|
Web Sites
- http://www.strikingviking.net/
A biker going from California to the tip of South America was kidnapped in
Columbia. You can check out his story here.
-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com Horizons Unlimited. This is
an excellent resource for research this is a group of world travelers that
are experienced in doing what we are planning on doing. They have a forum.
Grant Johnson the owner of the forum has been notified of our ride and has
welcome us to participate in their forum so don't be hesitant to use this
resource.
- http://rideoftheheart.com/
Woman's Motorcycle Journey Around the World
- http://www.kreisels.com/tibet94/
I discovered his site by accident. He's made several trips across Asia
(Tibet, Pakistan, India, China). This particular account talks about his
3,300-mile trip in 1994. He's got the right idea, just the wrong power
source. He's done all his trips on a bicycle. Still I think there are many
lessons to be learned from him.
-
http://www.countrywatch.com/ Here is a site we can all use to keep updated on the
Geopolitical issues of the countries involved in the trip. It also
includes a currency converter link
- http://www.outbackofbeyond.com/roadsend.htm This web site is a short account of a series of attempts, starting in
1975.
-
http://www.outbackofbeyond.com/gap.htm Stories on their
motorcycle expedition. There is a link to a slide story somewhere on the
site as well. I didn't find the web site well linked, so here are couple
more pointers:
- http://www.motivation-tools.com/adventures/darien_gap.htm
Additional stories on the Darien Gap from another adventurer. If anyone is
familiar with the Darien Gap in Panama and Colombia - it's a 120+ mile roadless
mixture of jungles, rivers, swamps and ... uh, oh, banditos. In a later
expedition, it took them 741 days to cross this piece of land.
-
www.fitac.org The website for FITAC, the umbrella
organization of auto clubs across the Americas. Since I (Tony Higgins) have a
motorcycle-coverage membership in an affiliated club (Alberta Motor
Association, a CAA club) I have started contacting each of the
affiliates in Central and South America to see how we can get better info on
road conditions to assist in planning.
-
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr
This is a great page for all your translation stuff just bring a laptop
with you, and search... and they will think you are really fluent and
smart..It works great....
-
http://www.michelthomas.com/ As far as learning Spanish, I have heard some very good
reviews about Michel Thomas. Apparently he has a unique method that
requires no taking notes or memorizing. He's had celebrities attend his
classes, that cost several thousands of dollars for a weekend.
Check out his CD set at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/
-
http://www.caa.ca/e/travel/id/index.shtml “Carnet de
Passages en Douane,” available only through the Canadian Automobile
Association for us Norte Americanos.
-
www.lonelyplanet.com Good travel info.
- www.ride-on.com A tire
sealer product called Ride-on TPS (tire protection
system).
They offer a formula for tube and tubeless tires, and I have used the
tubeless formula with good success--no punctures yet to test the
product, but it is tire friendly.
-
http://www.footprintbooks.com/ I (Dtop) highly recommend the
Mexico and Central America Handbook and the South America Handbook published
by Footprint Handbooks - usually avail on Amazon. I've found them the best
for this kind of travel. They give you vehicle entry requirements for each
country.
-
http://www.ronayres.com/GuidedTours.htm
Be sure to check the Brazil to Ushuaia trip. What great pics.
-
www.globalstar.com Global Star sat phones
-
www.sanbornsinsurance.com Sanborn's Insurance offers an excellent mile-by-mile guide
to driving in Mexico. I was just getting some info for my July 4th
Mexican trip and noticed that they are now offering Central American
information as well.
Vehicle importation into Central America is at
http://www.sanbornsinsurance.com/cacustoms.html
-
http://www.combackalive.com
The Black Flag Cafe is the forum. The morbid details of these groups can
be learned from reading Robert Peyton's books "Dangerous Places" as well as
his articles in National Geographic Explorer.
His web forum has some good tidbits on how to travel safely, if you can
stomach wading through all the political and flame threads.
-
http://blogs.motorbiker.org/mikewerner/Blog.nsf Scroll to 31 Oct for the record
breakers)
-
http://www.globebusters.com/index1.html Their site including the record-breaking Prudhoe Bay-Ushuaia trip in
35days, 30 min, 27 sec.
-
http://www.globebusters.com/challenges/transam/ Single pilot, 2-up, even broke car record with rotating drivers.
-
http://www.acatushun.com/eng-natalie.htm
While vacationing in Ushuaia (oss-WHY-ya), folks with
interests in Biology might be interested in a 'young' lady from Ohio who
lives just a couple hours out of town.
-
http://motovistafilms.com/ Every Christmas, a small group
of motorcyclists gathers at the very tip of South America. Our series The
Moto Guzzi Diaries will follow three of them as they journey from California
to the tip of the world in Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina, and then back to New
York City. But there's a catch, they'll do it all without the benefit of
G.P.S. or maps.
-
http://www.maptak.com/index.html Some great maps of Costa Rica
- http://www.medjetassistance.com/
Emergency medical service. They basically will fly you - in a
fully equipped and staffed medical jet - out of anywhere to the hospital of
your choice if you get hurt.
-
http://www.airambulancecard.com was a redirect from
www.medjet.com Emergency medical Service
-
http://www.countrywatch.com/ A good link to keep up with
geopolitical events.
Books
Personal
We do not want to be a pain in the neck by having multiple riders
making contract. If you think you would like to make contact with one of the
folks listed, please coordinate that with the ride manager and request that
you be assigned as the MTF Liaison with that person.
- Ron Ayres -
You guys do sound nuts. And I love it !! First of all, yes, feel free to
write to me, by all means.
- Don Kime (safetnut) sent me the
name of one his buddies (Phil) in el paso that has made numerous excursions
into mexico. perhaps we could recruit him?
- Will Allender - I have a good friend in the American Embassy in Chile.
I've also traveled a bit in Peru and may still have a contact there as well. Unfortunately, my friend in the embassy in Chile is
being reassigned to the Philipines in January. Any questions about Chile
can be forwarded and maybe he can provide us a new contact in the
embassy before he leaves.
Miscellaneous
- AAA has affiliates in Canada, Mexico, most of Central
America, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay,
Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Make sure your "Plus" coverage for
motorcycles is paid up
- AAA -- If you're a member, get their consolidated map for the Caribbean,
Central and South America. It's surprisingly good re the major routes.
Bar code identifier 10310201, no other publication info, I got the
2001-2002 edition. Useful for overview planning even if you get more
detailed maps -- and free to members!
- International Travel Maps -- this Vancouver-based firm (ITMB Publishing
Ltd) produces some pretty good maps that are marketed all over the
world. I got their maps for Central America (scale 1:1,100,000)
north-west South America (scale 1:4,000,000 -- includes coverage as far
over as Guyana, including the Manaus route) and southern South America
(scale 1:2,800,000). These cost about $10 US each.
- Tim Yow (rydnfool) I have friends that have lived in the jungles of the
Darien for many,many years. I'm trying to track them down for some local
advise. If I manage to do so I'll let you know their suggestions and/or
warnings.
| |
|
