Breakdowns and breakthroughs: from La Paz, Bolivia to the Altiplano

About my breakdowns.    Bike breakdowns, not Beadle breakdowns, separate category.  Almost.

From an email to a sport biker pal I used to ride with from Santa Barbara up 

Hwy 1

 to Laguna Seca occasionally (with James, RIP). Married to a Peruvian from Huari (not far from Huanaco, except 

the

 tortuous "roads").   Copied to Drew's brother, who rode SFO/AK/TIERRA DEL FUEGO/BA/SANTIAGO -- 9 years ago on a GS 1200.   

I'm so lucky, it's not fair.

Funny thing about GOOD luck.  Can't APPRECIATE it until it gets you out of BAD luck.

--------

On Dec 10, Michael wrote:

Is that your make-up kit on the back?  Where might this be? La paz.

On Dec 11, Bob wrote:

Your nonchalance matches that of the pizza delivery boy's askew tie down system.
In, yes, La Paz.   Most chaotic city I've seen- outside of India.
Left after two nights, half way down to Uyuni and the Salt Flats.   Almost didn't make it this far, fill you in soon... 

On Dec 11, Michael wrote: 

It was the first thing that came to mind.
That's a lot of salt on the satellite  shot.  Any resemblance to Bonneville salt flats?  The fastest land speed record set by a beadle.
Are you going south via Tupiza, Vialzon or Tarija or west to the Reserva National Alta Koa, Calama,  Chile or Argentina?
"Almost didn't make it"?  After all this time and miles?  Come on cowboy, don't drop it now!

On Dec 12, Bob wrote

 

I think so.  But much bigger than Bonneville.  "The biggest".   Punctuated by technicolor lakes in prmary tones.  And much else.
Tupiza, etc to the west are probably worth it, especially if you want to see  Butch Cassidy & (etc)'s last stand (I'll pass), and like cowboy country.  And are going to Argentina.  (I'm not, not yet...)    You have to choose.   I choose Uyuni, and the Salar de Uyuni.  A good alternative, best I can think of to doing Tacna/Peru and most of the Atacama Desert.  Unless it has recently rained much in which case too much may be under water, obliterating the tracks, the only guide in most places across.  Three main wains across, A few bike problems, I may hook up to a tour the Colombian "angels" (see last mail) plan on taking, leaving their bikes here in Potosí.  (Because they're going to Argentina, specifically BA and will have to return here anyway.)   

Eventual destination:   San Pedro de Atacama and Chile.

Huanaco to Huaraz:   Clutch cable parted.   Rode without until I spotted an old mechanic working on a bike in front of his shop.

Cerra de Pasco (around 5000 m.):   Rear brake out.   Fixed by adding brake fluid at the next MC shop.

Cañon del Colca:   Carb diaphragm came loose, sucking air.   

Altiplano south of La Paz

 (middle of nowhere, specifically):

  

E

lectrical short, middle of nowhere fixed by Colombian

 Cavalry, two up two bikes out

 of nowhere.   With whom I'm here in Potosi now.  

Potosi:   New Carb problems???   Barely running entering the steep, traffic laden streets of Potasi well after dark, looking for a hostel, hotel that didn't seem to exist.  Until the Mechanic's wife rounded a place up, where i am now.

On Dec 12, Bob wrote:

Another thing I've learned alone out on the Altiplano   "Middle of nowhere" is somewhere.  

Chacas Market

Cachapoyas Market, lots of fruit from the Amazon of which this high
altitude town is the Provincial Capital.   (??)

Robust sandal replacement for my Keen's, "disappeared" at the border.

Robust alright.

Cusco Hostal with Brazilian riders

With 3 São Paulo, Brazilian riders (center) who arrived from Machu
Picchu and Bolivia yesterday at the hostal in the center of Cusco.
Argentine BMW 1200GS friend (right, his feet barely touch the ground)
starting back today to BA the same way through the Bolivia on a
whirlwind annual 3 week tour.

Race to Cuzco

I've started out doing 10 hour days, too.   Broken clutch cable, rear
brake went "out", smashed into a car at a toll booth ($ hassles),
downpour entering Huancayo after dark, I know what you mean.  And one
of the strangest, most obnoxious entry & exits from a town I've ever
been to.  It's been Interesting.

