good luck to your friend. sounds like a journey of a lifetime. 
The Journey of a lifetime and a request to the .org
- Thread starter Jimshog
- Start date
Greetings again to all. I am happy to report that Malcolm has been successful in his journey and that to date is has traversed South America from Santiago Chile to Terra Del Fuego and back to Santiago. So far he’s got almost 6,000 miles in two months. To fill in some details, Malcolm took a 3 day new riders course in Fairfax Virginia back in November. This was one of those classes where they provide the bike and a helmet and the riders simply bring appropriate attire. The bikes they used were Honda Rebel 250’s. I guess Malcolm liked the little Rebel as once he arrived in Santiago he purchased one brand new and had it appointed with hard luggage and a windshield – believe it or not it looked pretty good! Anyway, that was two months ago and I’ve received two emails from him since, one of which I’m sharing below. I’m pretty impressed truth be told, I mean he’s 70, never had a real motorcycle, and had no experience to speak of. Now he’s got 6K under his belt and is heading north to Alaska via South America. I’ve got to give him props for his fortitude as I don’t know if I could do the same thing at his age. So, brothers and sisters, as his adventure continues and he sends word I’ll share it with those interested.
-Jim
Malcolm’s email dated February 3, 2009:
Hi Jim,
Can I call myself a motor cyclist now? I´m back in Santiago, and the mileometer reads 5760 miles, and that´s in 2 months exactly. A great ride through the most amazing landscapes in Chile and Argentina. I also covered 1500 miles by ferry where the rough roads were too much for me. Tomorrow I continue heading north to see yet more extraordinary sites, like the high altitude deserts where it has never rained, or a big lake where the water is bright red. I will be sending Anna and Tor a CD of photos when I cross into Peru, 1500 miles north of here, but which will be much longer with all my detours. And I set off tomorrow with a new pare of reinforced trousers and bike boots. How are your plans progressing?
Good riding, Malcolm
-Jim
Malcolm’s email dated February 3, 2009:
Hi Jim,
Can I call myself a motor cyclist now? I´m back in Santiago, and the mileometer reads 5760 miles, and that´s in 2 months exactly. A great ride through the most amazing landscapes in Chile and Argentina. I also covered 1500 miles by ferry where the rough roads were too much for me. Tomorrow I continue heading north to see yet more extraordinary sites, like the high altitude deserts where it has never rained, or a big lake where the water is bright red. I will be sending Anna and Tor a CD of photos when I cross into Peru, 1500 miles north of here, but which will be much longer with all my detours. And I set off tomorrow with a new pare of reinforced trousers and bike boots. How are your plans progressing?
Good riding, Malcolm
Rayabusa0818
Never Forgotten
This one was fun...
trekfuel
Registered
Not sure of the planned route.... and how far off road he is going......but this machine would offer plenty of storage for the long haul.. and beleive honda would offer lots of support by way of dealership along the way...
I Malcom strong enough to lift one? many older fellow perfer the comfort of the wing
Just a thought.
If money is not an issue..... new 1800 would be nice
wish him luck on his quest..... hope i am doing the same in 20 years
I Malcom strong enough to lift one? many older fellow perfer the comfort of the wing
Just a thought.
If money is not an issue..... new 1800 would be nice
wish him luck on his quest..... hope i am doing the same in 20 years
eric wiseman
Registered
i like the strap to hold the passenger in on the goldwing. I think that trip would be everybodys dream. I am very envious.
Jim, Warchild is so right about a mid sized Adventure Touring bike. They run along a highway at 75-80mph, are lightweight, carry 2 plus much gear, cost 1/3 of the big ones....and handly so well on and off road (mine is 310 lbs., a BMW is 500!). Do to the amazing aftermarket for the KLR (and 6.2 gallon tank) I think that's a great choice. I've been over 15 high mountain passes with mine and would choose the same bike if I had it to do again. Check KLRWorld.com and DualStar.com for so much info. Regards, Doyle
I'M SO STUPID, I JUST NOTICED THE DATE
I'M SO STUPID, I JUST NOTICED THE DATE
Last edited:
Dear .org brethren, the following is an update from Malcolm's ongoing adventure in his own words, please remember he is British and spent 26 years sailing around the world on his sailboat prior to deciding to sell the boat and tour 'terra firma' via motorcycle. Also, please remember he is 70 years old and prior to this adventure he had zero experience riding motorcycles, and, he started his adventure in Santiago Chile with the purchase of a Honda 250 Rebel and intends to traverse from Santiago to the tip of South America and then north to Alaska... His missive references an email I sent to him about a month ago asking about his camping in South America:
“Hi Jim,
In your last e-mail you asked about my daily camping, so I thought that you might like to have a description of a typical day.
