I'm 13.5 months out and I feel like I don't have anything ready for this next adventure.
I know I have some of the basics prepared and although more than a year is plenty of time to prep, it just feels like it's going to come much faster than I expect. But isn't that life.
I don't want to rush it because one year away is another year older, another year down. That part I don't want to rush. But, in another sense, I'm ready for this next adventure to start. So let's talk preparations for an adventure like this.
The early stages of bike preparation. Some parts acquired, new riding gear, new tires front and back and spare parts.
Money.
This trip takes money. I'm essentially going to have to quit my job to take a leave of 4 months (the time I have allotted for this trip - to date). My rent, this year, is $1235 a month including dog fee for my dog Cannoli. I'm not getting rid of him so no savings there. I have to plan to pay my rent for those 4 months in advance plus I need a cushion to return to while I look for another job. That is, unless somehow, I can secure definite work before I leave. I'm not sure how possible that is. So $1235 x 4 months = $4940 in rent. So let's just say $5000. That's just to cover my rent. My girlfriend pays the utilities and other expenses such as wifi/cable so that should be taken care of.
Next is to budget for my actual trip. This is the toughest part to estimate. Last time my entire trip cost me about $5000. That included everything including lodging, food, border fees, gas (one of the biggest expenses), insurance, alcohol, vaccinations, spare parts (tires, oil changes, etc.) and any incidentals such as fees relating to tourism (park entry fees, etc.).
Outside of what I need to pay my rent I would roughly (very roughly) guess that I need about $7000 more for the actual trip. I'm undecided on possibly rough camping at times, this time around. Camping has been a consideration. I even bought a tent for the last trip that went unused. It still sits on my second living room floor waiting to be set up. It's camouflage and looks wonderful. Outside the U.S. I just don't know how to rough camp. I'm a little worried about camping on someone's property over the border or opening myself up to trouble. So camping is undecided. But it would be cheaper.
“Too many people spend money they earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like. ”
So the $7000. I have to calculate the U.S. dollar exchange rate versus pesos (currently 17.78), versus Quetzales (7.29), versus Belizean dollars (2.00), versus Honduran Lempira (23.41), versus El Salvadoran Colon (8.75), versus Nicaraguan Cordoba (30.16), versus Costa Rican Colon (572) versus Panamanian Balboa (1.00). Then I have to calculate an average daily expenditure. The majority of my daily expenditures relate to three things. Lodging, food and gas. Food is the most minor calculation. Lodging will depend on where I plan to stay every night. Most nights I stay at a hostel or basic motel within walking distance of the town center or plaza. Gas can be the greatest expense depending on how many miles I travel per day. My motorcycle gets about 35 miles/gallon on average. My full tank gas range is about 250 miles. Gasoline in Central America needs to be converted from gallons to liters. My bikes gas tank can hold about 28+ liters. Prices of gas in Central America range from a low of about $2.60/gallon in Panama to a high of $3.85 in Costa Rica (at the time of this writing). So about an average of $3.22/gallon. A fill up would cost roughly $25. My average miles per day would be about 200 miles at the most. So gas would cost me roughly $25/day, give or take. $25/day in fuel x 120 days = $3000! Maybe I need to ride a bicycle instead.
Funds for gas on this next trip = $3000.00
Bike ready to go. Or, so I thought. Look how clean the dirty bike was prior to my first adventure down to Mexico and Central America. Those tires strapped on the back were removed within the first 100 miles and remounted to the rear of the bike, hanging over the rear rack and behind the rear tire. These are the things you learn as you go - what works and what fails.
One of my biggest overall expenses was getting from my departure point to the U.S./Mexico border. Honestly, this part kills me. I drove a truck cross country visiting all 48 contiguous states. So as far as getting to and from the border to the point of departure, been there, done that. The less expense, the better. Riding across the U.S. is expensive. On average, for a crappy motel room, I spent about $65/night on my last trip. This trip, I would guess, wouldn't be that much different. That is for a basic Super 8 or cheap Holiday Inn motel room. As an aside, I felt more unsafe in most of these places than I did anywhere in Mexico or Central America. That point might come up later. If I remember correctly, it took me roughly 5 days to get to the Mexican border. I rode as many miles as possible per day. The distance last time from Williamsburg, VA to Presidio, TX was 1907 miles. Average miles per day was about 400, as my butt got sore after the first day and this limited my overall miles. This time it would be about 2110 miles from NJ to Presidio. At 35 miles per gallon and an average U.S. price of $2.30/gallon, that is 60 gallons and a total of $140 in fuel each way just across the U.S. to get to the border. I've contemplated shipping the bike near the border and flying down but that is still more money than just riding. Cost of trip from departure point to Mexican border including gas, lodging and food would equal about $520 each way to and from the border.
