Swift - Starting the New Year training with Swift 1/7/13 - A long read...

Steve...I was considering this but I may opt to have tires ordered and shipped to a BMW dealership down in Mexico. I have to look up some locations but I think there is at least one in Mexico City. I'm not sure if I want the extra weight on the bike of carrying the tires with me. I still haven't figured a rough estimate of my miles yet. With my routing it's going to be a project. I may work on that today while I'm sitting here. I know the TKC's don't last very long so I'm planning on this.

I already bought a tire plug kit and I have the Slime compressor and tire repair kit on order. My tires are tubeless but I thought I read something recently about possibly using a tube in the tire in emergencies. I'm going to check more into this and if it's a possibility I'm going to order a tube to carry with me and get a patch kit.

I haven't purchased the bead breaker or tire irons yet. I'm not sure what ones I need to get or if they are kind of universal for motorcycles. I'm thinking they are a universal tool but I was going to wait until I meet with this guy from advrider. We are tentatively planning to meet sometime in September. He's in Petersburg, VA so I can just grab that Jamestown ferry over and head west from Williamsburg. This guy has been around the world on his GS and has traveled down to Panama. He is supposed to help me with some troubleshooting and roadside repairs I may encounter. He also said he's going to subject me to a slideshow of his travels lol. I'm looking forward to it actually. He's going to give me an idea of what tools to carry along too. Not looking forward to ordering more stuff but I'm guessing my stock BMW toolkit isn't going to suffice.

Roughly I still have to buy (or consider buying) or do: Boots, Mexico/Guatemala bike insurance, possibly pants, any tools, an oil change, International Driver's License. I've come so far but it seems I still have a lot to do or buy yet. 2.5 months on the countdown...

 

So I'm out of Time Out and I got a load that took me out here to Kansas City. Smooth run. A little under 600 miles with a t-call like pickup at the drop yard in Indy and a live unload on this end at the Sams Club DC in Kansas City, KS. When they put this preplan on me I was still sitting waiting on a load. Every once in a while, while sitting back there in Greenfield, IN, I would send a message "Any loads?". I would then get back a message from my old, original DM that would state "Just the plan we have on you still going to NY". And so it went for hours and hours. I'm stubborn.

Found a nice little, quiet place to park behind a Walmart in Roeland Park, KS last night. I was trying to head to park at one of the two Walmarts in Overland Park last night when I passed this non-Supercenter Walmart in Roeland Park. The customer section of the parking lot was tiny and crowded but as I traveled on the side road passing by and neared the back of the building I saw a sign for a truck entrance. So I turned in. Usually I have a good plan of where I'm going to park before I get there but I was having trouble deciding on a place yesterday. I turned into the rear of this Walmart and parked near the dock for a few minutes with the 4 ways on while I was put on hold waiting to speak to a manager to ask about parking out back. A bobtailed Walmart driver pulled up and I talked with him for a few to ask his opinion on me parking back there somewhere. Cool guy. He suggested that I park along a fence once he pulled the trailer out or along a curb behind the CVS attached to the Walmart. The manager finally got on the phone, I explained to him that I had a Sams Club load and needed to do some shopping and parking. Behind CVS was fine he said. So there it was. Quiet and I was the only truck back there and probably the only truck that would fit into those few parking spaces behind the buildings.

I'm waiting on a load to get me back out of here. It's hard to believe that there isn't a bunch of freight out here in the Kansas City area. I left the consignee this morning and made my way across the state line a few miles away into Kansas City, Missouri. Wish I was a little closer so I could explore the downtown area.

I have a 24 hour credit I'm using through Wandering Wifi and I was lucky enough when I pulled into the J this morning to grab a spot up front in full view of the wifi towers. Great signal here. I guess, until they get me a load, I'll just plan out some things with my trip and wait.

 

I know all about him. On my advrider.com forum we've been following the progress of that case for a while. I'm not sure what happened to him down there but it is kind of unusual. I'm in contact with some folks that go down there often, gringos like myself, and they are fine. I"ve researched where that rider went and I'm avoiding that area. I've also been on the state department website to research high risk areas and I'm staying out of those as well. The only section where I'm going that I worry a little about is the border areas and I'm using smaller, less dangerous border crossing to go in and out. I'm using Presidio, TX into MX and Matamoras, MX/Brownsville, TX on the way back in to the U.S. No worries.

Those who are involved in the drug trade are at the most risk. And just following some basic gut instinct and rules keeps you mostly out of trouble. I wish there were more details on this rider's death. It's pretty unusual.

 

Steve...

I looked into this and you are absolutely right. Something I hadn't thought about was the miles going down to the Mexico border and then back from the border to home. I'm not sure how I managed to not take that into consideration. You would think as a truck driver that mileage would be on my mind but I think I pushed it back onto the back burner.

It is roughly 1900 miles to the border. So mileage just getting to the Mexico border from home and then from the Mexico border back to home on the way back is 3800 miles!! That's not including any miles that I ride into Mexico, Guatemala or Belize.