Assume the missing was due to the plug, burning oil.  It was but can't
be sure the higher altitude jet didn't help as well.   Bike has been
running much better.   Oil leak since Jaime's oil change, I'm not sure
what to do.  Suggestion?

Hoping to locate a T-Day option at a restaurant in Cusco.   I also
thought of going directly to Ollyntatambo or Santa Teresa for Machu
Picchu, too.  If it weren't for the rumors that you need to make
reservations for MP 3 days in advance in Cusco.  

Cañon del Pato

Just finished ride from Huanchaco along the beach and a gravel track to the Cañon del Pato to the top, now in Caraz. I know now what Michael's Peruvian wife Rosy  means about watching your head with the overhangs.  That's only with buses, though.  I pulled over to let a bus pass at a narrow spot next to a dropoff.  But the bus- on the inside- refused my courtesy.   What?   Then he motioned upward....  He couldn't go past because of the overhang. Which forced me to edge past on the outside, next to the dropoff.   Live and learn.    Love those solid black upside down horseshoe signs. They seem to refer mostly to those tunnels-  many of the 50 I encountered- that you must enter blind .  No light from the other end, no way to tell who's inside, or who's coming from the other end.  Worse, most of the road gravel scree has piled up all across the narrow road, except where car wheels have passed.  Their tracks..  Gotta stick to the tracks, or slide around.  Oh and no shoulders, just loose gravel.   Oh and for some reason it all continues inside the tunnels like outside.  Just that there is NO light in the blind tunnels, your eyes have no time to adjust to be able to see in the dark, and ya gotta stay in one track or the other.  Or go sideways, against a wall.  That is, IF you could see which you cannot.  And hope no one is coming, forgot that detail. Glad I made it out of the tunnels alive.

Special Report: An Aging Nation Braces for More Deadly Falls

As a Senior, this is just what I need!

Lights embedded in tracks up and over the Andes.

No more falls!

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SPECIAL REPORT Sunday, November 2, 2014 10:07 AM EST

An Aging Nation Braces for More Deadly Falls As the American population ages, the number of older people who fall and suffer serious, even fatal, injuries is soaring. So retirement communities, assisted living facilities and nursing homes where millions of older Americans live are trying to balance safety and their residents’ desire to live as they choose. They are hiring architects and interior designers, some of whom wear special glasses that show the building as an old person would see it. Some have begun to install floor lighting, much like that on airplanes, that automatically illuminates a pathway to the bathroom when a resident gets out of bed. The number of people over 65 who died after a fall reached nearly 24,000 in 2012, almost double the number 10 years earlier, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 200,000 Americans over 65 died after falls in the decade from 2002 to 2012. Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death in that age group. And more than 2.4 million people over 65 were treated in emergency departments for injuries from falls in 2012 alone, an increase of 50 percent over a decade.

Injury downtime in Huaraz

Arrived from Caraz at Huaraz, a big Andean city noted for adventure sports- trekking, climbing, white water kayaking, etc, surrounded by jagged snowy mountains.   One of the 4 Americans I've met several times along the way, Cajamarca and Caraz- rode my bike for me while I rode the van with the other 3.   Pretty nice, huh?

Quite a change.  Also, COLD, as accustomed to the tropics, or at least Southern California weather.   Around 70 during the day is not bad.  But in the 40's at night?  

Finally got an Xray before leaving, impromptu, quick.   No fracture.  No "fissures" (cracks).   Only trauma.

Should get better faster.  Instead of 3-6 weeks everyone thought, maybe only 2 weeks.  Maybe.

Small hotel run by Tito, brother of a Santa Barbara biker friend's pal here.  Julio does mountain bike tours in Peru.  "Olavaz's Guest House".  Ultra clean, efficient, together.  Again, quite a change.  The girls that work here are Indian, very sweet and bright.  They have been raised as part of the Olavaz family, not like 'maids'.  Again, seems like quite a change from, say, Brazil.

I hope to recover quickly and be on my way.   Because it is a real city, rather than a village like those I've been visiting, there will be more for an injured biker to do.  But I've missed seeing much of the dramatic Central Highlands around Caraz accessible only by dirt roads- where my lack of off road experience shows- and will also miss around Huaraz due to the injury.   But this is how things go.   Unfortunate experiences often have a very positive outcome.