Distance between Eatontown, New Jersey and the Mexico border at Presidio, Texas =
2118 miles/3409 kms
As far a calculating the price per day in each country for food and lodging, that has yet to be determined at this date. If I had to guess, I would say about $30/day excluding gas. I understand that Panama and Costa Rica are more expensive whereby Guatemala and possibly El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras are cheaper. Mexico, the last time, cost me about $30/day for food and lodging (excluding gas). At $30/day average, minus gas costs, that is $3600 for lodging and food.
So that is where I come up with about $7000 total for the trip, excluding rent and cushion for when I get back.
Total I'm (very) roughly estimating for this trip, at this point, is about $12,000 for rent coverage, cushion and actual trip expenses.
This is how it all starts. You gotta start somewhere.
This is how you properly mount a rear tire on this particular bike. This was the second rear tire I purchased on this trip. If you look closely at the rear tire that is already mounted it has a big, flat spot up the center. It's almost time to change it.
This picture was taken in Playa Zipolite. The way I came about buying this tire was an interesting story of the relative nature of happenstance and serendipity while traveling alone. Unpredictability and pleasant surprises occur daily and this was no exception.
I had traveled over to Guadalajara from Puerto Vallarta because I read there was a place there where I could buy a rear tire. The plan was to pick up a tire while I could and ride it down closer to Guatemala where I would get it changed. As is always the case, yo soy siempre perdido. I am always the lost gringo. No exception to this rule, I rode around the metropolis of Guadalajara trying to find this place to buy a tire. I spotted another rider of a large BMW bike and figured he was local and that he would know where this BMW motorcycle dealership was that would have my tire. The problem was he didn't see me as I was behind him by a few cars in heavy traffic. He started to filter through the traffic, one time taking the sidewalk to get through. I had no choice but to follow suit. Cutting through traffic between cars, making sure that my side bags, the panniers, didn't catch a car's side view mirror and jumping up the curbs onto the sidewalk, I tried to catch up to him. Within minutes I found myself finally next to him at the front of a red light. He was surprised to see me and had no idea what I had to go through just to catch up to him.
I told him in my poor Spanish. "Necessito una llenta por mi moto!", I yelled over the noise of traffic and over helmets worn by both of us. I pointed to my rear tire. "BMW dealership?", I asked. He waved his right hand in a motion to follow him. And in great English he announced, "Follow me!" So much for my poor Spanish.
He led me through the city streets into an upscale part of the city with attached townhomes. We parked out front and he told me this was his house. This was odd as I had asked to get to the dealership and this guy takes me home. But I soon found out why. He had a locked storage cabinet out front and when he removed the padlock inside the cubby was a stack of motorcycle tires. All new. I was amazed. He told me the price and it was about what I would pay in the U.S. for the same dualsport, semi-knobbied rear tire. He invited me inside his house and in a rear section of his living room he had all brand new motorcycle gear on racks and otherwise pleasantly displayed. It was like a showroom although I got the sense that this was more of a well-kept warehouse for moto gear he sold online. Maybe it doubled as a showroom for motorcyclists he trusted to bring inside. Either way, I was elated.
He helped strap the tire to the rear of my bike and then led me back to the main highway, after I told him where I was heading next. Before I knew it, he pulled off to the side, waved goodbye and I continued on my way toward Morelia.
Bike preparations:
Well, at least I already have a reliable steed to make the trip.
When I started planning the last trip I needed a bike. I already had my tried and true 2002 Suzuki GSXR1000. It's drop dead reliable but not the bike to run miles on. It's a great bike, fast, reliable and has been what I've used in the past as my only transportation. But, as far as taking an extended excursion, it's not going to work for a cross-border, high mileage adventure. It comes down to that it's just too uncomfortable. And it's not great on gas at about 30 mpg. And I can't carry stuff on it. So, it was out of the equation.
This bike I have used and will use again for the adventure is a 2002 BMW r1150gs Adventure. It's purpose built for this kind of riding. It's far from perfect but it was the only thing that would work, or at least I thought. Ideally, a smaller and lighter bike would be easier. I considered a bike almost half the size such as a Kawasaki KLR or a Suzuki DR but because I have to ride so many highway miles to the border, I figured they would be too uncomfortable and unable to really keep up with traffic safely and efficiently. Buying the big BMW was a compromise between maintaining comfortable highway speeds with some offroad prowess. I considered the KTM adventure bikes as well but I could not find any within my price point and I considered the availability of aftermarket parts. I settled on the BMW and, since then, I've learned to love it. It's heavy, cumbersome, difficult to pick up if you drop it and not great off road but it maintains highway speeds if necessary and can conquer some off road bits when needed. Agree or not agree, this is what I chose and this is what I have.