( I should explain to everyone that I have copied this to, that Jim, a very experienced motor cyclist and good friend of my daughter Anna and Tor, was very helpful to me in Washington with advice, and later he is also cycling to Alaska via a different route. Anyhow, I thought that you might like to read the following).
I get up with the sun around 7.30, and start a routine which hasn´t changed much during the last three months, travelling from Santiago to the bottom of mainland South America and then north to Arica. It lasts a surprising two and a half hours before I´m on the road. In that time I wash if I can, but that all depends where I am. Ideally the evening before I found a lovely free, clean, secure and shady patch of soft ground, away from people and dogs, with a lovely cool stream for drinking and bathing, and view facing east for the morning sun. I have found such beautiful places, but they are rare. As with sailing, water, especially for drinking, has been a major consideration, particularly in desert areas. So, I´ve hopefully washed, and breakfast is fruit and cereal with powdered milk, tea, and I also make a thermos of coffee for my mid morning road break. I have an excellent, very small Colman’s burner which uses petrol, as the motor bike, so I only have one fuel. Then comes the task of packing up so many things, but they are all essential, my worldly possessions. Finally I pack up the tent: A 2 person size for me and all my bags, I couldn’t exist with less, and I`m off for another amazing day!
My possessions: Tent, 3 season sleeping bag OK for 12 degrees F., self inflating mattress ( my one bit of comfort ), stove, kettle and pans, collapsible water carrier, one change of clothes, washing bag and very small towel, light rain clothes, but my heavy, reinforced motor bike jacket, trousers and boots are also water proof. I also have a great little ´IPod Nano´( my other bit of luxury for music before I go to sleep each night, and a lovely present from Anna and Tor before I left Washington ), tools, oils and spares for the bike. (Clutch cable, bulbs, fuses, spark plugs, gear and break leavers.). Also lots of essential bits and pieces like, first aid, travel information, clothes pegs, tin opener, knife folk and spoon, etc.... It all adds up, but it has to fit into very little space: 2 panniers, a tank bag, haversack, but the tent and mattress are strapped down behind me, where I removed the pillion seat to make way for a steel strong box in which I have a cable from the bike battery to enable me to recharge my camera, IPod, phone and batteries whilst on the move. The tent has a separate fly sheet, but without it, the tent itself is transparent so that I can literally sleep under the stars.
So I´m off about 10 with a general plan, and that´s a great time because I don´t have to think where I might camp next, and the day is all in front of me. A mid morning coffee is a nice moment, as is a picnic lunch, both hopefully with some shade and a great view, except shelter has been difficult during the last 2000 kms. of absolute desert, then off again. By 5, I´m looking seriously for some where to camp for the night.
Late afternoon I am also looking for a small local shop to buy my daily rations, except in the deserts where there´s no habitation, my supplies have to last much longer. I stay clear of shopping in the few large towns and supermarkets, because I don´t like leaving my bike, with all my worldly possessions, unattended. It´s the same finding an Internet cafe. If I can do what I have to do whilst watching my bike out of the window, that`s best. Because I can´t carry much I have to shop each day, and I have to admit that I have given up on cooking. Gone are the days, when on´Pittulie` I would prepare something special each night, set the table and be civilized. One day I might get tired of tomatoes, avocados, cheese and tuna, crouching in my tent, but for now it´s OK. It´s also very cheap, as is petrol by European standards, and my bike can do about 200 miles on 2.7 gallons
Over these last 3 months I have pitched my tent in some very strange and wonderful places; church yards, petrol station, beaches, gardens of derelict houses, building sites, the desert under those amazing crystal clear skies, etc. But the best places have been the ones next to that cool mountain stream, and they are always free. When all has failed I have camped in official sites and listened to all the pop music that many campers can´t live without, usually for about 2 to 3 pounds, or in extreme cases I have been forced into a hostel, but then I have had the luxury of water out of a tap, doing my washing, even a hot shower and soft bed.
