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Announcements
Posted by: austin_arrest on 02/01/2009 09:41 PM
Updated by: perry on 11/26/2009 03:15 AM
Expires: 01/01/2014 12:00 AM
To Medellin
Back to Colombia
A lot has happened since my last story, but most excitingly was that we found awesome hot springs at the end of days, got taken out for a night on the town in Bucamaranga and Waaaaaaaahoooooooooo! down mountains and around 180 degree banked curves, wait, why can´t I slow down. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
NO BRAKES!
OH SHIT!!!
This was really scary. I have ridden a bike without brakes, but not down a curvy, mountain road. I was going way to fast to stop, and couldn{t stop when I tried. There was a semi-trailer taking up half of my lane around a curve. So I cut across the lane in front of the Truck, only to find a full size van moving the same direction and speed as the semi truck, so I went further across the lane, across the shoulder and was able to squeeze between the van and the guard rail of the highways clifflike edge. My left rear sidbag actually hit the rail and bounced me back towards the passing van. I was able to maintane control and keep moving foward while the other car passed and crossed back over to my lane. I took the next two curves with caution and stopped at a roadside tienda. That was a close call. I don´t think I have ever cut across lanes like that, not that close and not infront of a HUGE SEMI-Trailer.
When I stopped, I tried to stand up but something was wrong. My legs were shaking too much to hold me up. I took a few breaths, Perry arrived, we talked for a minute and I was able to get off my bike. We got some coffee and took a few minutes to collect myself.
We rode into Bucamaranga and hit it of wonderfully with the Bomberos. We called Jesús, who interviewed us on the side of the road on the way to Pomplona. He was busy that night but dropped by and said hi.
The next day we met for lunch at a Hari Krishna restaurant. Now I{m wasn{t sure about the dudes lady friend, but I thought she was different from the person he was with when he interviewed us. Whatever, so José is a playa, but then every 3rd person just happened to know him because he has a television program called Impact and he helps keep the po po in check. We made plans to meet later but it really didn{t seem like it was going to happen. I cooked and showered and it was long past the time we were supposed to meet. I was a bit relieved because I was kind of exausted from walking around all day. So we´re watching this motorcycle show and suddenly Dudes wife? shows up and tells us to jump in the car, we have a live interview to get to. So she speeds to the studio in warp drive disregarding every other car and person in the road. Then up to the studio and infront of a camera waiting for the commercial break to end. I was nervouse and didn´t like the idea of being on live television trying to speak a language that I do not understand very well, but what the hell. I also thought it would be hard to keep looking at the camera but the camera person just happened to be a super cute and funny female. So a bit easier than I thought, but apparently I aswered a question Dude didn´t ask.
Next we went to a Salsa club for drinks and dancing. This was the first time I had ever seen Perry start dancing before me. I´m pretty sure he got drunk before me also. This was pretty damn funny, because while everybody else was salsa dancing, Perry was disco dancing in front of some poor, unsuspecting, Latina that had asked him to dance. I´m postive she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Meanwhile I was watching, laughing, drinking, and dancing with Dudes wife and other random people. Later I aksed the same woman that danced with Perry to dance and she seemed shocked that I had rythm and actually had any idea of how to dance with another person. Then she actually wanted to dance, and having a good dance is soooo nice. After the Salsa club we went to some penthouse pool on top of a fancy hotel to celebrate with someone we did´t know. We showed up, drank wiskey and the party ended and everybody went home. But not before asking us about the women. What is it with this freaking question? Everybody and their mom, seriously, moms ask as well, about the women. Like, helloooo, yes there are beautiful women here and it is very frustrating, especially when the only females not afraid to talk to you are 15 and younger.
I got waterproof bagcovers made for super cheap and a friend of Julio, fixed front fender and my kickstand. Finally, after the whole time I´ve had that piece of shit on my bike, some guy welded it, bent it, and made it work, even with all of my bags on the bike. That mechanic rocks!
