you see Jim? I know right! He was club champion back in the day but look at that sag now. Sad isn't it!

A little info for 701 owners. My geared up weight and loaded luggage put my 701 sadly out of trim. I wanted to deal with that so this is what I did.
I weigh 200 out of the shower and maybe 220 all geared up. I weighed ALL of the gear I will be taking with me and it comes in at 75 lbs. I went to the Slavens Racing website and looked at what they had. Interesting the difference between the 690-701 options.
You will see an 8.0 and an 8.6 that I was looking at for my 701 Enduro. Jeff doesn't think you can have it both ways, a spring for unloaded and the same spring for loaded down but I wanted to try anyway. When it comes time to actually order on their website an 8.4 showed up so that was my order. At the same time I ordered the XTrig preload adjuster and had them installed the other day. Both tanks full of fuel, all geared up with a single bag on my rack carrying "about" 10-15 lbs I got my......... my.............. SAG adjusted!
According to the mechanic my sag is now good.
In fact, he said my SAG is perfect!
I guess at my age if sag is inevitabe at least having PERFECT sag makes me feel a little better.
With an 8mm socket on a small extension I can now preload when I add my luggage.

My adventure begins next week. I will cross the border at Fort Erie and head to Erie Pa where the first order of business will be to get a sim card for my phone.

The border crossing was easy. I had no idea what to expect. All KINDS of stories circulating but the gentleman in the booth was, well, a gentleman.
I had all the right answers to his guestions I guess. Getting the SIM card was the painful part. They were having all SORTS of issues with their SYSTEM and it took me an hour and a half to FINALLY get hooked up. While in route a sweet looking Harley fell in behind me. I pulled into a parking lot to have a look see at my GPS and he followed and pulled up behind. Turns out he just wanted to know if I needed any help. I put a Canadian flag on the back of my luggage so other motorists will understand I'm an out of towner. Perhaps he sensed I was in need. We introduced each other and Jerromie pulled out his phone and looked up the T- Mobile for me. He then told me what he often does while camping on the road. Heads to the back corner of a cemetery. People so far have been great with their local knowledge. Had a cold and an awesome Philly steak sub at a friendly bar. The postman's suggestion.
Made a DUMB mistake!! After setting up I made a pot of coffee. Drank about 3 cups as I relaxed before calling it a day. So here I sit, alone in my tent, WIDE AWAKE at the back of a very nice cemetery typing this post! I got busted by the grounds keeper earlier but when he saw the white hair, and my sincerest speach on how I would be VERY respectfull and gone at first light leaving NO trace he was cool about it.
Now if I can JUST get some SLEEP!!
Won't do that again, the coffee I mean.
Just east of Cleveland presently if anyone wants to join me.
Day 1

Where does Maple syrup come from daddy?
Well, let me tell you............
Where does flour come from daddy?
Well little one, let me tell you.........
Daddy, where do babies come from??
ASK YOUR MOTHER........

Just finished riding through all the country back roads of Indiana. I just LOVE discovering that local treasure of a restaurant. Had a great AMERICAN breakfast including two hot cups of coffee and some chit chat with some salt of the earth individuals. In Illinois now at a camp grounds. I seriously needed a hot shower and a shave. Had the best pizza I've had in a LONG time delivered right to my tent. Right now, life is pretty darn good.

Oh, I'm rambling again.

If any of my grandchildren ever ask....
Grandpa, where does CORN COME FROM......
Well, let me tell ya ...

I'll be starting my road trip to SA from Niagara Falls Canada next week (but heading to British Columbia first). I never thought of a cemetery as a good camping spot but I'll make a mental note of that! did the gentleman give you any other tips about camping? hopefully there are no dangerous animals where you are

are you blogging about your trip anywhere?

