The Ride from Columbia to Bolivia has gone fast! So much has happened that I have a hard time remembering what happened; the dates and places, it all starts to flow together as one giant awesome adventure.   Everyday there is something amazing that happens: outstanding vistas, great riding, interesting places and people, memorable events of some sort always happen.  We just never know what the day will be like as we load up our bikes in the morning for the day's travels, yet we know that something will unfold as we lay down the miles and explore yet another country on 2 Wheels.

I thought the riding through Central America was surprisingly good, but OMG !! - the riding in South America been was fantastic!   We did some incredible mountain riding on and off-road, tight twisties and sweepers, some very well-engineered roads, light traffic, great weather and breath-taking scenery.

We shipped our bikes by plane from Panama to Bogota, Columbia; for the most part, there was a little messing around on both ends but at the end of the day we got our bikes on the road in Columbia with a minimal amount of hassle.   We were picked up at the airport by Luis, a motorcycle enthusiast and long-time fan of Helge’s.   It was great to see a copy of Helge’s book, 10 Years On Two Wheels, on Luis' coffee table when we walked in, and it was great to see Helge autographing Luis' copy of the book.   It was fascinating to hear Luis tell his story for of how he first learned about Helge from a article Helge wrote for a motorcycle magazine twenty years ago.

Since reading that magazine Luis always wanted to meet Helge and here, over twenty years later, Helge was his house guest and signing his treasured copy of 10 Years on 2 Wheels.   Luis and his lovely wife did a great job of hosting us while in Bogota, taking care of us from the time we arrived at the airport in Bogota, to the time we left.   They even escorted us on their BMW R1150GS on the day we left Bogota, staying overnight with us before heading back.   Friendships were made and I know we all look forward to an opportunity to host this wonderful couple sometime in the near future; very special people that created some great memories for us.

We experienced great riding through Columbia and the people where welcoming and helpful to us throughout our travels there.   We never felt any concern or worry about traveling or being in Columbia. Like they say, "The only risk in Columbia is the risk that you will want to stay!"   I must admit the thought crossed my mind as we road those fantastic mountain roads.

Ecuador seemed like a quick blast, I think we were in and out of there in something like three days.   I, of course, remember visiting the Monument at the Equator, and that it was packed with hundreds of people for a Herbal Life convention in town.   The riding was for the most part quite good, and had great photops as we started seeing women in traditional dress.

Crossing the border into Peru was again like most border crossings.   It took several hours and without knowing Spanish would have been a real hassle.   As soon as we entered Peru, it immediately felt different, the whole socioeconomic picture really changed.   We entered through the northern part of Peru via the Pan-American Highway.   Long flat desert roads, with small towns along the way.   Dusty, unpaved streets with the garbage dumped outside the towns along the side of the highways.   During our first three days in Peru, we were all wondering why we came here.   We then headed into the Lands of the Mountains!   Even though this was still economically depressed, the stunning scenery completely changed the feel of The Ride, and this changed our view of Peru.   We visited the Lines of Nazca - pretty wild, and the Cusco.   Unfortunately, because of the severe rain several weeks earlier, Machu Picchu was closed and would be closed for the next couple of months.   We were lucky though, because just recently, one of highways that had been washed-out by the flooding had just re-opened using a temporary road that was plowed alongside the washed-out main road; this allowed us to carry on our planned route and made for some interesting dirt riding.

If I had to pick my favorite part of this trip so far, I would have to say it was riding through Bolivia.   Not only is the riding "very interesting" (we had some great off-road riding as well), but the people are very interesting, a place that time had kind of forgotten, a country very unique, very different, and I would say a must visit if you ever travel to South America.   One observation was the peoples' reaction, or rather lack of reaction, to us and our motorcycles.   In the other countries we had visited, people were interested in our bikes, what we were doing, where we were from, and where we were going.

Again, the riding, which included a lot of off-road, was spectacular.   Of course, we had to ride the Road of Death (or as it is also referred to "The Most Dangerous Road in the World").  The ride to the Road of Death was fabulous mountain scenery along sweeping sealed highway.  The Road of Death itself, is, of course, an unpaved, narrow, twisty road, carved into the side of the mountains, with huge drop-offs to the side a of couple thousand feet down, and of course, no guard rails!   To add to it, and this is what I think makes the road so dangerous, trucks use this one-lane narrow road as well.   Roger had a close encounter with a bus or truck that he met on this road in a corner.   Fortunately, both stopped in time, so there was a foot or two between Roger's front wheel and the front of the vehicle. Roger, unshaken, had to back his bike up out of the corner, then get as far over to the side as possible to let the truck past.

Roger, being the quick-thinker that he is, figured out how to avoid this situation of meeting trucks in these blind corners on this narrow mountain road - he just signaled for me to go first and he would follow !!!

