Following the Equator, an Ecuador Fly-N-Ride

I have mentioned before that I am blessed, perhaps excessively, with a beautiful and understanding wife, three amazing kids, and a rewarding career.

At this stage of my life it works out best for me to ride the world in short installments...

In 2011 I rode through the Sacred Valley of the Incas to Machu Picchu with my friend Culin:




In 2012 I experienced Earthquakes, Beaches, Monkeys, and Crocodiles riding Costa Rica Solo:


In 4 hours I depart for Ecuador to ride the center of the earth on a KLR 650, again accompanied by my good friend Culin.


The ride report will continue when I return .

In~!!!!!!

Me too, I'll be checking this out. Awesome!

Cheers

Interesting to see where you go......
You'll like it here.

Pour it on.....

Nice to have you along!

I hope you will enjoy the ride report, Ecuador is an amazing country!

More to come soon.

Hectoglider,

Your Ecuadorian travels have been inspirational to me, and we are currently following some of your tracks.

It is amazing you are posting your ride report from the road; this is day 5 and it is the first occasion we have had reliable Internet access.

Thanks,

Yea. Well as you can see in the RR we are operating a bit differently.
When you fly in for a dozen days of ADV, you wanna maximize. We on the other hand have been here a month, and iirc we had an 11 day stretch where 3 days were riding and the rest was parked with feet up.....

I wish I was back on the beach in Ecuador!

We are back, we survived, and the ride report will soon begin. In the mean time wizzerwheel and EvilClown have an excellent Ecuador thread here:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=881478

If that is not enough, hektoglider is just completing his Ecuadorian leg here:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=885887

That should buy me some time to go through all the pictures and videos



Cheers,

CulinT and I were business partners for many years. He travels well, is young, and has a full head of hair:



I lack all of those traits but still enjoy a good motorcycle trip:



Britney was our surprise guest:





The Britney picture was acquired as a joke at a trade show 12 years ago and slipped into CulinTs suitcase. He was surprised to find her when he returned home.




Months later the office received a call; Culin had forgotten materials for an important sales meeting and needed them overnighted across the country for early morning delivery. When he opened the FedEx during the meeting, to the great amusement of his colleagues, Britney fell out of the package onto the conference table.






Since that time Britney has made countless trips throughout North America, greeting the unprepared at sales meetings, seminars, trade shows, etc. Our Britney probably has more mileage than the real Britney, and has been a constant reminder to arrive prepared.




We are still not sure how Britney turned up in Culin's suitcase in Quito, Ecuador!

Ride well. My brother and I probably will spend a few days on motos when we head to Ecuador in August to see family.

Look forward to reading more about your adventure!

i

I hope you wash your hands after handling that thing.....

mopulga,

Ecuador is a beautiful country to explore by moto, enjoy!

The whole Fly-N-Ride concept works well for us... Pick an interesting spot on the globe, fly in and rent appropriate bikes for the terrain, enjoy an adrenaline filled ride through unfamiliar landscapes, and experience the culture and climate of a unique region.

So where in the world are we riding? For the geographically challenged, Ecuador is here:


Our plan was to rent bikes in Quito and make a counter-clockwise loop traversing the Andes Mountains, Mindo Cloud Forest, Lowland Jungle, Pacific Coast, Quilotoa Volcano Loop, and back up to Quito in roughly the center of the country:

We booked an evening flight from DC to Quito via Panama on Copa Airlines using AmEx points.

Culint enjoyed one last Five Guys burger before departing the USA:


I opted for the Copa Airlines shredded chili beef. I was surprised to be given a real steel-bladed serrated knife on an airplane:


We landed in Ecuador at midnight, collected our gear, cleared Immigration and Customs, caught a cab, and arrived at our hotel in downtown Quito at 1:30 AM. Our room at the Hotel Reina Isabel was comparable to a nice NYC hotel, but the night club directly outside the window was jamming loud tunes until 4:00 AM.


More to follow...

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