Hi Kevin. No, not blogging anywhere. Just sharing here to anyone interested. Local knowledge is like gold and the people have been super nice and helpful. The other night for instance when it was time to start scoping for a spot to spend the night I saw a short road to a river. At the end, a couple were there fishing. I spotted about 3-4 spots I could have pitched my tent but I asked first if it would be OK. I told them I didn't want to anger anyone if I shouldn't be here.
The gentleman told me it was State Park and that it would be fine BUT! it was Friday night and the locals often come there to party. He told me if a good night's sleep was my goal that just a little further down the road about a quarter mile I would see another driveway. Nobody goes there and I could set up and get a good night's sleep.
That's what I did and a peaceful night was had.
Talk it up. Ask the locals. Be polite and respectful and you will be rewarded with some great local knowledge.
By the way. The grounds keeper at the cemetery was cutting grass the morning I left there. He gave me the thumbs up seeing that I left everything as it was. He wished me a safe trip and waved as I left.
In a very nice campground in Knoxville Iowa as I write. To me, $12 for a clean rest room, manicured camp site and a hot shower is worth it. Good luck on your travels

Stayed in another very nice campground in Nebraska last night. I wanted to write a few things here BUT I HAD NO INTERNET. Telling you this so that perhaps anyone coming this way could be smarter than me and look into which provider is best this way. I have T-Mobile and I'm not impressed. Maybe I just assumed too much.
For instance, the other day it said I was roaming?? I thought it was coast to coast?? I'll look into it in a couple of days when I reach my friends in Colorado. I know when I sailed down the east coast a few years back, there was one provider that did a better job than the rest. Just sayin, maybe do your homework.

Well now. You're headed for Guatemala, and along the way there will be lots of places without cell service or wifi. Just a couple of years ago your complaint would have served well as a joke, or a sarcastic exaggeration of current attitudes.

Pretty funny when people--including myself--are surprised at not being able to get on line instantly, every place, under even the most unlikely circumstances. Most of the world exists in the absence of cell signal, just as it always has. This includes many places which are completely worth visiting. It's more noticeable once you leave the densely-populated cities and transport corridors of eastern North America, and more true again when you enter the mountains.

Of course your specific complaint about T-mobile is perfectly valid. They're cheaper than the other large US carriers (and better overseas), which is why I use them, but their service coverage is undeniably worse. In my area of the country Verizon is generally considered to have the best coverage, but still there are vast areas with no coverage at all. Does this seem odd? The same is true of Canada, except more so.

Cell coverage, like wifi, is often better in the Developing World, where paucity of landline coverage and hard connectivity helps wireless technology leapfrog more quickly than it does here. In a lot of areas people carry dual-sim smartphones, which operate on multiple pay-as-you-go plans from different companies. That's a concept which might serve you well, if staying connected is really important to you. They seem to be popular in Europe, too.

I don't mean to come across critical; I'm more bemused than anything else. Have fun and keep posting!

Mark

Hi Mark
My experience to date has been my sailing destinations. My observation has been that even though the locals don't know where today's meals might be coming from they all have a cell phone sticking out of their pockets.
Everything you said is right on the money of course. You are obviously a much more traveled person than myself.
I just bought a dual sim phone before leaving. Moto G6 plus. The other slot holds my Guatemalan Sim. Like you said, everyone I talk to along the way says only Verizon works out here.
Unless things have changed and I seriously don't know? Last I heard I can't mix Verizon with this phone. I "think" their system is proprietary.
I arrive at my friends place in Dillon Colorado tomorrow. They will have all the scoop.
You now have me laughing at myself Mark.
This internet thing has become such a crutch!
My quess though is, that it's here to stay.

Oh, and I just found out that my friend is baking me a Colorado peach pie with all the fixings for my arrival tomorrow. The anticipation is half the fun!! Thank GOD for the internet!

Sometime today I will be seeing those majestic mountains begin. Dillon is at 9000 ft. I have a few layers ready to put on if needed.
Thanks for making me smile Mark

That's right (although it's not exactly "proprietary"); the different brands use incompatible bandwidths. Tmobile phones use bands which are common worldwide; Verizon does not.

I'm going to assume naively that you bought an unlocked phone, so that you can swap SIM cards. If not, take care of unlocking before you run into language barriers.

Smiling is a major interest of mine. Enjoy!

