Thank-you

Posted on January 28, 2013 by CAMERONDUECK

I’m at the airport in Santiago, Chile, about to fly to Winnipeg. Bike is sold, gear either tossed, given away, or jammed into my bags. I’m done and heading home! I set off for home with a rather empty bank account (budget? Oh, that! It’s busted, in a ditch somewhere in Colombia!) but I feel like the richest man alive with all I’ve seen and learned. Once again, I’ve been changed by a challenge, a journey, a goal achieved. I am incredibly lucky to be living the life I dreamt of as a child, and even luckier that you want to read about it.

Thank you for reading this blog over the past seven months. It’s been a pretty special journey. Not only have I see a good chunk of the world (19 countries!), but I have learned so much about my heritage and who we are as Mennonites. Now to fit that into a book!

Thank you to all those I’ve met along the way. The long-lost cousins, the Mennonites in far flung corners of the Americas, the bikers, the new friends made on ferries, dusty roads, in dodgy hostels, in splendid campgrounds. You, more than anything, made this journey worth the effort.

Many people have sent me notes in the past months. Encouragement, contacts, questions, challenges and advice. I’m sorry if I have not responded, but they were all deeply appreciated. Thank you!

Next up, seeing my first film, The New Northwest Passage, up on the silver screen at the Winnipeg Real to Reel Film Festival. It plays on Feb 16 and 17, I hope to see some of you there. Then, it’s back home to Hong Kong, where the real work begins…

Keep checking in for updates on the book, film, and my next adventure.

Slow down for curves,
pullover to help those in need.
But never stop,
because there’s even greater things ahead.

Cameron

Chile

Posted on January 22, 2013 by CAMERONDUECK

I’m two days riding from Santiago. This is what Chile has looked like.

SCMP Big Bend travel story

Posted on November 6, 2012 by CAMERONDUECK

Here’s a story that I wrote for the South China Morning Post about riding a motorcycle through Big Bend National Park in Texas. If you click on the links you’ll be able to download the pdfs of the story

Big Bend 1

Big Bend 2

Bolivian salt flats

Posted on October 30, 2012 by CAMERONDUECK

I’ve made it Potosi, Bolivia, one of the world’s highest cities at 4090m. I’m gasping for breath as soon as I roll out of breath, but it is getting better after a few weeks at altitude. I’ve been at 2000-5000 meters for much of my time in South America. The roads in Bolivia are incredible, as in incredibly bad. It reminds me of Western China, maybe worse. But good fun on a motorbike.

The last few weeks have been pretty intense. I’ve been riding pretty hard/fast, without many days off. I realized this morning that I’d only done laundry once since Colombia, which might explain that funny smell. I’ve been riding, writing and doing a wee bit of sightseeing (Machu Picchu) but not a lot of sitting around. So today is a rest day to patch clothes (yes, really, with a thread and needle), do laundry, work on the bike, email, etc.

South America is different than any other place I’ve been for the sheer scale of the land. The mountains, rivers, plains, sky, clouds, roads, everything is bigger, dustier, steeper and grittier than elsewhere in the world. The food is pretty bad (chicken, rice and potatoes. Every day) but the people are super nice, even when I spit out some garbled Spanish question at them. And I’m meeting a lot of crazy travelers on motorbikes and pedal bikes. Far more here than in Central America. I meet at least one other traveler a day.

I’ve done about 28,000 km on the bike so far…and all is well. My license plate fell off from all the rough roads, so after leaving it tucked away for about 800km I’ve now taped it to my pannier. A few bolts have vibrated out (single cylinder plus bad roads) which I replace as fast as I can (like the engine mount that fell out). And the bike got pretty salty on the salt flats…so I found a car wash and gave her the first wash of the trip. The “discount” front tire I bought in Panama is falling apart, literally, and I hope and pray it lasts until Santa Cruz. The panniers are standing strong despite me knocking over a few stone fences with them along the way. My boots are at the shoe repair shop at the moment…gear never lasts when you really put it to the test. And my body…well, I’m tired, got a sore arse, am sunburnt and wind-chapped, but very happy to be on the road.

Getting a shoe shine while in line to cross the Peru-Bolivia border. I stood in this line for 1.5 hrs and then was kicked out when I refused to pay a bribe due to a piece of paper I lost. Then I found the paper, and they had to stamp me through. Ha!