So my plan, as of right now, is to keep the used Tourances I have on the bike until I get to the border or nearby (maybe Texas or possibly in Chihuahua) , carry the new TKC's on the back of my bike down there and change them out or near the border. I'm also going to call a few BMW dealerships that come recommended (there are about 15 down in Mexico) and see if one of them in Mexico City can order and hold a pair of TKC's at the dealership for me for the way back.

So I will basically ride the used tires down to the border, change into the new TKC's at the border, ride down through Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and back up into Mexico and get another set of new tires put on in Mexico City to ride back up and home.

I'll know more tomorrow or the next few days when the dealership is open again.

 

Trip planning continues.....FINALLY my route is completed (even if it is a little bit tentative)...

So I'm still sitting here at the Flying J in Kansas City, MO. No loads so it gives me some time to do more research, contact those who have done this type of trip and to finish my routing.

At one point yesterday the Flying J's wifi reset itself after I had put about 4 hours into my routing. I did the routing all the way from Virginia down to the Belize border and lost everything. I was about to go into a fit of rage lol. So I started all over again.

I broke the routing into 3 different sections. I saved them all, sent them to myself via email and I sent them to my Facebook and my mom's Facebook for safe keeping. I don't know if I have any sanity remaining to reroute this whole thing again.

I contacted a guy in Austin that travels down to Mexico a few times a year and I'm asking about whether I should get my bike insurance online before I go or just go in person when I get down to Texas.

I also need to get a TVIP. This is a Temporary Vehicle Import Permit. It basically ensure that you will not sell your vehicle while in Mexico. So to get it you put down a refundable deposit (something like $400) and they give you a fancy sticker to put on your windshield. Mine will probably be in my pocket with my passport so it doesn't walk away on me. When you are leaving Mexico you go back to the TVIP office, hand in your sticker and they give you your deposit back.


Border process...

So the border process is something like this:
- Import yourself
- Import your vehicle
- Get insurance
- Eat tacos.


Bloody, chaotic, hilarious drunken horse races...a theme for the ride.

I am going to post my adventures on the advrider site but I've been thinking of a theme. Something to center the whole trip on instead of just "another guy on a bike roaming around Mexico/Guatemala/Belize". So I think my goal and the theme of my trip will center on making it down to Todos Santos Cuchumatan, Guatemala for the Drunken Horse Races (and All Saints Day). Huehuetenango Guatemala is where the festivities are centered.

link..

http://loca4motion.com/2012/03/28/todos-santos-a-drunken-guatemalan-horse-race/

Every year during the holy festivals down in Todos Santos Cuchumatan they have horse races. This takes place on the days leading up to November 1st. Perfect timing for me. Ahhhh, but there is a catch...

The residents are mostly of Mayan decent and speak an ancient language called Mam. The contestants spend the day getting drunk as can be and then races horses loaned to them by locals. Each lap they drink a little more and contribute to their already state of intoxication. The races are a weird mix of fun, brutality and chaos. A perfect photographic experience and an even more perfect goal. I need to get to Todos Santos by November 1.

Youtube link to drunken horse races.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj8LX1K11xg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-e84F4kdkM


The route(s)...

I broke my route into three sections.

Section 1... Williamsburg, VA to Durango, Mexico

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zr09czqONnTU.kj3VHZodg1dI


Section 2...Durango, Mexico to Guatemala/Belize border

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zr09czqONnTU.kcFMirgh8U28


Section 3...Guat/Belize border through Yukatan Peninsula, Mexico back up along Gulf of Mexico, through Veracruz, Mexico City (DF), Guanajuato, Monterrey and back up to Williamsburg, VA.

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zr09czqONnTU.kCVXz0KAoK68


Just got a message from this guy in Austin that wants to review my routing. He just told me that he gets his insurance online and the TVIP card at the border. More to come...

 

Still no loads. Been here at the J since 0900 yesterday morning. Sometimes its hard to believe that there are no loads in the center of the U.S. not 25 miles from the Edwardsville terminal. I sent "any loads" messages all day to no avail. There's gotta be something going on in the morning.

I have 3 or 4 days left until home time. Im ready for it. I'm aiming to be in Virginia on Thursday although I put the home time request in for Wednesday so I can make sure I'm on time. For Thursday I need to do some trip prep, find some clothes for this wedding and maybe sneak a quick ride in. I'm planning on meeting up with that girl on Thursday night for a drink. I can't wait to see her again. She's accompanying me to the wedding so on Friday, the night before the wedding, we are going to meet up with all my extended family at the hotel. I can't wait to see all my Jersey family. It's been too long. Friday night should involve some imbibing and catching up. Saturday is the wedding and a full hotel floor after party. Sunday is recovery day. Monday back on the road hopefully heading west. Finally.

Today I finally worked all of my October vacation trip mileage. The grand total is 7590 miles. At an approximate 250 miles a day that is 30 days for all the mileage. I'm taking about 45:days off of work so that leaves me plenty of time for down time. Plus I will try and do 600 mile days to and from the border to allow more time out of country. Glad I got the mileage estimation out of the way.

Tomorrow it should be about that time to get a load back east and start heading for home.