The necessary hero - The bike

There has never been any doubt in my mind as to which motorcycle would take me through this adventure, even when confidence and imagation took over and i dreamt of riding the route on something ridiculous like a pink 50cc monkey bike or C90 pizza step through. Or even doing a Nick Sanders and chase the horizon on an R1, But i`ll leave those fruit cake dreams to the really, really adventurous, for now anyway...The Kawasaki KLR650. A cult classic dual-sport machine. A bike the massive Japanese manufacturer hasn`t altered, as their rivals where altering their machines year after year. The Kwak has stayed the same, maybe a few stickers here and there, since the mid eighties upto last year. It seems like that wasnt a wrong move, as the KLR has been right up there in sales to the adventurous North American global munching motorcycle adventurers, commuters, local trail riders, beginners and general bike lovers, state side. But over here on our little Island the KLR has been sitting despondent in the shadows of all other species of bikes. I think we love our silly accleration and top end madness to much and without to much legal off road availability, the Kwak has no hope here. I have only seen one in the past year, parked up in the car park of the sinister white swan pub in Stepney (wonder what his story is ?). The bike is no high performance motocrosser, or quick off the lights fireblade humiliator, like some KTM`s have been known to be. Its built to eat miles on all sorts of terrain, even though its a mass produced machine, which the japanese are known to mass produce using cheaper materials. If the US marine corp use them, with only a few modifications (including a diesel conversion, done for logistical reasons) it must be a monster for high mileage and rough treatment. A heart beat 651cc, watercooled calmly vibing single cylinder, weighing in at around 155 kilos, humble horsepower, with a grunty low-mid range, fed by a 40mm carb, this bike is a basic as they come, which to me says : low running costs, enough grunt to get out of panic spots, accessible parts in obscure places and simple maintenance (mind you i could be very wrong as i am not mechanicaly minded, without lots of effort). The fuel tank holds around 6.1 US gallons, that i remember let me squeeze around 250-ish miles from. Its a tall bike, that i have to prepare myself for when mounting, instead of just jumping on, but once up there in the clouds feel absolutly at home on, it fits. On dirt i havent found the height a problem. I have used a lower BMW F650 also and didnt find my basic off road skills any different from that of riding the KLR..... There a few obvious other choices of adventure bikes out there, like the humungous Beamers and the gorgeous KTM adventure series, but these bikes cost an arm and a leg to initialy buy, so they are out of the question for me, let alone they are just to show offy and to much to handle on the dirt for myself. I owned a Yamaha XT660X supermoto last year and was very tempted to have a go on the americas with that, (haven`t heard of a supermoto doing the route) but after getting sensible again and seeing its such a cheaper option to buy the bike in the states than to ship my own, the XT was filed away in my mind, shame really coz that was a fun machine.Aprilia, suzuki and even MZ produce dual sports aswell, but after looking into and past experiences, the KLR just gives me no choice..... the wide handle bars give superb leverage when on dirt and on the tarmac, where Counter stearing into the twisties on the KLR is a right grin, even if not at missile speeds. After saying all this, i have to mention that i have never owned a KLR. I have only ridden approximatly 4000 miles around South Africa and Alaska on one, thats where i draw my judgement from. In those miles i have trouble finding any complaints, infact i have non !.... looks of a bike are irrelevant for a trip like this, apart from the fact that discretion is probably a large point, in not showing off on a shiny, brand new, custom sprayed "ive got money" machine ,in those wonderful less fortunate countries. Saying that though, i love the Mad Max, battlefield looks of the KLR, which definatly sits on the lower dirtier end of the Obvious "have money" stick.





The plan is to buy the KLR in Anchorage, Alaska with the help of a good friend, Phil Freeman, who runs the superb Alaska Rider Tours outfit up there. I have ridden with Phil on a number of occasions and completly trust his knowledge, experience and large adventuristc tendancies, which are infectious. He has a legion of bikes including some wise old KLR`s which one of, has my name and rear size written all over it. I cant wait to meet the machine that will take me out there !

