From Madol-Duuwa to around the world

The starter mortor of Bruce had been giving me trouble since I started sailing the Pacific. There were many instances when it didn't work. I had to dismantle it about three times at sea and always managed to make it work. At one point, the plastic plate behind the brush spring fell into the sea and went down to the bottom faster than I could dive after it. So I had to replace it with some other plastic junk I found in my MacGyver box.
After having done all the work getting Bruce back on the road, the next trouble didn't wait long to greet me. Two days ago the starter failed completely. But hey, as that saying goes, "fortune favours the brave" I didn't have to wait long. This gentleman who's posing with me rode his BMW 1150 Sport and tells me to remove his starter and put it on Bruce. Don't you feel that this kind of stories are hard to believe? Do you think I give a damn about if you believe it or not?

I gotta bump you back to the first page to remind you to bring us back up to date. What have you been doing....I hope you're not in jail because you skipped some permit.

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9CrKN_Ot4XttRdbRkn3YrdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3POcAUqmPM8/TTXxdQFAUSI/AAAAAAAAXtY/3___YSB85ow/s288/P1040673.JPG" height="162" width="288" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/105133432232392762779/MotoTrailer?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">moto trailer</a></td></tr></table>

26th December

After waiting for so long in Bogota I started my ride towards south yesterday. It was a beautiful ride on a sunny day through some of Colombian nicest landscapes. The freedom I felt to be back on the road & the feeling of the journey was unbelievable. But things didn't go that smoothly as you can see it in my photos. I decended 2400 meters back to almost sea level and then on the way to Cali there were some serious climbs up to 3200 meters above sea. But about half way into the climb I started feeling the most dreaded things which you can feel as a mechanic: the clutch slip!!! From there onwards I knew that I had to take things easy. Still more than three hundred kilometers to reach Cali on steep raods in some places more than 12%, I started creepin along the road with no more than 1/4 theottle open & avoiding clutch use to save any more damage to the components. But when I reached Cali, things were again on my side. I was greeted by a friendly family who opened their luxury home for me & took me out for dinner & made arrangements to find a place to take old Bruce apart.....

After taking the bike apart I managed to get the clutch relined in Cali withing two hours for 25 dollars compared to 250 dollars for a new one and delivery time of 3 days.





The problem with the clutch wasn't exactly wear and tear. One of the oil seals had become faulty and the clutch got unwanted smearing. BMW again told me that this costs 20 Dollars and delivery time 3 days. But searched the town and found the same oil seal for fifty cents



I worked on the bike one whole day till late in the evening and got the bike repaired. John ( in the blue T-shirt on far left)the owner of the workshop who let me work there was immense help and became a good friend who admires adventure.





This is one of the living rooms of Jaidos fancy house.




Jaido's maid making me a drink for breakfast.




Despite breakdowns, I was fortunate enough to find a decent bed...



And Jaido looked after me too well feeding me and providing anything I needed during my stay.



The gaping hole.

Finally I was on the move hoping to get out of Colombia. As I was trying to get out of the chaotic city Cali a good portion of the day had already gone wasted. Since I hadn't been able to be online I was searching for connection.
I met these guys on the road at a traffic lights. I asked Raul (on the right) if he knew where I find wifi. He takes me to his house & gives me food for the road. These Colombians are super nice!

***Life is like that***

The day before I set sail on my raft towards Colombia, I met up with Jerome the Frenchman at a bar who provided me a place and tools to work on my raft. He is an excellent and experienced sailor and he showed lot of concerns over my safety.
“The ocean can turn from calm to fearsome within couple of hours. I have been caught up in storms many times. You can hardly do anything but just sit and wait in the cabin. There were two occasions my boat even rolled over completely” he went on.
“If you were inside, how do you know that your boat rolled over” I asked Jerome.

“Well, I was sitting on the ceiling for a short while!” came the answer.

Happy New Year Dylan

Dylan, I just caught up with your RR. Yours is an inspiring and amazing journey. I wish you the best of luck for your future travels.

Inspiring journey!

Thanks for taking the time and effort to share.

Good luck on the bike repairs.

Dylan,
Thanks for the update. I love reading about your adventures.
When you are done with this journey you should write a book.
I will be the first to buy it.

I am reading your RR with great pleasure.......Truly inspiring in it's scope and detail...........I tried to send a contribution of a few dollars, but am having trouble......rather paypal illiterate that I am.......Is there an email address associated with your paypal account?
Smooth sailing/riding etc etc.........

Great to hear you have gotten back and on the road again. Now that you have torn the bike down to bare bones, hopefully Bruce will stay fixed for a lot longer between fixes. Would it be possible for you to post a wishlist of parts that you may foresee a need for or if in a pinch but having time would allow the inmates following your RR to mail you stuff? I had 3 sight glasses I could have shipped you for instance. Of course your mailing address would change but if you were stuck somewhere, would it matter? I know that I would look out for ya, I'm sure other inmates wouldn't mind dropping a few $ and parts to see this happen for you.

Hope all is well and we are all looking forward to your next updates.

Good Luck

Ron

Just finished this report, most excellent!

Can't believe you didn't open the can first

I hope you are well Dylan, it's been a couple of months.

WOW


Late to join the party. What a party it has been!
You think outside the box, a big,big, big box!
Subscribed and all in.
You definitely take solo adventure to a new level!

My intention was to ride as close to the Ecuador border as possible. But once I reached a small town called Timbio, I was warned by a few people that the route is dangerous. Couple of different people gestured to me with pulling the trigger of a gun and said don´t ride at night. So I proceeded till I found a fuel station and camped for the night. It was a well deserved rest. However, around 3 a.m. I heard the bike crashing to the ground and the sound of a truck reversing. I feared the worst. Screeming on top of my voice I ran out of the tent. By then the truck driver had already realized his mistake and started driving off. I was so lucky that he didn´t flatten the tent and myself in it!





There may be scientists who will have a scientific definition of the word beauty. If you ask me the same question I have a simpler answer. It's whatever makes you feel good. Region between Pasto and Ipales. Colombia

It wasn't without fear that I crossed the border into Ecuador yesterday. Six months ago when I left Bruce in Bogota meant Bruce has been an illegal alien in Colombia. When I last entered Colombia, the requirement was that I take the motorcycle out of the country upon my departure. But I didn't stick to that plan. The insurance policy for the bike covered it only during the 90 days of my previous arrival. So this time I was up to dodgy business. Riding more than 900km without being legal on the road required extra attention. In an event of getting involved in an road accident is as good as throwing everything out of the window. But getting pulled up by the police at a random check points could be overcome by dubious means. Since the renewal of the insurance wasn't possible without proper papers, I decided to extend it myself using the printer at home. (Photo) The original dates mentioned on the certificate were from 2013. 05. 12 till 2013. 08. 12
In my office at home I managed to extend it till 2014. 03. 12 It's amazing what you can do with simple printers nowadays!