At the end of the day, making camp, having my picnic supper, doing bike maintenance, etc. also takes about two and a half hours, and as the darkness falls I am in my sleeping bag by 9, nicely tired, thinking of all the unexpected excitements of the day, and listening to some music on my IPod before sleep.
Now in Arica, Chile´s most northerly city, and I can see Peru immediately to the north across the bay. Having travelled through the countries 5 distinct geographic regions, the odometer reads 8270 miles, and today my bike had its third service. That's what I have done in 3 months, plus my boat trip for part of my way south, another 1500 miles, when the rough roads were too hazardous for me to attempt. Tomorrow I set off east to something new, as I climb to over 4500 meters to spend time in Chile´s most beautiful area, the National Park of Lauca. It will be very cold at night, it´s still the wet season there, and, as I haven’t seen any rain in this driest place on earth, (according to history it has never rained where I´ve been in the Atacama Desert), I guess that my daily routine will change as I cross into Bolivia.
Best wishes, Malcolmâ€
“Hi Jim,
In your last e-mail you asked about my daily camping, so I thought that you might like to have a description of a typical day.
( I should explain to everyone that I have copied this to, that Jim, a very experienced motor cyclist and good friend of my daughter Anna and Tor, was very helpful to me in Washington with advice, and later he is also cycling to Alaska via a different route. Anyhow, I thought that you might like to read the following).
I get up with the sun around 7.30, and start a routine which hasn´t changed much during the last three months, travelling from Santiago to the bottom of mainland South America and then north to Arica. It lasts a surprising two and a half hours before I´m on the road. In that time I wash if I can, but that all depends where I am. Ideally the evening before I found a lovely free, clean, secure and shady patch of soft ground, away from people and dogs, with a lovely cool stream for drinking and bathing, and view facing east for the morning sun. I have found such beautiful places, but they are rare. As with sailing, water, especially for drinking, has been a major consideration, particularly in desert areas. So, I´ve hopefully washed, and breakfast is fruit and cereal with powdered milk, tea, and I also make a thermos of coffee for my mid morning road break. I have an excellent, very small Colman’s burner which uses petrol, as the motor bike, so I only have one fuel. Then comes the task of packing up so many things, but they are all essential, my worldly possessions. Finally I pack up the tent: A 2 person size for me and all my bags, I couldn’t exist with less, and I`m off for another amazing day!
My possessions: Tent, 3 season sleeping bag OK for 12 degrees F., self inflating mattress ( my one bit of comfort ), stove, kettle and pans, collapsible water carrier, one change of clothes, washing bag and very small towel, light rain clothes, but my heavy, reinforced motor bike jacket, trousers and boots are also water proof. I also have a great little ´IPod Nano´( my other bit of luxury for music before I go to sleep each night, and a lovely present from Anna and Tor before I left Washington ), tools, oils and spares for the bike. (Clutch cable, bulbs, fuses, spark plugs, gear and break leavers.). Also lots of essential bits and pieces like, first aid, travel information, clothes pegs, tin opener, knife folk and spoon, etc.... It all adds up, but it has to fit into very little space: 2 panniers, a tank bag, haversack, but the tent and mattress are strapped down behind me, where I removed the pillion seat to make way for a steel strong box in which I have a cable from the bike battery to enable me to recharge my camera, IPod, phone and batteries whilst on the move. The tent has a separate fly sheet, but without it, the tent itself is transparent so that I can literally sleep under the stars.
So I´m off about 10 with a general plan, and that´s a great time because I don´t have to think where I might camp next, and the day is all in front of me. A mid morning coffee is a nice moment, as is a picnic lunch, both hopefully with some shade and a great view, except shelter has been difficult during the last 2000 kms. of absolute desert, then off again. By 5, I´m looking seriously for some where to camp for the night.
