The Ups & Downs of a Well Planned Group Trip: Cartegena to Ushuaia
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The Ups & Downs of a Well Planned Group Trip: Cartegena to Ushuaia
Image: Alfonse Palaima
Journey to the End of the World - Expedition 65
If a little is good wouldn’t a lot be better? When a group of experienced travellers plans a trip from Cartegena to Ushuaia they made sure they had fully equipped bikes, an extensive support system and contact network, even a support van and trailer equipped with a generator to charge accessories.
Image: Alfonse Palaima
As the story goes, Jim Hyde, of RawHyde Adventures had an epiphany while guiding a trip in South America. He was stopped with his group of clients with only about 30 minutes to spare before rushing off to their evening destination. While the clients busied themselves with various selfies and bike shots, Jim realized that when he visits these incredible world destinations, he is almost always on a tight schedule, with minutes to soak up this world class sight and move on. It hit him there and then that he needed to do a trip, where there was more time for places like these along the way. So he came up with an idea to run an expedition where a group of riders would all pitch in to organize and do a trip the length of South America.
Image: Alfonse Palaima
A dozen riders were hand picked for the adventure, and the group went about planning and organizing a trip they would call Expedition 65. It was to be an adventure unlike a guided trip, where the riders are a team of like minded individuals that work together.
With all these people planning and organizing you could be forgiven for imagining that it all worked and the trip went off without a hitch, but of course it didn’t happen that way. Problems with overloading, breakdowns, missing paperwork for border crossings, an overloaded support van incapable of carrying a broken bike and disagreements over the arduous and time consuming effort of making a film of the trip added challenges to the trip.
In the end, the trials and tribulations fade, friendships were solidified, comfort zones were expanded, a movie was made and an incredible coffee table book was produced showcasing the adventure day by day…
When it comes to planning, due diligence is expected, but is meticulous planning better or a problem in itself?
Image: Alfonse Palaima
Colin Evans: Author of Journey to the End of the World
"Though he may have come late to biking, Colin Evans has fallen hard for it, with an enviable collection of iconic sportbikes and a very worn-out BMW R1200GS to show for it. He has ridden and written about his adventures on four continents to entertain and annoy his friends (colindotpdx.tumblr.com) and currently resides in Portland with his wife Rosine and daughter Claire." ~~ Octane Press
Alfonse Palaima: Journey to the End of the World Photographer
"When he's not in Los Angeles hiding from society, Alfonse is collecting passport stamps. Photography and travel are his biggest passions, and motorcycles always get him to the next location. Rounding the world one region at a time, Alfonse has racked up hundreds of bylines while crossing 23 countries and six continents as an industry journalist with 14 years under his belt. Follow his journeys at MotoInsider.com or at Octane Press." ~~ Octane Press
Journey to the End of the World: The Expedition 65 Adventure Motorcycle Ride from Colombia to Ushuaia is available from Octane Press or anywhere books are sold.
Image: Alfonse Palaima
Music by Jason Shaw at www.audionautix.com
Music by Wepa Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/