Mark

It's 3:45 a.m. and I can't sleep. My friends warned me the altitude thing takes a couple of days so here I type. I would like to end the cell phone talk with this post, again, in an effort to help others.
I can ONLY RELAY what a biker that I rode with told me so forgive the 4th hand info.
True OR NOT he claims his riding buddy bought "the thing" from China that now allows him to use his non Verizon phone on the Verizon network.
If someone truely wanted to go that route it's "perhaps" at least possible to do without spending the big dollars on a Verizon only phone.
Obviously more research required, I'm just giving hope.
The good news is, when I arrived at my friends I find out they are using T-Mobile. They do a lot of traveling west from here to places like the national parks of Utah and have found T-Mobile to be just fine. Perhaps not all is lost in that regard. My fingers are crossed.

Oh, the peach pie was to die for!!!!!!!

I don't mean to be a Donny downer. Every person who rides has had close calls. Many have serious life changing injuries or had a friend that is no longer here. I'm only posting this because of how it effected me and it is after all a part of this trip.

Miles and miles of straight country road with a 65 mph speed limit. I was doing 65. A semi coming at me with two cars behind. Sure enough, the first car pulls out to pass the semi like I was invisible.
On many roads I have traveled there is a substantial bit of asphalt to the side on which us bikers can dive to if needed but unfortunately for me not in this case. I had "maybe" 6 inches right of the white line and then gravel. If I hit that gravel at 65 it wouldn't have been pretty. The thing is, this was the SECOND TIME in just a couple of days this happened to me but at least the first guy clued in at some point and jerked himself around the truck realizing his mistake.
Not this driver.
I was " probably " engine braking when I realized this car wasn't pulling back in time but regardless, the closing speed would have been like hitting a brick wall at over 100 mph.
I got as far right as I possibly could. I was riding that white line and a smidge onto the remaining 6 inches. I noticed the fear in the truck drivers face. His hands were waving. I remember pulling in my knees and elbows. I am completely serious when I tell you my bar end mirror went over top of that drivers side mirror. The people in the second car were screaming at what they thought was about to unravel but I distinctly remember the NON EXPRESSION of the offending driver. I can't tell you if the driver was a man or a woman. At those speeds it's happening fast but the utter lack of any emotion is what I saw. I was INVISIBLE. God only knows where that brain was.

I have always said. " I would rather be lucky than good ". I quess it just wasn't my time.

This rattled me deeply.
REALLY RATTLED ME!!
VERY DEEPLY!!

I didn't sleep very well that night. I contemplated why we do what we do. Was it time to quit?
All the next day it was all I could think about.
I didn't sleep well that night either.
Finally, there they were. I was 40 miles from Fort Collins and out of the haze I could make out the mountains. The Rockies! The scenery was going to change.......... big time.
When I arrived in Fort Collins I seeked out the McD's for some WIFI. I asked a young lady if she could recommend a camping spot. She suggested I head north to the Red Feather area so off I went.
Route 14 off of the 287 as I recall. It takes you into some wonderful twisties as you navigate the canyon. I stopped at the coolest campground.
Becky gave me a sight under the trees next to the river. After setting up I wandered back to the registration area and grabbed a cold . Sat down with some folks, including Becky, and had some chit chat. A mellow, laid back group as I expected. Becky informed me at check in that this was a "Pot" friendly campground so don't mind the smoke.
I don't partake myself but also don't judge in any way those that do.
I teased her about the enormous selection of munchies she had for sale.
"Goes with the territory" she laughed.
I kept the fly off my tent that night. The sky was clear, the stars were bright and all I could hear in the blackness was the river sound. Fifty yards upstream and fifty yards downstream from me were small rapids that put me to sleep. A great sleep! Best sleep in days.

I'm feeling a little better now.
Life is good again

Damn close call Rick! Glad you’re around to tell the tale . I could understand if you’d decided to partake in the pot friendly activities at the campground that evening.

Was down in St Catherines last Friday, hoping to meet up and convey wishes for a good trip. Missed you by a day .

Safe trip and looking forward to updates on your progress


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Good to hear! I’ll take that advice into consideration!
Enjoy