Thursday, March 3, 2011

Day 139 (374km): Going south for real this time


First things first, we need to get a “first service” oil change done. We got up early, and for the first time I was excited. I don't think I was even this excited to start the trip. I was excited that today we would be riding our bikes again.

When we packed up the bikes and went to leave we noticed that my front tire was flat. Great. We pumped it up and made a mental note to get BMW to take a look (they had just installed a new front tire).

Traffic wasn't too bad and we made it to BMW before most of the staff were even there yet. At first I was a bit frustrated since they didn't seem to understand our urgency. But being a little pushy they started working on our bikes. Looks like they pinched the tube on my front tire so they put a new one in. The oil on both bikes looked good and we couldn't get out of there faster. We were driving out of Lima at noon, heading south for real. 
Waiting
Brazilians we met at the dealer
The mystery of how to change the front tire on the F800GS revealed. All it takes in some luggage on the back and a little innocence.
I looked at my bike and realized that the front tire was off and the only thing holding it up was the center stand! magic!



The scenery was boring the first time around so I have even less to say about it the second time around. What I did start thinking to myself was that most people think of Macchu Pichu and women with cool colourful outfits when they think of Peru when in reality most of Peru's population lives in the desert. 
Yawn

It was windier today than the other day and we were having to battle the wind. Then something weird happened. For about 2 seconds I thought the road was bumpy and I was asking Alberto if he thought it was bumpy and then I realised I had a flat tire. I managed to shave off enough speed (no easy feat since we were cruising along a straight away) to pull over to the shoulder. I came to a skidding stop, since my tire had lost all air, and just barely managed to keep the bike upright. Alberto efficiently got the tire sorted out but by the time we were up and running again it was late so we decided to start looking for a place to camp. 
Me and my flat tire
The culprit
Alberto getting straight to work
Best scenery of the day

After one failed attempt where the sand was too deep we found a nice hidden place to set up the tent. I had just enough time to make dinner before it got completely dark. 
Fail!
Camping for the night

 

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