I had no idea what to expect from Colombia but I certainly didn’t expect to instantly fall in love with a country that has been unable to shake its infamous reputation for cocaine and kidnapping. Whether or not Colombia was ever completely overrun by gringo kidnapping drug lords I don’t know but in its current state Colombia welcomed us in with loving open arms. The simple gesture of a smile and a “Good afternoon” greeting will guarantee an even greater response. The food here is a fresh, delicious change from Central America and if you shop around a cheap meal is easy find, generally costing around 80 cents per person. If delicious food and great people aren’t reason enough to love this country, the riding here is spectacular. The mountains of Colombia provide beautiful backdrops with stunning views for both on and off road riders. Also, Colombia now holds one of my favourite rides to date. Some of you may be thinking it’s just my positive perception that could make me say such wonderful things about a country that has permanently been given a bad reputation but Colombia truly is a fantastic place to be. To put it in perspective I thought we would only be in Colombia for 10 days, however we are now on day 40 and find ourselves only 15 minutes from the border of Venezuela but not wanting  to leave.(Since writing this we stayed even longer… HaHa 45 days in Colombia!)

It all started in Cartagena, a well preserved colonial city situated on the oceanfront in Northern Colombia. We arrived early on a Saturday morning but with customs closed we had to wait until Monday before we could get our motorcycles. This worked out great giving us time to explore the city and hang out with some fellow travellers from our recent boat crossing. In my experience port cities can be a little rough and sleazy but Cartagena holds its composure very well. The historic district is clean and well maintained while the rest of city appears well developed with a respectable level of modern professionalism. We found plenty of motorcycle shops in Cartagena making it a great place to pick up parts and tires at reasonable prices. We managed to find a battery and rear tire for Erin’s bike while our new friends Karin and Dave picked up some tires for their bikes, all of which were cheaper or comparable to prices in the United States. Karin and Dave had shipped their motorcycles from their home country of Holland to Canada where they started their 9 month long journey to Peru. Sharing our passion for motorcycle travel, our sense of humour and our love for beer, it only seemed right that we team up and explore Colombia together.

After a few days of riding in the hot, dry and relatively flat countryside of Northern Colombia we all agreed that it was time to head into the mountains. Heading South past the city of Bucaramanga the road began to snake and the temperature began to cool as we wound our way into a perfect day’s ride. About midday we pulled over at a roadside restaurant to ask another group of bikers for directions and to our surprise we discover that the route we had planned was much longer than anticipated which would force us to ride well into the night. Our new roadside friends suggested we reroute to San Gil, a town approximately 2 hours away where they were heading to a motorcycle rally. It didn’t take much to convince us and we were quick to jump back in the saddle raced off down the road together. We quickly got a lesson in Colombian riding as we pushed hard to try and keep up with our new friends. In Colombia motorcycles basically do whatever they want. What North American’s consider to be incredibly dangerous and/or reckless driving is just common practise to Colombians. After flying through the sharp mountain curves and passing every car and truck in sight, it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable yet exhausting days I’ve ever had on a motorcycle.

We spent the weekend enjoying the festivities of the motorcycle rally and getting to know our new friends who had taken us in like family. It’s amazing for people to be able to spend so much time together conversing and having fun without fully being able to speak the same first language. Using only our limited amount of basic Spanish we managed to share our lives with people and learn about life in Colombia. Throughout the rally we were treated like celebrities constantly sharing our stories with curiously excited people and partaking in a ridiculous amount of photo shoots. I guess 4 tall gringos with 4 big dirty bikes in a sea of Colombians just appear to scream “Come take photos!”  There’s nothing about that weekend that I would change, it was perfect and the friends we made are more than just travelling acquaintances. As we left San Gil we were overwhelmed by numerous genuine invitations from our new friends to come and stay with them in their homes. I knew we would be seeing them again soon.

