2nd March
I was riding through a very congested town today,still attempting to hook up with the others ,when I saw an identical bike to my own which was parked just ahead on the pavement.
Then i noticed one of the hondas.So i'd finally managed to find these guys.Turned out that stan had yet another puncture & him and marco had gone off to fix it but couldn't understand why Lindsay was looking glummer than usual.
Tried chatting about what had gone down re the parts etc. but then he asked me what my plans were going forward.Iasked him what he meant and he asked whether i intended riding alone from now on???.
I explained that i'd been doing everything in my power to hook up again and he responded that the general consensus was that i had decided to ¨skip¨ LIMA (he'd actually said as such on the blog):
I had no idea what he was talking about!
Here are the facts:
My bike overheated badly which caused me to pull over to allow my engine to cool down
The bike had been in the red for twenty minutes (i had filled up with 84 octane which probably caused it))
Pulled over for an hour which is how long it took to return to normal temperature
Once i eventually got to the return to highway the guys had gone and i had no idea where to(they apparently waited 40 minutes then disappeared into a city of 12million people)
At one point i accidentally went off the highway into LIMA and took an hour to find my way back on
By this time it was already 4:30 and the only chance i had of connecting was to head north and find an internet connection where i would be staying.
I did this and communicated continually and set up a meeting for 10am the next day.
Waited from 9am to 12 but no sign of them
Managed to find an international ph booth and asked cheryl to inform ria to inform them i'd be riding slowly northward.
So ,for the record,i did not intend going north of LIMA ,i was forced to because no one had waited for me.
He was apparently also extremely upset at my jokingly saying on the blog that i would be spending the first night in 8 weeks without any other smelly bikers in the room with me (or words to that effect),
I cannot prove that there was no malicious intent because the offending piece has since been removed from the blog.
I have been wearing the same riding socks and t shirt for over a week now and i am certainly a ¨smelly¨ biker.The reference was made as a joke and was a general one.
I apologise for any offence taken but cannot continue to blog with such strict censorship of my every word.
After i'd met up with the guys today and once the puncture had been sorted I followed them to what apparently was our destination but just before dark ,when they were probably a km or so ahead of me i reached an intersection but no one had hung back to indicate which way the others had gone.I'd lost them again.
So i'm in a town called Tamara (or thereabouts) and booked into a hotel for the night and shall be crossing into Ecuador tomorrow.
I´ll most probably be riding alone from now on and meeting the others eventually to ship the bikes back from Jacksonville.
It's been fun blogging en route but i guess this is my last.
I wish the others a safe ride and shall hopefully see them safe and sound in Jacksonville for shipping of the bikes back to SA.
I'd ask that they please keep me informed of any plans for the ultimate shipping of the bikes back.
And please don't censor this !
Then i noticed one of the hondas.So i'd finally managed to find these guys.Turned out that stan had yet another puncture & him and marco had gone off to fix it but couldn't understand why Lindsay was looking glummer than usual.
Tried chatting about what had gone down re the parts etc. but then he asked me what my plans were going forward.Iasked him what he meant and he asked whether i intended riding alone from now on???.
I explained that i'd been doing everything in my power to hook up again and he responded that the general consensus was that i had decided to ¨skip¨ LIMA (he'd actually said as such on the blog):
I had no idea what he was talking about!
Here are the facts:
My bike overheated badly which caused me to pull over to allow my engine to cool down
The bike had been in the red for twenty minutes (i had filled up with 84 octane which probably caused it))
Pulled over for an hour which is how long it took to return to normal temperature
Once i eventually got to the return to highway the guys had gone and i had no idea where to(they apparently waited 40 minutes then disappeared into a city of 12million people)
At one point i accidentally went off the highway into LIMA and took an hour to find my way back on
By this time it was already 4:30 and the only chance i had of connecting was to head north and find an internet connection where i would be staying.
I did this and communicated continually and set up a meeting for 10am the next day.
Waited from 9am to 12 but no sign of them
Managed to find an international ph booth and asked cheryl to inform ria to inform them i'd be riding slowly northward.
So ,for the record,i did not intend going north of LIMA ,i was forced to because no one had waited for me.
He was apparently also extremely upset at my jokingly saying on the blog that i would be spending the first night in 8 weeks without any other smelly bikers in the room with me (or words to that effect),
I cannot prove that there was no malicious intent because the offending piece has since been removed from the blog.
I have been wearing the same riding socks and t shirt for over a week now and i am certainly a ¨smelly¨ biker.The reference was made as a joke and was a general one.
I apologise for any offence taken but cannot continue to blog with such strict censorship of my every word.
After i'd met up with the guys today and once the puncture had been sorted I followed them to what apparently was our destination but just before dark ,when they were probably a km or so ahead of me i reached an intersection but no one had hung back to indicate which way the others had gone.I'd lost them again.
So i'm in a town called Tamara (or thereabouts) and booked into a hotel for the night and shall be crossing into Ecuador tomorrow.
I´ll most probably be riding alone from now on and meeting the others eventually to ship the bikes back from Jacksonville.
It's been fun blogging en route but i guess this is my last.
I wish the others a safe ride and shall hopefully see them safe and sound in Jacksonville for shipping of the bikes back to SA.
I'd ask that they please keep me informed of any plans for the ultimate shipping of the bikes back.
And please don't censor this !
posted by TONY HEATH at
3:52 AM
17 Comments:
Hi Tony & fellow bikers,
Looks like all is goin well so far!
I'm enjoying your daily reports and have forwarded onto many friends.
All is well at the Stableyard. Plants & grass is dying, wind is blowing trees over, & weeds all over. We miss you in this regard.
Saw Cheryl today walking the grandchildren.
