not all those who wander are lost | two earthlings ride around the world

[slojeep]

I have been wondering when we would get an update i hope they are ok.

[Rockwell]

Hello!

Sorry for not updating.

Paula and I were involved in an accident in El Salvador on January 7th. I made the stupid decision to pass a slow-moving vehicle on the shoulder that suddenly pulled off the side of the road, knocking us into a sewage ditch. Paula and I were both completely unharmed, but the bike suffered quite a bit of damage. The front wheel was totaled, and the frame was cracked at the steering head:

















Paula and I decided to fly home to work and make more money so that we could rebuild the bike and continue the trip. I've been back at my engineering job, and Paula is looking for work.

We've been dealing with the nightmare of getting the motorcycle back into Canada. The incompetent shipping company that we went with has had the bike sitting in their warehouse for the past 8 weeks. We've had to take to getting the El Salvadorian Embassy, in Toronto, involved. Since we did, things seemed to be moving along, and we hope that the bike will ship soon. After it ships, it will still take over 30 days to arrive back in Canada since it will be shipping by sea.

We're going to try to make some time to update our blog from where we left off until now.

Our plan is to, once the bike finally arrives back, rebuild the motorcycle, regroup, and head out back on our trip in September or October.

[mervifwdc]

That's a bummer. Really sorry to see you've to put a pause in your adventure, but I'm sure it's just a temporary setback. I'm looking forward to the updates when your back in the saddle so to speak.

Merv.

[zeke2.0]

Very glad you weren't hurt. Looking forward to you starting again.

[Cityslicker]

If yinz come through Pittsburgh I got a couple places you would love to see. Let me know.

[Frank]

Holy crap. Glad you guys are OK!

As much as I hate to say it, I would probably recommend parting the bike out and buying a new one. Repairing that would require a new frame from the looks of it.

[Cruiser Jimmy]

OMG. So sorry for the accident and glad that you kids are okay.

[Ruined Adventures]

Our plan is to, once the bike finally arrives back, rebuild the motorcycle, regroup, and head out back on our trip in September or October.

What a shame!

At least you have the right attitude though, way to get back on that horse and ride! We'll be rooting for a speedy return

[HumphreyBear]

Sorry to hear this - man, that is not merely a cracked headstock weld (terminal at the best of times), that is a completely separated headstock weld. The fact that you walked away from hitting something with that much force is astounding and fortuitous, and no doubt helped by much skill. I wish you all the best with getting everything back on track. I was just popping in to see how you were going as the title has been bouncing around in the mush at the back of my head for months and I finally realised that it is a quote from Tolkein. Surely something can be interpreted from the last lines for your current situation...

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be bike that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

Cheers,
Humphrey

[Rockwell]

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be bike that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

Cheers,
Humphrey

Awesome! I think I need to borrow that for our website.

A number of people have suggested welding the frame, but I also doubted that would be a good idea. I can get a brand new frame for $1,200, and I have an offer for some used forks off an '06 950 for about $800. I'll also need a new wheel and a few plastic body pieces.

After almost 4 months of dealing with the shipping agent, we finally received the bike back in Canada last week. We had to get the El Salvadorian Embassy, in Toronto, involved back in February in order to get things moving. We had an offer from a local dual sport shop (who were following our blog) for some shop space to fix the bike and have access to their mechanic. I'm currently in the process of organizing and order of parts, and we hope to start working on the bike soon. If all goes according to plan, we should be back on the road by September.