I need to update some external equipment and I've been working on that slowly. I'll get into that more later.
Mechanically, the bike is pretty solid but I do need to take care of some things before I leave.
Suspension is soft. I need to find a way to cheaply get my suspension to where it needs to be. At some point during my last trip I blew out a front fork seal and my rear suspension is soft and sagging. I do not want to replace my suspension. It's prohibitively expensive and I will not buy aftermarket suspension at this time.
Valve adjustment. A basic maintenance procedure that has to be done regardless.
Oil Change
New tires. The rear tire is currently getting to the point that it has to be replaced. I get about 3000 miles average out of the rear tire (front tire wears at a much slower rate). So I will need not only a fresh tire when I get near the Texas/Mexico border but I will need to plan ahead and have a tire waiting for me in either Mexico or Guatemala to continue on my trip.
Side bags/panniers. My current panniers or side bags are the stock, aluminum type. The hinges are broken on both sides and I need to either replace the hinges or replace the hard bags/panniers.
Purchase extra bulbs.
Determine whether I need an updated tank bag and which type/brand I should use.
Get together with someone that knows how to change a tire on the go. Sadly, and somewhat embarrassingly, I have never had to change a flat tire out on the road and I need to know how to do this. More to come on this later as I contact someone locally to train me.
There are probably some mechanical things I am missing but I will update as I go along.
Sometimes, yes sometimes, bad things happen to a bike on a trip. So the best way to try and minimize equipment failure it to plan ahead properly. These are the stock side cases that came with my bike from the factory and they failed me.
If you look closely at the hinges you will see that they broke where the plastic hinge is secured into the case. Just poorly made hinges. Wish I would have seen this coming as I would have mounted better hinges, as I will do this next time. Luckily I did prepare enough to bring along some bungee cords. They worked for the remainder of the trip and they are still holding that case closed to this day.
Trip planning:
This I have been working on since the beginning. Off and on, since the last trip, I have been planning on this next trip.
I constantly look up different places to explore, by country. Places of interest, what to video or photograph, what would make for an interesting story.
Part of the planning is what towns or local highlights to visit and what roads to take. This is still a work in progress. I also have considered places that I missed last time or places that I would want to return.
When to go:
One of the greatest aspects of trip planning is when to go. This has been one of the greatest dilemmas. Is there ever a proper time to depart? Last time I left about the second or third week in September. It wasn't cold yet in the U.S. and it was after the rainy season in Central America.
I don't want to leave during the rainy season. It just takes too much gear and, for obvious reasons, leaves you wet. I also don't want to go into these countries during the high tourist season as prices are higher for lodging and there are more crowds. But finding the perfect time to visit these countries is never easy. When I visited last time, after the rainy season, I encountered a lot of roads that had been washed out. It didn't cause a lot of problems but it made things difficult at times. I remember one particular incidence whereby I was traveling from Lake Atitlan to Antigua and the road was completely washed away. I ultimately had to cross a river on my bike to get back onto normal tarmac.
Another consideration is what events are going to occur during the time I leave. I enjoyed traveling through Mexico and Guatemala during the high holy time of Dia de las Muertas. This is huge down there and I don't think I want to miss it again. Summertime is too humid. Pre-summer is too crowded. Rainy season too rainy. So I think I'm aiming again for a mid-September departure.
Insurance, border fees and vaccinations.
I've already dealt with insurance in Mexico and Belize. I don't remember if I had it in Guatemala. If it was required, I had it. That should be an issue in preparing for this. However, I will have to figure out how long I have to visit each country and what is required in each. That not only includes my insurance for the bike but also the temporary vehicle import pass. Border fees are somewhat minimal so once I do a little more research I can find out how much it will cost to import me and how much it will cost to import my bike. And then I can find out how long I can stay or when I have to renew each. This can get tricky. More on this later.
Border crossing into Mexico. This is the green light lottery system. Look ahead of me and just below the "Mexico" sign there is a green arrow. If you get the right light you proceed uninterrupted. If you get the wrong light you are pulled in for more inspection. I was usually pulled in no matter where I went but it was always a pleasant experience with the border guards. I actually enjoy these interactions and don't see it as a set back. What's my rush? This is what being a traveler is about. Don't be a tourist.
Vaccinations are easy. Last time I got vaccinated and possibly over vaccinated for relatively cheap. And once vaccinated, I am good for a while. This won't be a concern. I will carry a vaccination card with me and it should last for the duration of my trip. Easy.
Border fees and procedures vary by country. I have to look into what border crossing points are most recommended as far as ease of crossing and shortest length of time. Last time I had no problems. This time I will plan on the worst so I can set the bar low.
This is part 1 of the preparations. More to come as I prepare more.