I’ve been very impressed with the performance of the BMW R1200 GS Adventure.  It is quite impressive that you can take this huge bike and blast down rough dirt, mud or sandy roads, take on the bumps and stream crossings, then blast down a sealed highway, with plenty of passing power on tap to easily skirt past other vehicles, all while carrying a large payload.   Of course, you have the add advantage of the large fuel capacity, something like a 700 kilometer range per tank.  The bike takes the beating from riding off-road and has the comfort and performance for riding long distances at high speeds.   It handles well off-road and handles great on twisty mountain roads as well.

This is my second BMW R1200GS Adventure with the Electronic Adjustable Suspension, which allows changing the suspension and clearance with the touch of a button.  You have five pre-load settings, including two for off-road, and each has three damping settings: Soft, Normal and Hard, that’s 15 total settings!!!   Pre-loads are adjusted with the bike running in neutral, the damping can be changed on the fly.   I usually ride in one of the off-road preloads and when cursing down a smooth highway switch the damping to soft for an easy plush ride to make it a little more comfortable.   When I see some twisties coming up or am heading off-road I push the EAS button and bang up the damping to Hard to stiffen-up the suspension.  I know the general rule for Adventure riding is Keep it Simple; less complicated equals less problems.   That said, I have not had any problems with the EAS or the shocks on my last two Adventures, and would most defiantly order this great option again on my next bike.

We have just pasted the half-way point of the trip, and thoughts of the end are crossing our minds.   We don’t want it to end, yet we know it has to, so we talk about either doing it again next year, or dream about where should we travel next.   Nothing beats crossing borders with a good group of people on 2 Wheels: what a great way to travel, what a great experience!   In some way, by doing these trips, we get an understanding of how Helge could ride his motorcycle around the world for 10 Years.   It is such an incredible experience that every day, you realize anew, “It’s a Great Day to be a GlobeRider!”

- Vincent

Thoughts on The Ride thru Columbia, Peru, and Bolivia

• Columbia is a beautiful country.

• I never felt unsafe in Columbia.

• Columbians are a very friendly and proud people.

• I enjoyed being with Luis Gabriel Mojica and his wife Anabella.

• The riding in Columbia is fantastic and so is Luis’ enthusiasm for Columbia and in riding BMW’s.

• Shipping the bikes by air from Panama to Bogota was not too hard and saved a lot of time.

• The restaurant that we went to with Luis and Anabella was unbelievable. It was able to seat 3,000 people. The name is Andres Carne de Res.

• We met Miss Columbia 1985???, I think.

• Columbian women are VERY good looking!

• Dan thinks the women have a butt fetish?

• Ecuador is a beautiful country with great riding.

• Quito surprised me in that it was such a big city.

• The local women dress in traditional dress.

• Northern Peru was very poor and the roadsides were trash dumps.

• We crossed the Equator outside of Quito and I did not realize it because I was looking for my GPS to go to zero latitude. It went from North to South in about one second and I did not notice it. The next day we took a taxi to the equator and took a lot it photos.

• Road from Ecuador to Nazca was hot and dry on the desert.

• The road to Huaras was not passable because of mud. I am sure we missed a great ride but my legs are still too short for mud on a BMW R1200GS Adventure!

• We went by Lima. I have been there before and we did not miss anything.

• Stayed overnight in Pisco and I did not drink another Pisco sour . . . .

• The ride from Nazca to Cusco was fantastic.

• The hotel we stayed at on the road to Cusco had a place for Vince and I to fish and catch dinner.

• We could not go to Machu Picchu because of the floods.

• Cusco was empty of tourists because of the floods.

• It was a wonderful early morning ride to Puno on Lake Titicaca, where we went out to the people who live on the floating islands.

• Rode around Lake Titicaca and took a ferry across to get to La Paz.

• La Paz is a big city where we had to ride thru a carnival and got bombed by balloons filled with water and shot with water pistols. Carnival lasted for almost a week and everywhere we went we got hit with water.

• I was nervous on the “Camino del la Muerte” but made it with no major problems. Almost came head on with a bus and had to back up to let it pass. The traffic on the road makes it dangerous. Beautiful scenery and a great ride on dirt.

• La Paz to Uyuni was a great ride on mostly dirt and we stayed at a hotel made out of salt.

• Toured the salt flats that had some water on them but we could drive a four-wheel truck out. Did not take the bikes because of the salt getting in the electrical systems.

• Uyuni to Potosi was another great ride with some rain and a little mud. Potosi was a gold and silver mining town that was typical Bolivian.

• Potosi to Tupiza, where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed by the Bolivian army. S aw some American and Canadian kids traveling thru Bolivia.

• Bolivia is very poor and has a very low economy. There are many dirt roads and dirt streets in most of the small towns.

• The altitude was a factor when we first arrived in Cusco, but after being in the high altitude for a few days we got used to it. The only problem is I had some trouble sleeping.

• Bolivia was one of the most interesting countries that we have traveled thru.

-Roger

Dan "The Professor" Moore is blogging the ride as well.  If you're interested in viewing his commentary and photos, please click on the image below: