Around the world on a GS850G for a cause

[BassCliff]

Hi Adrian,

You are a good man. Your help is appreciated very much.

Usted es un hombre bueno. Su ayuda es muy apreciada.

Thank you!



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[BassCliff]

Hola, Soy Eliseo y estoy esperando la llegada de Chris a Montevideo, Ayer le sugerí que cruzara para Uruguay en el puente Fray Bentos . Tu tienes una idea de que ruta va a hacer?

Hi Eliseo,

Thank you for your help. It is good for Chris to have a friend when he is so far from home.

Gracias por tu ayuda. Es bueno para Chris tener un amigo cuando está tan lejos de casa.




Gracias por su indulgencia,

BassCliff

[Eliseo Monteverde]

Hi Eliseo,

Thank you for your help. It is good for Chris to have a friend when he is so far from home.

Gracias por tu ayuda. Es bueno para Chris tener un amigo cuando está tan lejos de casa.




Gracias por su indulgencia,

BassCliff

It is a pleasure to my, can help people from this forum, from this place on the earth in what I can, I have been helped and learnt a lot since I have met this great group called GSR eight years ago.
Cheers.

[Eliseo Monteverde]

Chris, If you still have problems with the threading of the #3 plug, when you get access to a machine shop, have them put a helicoil in it. I have used this to cure the problem on a # of bikes over the years. John

I have everything ready to do this work in my machineshop, if Chris wants to do it..

[shirazdrum]

Well just a quick note guys as i'm eating lunch and getting back on the road. the Uruguay border crossing went smoothly and i'm already a few hundred kilometers inside the country. I'll get to Montevideo tomorrow around noonish and will know more about the plug conditions. the bike is running fine despite the very hot weather and the ride is a beautiful one. I'll try to check in with more tonight.

[LADRI]

Thank you very much for all your comments, mine was just a small part in the whole operation that you made.

Eliseo, vecino, un gusto, te comento que mi sugerencia fue que cruzara por Fray Ventos, entiendo que lo hizo asi, yo no estaba seguro si el paso esta abierto en este momento pero me parecio la mejor opcion.
Bye everybody!!

Adrian

[Eliseo Monteverde]

Thank you very much for all your comments, mine was just a small part in the whole operation that you made.

Eliseo, vecino, un gusto, te comento que mi sugerencia fue que cruzara por Fray Ventos, entiendo que lo hizo asi, yo no estaba seguro si el paso esta abierto en este momento pero me parecio la mejor opcion.
Bye everybody!!

Adrian

Adrían, afortunadamente Chris parece ser que ya está en territorio Uruguayo.....de todas maneras te mando un link con una noticia de último momento.
Saludos.

http://www.elpais.com.uy/110127/ultmo-543626/ultimomomento/piqueteros-podrian-cortar-nuevamente-el-puente-entre-fray-bentos-y-gualeguaychu/

[Eliseo Monteverde]

Update about Chris in Uruguay

Just to tell you something;

Chris was with me 5 days in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.

We had a fantastic days repairing his bike and mine too.

He knew some of this city, some places were beautiful and others not so beautiful.

We were working on his motorcycle repairing the side stand and reinforcing it, then put on helicoil to spark plug hole # 3, also repair a camshaft thread holder, changed front brake pads, repaired the button to reset the odometer, and some other minor work.

I think tomorrow will be on the way to Paraguay by Argentine routes again.

It was a great pleasure for me,family members and friends have known him.

Christopher is a person that when shakes hands with you, leaves the fragrance of friendship.

[Billy Ricks]

Christopher is a person that when shakes hands with you, leaves the fragrance of friendship.

One of the nicest things I've ever seen written. I need to remember that one.

[BassCliff]

Christopher is a person that when shakes hands with you, leaves the fragrance of friendship.

Beautiful!

I want to say "thank you" for the friendship you demonstrated to Chris.



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Poncho68147]

Just came across this story for the first time today. What a truly inspiring act of humanity. I wish the rider well in his long journey.

[Eliseo Monteverde]

Billy and Bass Cliff , thanks for your comments about the phrase that I put. Many years ago I learned it, but Cris was the first time that I could use.
You are also good guys, years ago you helped me fix some things for my little old Katana, so I helped (and help) as much as I can to a GSR member in my Country.

Thanks friends for all .