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE ! NAVIDAD ALEGRE !

To all that are reading this and to all families affected by Fragile X. To all those wonderful people working within Fragile X organisations. To all those future friends, who i am going to meet on the road and to all those who have helped me out with the venture, i want to wish you HUGE HUGE heart felt wishes of Major merryness this christmas and i hope 2008 brings you delights unheard of !.... I am working all over the festive season, but will be smiling my head off, willing the new year in, warm with the thoughts of what 2008 will bring on the road from Alaska to Ushuaia..

De aqui en Londres. A todos en America Latina, mi le deseo un Navidad alegre y un prospero ano nuevo !excitado a reunion de usted por mi expedicion en 2008 !

New directions

My route is evolving all the time. As i have mentioned before i can only describe a rough plan, but with the contact i am gratefully recieving from the kind people involved with Fragile X in the Americas, i am starting to get a more focused route. Above is my new, at the moment route. A few deviations that i have described in my last post.

Rejection - Understanding - Solace - Excitement !

" This sponsorship malarkey , will be a doddle ! - companies and people will want to give, knowing their donation is going straight to a worthy cause and not funding some naive nut case who plans to ride a motorcycle up and over everywhere "

That was my first thought, as this idea of the FXpedition bombarded my brain, leaving not much room for any other thoughts, instincts, or even desires. I was a little off the mark. It has become the hardest challenge i have ever found my face facing. One that has had me waking up the wrong way round in bed, with the covers wrapped around my neck, on more than a few occasions. I wouldn`t change it for anything ! I have been sending emails and phoning all sorts of companies, from local hot dog sellers to huge global munching corporates. Some have said back to me " yes, we are interested, send us your plans" some have said "soooo, what publicity are you getting ? " but most say " NO ! . publicity, thats the Profound key. I need constant articles in all publications, reaching a wide base of readers. So far i have been lucky in finding the wonderful people from, bike animal, dirt bike rider mag and briefly MCN, who as i have mentioned in past posts have given me publicity, reaching the motorcycle audience here in the UK. I am no journo, with an agent so getting constant articles written in the larger publications is near on impossible, but i will keep trying to charm and convince the rascals to let me in ! then the larger would be donaters will raise more than one eyebrow. We have the big NEC bike show next week, so i am going to stick my face in every direction there. It will be a chance to meet all sorts of people involved in all aspects of biking. I have made hundreds of flyers (pic above) that have been scattered everywhere, in tea shops, bike shops, on top drink dispensers, in prams, in pockets, in windows and everywhere i see a gap. Thank you Andrew Morten, down there in KIWI heaven for spreading the word, and especially getting that radio mention in Auckland. Thanks to Nadine and the other Simon Siggs (top name !) down there in OZ for flying the flyers all over also !

I am chuffed to pieces and will be forever grateful to all the people who have individually donated so far. Every time i see another donation, my confidence blooms and i get hungrier to see this through. Your generosity is unsurpassed. I have to say AON, my primary sponsor have been amazing. They have backed me with no questions asked or no pressure of getting them publicity. Thank you AON.

My route South is evolving in exciting ways i wasn`t expecting. I have been getting some fantastic correspondence going with people from all over the Americas, involved with Fragile X Syndrome. I am now riding more easterly in Canada, moving off of the Rockies spine and heading for Saskatoon, where i hope to meet up with Jamie, an enthusiastic young lady, who has a nephew with Fragile X. Jamie is on her own mission for Fragile X, so i wish her all the best with that, knowing she, after only some small correspondence will take all challenges she faces, in her stride. Uruguay is calling also. Virginia , the secretary of the Uruguay Fragile X association, i have been corresponding with, so i am going to turn left out of Bolivia, riding across northern Argentina, with a small side trip ( a couple of 1000km) to find the Valle De La Luna (the valley of the moon, how can i resist ?!!), heading back to cross from Argentina into Uruguay at Frey bentos (ring any bells ??). Or if the present political grief hasn't subsided by then at that crossing, i will cross more northerly at Paysandu or Concordia, then head down into montevideo where i hope to meet Virginia, Daniela, who has a son affected with Fragile X, and all the others in their association. We will strive to get local publicity from their local media, which will spread some needed awareness. I am really excited about visiting Uruguay because i hadn`t planned on going there. Next, i am riding down into Patagonia to visit senor Flia Gracia Owen, who has brilliantly written to me also. Flia lives in Trelew, a gorgeous scenic part of Argentina, situated very close to Gaiman, which is an enigmatic welsh settlement town in windy beautiful Patagonia. The FXPedition is turning into something global, something i didnt even imagine it would be. I am happier than ever over what its becoming. Fingers crossed i will get more contact with people over there, to Zig Zag my route even more, taking me to new unthought of places on that magnificent, diverse, otherworldy landmass !