We spent a few days exploring the beautiful Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Mountains and riding through just about every type of weather including some painfully large hail. Unfortunately for the first time on our travels I was sick and spent our down time curled up in bed while Erin, Karen and Dave got to hike the picturesque countryside. As we made our way towards Bogota, Colombia’s capital city, I continued to recover despite some cold days riding in the rain. Bogota is a huge city with a population of approximately 8 million people and if you were to include the surrounding metropolitan areas of the ever expanding city that number quickly jumps to 15 million people. I think it goes without saying that getting around the city sucks… luckily 9 times out of 10 when asking  for directions anywhere in Colombia you will receive an escort to your destination. We set up base at a Hostel in the Candelaria district, the historic area of the city, and explored some of the museums, markets and architecture of the area. I’m not a city boy so it takes a pretty special city to impress me and I can easily say that Bogota did not impress me. Something about waking up in the morning and walking out into streets reeking of urine just doesn’t do it for me. Also if you add in constant, erratic traffic and honking Bogota city is a place I could do without. Sadly, with our plans to travel through Brazil, Erin and I had to stick around Bogota for a few more days to visit the Brazilian Embassy and fill out paperwork. It was then that the time came to part ways and say goodbye to Karin and Dave as they continued their own journey to Peru. We wish them fun and safe travels and are glad to have been part of their lives and look forward to seeing them again one day.

After a few days battling the Embassy’s ridiculous business hours and gathering up all the paperwork required we handed in our passports with hopes that they would be returned to us with Brazilian Visa’s. After an hour and a half of traffic we were finally free of Bogota but found ourselves feeling somewhat lost without our riding companions. For weeks we had been riding as a collective and now on our own again we had to figure out where to go…

More to come from Colombia

What I heard the most in past few weeks was the question: “Are you back already?!!!”

I never thought that I would see Montana again, at least not for a long, long time, but here we are, back to where I started a year ago. Since I started this journey on my motorcycle, I have covered Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Alaska, British Colombia, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. It seems like forever ago but such a short distance, more like a shakedown ride to me.

I learned a lot about riding and more importantly living on the road. I met some amazing people, saw some beautiful places, and built a sophisticated touring machine out of a 1982 Suzuki. But my true discovery came in the form of a dawning comprehension of the struggles that go on every day on every corner of this planet: in particular, the travesty of extreme poverty and malnutrition.

Well actually that wasn’t it. I discovered that I’m not the only one, and there are hundreds if not thousands who share the passion to help bring relief to those suffering from hunger. This journey evolved beyond the scope of my one-man band, and eventually I founded and incorporated the Transcontinental Humanitarian Corp., a non-profit 501(C)(3) organization to bring together those with a similar passion and desire to give a helping hand to ordinary people during times of extraordinary tribulation.

This is not an impressive resume for a so-called adventurer. From the minute I got back to Montana, I had the itch to get back on the bike again and head out for the unknown. But you know how it goes, when the bike is ready, I’m not, and when I’m ready the bike is not. Since I had a warm dry garage, I figured to fix everything I could possibly fix and with that in mind, I tore up the bike to pieces again.

I had some problem with the steering head bearings (which turned out to be far more gone that I thought), the rear brake needed new pads, the headlight wiring had to be redone to fix the voltage drop, wire the new fog lights, add some reflectors to the boxes for more visibility, add more lights to the back to mark the width of the bike, hardwire my GPS, Install the new camera mount, sand and clear-coat the side covers (cosmetic only but they had been bothering me for a long time), fix the oil leak form the cam-chain tensioner, head gasket and oil pressure switch, Install an alarm system,  change the gearbox and drive shaft oil and grease everything.

The bearing races were in awful shape; no wonder this bike wobbled a lot in low speed. I could run my fingernail across it and dig in deep in the grooves made by the roller bearings. The rear brake pads were almost to the metal, and they were so far down that I could barely see any brake fluid in the reservoir. After adding 5 relays, the electrical system is now in tiptop shape and the headlight is as bright as it can be. I also added a security system with a screaming siren to ward off bored and crazy kids in third world countries; it also gives me a peace of mind while sleeping as I know it will go off the second a bird lands on it.

