Rideforsmiles, Solo Australian to Africa Europe and Beyond, starting June 26th 2011.

CONGRATS!!! You are a huge inspiration!!! Keep on GS'in around the world!!!

Yeah I concur. Sheldon you are an inspiration. It's a very enjoyable part of our lives seeing where others go and what their journey is.
Btw how is the F800 going, no real dramas with the mileage coming up?
I've recently bought a Dakar that has 90k but they are known for high mileage.


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Well done, congrats Sheldon. 3 years on the road is a testament to your endurance or is it that you hate the prospect of working more?
I think its a bloody miracle considering your riding an 800GS

Keep it coming. Not like I have a life or anything.

cheers pete

Great stuff,i have read your posts for awhile now and enjoy the story and photos,never lose your great sence of humour ,it serves you well!

Congratulations. That is a long time on the road...and it's been a hell of an adventure. We can gel the lows and the highs.

Like to see you around for a long time...Macca's? Really???

Congratulations on 3 years on the road thru so many countries and it must be about a year with Eva now?
I was at BMW Motorrad days same time as you en route to Russia and the Balkans but that was only 3 months
Keep up the good work and keep us smelling in our Winter Gloom

Congratulations - what an amazing and inspirational ride that you have done. Beers on me when you get to Perth!

Thanks for the messages guys, as for the Gs holding up I have it serviced regularly so here's hoping it keeps going ok for awhile yet. As for me and Ewa, yeah its is coming up on a year on the road together, her putting up with me would be like my bike with 1 000 000 k's on it, I wonder which one will break down first. I might have to pull the monkey wrench out of my pocket tonight and give her a good service, you bikers now how good they sound after getting them all lubed up and pumping them full of the good stuff. I am talking about the bike of course, geez internet people these days.


Left Flores today after spending one day longer than expected there and headed south through the beautiful Guatemalan countryside going past La Libertad the site of the massacre in 2011 where they decapitated 27 people and used a severed leg to leave a message in blood, all part of the drug turf wars but it was just innocent farmers that got in the way. Gives you some sense of the area we were riding through. What better way to start off the 4th year of my adventure.



The river crossing at Sayaxche

We arrived in the city of Coban it is the area near Semuch Champay which is on the tourist map as a must see. The last few hours of riding was in the rain so made for slow going in the hills. We rode straight into the Centro and found a good hotel with secure parking for 30 bucks so that was good. We unpacked and relaxed for awhile then headed up into town for something to eat. We try and limit going out after dark in places we don't know anything about but we were both hungry so we walked up into the Centro and ate out of one of the street vendors carts. It was wet and shitty but there was a whole heap of people around one so that usually a good sign it is ok. I fed one of the little street ruffians he didn't look to good poor little bugger. The town isn't very appealing Im not sure of I would be in a hurry to come back here, well really the only reason I would is if I had to pass through again.


The rain really slowed us up a lot the roads were pretty slippery and the last thing I need is coming down in Guatemala.











Came across this guy stuck in the middle of the road I have no idea what he was doing or what was wrong with the truck but I wasn't hanging around to long to find out in this weather.They were trying to straighten the broken down truck by tying a rope to a second truck with no luck.












This wasn't as easy as it looked fully kitted and in the end I needed a hand from a few friendly locals to hold it upright as I squeezed past the trucks trailer in the mud.










Here's a few picture's we took the next day it gives you some sort of idea of what it looks like.

We got up the next day and as it was the only predicted day of sun for the next week we thought we would take that opportunity to get out into the hills to Semuch Champey a natural pool place that is on the tourist trail out here in this part of Guatemala. While were packing I got talking to Michael a priest from Texas down here spreading the word, Im not your religious type at all and said to Michael I always just say my religion is kindness when Im asked, I have no problem with any religion as long as I is being used for good, sadly though I see it being abused all to often all around the world. I think I'll just stick to my religion of Kindness I don't have to convert anyone or chop anyone's head off, that just seems like hard work to me.

So on he bike we get eventually around 8 and off into the hills of Guatemala. Me and Ewa had had a bit of a disagreement last night and this morning don't ask me what about again I cant remember she would of been just bitching about something, its never my fault, hey this is my blog isn't it :) The road was still damp in areas from all the rain they have had around here, the funny thing we were told up the coast a little way that their wet season has gone on way longer than usual but when I talked to the local guy here this morning he told me it is raining all the time down here at this time of the year, Ok we had come 150 k's south so maybe we are in a different climatic area but I don't know maybe he is just the first person to tell us the truth about this shitty weather. The tires on the bike are getting down so when you hit water or anything like that it can give you a few moments pretty quickly. With all the rain in the area the road is pretty crap and I had to be extra careful going round blind corners as you really just don't know what is around the bend, there might not be a road for all I know, that wouldn't be the first time I have seen it. I was starting to get a little pissed off again as I had been told it wasn't that far and now Ive been on the bike riding for 1 and a half hours and im not there yet.

We come to a fork in the road, left or right, now there isn't to many streets signs out this neck of the woods but some signs don't need to much explanation. On the map is heaps longer this way and all dirt but who am I to argue with the local signage. As you can imagine Im not a happy camper having to do an extra 20 k's in the dirt fully kitted.

So off we go into the hills in the backwoods of Guatemala, its all going along nicely Im little pissed off with the road conditions and how far it had actually been but im ok, Ewa on the other hand is still in her mood, gawd give m strength. I stopped to take this picture to try and relax and enjoy the moment of being in the nether regions of Guatemala.