Stormers had a narrow escape against the Lions in the Super 15.
Keep well.
Groete
take time out for a few days and chill, too much water under the bridge to throw the towel in now and abandon your plans to do what we all can only dream of doing. hope all works out ok, will sure miss your blog as it is a highlite in our dreary routine wishing we could do what you all have done. H
Oh No Tony. We were sooo enjoying your Blog. We sure are going to miss your trip detail and the fantastic humour which only you can give us. Keep safe and we will keep in touch with you on email. Keep your diary going for that book we are looking forward to reading one day. S
Hi chaps,
You are all grown ups and old enough to make your own choices. Sit down together have a couple of beers vent all the anger/frustration etc and get on with your trip. Tony to stop blogging is pretty senseless as whether you do this alone or with other people it is something you can read back on in the future and if you don't record it then you sort of forget nice bits unfortunately.
There should be no rules for a start and in general if someone in the group feels like riding a day or two alone - why not? Sometimes we just need a bit of "me" time.
Come on chaps this is an adventure not a soapopera. Work together.
Cheers
Dirk
I have been following this blog closely.
What has irked me from the start is Tony's habit of making negative and often rude comments and remarks about his fellow riders and about the various host countries and their inhabitants.
Lindsay and I started this blog to serve as a centralised communication point as well as a repository of the trip records. The idea being that each member of the group could contribute their stories and photos.
That said, it is not the place to make sarcastic comments about one's fellow riders or derogatory comments about, for example, the people of Peru. If you want to do that, start your own blog, it's easy and free.
We will miss Tony's contributions to this great Blog which we are enjoying from Ireland. Hope you get together again. I just wish I was young enough and fit enough to be with you! My excitement of the week is the Hanged Man's run for vintage bikes in my BSA three-wheeler.
Not sure about the beard, Marco! :)
Terence
Hey guys. Why so serious. Gee we have known Tony forever and he is GREAT. We all need to relax and have a sense of humour. Life is far too serious to analyse and dissect every little commen made. Nothing needs to be taken so literally. Where is the sense of humour here? You guys should rather take time to get to know him better before critising so publicly. Now let us get back to the adult world and leave the junior school type syndrome behind and experience the whole picture of a potentially great adventure. Tony PLEASE continue blogging. We miss you.
Hi Tony. Its your better half here. I really don't see why you cannot carry on blogging, . So many people are enjoying your blog your wit and your getting lost.Well I am not enjoying the last bit.
It says whose writing the blog so if some get irked by it they don't have to read it. Can't wait for your next blog and Terence well done in the cricket Ireland really played well.
Hey Tony, we all agree with your better half. Please keep us posted as we miss following you on this amazing adventure. Too early in the game to keep us in the dark. Your Cape Town mates, too many to mention!!!!!
@ Anonymous 5.59PM: We do have a sense of humour, but it does not include unfair comment about one's fellow riders. No one has criticised Tony. I commented on some of his negative remarks.
@ Anonymous 6.00PM: You have misunderstood what I wrote. This is not a personal attack on Tony. It is a very clear request to him to keep a civil tone when writing about his fellow riders and host country.
Please go back and read my comment.
And please, if you comment anonymously, kindly put your name at the end of the comment. Thanks.
Hi Tony, we been following your blog and really enjoying it.PLEASE DON'T STOP.I(Bettina) can relate to few of the Argentinian stories,like eating dinner late,Kevin still complains about so I compromise most of the time and eat around 19:30/20:00. You probably notice some weekends we braai very late @ night.Uruguay and Argentina is very similar in culture. Hope you find the others and can sit like grown ups and sort the issues, which could be if you spend 24/7 with each other.Things can be quite stressful, but should try and act as a team. Communication is the key for everything,so sit down with them and some cervezas frias and talk, if still doesn't work out don't let it spoil your trip of a life time.But whatever decisions, keep blogging and keep your sense of humor.Ah another thing change your smelly socks.lol. Bettina & Kev . Segui sonriendo,y no oliendo(keep smiling and not smelling,lol)
Hi Guys
Check this out ...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tn2EhGK5ok
if you cant find it try
Youtube- Steve Hughes- Offended
Ruprecht
Tony!!! i cant believe your behavior!!! anyone would think you were on a 6 month bike trip with the lads!!!!! fix up :)
After having read the comments, my thoughts are that you are MUCH closer to writing a great book.
I dont know if you are aware but here in SA you have become a legend.
who wants to hear what the weather is like in peru!! we can go online to find this out - we want to hear about smelly feet and the strange tendencies of different people.
the problem for the others if you stop writing is that no one will read the blog
im your son-in law and if anyone should kick you when you are down its me :) but the truth is that you are a character and if i were one of your bike mates i would love that banter.
each to their own.
i wish the guys luck on their quest to find the Incas
we are setting up a blog for you and will revert shortly.
lots of love (to all the gang and i really do wish you all well)
your English Cyptiot son-in law
Hi Johann...who are you ??
What do you have to do with this trip?
People can write what they want and say what they want ...DO YOU THINK YOU ARE THE ADMINISTRATOR??
@Anonymous 9.04PM
I put my name to my comments, so you should be able to work out who I am ;)
Indeed, people can write what they want to. On their own blog.
Oh, I don't think I'm the administrator. I am.
@English Cyptiot son-in-law: Thanks for offering to set up the blog for Tony. It will no doubt become a legend in it's own lunch-box.
Hi Tony i seem to have missed all the( blogging)fun.Well i think your are makeing a great trip
more interesting with your funny quips.
its a pitty that some people take umbridge to them.anyway keep blogging and include the funny
bits. Vic & Marc
Some of the comments in response to my last blog
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