By the time I was done with all these chores, the bike looked and felt so good that I didn’t want to ride it anymore! In the meantime, Cynthia went back to California to give her two week notice and quit her job for the long run. She has come a long way. To be honest I didn’t think that she would make it more than 3 days, but she braved the road for 3000 miles and 40 days and she was eager for more. She quit her job of seven years as a social worker to join a crazy expedition on a motorcycle around the world. I did the same thing, but this was my dream. She wasn’t a rider, nor had she ever camped out more than a couple of nights at a time in her whole life without being close to her familiar surroundings. That’s adventurous in my book.

I picked her up at the airport in Missoula, and we are packing again, this time even smaller. We’ll be on the road before you know it, and this time no return for at least five years…

The Hwy 99 was a long and twisty hell. On a bike with an oil leak, I really didn’t enjoy it one bit as I my riding pants got soaked and construction road blocks at every bend made it a 5 hour ride. The leaking oil kept dripping on the exhaust and every time I stopped, a cloud of smoke encircled me which made breathing difficult.

I got to Vancouver during rush hour and found my way toward Sarah’s apartment. Sarah was my CouchSurfing host on Friday and Saturday and she was a great one at that.

On Saturday, I finally found a valve cover gasket and oil filter and Andy offered his garage to do the operation. Andy read about my problems with the bike and called me when I was in Williams Lake and he even offered to ship the complete rear wheel off of his bike to get me down to Vancouver (I had already changed the tire by that time, but his selfless act of kindness was touching). On Sunday afternoon, we tore the bike apart once again and changed the valve cover gasket along with the tar colored oil in Andy’s garage and had a great time talking about old GS motorcycles the whole time.

My Sunday host had canceled on me and I had nowhere to go so, with Sarah’s help, I found a cheap hostel called the American Backpacker in downtown Vancouver. This place was rundown to put it politely. If I concentrated hard enough, I could do a study on rats and other small mammals in their natural habitat. But if cost only $10 and I needed a place to stay so I checked in. The only parking spot was in the back alley and as I was getting my stuff out, I noticed that there was broken window glasses all over the lot, so I put 4 different locks on the bike and started walking in. I was only 15 feet away from my bike when I heard a window shatter and saw a guy running with something in his hand and that was enough to turn around right there and go back to the bike. I moved the bike to right in front of the hostel and chained it under the light, but I still didn’t feel completely safe, so I opened the double door of the hostel and moved the bike inside in the front hall. I didn’t care what anyone would say, I was not about to move it an inch, no matter what.

Besides being a dirty place, this hostel was one of the coolest places I’ve visited in Canada. I made many friends from all over the world and had a great time.

On Monday, I managed to get a print shop to do my brochure printings. Thanks to TR Trades Production, LTD, I now have 500 brochures to pass around. Danielle Dongan, the owner of the shop, was super helpful and she even tri-folded them for me before I picked them up. Thank you Danielle, you’re a doll.

I spent Monday and Tuesday at Elizabeth’s. My new host was a cutie who rides her yellow JAZZ scooter all over town and her dream is to do the Tour de Europe on her Bicycle. An explorer at heart, she was smart and very enjoyable to talk to.

On Tuesday, I decided to do some fundraising on the rich side of the city, so I setup my display in front of the Starbucks (one of my sponsors) with the help of a pretty and very enthusiastic Persian girl named Natalie (I hope the spelling is right). Natalie provided muffin samples, a donation bucket and tables, but as the day went by, I realized that it’s hard to get a penny out of this pretentious bunch.

5 hours of begging and only $20. That has got to be a new record for me. (I didn’t see one beggar in the whole area; maybe they knew what I didn’t know!) There was a lady who bought a bottle of water for her dog while pushing her $4000 stroller and refused to throw her change in the bucket (she ate the free sample though.) I watched a parade of Lamborghinis, Mercedes, and Ferraris go by with people in them who had so much but spared so little. When you talked to them, they all bitched about the economy, like they were suffering. I suppose they used to use their helicopters to do the shopping, but now they are forced to drive their crappy Rolls-Royces. There is truth to the saying “the less they have, the more they give.”

I am leaving for Ferndale, Washington tomorrow. It will be good to get back to the States after all.