My bed is on the left.

Other two are for Mr. Motorcycle...

Reorganizing, Leymibamba, Peru.
1/2 this stuff I still must learn how to use.  Learning on the fly,
steep learning curve...

The Cops & Me

In front of my Hostal in Chanchomoyas...

The "Policegirls" patrolling the Central Plaza stopped to alert me-
in the nicest way possible- to be sure and wear my helmet.  The Law,
you know.  Let me off with a warning, some cordial conversation as
well.

You know the drill.  Where are you from..where are you going...are you
alone...?  I said the Police in the US are not as attractive as they
are in Chancho.  They smiled, and asked if it were true cops in the US
beat up delinquents?  Here, they said, there is very little
"delinquencia".   I believe it.

Vilcabamba: impressions of expat paradise

The Longevity Story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilcabamba,_Ecuador

Hotel owner here scoffs.   Yeah, they USED to have people 130 years old.   Nowadays, no one is older than 100.   Pollution, Television, video games, drugs, etc. 

Very odd place.

A tiny valley lost near the SE Ecuador border.  5000 locals.   3000
gringos mostly in the hills around.   Trying to get a handle on it,
what's the attraction, the "meaning"...?   So far, it makes no sense.
 I like the Ecuadorians very much.  Can't necessarily say the same for
the gringos. 

Well it is a foil to Cuenca 4 hours from where I rode yesterday.  A
cosmopolitan gringo retiree mecca, Eternal Spring, many after cheap,
good health care.  Costa Rica XVIII.

The Bike

Loaded for the trip

Spot Tracking Link

You may have seen this before.    Findmespot that his father gave Marcos, the guy selling me the bike.   

Hardware (about $100) + $100 (annually).    (Versions slightly more costly, every minute).

Allows friends, family to see exactly where you are.

Very useful now to reconnect c. 20 hours drive up the Pan American from here.

    

Also for emergencies.  "SOS" feature:    Hit the button to show exact location anywhere in the world.

Just looked a half hour after leaving here at the hostel in Lima, heading toward the Ecuador border.   Works very well.

Now you can see where I am & where I've been

Tracking link. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0cJge55ClxDT1TdJ3NL0s7FIgCF4eVvFC

Peru Earthquakes

Ok, then I'll feel right at home.  Our own San Andreas Fault and the Nasca Fault here.

Who said two faults don't make a right?

Begin forwarded message:

From: Neil Stebbins
Date: September 29, 2014
To: Bob Beadle <bobbeadle@gmail.com>
Subject: Beware of Earthquakes

Peru earthquake kills eight in Andes village

Eight people are confirmed to have died in the earthquake

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• History of deadly earthquakes
• Peru hit by 6.3 magnitude quake
• Peru profile 

At least eight people have died in an earthquake in southern Peru, officials announced on Sunday.

The 4.9-magnitude quake hit the Cusco region in the early hours of Sunday.

Worst affected was the remote Andean village of Misca, where 45 homes collapsed killing four children and four adults, emergency workers said.

The authorities have declared a state of emergency and President Ollanta Humala has said his government will help rebuild the village.

Dirty Bike. Clean Guy

My impression is very good, well

maintained bike, and a sterling guy couldn't be better more accommodating, honest, I feel very lucky.   Last minute parts changes that are probably unnecessary but will extend life without doing them:  new front and rear sprockets & chain.   

Spent 3 hours unpacking and packing bike storage at the hotel just to see if everything fit.  The 2 panniers hold 35 l each, the tank bag unexpanded 17 l., my Walmart ("unsubmersible") so called dry bag 40 l. and the ammo box for food-water & other non-valuables.   

Result:  more than enough room, and his stuff to take back to San Fran also fits in the vacuum bags. 

If the rear sprocket (I did not bring down with me like the fronts & chain) arrives at the Kawasaki store today, I'll bus it 16 hours North to Piura tomorrow, connect to another for 5 hours to the Ecuador border and Macará to make the exchange.

First View of South America

9/26/14, Morning

Somewhere over Colombia-Ecuador-Peru