So we jump back on the bike and head off and not far down the road we come around this corner and there is these local Indian guys standing on the side of the road, one of them with a hanky over half his face, you know the old bank robber deal, NOW I have had Ewa on my case all morning the road has been shitting me Im already taking a 20 k dirt detour and this f&^ker thinks he is going to stop me with that machete he better go and get a bigger one than that, I flipped my visor up and threw them a smile and a wave and cruised right on by, who knows if I just dodged a scene but I can tell you I wasn't in the mood all I could think about was sitting around a nice fire snacking on Indian ribs. They were actually tiny dudes it wouldn't of been very fair if they did start something it would be like putting Butterbean in against a flyweight.


For you guys that don't know who Butterbean is here is a little clip of the destroyer himself. Come who didn't love this guy.

So we are riding along after that little episode and the road is actually really nice cruising through the countryside the dirt road is actually better than the tarmac we just left, we eventually arrived at Lanquin a small little town in the hills and that's where the fun began.

I had thought about booking into a hotel but with the weather expected to be raining for the next week we decided to go straight on and come out today, it was only another 11 kilometers so off went further into the hills. The road started off somewhat ok a little rough but nothing untoward. This hill was a lot steeper than it looked but the little rocks in the road made grip no problems at all.







There were a few sections where they just had to lines of concrete going up the hill like a driveway which wasn't any problem either you just ride fast and stay on the track. I didn't get a photo of this section but after the road deteriorated from then on.

Though it got worse it still didn't pose any problems.

















But then the fun started for real. the road started getting damper and damper.







And damper







And damper












until on my Michelin Anarchy's it was just slip sliding around everywhere, I was doing my utmost to keep the thing upright.












We rode along for a few more k's and were heading down this fairly steep section doing like 2 kilometers an hour just crawling, the front wheel was just sliding out from under me ad down we went. Damn it this thing is hard work. We tried to pick the bike up but it was just sliding off down the hill so we stopped had a break for a second then dragged it down along the slippery mud into the gully on the side of the road, We didn't take any pictures again unfortunately, what is it when your drop your bike all your thinking is picking it up again. but as you can imagine when you can drag a 250 kilogram motorbike easily through the mud across the road into the gully, it gives you some idea of just how slippery the conditions were.

We picked the bike on and pushed on but not far as we rounded the next corner, Ewa walking behind me now as I was struggling to even stay upright I saw the a hill that I knew I could get down but with these tires and the steepness of the rise there was no way I was bringing this baby back up there in these conditions. I sat and contemplated it for a few minutes not sure what to do we still had about 5 k's of crap to go and with the roads in tis condition that could be a fairly good ride.



To be a pussy or not be a pussy that is the question.

Pussy it was, so we turned the bike around, actually that wasn't an easy task in itself, I had to get Ewa to put her foot against the front wheel to stop it sliding out from under me, we eventually got it heading in the right direction and off we went back towards Lanquin.







The funny thing in this photois the girl on the computer was logged into Msn messenger what a classic out in the hills of Guatemala chatting away on msn :)

So this is just a short video on the way back out, I really should get myself a Gopro or something



And to think I just cleaned my baby the other day.

This is the video Ewa made up for me for my three years on the road.

Anyway back to the blog we got back to Coban we were thinking of just going back to the hotel we were at but it was still only just before 1 so I thought we will just cruise down the highway and kill some distance, Well in the end that distance was about 300 k's and we ended up in Antigua. By the time we arrived I was absolutely rooted let me tell you but the riding had been fantastic the c 5 north of Guatemala city is fun and being a Sunday afternoon the traffic wasn't bad at all.

We arrived in Antigua and found a nice little hotel Ev went into ask how much, ok 5 bucks each, oh great this is going to be a shithole right up Ewa's alley, but im not in any mood to argue I just need a bed to lie down Im in agony, it's been a massive day in the saddle but fantastic one all the same, I couldn't think of a better ay to spend Australia Day.







Some of Antigua it really is a beautiful little town, it is very popular with westerners coming to learn Spanish and I can see why it really is a beautiful place. Here's just a few pictures of the town.











One of the volcano's that surround Antigua was puffing a bit of steam off. By the look of this photo thel lens of the camera needs a clean.







The next day I thought since Ewa has been such a champion over the last few days I will wine her and dine her in one of the fanciest restaurant's in town.















Something in this next pictures gives the name of this fine establishment away.







If Ewa is looking at porn I've definitely died and gone to heaven. Of course she wasn't though she was looking at things to see and squiggly roads to ride but it's the thought that counts. This place has to be the nicest McDonald's I've ever seen and I've seen a few.







Antigua is really a nice place but with us having to be in Panama by the 3rd of March we decided that we would head straight on over to Lake Atitlan where we came here to see so we went back packed the bike up and rode the few hours over.


This is a place that might be right up my alley im sure ill be able to find a graveyard for Ewa to walk around so we can call it a draw. I still believe I made the deal of the century with that one, graveyards for being able to look at chicks without being hassled, all good in my books.







We arrived at lake Atitlan it took us a little longer than I would of liked I had started to feel really crook I was aching so bad I usually can stand up on the bike to stretch my legs bit I was so sore I couldn't even do that today. I was feel really nauseas a few times I was thinking I might have to pull over for a bit of a puke.

Here's our first view of Lake Atitlan.







We arrived at Panachela I think it is and rode straight down to the waterfront, by this time I was in no mood to be haggling looking for a hotel and looking for some dump like Ewa wants im taking this joint I don't give a rats ass how much it is, ok 70 bucks is a lot in Guatemala but it really is beautiful and has a toilet I need right NOW.



This is the view from our room worth every penny of 70 bucks after last nights debacle Ev had us in.







Time to walk down the jetty and take it all in.

a) Ewa rocks!

b) What an adventure. Please keep it coming!