From Bogota 4/30/9

I was fasting and falling out of my head so I forgot to give everyone the rest of Wood's update from the days his bike was in the shop. He is currently approaching the Ecuador border. Check it out and hope for the best. He has been in Colombia nearly a week, or maybe over a week now. SPOTs have been going out, but no new personal updates. Obviously, the bike got fixed and is running well on the open road.


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"so, colombia. i have continued traveling on with andrew and milan, and they met up with the canadian man, randy, in cartegena. they met randy, riding a ktm adventurer, on the side of the road in mexico. he has been riding with them ever since, now actually paying milan as a translator and guide. I am going to try and stick it out with the group through colombia, to appease the minds of my family, which i am happy to do when i can.

i am in bogota tonight, actually on my own without my bike. she is in the shop getting her much needed valve adjustment and overall engine tuning. i had some more trouble with the fuel pump a couple days ago, and actually had to do a roadside swap of the fuel pump. it took two hours, which i think is pretty good considering i had to re-route all of the fuel lines. the issue first occurred, although briefly, in costa rica. i lost power at highway speed, as if the carbs were being flooded with fuel, which i think they were. in costa rica it lasted for only 30 seconds and then i regained power. i was getting low and fuel and the fuel had come from plastic jugs in a garage, so i figured it could very well have been dirty. this time, however, i had a full tank of fuel and it was clean and the bike actually sputtered and stalled and would not restart for a few minutes. then it did and ran good for 10 km and then repeated, at which point i decided to swap pumps (richard left me his old one, thank God, that was still working when he took it out and replaced it with the same aftermarket pump that i put in) and got to work. since the swap the bike has run pretty darn well, even at 10,000 ft. richard at this point had written to me to tell me that he had the same problem, starting in mexico, and that his bike is currently not running at all. he was also having some other problems as well.

and i am a bit overdue to have a valve check so i found the ktm dealer in bogota. one of the two owners (brothers) speaks english, which is great as my mechanical vocabulary is lacking. you see, i am so far away from the typical ktm rider of central/south america that they truly don’t know what to think or say when i pull up, overloaded, peeling grey paint, and filthy myself. ktm owners here have a lot of money. they have to. it is comical to roll into a dealership and this one was by far the nicest i have been to. a modern building with lots of glass and three levels. a woman, upon my entrance into the building, approached me carrying a silver tray with a glass of coke on a saucer. a saucer. it was for me. i then began talking with the owner and explaining to him and another english-speaking employee what has been going on with the bike, what i have done to it etc. it is starting to be fun talking about motorcycle systems as i am beginning to understand more and know more about them. there is a bit of respect that is given here. then the good news came. the owner, juan, explained to me that they have a special deal for ktm travelers. 40% off all ktm parts and labor! this is what i had imagined and hoped for prior to leaving--excitement about what is being done on a commonly loved motorcycle. so the bike went in for the work yesterday and i will not get it back until saturday. i am a bit miffed, however, as the mechanic and shop are not connected to the dealership. the mechanic does not speak english, but juan translated from me to him, everything that i had done and every problem and hypothesis that i had. today i went to the shop half expecting to pick up the bike only to find that the mechanic apparently did not understand all that was supposed to be done to, or what was wrong with, the bike..no sense worrying too much at this point.

so i am on my own in bogota, which it is nice to be once again...i have had some great experiences with some colombians so far, and expect them only to increase over the next few days. traveling with a group limits contact with local people. it is a huge downfall. it is much better to know a place and its people, alone.

at this point now, i am going to continue south. i want to leave colombia and get on my own again. i want to see bolivia more than anything, for some unknown reason. chile also has this draw on me."

So, it looks like that is where he is headed. And here we are finally seeing some green grass and a few stray tulip stems. I think it is probably staying pretty cool for him now, especially in the higher altitudes. You'll know about the crossing as soon as I do. Thanks to all for positive thinking and well wishing.

-- luludilly