Project Xl 2012: With 83 years on a motorcycle from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Venture!

By Ardo Gomes

Travel diary with lots of insider tips, architect A. Gomes shares the positive and negative experiences of his unforgettable “bike-trip” through South America.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookRix
• Release date: Oct 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9783736801844

Book preview

My motorcycle trip trough South America

Project XL 2012

With 83 years on a motorcycle from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Venture!

Ardo, Suzuki M800

Joseph, Honda Falcom 400

DESCRIPTIVE REPORT

April - June 2012

First stage, Wednesday 22nd of February 2012 - São Sebastião to Registro, S. P.

A few days ago I of discovered that perhaps I should rather think of a motorcycle ride and not of a journey that would eventually be an event of 8,000 kilometers on congested highways. This in mind, I limited my actions and climbed on my Suzuki Boulevard M800 to find the Falcom 400 of Joseph with Silvia on the back seat.

The agreed meeting place to begin our journey was the gas station Kajihya, 1700 meters from my house. It was 10.00 clock and there we filled the tanks, discussed the first details of the progress for our first stopover. The engines started at 10:30 and roared towards the south. Sun and heat had been indicated by the weather forecast. Reason enough that I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt; the rain stuff well stored in the box of the back seat.

This route to Santos is of exceptional beauty; leads into a wavy line along the sea on an average height of about 50 meters and leaves the region of pristine Atlantic rainforest Mata Atlântica on the right gliding in front of our eyes. The island-city of Santos is surrounded by the municipality of Cubatão, from where you can reach the city of São Paulo in 50 km by the highways Imigrants and/or Anchieta. Before, we stopped in the first 150 km of at the small supermarket of a gas station to drink a coffee and exchange ideas about our first steps without actually something being new.

I used the time puffing my pipe a bit. Then we continued until the second stop, along the road, now in the city Itariri, 230 km from our starting point. It was 2.10 p. m., the engines filled, so we took a little time to grab a quick snack before we took the street with the name Rodovia Pe Manuel da Nobrega, which now rose in gentle curves up to 300 m until it came across the BR116 with double track, which serves as a shuttle between São Paulo and the south of the country. Here on the plateau a cloud broke at approximately 3.30 p. m. and showered us with fine hailstones. However, we were already dressed insensitive because we had stopped and changed us after we felt the first drops.

The city of Registro showed at 4.30 p. m. a beautiful sunset over the still wet road after the rain had stopped. I bought an authentic oil filter at a Suzuki dealer in this city as I had it already arranged by phone the night before. After that we registered at the Hotel Avenida, which is located right in the center. With breakfast café and parking it cost me exactly 42 Reais. We borrowed a desk top, so I could read my e-mails and messages. Then we three ate dinner in a good restaurant next to the hotel. Finally I watched the TV news in my room, before I fell asleep, thinking of waking up at 6:30 h the next day.

The bikes are perfect: mine confirmed a range of 24 km with one liter of fuel and the Falcom 400 consumes a liter on 20 km, but carries two people and not just one, like me. We got 323 kilometers far and I cannot complain about any fatigue or physical discomfort.

Silvia will make the photo coverage and video recordings, and intends to do so throughout the journey. Joseph with the GPS on the bike drives in the front to - if necessary - track the cutouts and intricacies of the streets in the cities and to unravel the intersections, while I will open the way on the streets, so they can accompany according to my speed limitations and/or my physical fitness.

Photo bottom left: my first moments, leaving São Sebastião in direction of the Pacific, with a short-sleeved shirt, as if it were a simple Sunday stroll.

Photo from refueling in Registro at 23.2. at 7.20 a. m.

Second Stage, Thursday, 23rd February 2012 - Registro city, S. P. to Gen. Carneiro, PR.

We fill up, leave Hotel Avenida and arrive at 11:00 a. m. in Araucaria PR ( Paraná) after we drive around Curitiba. Joseph on the Falcom drove ahead, testing and evaluating his GPS, prosecuting to access the road to Xisto.

In the small city Araucaria we remain until 12.40, as Joseph has a scheduled appointment and also for our snack, supplies and rest. Up to this point, we sailed on a dry route, warm and with normal traffic, but from here on many moments of heavy rain with some outdated urban flash floods expect us, which require