[shirazdrum]

Hey guys,

I haven't been in a good enough shape to even try to post the blogs here, but here is the run down. The last two blogs are at respectively:

http://www.motorcyclememoir.com/archives/3557

And

http://www.motorcyclememoir.com/archives/3539

They cover my travels to and out of Uruguay and the stories of fixing the bike and more at Eliseo's place. Here's the latest one to be up to date:

FEB 11TH. NO MAN KNOWS MY HISTORY

Is it the struggle towards the goals, which makes mankind happy? Or is the goal the struggle to stay conscious in the midst of ghastly twinges? What is the value of having goals for our own sake? After 30 years of living on this green and blue ball, I know one thing… they all vanish… It is merely a question of time.

All I remember is the screech of the car tires behind me trying to avoid collision, and the sound of metal scraping on the wet asphalt in the Paraguayan tropics. Just moments before the slide, I tried to pull over to the shoulder to wipe off my visor, and that’s when I went flying to the middle of the road.

When I left Argentina for the beautiful Uruguay, I was happy with no worry in the world. The bike was fixed, the hospitality of the locals was top notch, and the weather was glorious if just a little hot. But my mind quickly tuned into the ever-changing state of this expedition, and with that came the thoughts, and agonizingly hurtful memories of my recent relationship. Explaining the causes and details is not something I’m willing to do, but the outcome was devastating nevertheless for both of us. And with every mile, this pain became more tangible to the point that it was unbearable to carry on. Somewhere in northern Uruguay, I got sick. I started to vomit few times a day and eating became a chore. I tried to force-feed myself, but I couldn’t hold anything down, and the burning fever skyrocketed to compound my misery in the already hot weather. But my deteriorating physical condition was no match for the despondent mental state I was in.

I rode day after day with no real destination as my compass pointed north towards Paraguay and Bolivia. The perpetual fights and indecisions went on with Cynthia via emails and phone calls, and I hoped against hope just to have something to cling on to. I met amazing people on the road and they all showed me nothing but the greatest care and love, but I failed time after time to even take out my camera to snap a photo of them to remember them by.

For two thousand miles I hallucinated. So when I found out that I washed my passport inside my riding jacket in the washing machine for two cycles, I wasn’t one bit surprised. My only identity and my ticket out of this land now looked like a watercolor painting of a ****y story as my stamps resembled the famous painting; “Persistence of Time” only more incoherent. My importation papers for the bike looked like a wet clump of toilet paper, and I didn’t even notice that until I reached the border of Paraguay.

I spent hours at the border going from one office to another to beg the apathetic officials for mercy, and at last I succeeded. This was a true test of my Spanish limit and, I was exhausted when I received my entry stamp and stepped foot in Paraguay.

I rode towards Asunción, with nothing on my mind but Cynthia, and I lost my focus on the road and my surrounding. For the first time in my life I hit the ground while riding a motorcycle. I spent years perfecting the art of alertness in traffic, but I succumbed to what I knew too well. I let my guard down, and I simply didn’t think of what any idiot would already know. I pulled into a muddy shoulder after heavy tropical rains at speed, and the rest is history.

I have to get my focus back, and this country is going to be the place to do it. Paraguay is beautiful, but also is one of the poorest countries in South America with a real grip of poverty, and malnutrition chocking its population. Countless skinny and dirty innocent little faces made me realize once again that nothing in the world is ever worth fighting for than standing up for those who can’t. I’m here to stay and I’m here to do what I set out to do. I tried to take a trip, but the trip took me.

We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.- John Steinbeck

[IMG]http://www.motorcyclememoir.com/wp-content/uploads/paraguay7.jpg[/IMG

]

[four_shot]

rest, rest, rest! I get that you're stir crazy seeing as you've been holed up for over a month with the engine problems, but you can't get your message across if your too ill to tell it. Believe it or not I worry about you...lol.

Keep the faith, your mission and purpose are good.

[spchips]

Chris,

As someone who has travelled for months on end, one thing always rings true.

Keep your mind in the moment and do not let yourself think you are pointed towards home. As soon as you point "home" wherever that may be and whatever that may represent, the rest of the journey disappears in a flash and is only represented by miles, not experiences. I don't know what your direction is from here, but slowing down, absorbing your surroundings, and stilling your mind is the only way to keep going, and avoid making a bee line toward "home".

Rest up, make friends, including that new intestinal parasite (like the locals do), and all will be well in time.