I want more stickers to saturate my bike with, so if you have a company large or small, sponsor this venture so i can stick your company stickers all over my panniers ! send me your t-shirts aswell, so i can wear them when getting media photos taken on this advertising opening of a trip ! If you are interested and have ideas of your own, i am all ears and up for more challenges on route !

Remember ALL DONATIONS DO NOT FUND ME IN ANYWAY. ALL DONATIONS GO STRAIGHT TO THE FRAGILE X SOCIETY.

¿es afectado usted por el síndrome x frágil y vivo en América Latina?

en primer lugar, por favor perdóneme cuando mi español de América Latina no está bien en este momento, entonces uso a un traductor de Internet.

por este gran viaje de motocicleta, quiero encontrar a la gente de países diferentes a lo largo del camino, que está implicada con el síndrome x frágil, si ello ser con una organización o tener a un miembro de familia con x frágil. Creo que en la reunión podemos crear algo global, algo que sólo puede ser un movimiento en una dirección positiva. en la llegada juntos podemos ganar el interés de los habitantes del barrio y los medios locales, extendiendo la conciencia a tantas personas como podemos.

tan si usted leer este y vive en América Latina por favor para enviarme por correo electrónico vía el chasquido de contacto en el lado derecho del derecho encima, debajo del viejo mapa y vamos a cosas arange desde allí. me he puesto en contacto con la gente en Norteamérica hasta ahora, entonces este viene todo juntos muy bien.

gracias para su tiempo y muchísimo tan la superficie inclinada espero a visitar sus países hermosos.

buena suerte todos

big thank you`s !

I want to say on behalf of the Fragile X society & myself huge thanks to the following : Dirt Bike Rider monthly magazine, for covering the fragile x pedition on their website. DBR is a superb magazine covering all aspects of off-road riding. Get all the latest information on motocross, supercross & all things off-road. Covering key events, in depth interviews & expert opinions as well as the latest tests on new machines. A passionate bunch !

Thank you Motorcycle News. The quintessential motorcycling paper. For their section on the Fragile X Pedition. MCN the voice of motorcycling

And a big thank you to Geoff Hill, author of "The road to Gobblers Knob". A fast paced, compassionate, hilarious and inspirational tail of 2 men out there amongst it on motorcycles, riding the length of the Pan American highway, from the bottom to the top. Read this book and you will be out there amongst it also, without leaving your seat. Brilliant !. Geoff has kindly mentioned the FXPedition in his News paper. "The Newsletter"....

An immense thank you also, to Salvador, my Spanish teacher. Salvador has given me his free time and patience, with a number of one to one lessons as a donation to the FXPedition. These one to one`s do not come cheap. I strongly recommend Salvador as a teacher in Espanol. He is articulate, friendly, understanding and has the ability to bring out confidence and get the information untangled in heads, especially mine, which is a tall order ! I am now actually beyond just saying " Una ceveza por favor ". I recommend him without doubt, if you are considering learning Spanish in London. If so please contact me and i will forward his details. Thank you mate !