This road will take you home son…to somewhere anyway. Up in the Bolivian highlands, without a proper map, relying on the compass and landmarks. (Like, keep that massive volcano to your left)

We (a German biker I met and rode with for 3 days and I) drove about 30km of the softest, dustiest sand road you can imagine. It was up to 30cm deep and bone dry. I fell off 4 times, but going so slow there was no problem. I was sneezing dust for 2 days, and it was worse because all this dusty gear goes into my tent at night! We camped in an empty sheep pen (stone walls make good shelters) and I think the sheep sneezed when they were chased into the pen the next day.

The Uyuni salt flats, up at around 3600m, fairly simply blew me away. I drove about 100km across the flats, total white world. The salt is flat, hard and fairly smooth. I read about this place as a kid, and was literally giddy with excitement to actually ride my bike across it. I took some salt to use in my next camping meal.

A woman (?) living on the edge of the salt flats.

Just happy to be here. This was one of my big “destinations” of the trip.

That’s real salt of the earth.

Kinda contrasty for my camera, the volcano next to the salt flats. But it looked amazing.

Wanna buy my bike?

Posted on October 23, 2012 by CAMERONDUECK

I’d like to sell my bike to someone planning to ride north. The bike will be available in Jan/Feb, in either S. Argentina or somewhere in Chile. I’m happy to change my plans a bit to meet the buyer.

2010 KLR 650, bought new in Spring 2012 in Canada (demo bike with 650km on it). Well maintained, no crashes so far (fingers crossed!), comes with Hepco & Baker alum pannier set, Kawi extended windscreen, stiffer main shock spring, SW MOTECH center stand & crashbars, highway pegs, upgraded sealed battery. Tools, spare parts (cables, bulbs, inner tubes, etc) included. I’ll throw in some camping gear as well if you like. It now has 26,000km, and I expect it will be close to 40,000km by the time I’m done. I’m asking $5,000 and open to offers.

;

Ride to Cusco

Posted on October 22, 2012 by CAMERONDUECK

I’ve just arrived in Cusco, a small city in the middle of the Peruvian mountains that is a total tourist nightmare. Lovely colonial buildings and old cobbled streets though. This is the main town near Machu Picchu, the ruins of the ancient Aztec city. I’ll likely stay here a day or two and get some writing done, although prices are triple what they are elsewhere in Peru, and then go see Machu Picchu before heading to Bolivia.

I was in Huacachina (pictures in previous post), which is about 750km from here. I took two days to ride over, camping along the way. Most of these pictures are of the scenery along the way. Impressive mountains, with the road often topping 5,000 meters.

A very tired and dirty rider after 10 hrs on the road.

High altitude lake. I was driving around on a path looking for a place to camp, but the wind coming off the lake was bitterly cold, so I continued on looking for some shelter. It was sunny, but cold enough that there was snow in the shade and the water had ice around the edge.

And then I found this little refuge. A broken down herder’s hut just big enough to fit my tent, and some pretty splendid views. Only problem was that I was at around 5,000 meters, so I had a headache, felt dizzy, and was panting like a dog. Made for a troubled night of sleep, but it was well worth it.

There are heaps of wild llamas running around on the plateaus. They make a very odd sound, a cross between a bleat, a yelp and a belch. And they all defecate in one spot. No, really. I actually saw one go to the designated crapping spot, do his thing, and then wander off. There were only turds visible in these areas. Maybe the altitude was playing with my head, but that was my impression.

Hour after hour of this, with some dirt side roads thrown in occasionally for a bit of fun. I’m getting pretty good at curves by now.

The scale of this landscape is breathtaking. Huge, huge valleys, massive distances, and crystal clear air so you can see it all.

Crossing Colombia

Posted on October 9, 2012 by CAMERONDUECK

I met Dom Harris, another KLR 650 rider, on the boat over from Panama. We drove from Cartegena to Bucaramanga together, a marathon 15-hr ride through the mountains.

Stopped to make some adjustments to the bike, and as always a crowd gathers to ask questions.

I went hang gliding for the first time in Bucaramanga. Awesome views, plenty of fresh air.

After I left Bucaramanga I retuned to the road alone. I stopped in Barichara, a 300-year old colonial town, for the night.

Kids playing ball in Barichara

The scenery on the ride to Bogota. I had about 500 km of this…nearly drove off the road a few times. Crisp, cool mountain air.

A protest of sorts in Bogota. Plenty of cops.

Young Colombian taking in a punk rock concert in Plaza Bolivar.

Thanks to Utz-Jay and her amazing family in Bucaramanga for their hospitality. I stayed with them for several days, and they fed me, did my laundry, showed me around town, etc. These sort of people make traveling easy.

Cameron Dueck

– Writer –

Tag Archives: KLR 650