Skip to main content

Motoventure Day 10: Finally IT BEGINS!

P1040317

After all the waiting, after all the drama, after all the jealousy, hype, rage, fear, disappointment and pain…  We shall begin!  Though I have to admit, reading about a car falling into "the abyss" and some guy getting robbed of s/3,000 by two guys in a mototaxi made a weird start to the day.

 

P1040331

I have been assigned a mototaxi, I had literally the very last one in the hat when we drew (all remaining teams but four or so will be leaving tomorrow).  I have named my trusty steed "Jau" in honor of Jau-Ling Chou, who did the Rickshaw Run earlier in the year and inspired me to do this.

 

Lucky me, four out of the 18 bikes were 150cc instead of 125cc and all the kind people accidentally left one for me!  This means I will have a slightly easier time of it, as my extra 2hp (for 13hp total) gives me a noticeably smoother ride when starting and getting going.  I'm quite excited!

 

P1040324

Paperwork just arrived from Lima and we will be set to go shortly – they are sorting it in the lobby right now.  Starting at 4:30AM tomorrow morning we will be able to get our paperwork and leave.  The current plan for me is to wake up around 5AM, grab a shower/etc., get my paperwork, and load up all my stuff into a taxi to hit the training ground.  Warm up the bike and be on the road by 6:30AM to beat morning traffic in town.

 

P1040340 Since lots of people have had problems (I did check "Jau" out and he seems all good after some quick throttle tweaking and resorting some cables), I will probably be caravanning for the first day at least with Rob & Will and probably Scott & Nate as well.  This is going to ROCK!

 

Let's talk route…  The route we are planning to take doesn't even show up on Google Maps.  Heh.  Nutshell, we're heading from Huancayo towards Ayacucho.  Then the next day towards Cusco, then down south towards Lake Titicaca and La Paz.  I'm planning to head towards the salt flats after that, spending a night at Tehua in the north then riding across the salt flats (no one else actually seems crazy enough to try this from discussion) towards Uyuni.  After that it's up to Potosi, then most likely back up towards La Paz to end things up.  If I'm having a great time I'll extend the trip, otherwise that should be a solid 8-9 days of awesomeness that will stand on its own.

 

Thanks so much for sticking with me in all this drama and "boredom" over the last few days.  As of right now I've been spinning in Huancayo for over a week, so it's really a fantastic feeling to know I will finally be getting a mototaxi on the road.  VICTORY!

 

There's going to be some really good stuff coming, I'm sure of it! :D

Comments

Unknown said…
i can feel the adrenaline man! please try not to beat the crap out of me too much lol

take care man, and try your best to caravan, especially in the remote areas, which probably will be most of them. i'm looking forward to the adventure!
Balaji said…
All the best for Pete and "Jau".
Alex said…
I'm reading this in order from the beginning, so I don't know the outcome, but man I hope you get to the Altiplano salt flats. I have a friend who was there last year; his pictures look fucking amazing.

...yeah, it's a slow day at work here.

Popular posts from this blog

5 Things that Suck about Traveling Solo

I find it telling that it seems a majority of the interesting travel blogs I run across are written by solo travelers, most often women. I think there’s a reason why we write more than people who travel with friends or in groups and that it’s pretty self evident: it’s an outlet for our loneliness. In the last year and a half, the vast majority of my time has been spent away from home, alone. As I write this, it’s been over a month since I’ve conversed with anyone in my native language, and I can remember every single conversation in English for the month before that. The truth is, I don’t think I could have done this without the internet – without a blog to share my thoughts, without Facebook to see what my friends are up to, without the occasional e-mail to provide a façade of normalcy… without these things I’d likely have driven myself insane with my internal dialogue. Now, I grant, there’s a reason I travel alone and I do love it, but lately it seems all I run across in the blogosp

Gear Review: Sea to Summit Big River Dry Sacks

In the past couple months on the road I think I’ve spent more time riding my scooter through rain than I have in the dry – this is clearly reflected in the fact that as time has gone by I’ve invested more and more money in things to keep my stuff dry, since wet gear sucks. One of my favorite purchases for this trip is the pair of Sea to Summit Big River Dry Sacks I picked up just before leaving, in 13L and 20L sizes. They cost me around $20 each and are one of the best pieces of gear I’ve purchased in years – extremely durable, effective, and simple to use.

Tiger Muay Thai – Full Review

After spending six weeks training and living at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand, I wanted to write up some of my thoughts on the entire experience, the gym, and the trainers.  This will be a long winded post with a lot of detail – I encourage anyone considering spending time in Thailand training Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and/or Muay Thai give it a read, but anyone else may want to skip it. Background:   I visited Tiger Muay Thai (TMT) from February 22 to March 23, then returned again from April 15 to April 28, 2010.  I had no previous MMA or Muay Thai experience, though I did grow up wrestling.  I came into my visit with above-average fitness but definitely not close to elite level. The Gym Facilities: TMT is amazing, and they finished a big expansion while I was there.  There is TONS of room, with seven+ massive separate training areas of various sizes, tailored for MMA, Muay Thai, weight lifting, and crossfit style workouts (kettlebells/etc.).  Sometimes they definitely nee