Another really fun thing about Bucamaranga was getting to know the guy working in an internet cafe. I don´t remember his or his friends name, but they were really nice. I was in there one day and they just gave me a beer. We started talking, they started playing Guns´n Roses and we kept drinking. They closed the shop and we got more beer and went to his apartment. This isn´t the first time I´ve found myself drinking with a bunch of new friends but it was far more fun. My spanish has improved and I can actually form sentences now, so I don´t drink until I pass out and droul on the couch. It was really interesting, especially the part about how I could understand them and they could understand me, and they didn´t ask the same stupid fucking questions, like de donde eres, de donde vienen, como monejar la bicicleta. Screw the FAQ, they were asking me about the difference in cultures in the countries we have travelled through. Finally, people interested in something other than my bike and someone other than the norte americano. For the first time in a while I found myself having a conversation about something other than my bike and my immediate travels. It was really nice so I went back and we all hung out on the roof of their apartment drinking the night before we left. Javier also made a special anouncement on his motorcycle show asking truckers to honk horns and keep their eyes open for cyclists on the road.
Leaving was a lot of fun but we stopped in Giron for too long and where flirted with by two women that knew we had to leave. How frustrating! So we made it just outside of Lebrija, camped at a place for free and left in the morning for Lebrija. We hoped for anything creative with pineapple, we saw pinapple and pinapple juice. Boring!. But we ate some, and it looked like I broke some vendors heart when I told her we were leaving. I had never seen someone look so distraught and disapointed that we were leaving. So she wanted a picture, what the fuck for, I have no idea, to tell some friends they saw a white guy. Great! Oh the other fun complement I have heard is "I like your nose". Not the rest, just the nose. The party on top of the hotel was weird like that. They asked me if it was fake and I had to explain that "no, it´s natural, not plastíc".
Porto Araújo was next and funny. We hung out at the center the whole time. We also learned very quickly that Porto Araújo was a red light distric. At first I thought weird, then funny, then it rained and everybody except a few people Perry was taliking to across the square went home and inside. So I walked over and joined the fun. They were really nice and invited us to breakfast. Then as we started to leave, the lady asked me if I needed someone to accompany me to my bed, uhmmm...no thanks, I don´t pay for that, And I especially don´t pay 50 year olds for that, but it was funny, made me laugh, and she cooked us breakfast when we found their house the next day. She also gave me a huge-ass, polyester, heavy as fuck, hot as hell, Postobon jersey that everybody seemed to love until I wore it for a day and soaked it with a full days worth of sweat. I was sure to clean and donate it to Brazil.
Taking the route that we have taken has been absolutly amazing. We have ridden from mountains in Venezuela, to the planes, to the mountains of Colombia then to planes then to hills, rolling hills, Big, Steap, Long until we find ourselves riding up another mountain. Then Flying down the thing weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Dropping mountains again was so fun. It had only been a few days or weeks but bombing mountains had not been the same. My brakes were still not right. I cleaned and adjusted them and they were better, but not good. So I was trying to take everything slow and pump my brakes. That worked until a big dip and drop in the road. I was going to fast for my brakes to stop me. Fortunately the rode straitened out more and had fewer wider curves, but I was forced to put my feet down on the pavement to slow myself down and control myself around the last few curves. I was going to fast to actually stand so I had to be careful of changes and cracks in the road and the speed bumps.Those were more like lauch ramps. I flew over those things and put my feet back down on the road and made a big wide circle up and around to the front of the restaurant. This time I could stand up. I replaced both front and rear brake shoes immediately. I have also replaced my front disc. Now I have awesome brakes again. Now I can bomb mountains again!
We got to Medellin and found a nice hostal. We went to the Botero Museum and walked around the city some. We also found some yummy cheese. I got to try bree for the first time I can think of.
We leave tomorrow for the coffee region. I´m excited! It will probably take us 3 days. I might also get to meet up with my friend Ligia from Cartegena. Coffee and Camping and Cartegenans and Brakes!
YEA!
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