Late afternoon I am also looking for a small local shop to buy my daily rations, except in the deserts where there´s no habitation, my supplies have to last much longer. I stay clear of shopping in the few large towns and supermarkets, because I don´t like leaving my bike, with all my worldly possessions, unattended. It´s the same finding an Internet cafe. If I can do what I have to do whilst watching my bike out of the window, that`s best. Because I can´t carry much I have to shop each day, and I have to admit that I have given up on cooking. Gone are the days, when on´Pittulie` I would prepare something special each night, set the table and be civilized. One day I might get tired of tomatoes, avocados, cheese and tuna, crouching in my tent, but for now it´s OK. It´s also very cheap, as is petrol by European standards, and my bike can do about 200 miles on 2.7 gallons
Over these last 3 months I have pitched my tent in some very strange and wonderful places; church yards, petrol station, beaches, gardens of derelict houses, building sites, the desert under those amazing crystal clear skies, etc. But the best places have been the ones next to that cool mountain stream, and they are always free. When all has failed I have camped in official sites and listened to all the pop music that many campers can´t live without, usually for about 2 to 3 pounds, or in extreme cases I have been forced into a hostel, but then I have had the luxury of water out of a tap, doing my washing, even a hot shower and soft bed.
At the end of the day, making camp, having my picnic supper, doing bike maintenance, etc. also takes about two and a half hours, and as the darkness falls I am in my sleeping bag by 9, nicely tired, thinking of all the unexpected excitements of the day, and listening to some music on my IPod before sleep.
Now in Arica, Chile´s most northerly city, and I can see Peru immediately to the north across the bay. Having travelled through the countries 5 distinct geographic regions, the odometer reads 8270 miles, and today my bike had its third service. That's what I have done in 3 months, plus my boat trip for part of my way south, another 1500 miles, when the rough roads were too hazardous for me to attempt. Tomorrow I set off east to something new, as I climb to over 4500 meters to spend time in Chile´s most beautiful area, the National Park of Lauca. It will be very cold at night, it´s still the wet season there, and, as I haven’t seen any rain in this driest place on earth, (according to history it has never rained where I´ve been in the Atacama Desert), I guess that my daily routine will change as I cross into Bolivia.
Best wishes, Malcolmâ€
Excellent report!
Keep them coming and good luck to Malcolm.
Keep them coming and good luck to Malcolm.
Excellent report!
+1...this would be an excellent way to spend a couple years if $ wasn't an issue
AJAY
Registered
Another +1.+1 on the Wee-Strom, & stick to ROADS
http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product Lines/Cycles/Products/V-Strom 650/2009/DL650A.aspx?category=dualsport
The 650 with some saddlebags would be a good choice. Lightweight enough for an older person to lift when it falls or to get through bad roads, lots of torque makes it easy to ride, and smooth enough to be comfortable for long days, especially compared to any of the single cylinder bikes.
The 1000 V strom might also be good, but it's heavier and will use more gas.
If you're looking for something to practice on, just saw this on Craigslist here in the DC area. Not a bad scooter for under $1000. Good engine, easy upright seating. Not much to complain about.
1989 Yamaha Radian 600
Last edited:
Wow, best of luck to the gentleman.
Well folks, Malcolm is doing pretty well after traversing the continent of South America, here an update on his journey:
Hi Jim,
I have just completed the first third of my journey, 17,500 miles in 7 months, and have today arrived in Cartagena to arrange a yacht trip to Colon, Panama. I have motored from the very bottom to the top of South America and am now looking forward to the countries ot Central America.
I have had regular Honda services, new tyres and two days ago new clutch plates. All´s very well.
Great to hear that you will be off soon. After sailing and now motoring for 27 years, I would suggest that you stop planning now in any great detail. A broad plan is good, the details of travel are best left ´till just before you need them. In that way you are free and not tied down to preconceived ideas.
There is so much we will be able to share when I will return to Anna and Tor the autumn of next year.
Do let me know how things go after you have some miles behind you.
Good riding and best wishes,
Malcolm
Hi Jim,
I have just completed the first third of my journey, 17,500 miles in 7 months, and have today arrived in Cartagena to arrange a yacht trip to Colon, Panama. I have motored from the very bottom to the top of South America and am now looking forward to the countries ot Central America.
I have had regular Honda services, new tyres and two days ago new clutch plates. All´s very well.
Great to hear that you will be off soon. After sailing and now motoring for 27 years, I would suggest that you stop planning now in any great detail. A broad plan is good, the details of travel are best left ´till just before you need them. In that way you are free and not tied down to preconceived ideas.
There is so much we will be able to share when I will return to Anna and Tor the autumn of next year.
Do let me know how things go after you have some miles behind you.
Good riding and best wishes,
Malcolm
Wow!!! A-MAZ-ING!!!!! Safe travels to Malcolm!!
Similar threads