Thank you TRANSWORLD COURIERS for the very generous unconditional donation to the Fragile X Society. I have been working with Transworld for around 10 years now, sending all sorts all over the planet, from Jars of missed marmite to Australia, Extremely urgent cd-roms to the states, forgotten underwear to the far east and next day documents to every destination imaginable all for competitive prices and always on time. They deal with our impossible requests as easy as i ask them to. But what always gets me in their direction is the one to one personal, friendly way they do their stuff, not a 10 minute soul destroying automated nightmare chain on the phone. I have made some great friends with them , without ever meeting any of them. SO once again, Thanks Val, sonia, Daniel, steve, nick, and all at TWC !.........Please click and clock the TRANSWORLD COURIERS LINK ON THE RIGHT, whenever you want move ya stuff around the planet

The Route - An early direction

I have always imagined that in these "civilised" times, anyone and everyone can access anywhere on earth that desire drives them to get to, via some sort of designed road. After hours of eye ache and the endless spinning of world globes scattered around the office, it struck me that i must be able to get from the top of the world to the bottom on a motorcycle without having to jump land for a ship. The Pan American highway. The Beaufort Sea, off Alaska - all the way down to the Drake passage, South of Chile / Argentina on land. It seems undecided to where the road actually starts and finishes. Some say it starts in Circle, a town just south of the arctic circle in Alaska and ends in Puerto Montt, south of Santiago, but not as far as Tierra Del Fuego. Some say it starts as you hit Latin America, heading south. It doesn`t really matter . All that matters is that i will find out and let you know, unofficially.

The Pan American looks like a single track down from prudhoe Bay, through Alaska and into Canada. At a place near where the yukon territory hits British Columbia the road crows feet off in all directions. Either take the south west direction towards and then down the western coast of Canada and the states or head inland and ride the fins of the Rockies. Both end up at the border with Mexico. Through Mexico, riding down the centre, zig zagging to either coasts at some point on the journey. Across the first; as they recon, testing border crossing, into Guatemala. Hit El Salvador, then slip into Honduras for a quick blast before entering Nicaragua, which then leads into Costa Rica and then the final Central American country of Panama. Bearing in mind the mudslides, hurricanes, pot holes, dead donkeys, the odd bandit massive and maps have all been kind to me (or i have payed attention when necessary). Crossing into Colombia from Panama is a worthy topic for adventurous discussions. The region is known as the Darien Gap. A 100-ish km,thick ,lush rain forest region, which is virtually impassable. Only the very , very hardy attempt this section. There are no built roads through here. Experts say that roads and busy transit will destroy this rich , biodiverse region. Also it looks like they are a bit scared of trying due to the criminal activity there. There seems to be two answers to this green wall and that is to fly over it to Bogota or jump on a boat (just a tad of a jump land for a ship) to Cartegena. We shall see what happens and what the options at the time evolve into. I will chase the option of a boat though , to sail us to the famous, colourful, Spanish main, city of Cartegena. After all that down, down through Colombia, listening carefully to the local friendlies as they advise where not to go, where maybe to go and where to definitely not go. Into Ecuador, Quito, up and over mount Cotopaxi, to the peruvian border. Up again into the sky along the Andes into Bolivia and her Salt Flats, stay in the sky for a few more wonderful rides. Down into Argentina. Slog over the Pampas, to wrestle with the eternal patagonian winds. Probably zig zagging again into Southern Chile and the commune of torres del paine, where some say god, ended up chucking all the beautiful stuff he had left over after the 7th day of creating everything... Then thats it, Tierra Del Fuego. the end of the road. Well i am going to have a look to see if i can ride any further anyway.

Its impossible to stick to a defiante route on an epic like this. We will end up heading down all sorts of different routes. Listening to locals with knowledge of wonderful must goto places way off the beaten track and then some more. Spontaneous situations will send us all over. Maps sometimes fib. Countries so fat you just have to follow the handle bars. I intend to have tasks on the journey also. Finding Fragile X organisations. Searching out Aon Group limited offices to say hello to. Mastering the tango on an Argentinian pavement. To sleep in a steam train cemetry. many things that haven`t even come to mind yet. All these things will take us on unintentional routes. To have an adventure spreading the word of the Fragile x cause.