The Clock Keeps Ticking...

It's 12:45 am on Monday night.  Actually I guess that makes it Tuesday morning.  I was pushing to get out of town by Wednesday midday.  Yeah.

Ran into a couple of SNAFU's while wrenching on the bike.  No real surprise there.  I was just curious where the hiccup would occur.  Well it's no longer a secret.  Seems somewhere along the line, someone made a boo-boo during an oil change and didn't thread the oil tank plug in to well.  Whoops.  Probably me, so I cut out the cussing and got to trying to solve the problem.  Attempts #1 & #2 failed miserably and left me with a constant drip of precious oil leaking out.  With some conjuring and guesswork, I found a solution for the moment.  I've left the bike partially disassembled until morning when I can take another look and make sure it's good for the long haul... Yeah, we'll see.

Everything else went great working on the bike.  Having a two-stall heated garage to work in is an incredible blessing.  Thanks to great roommates who deal with this chaos!  We may have even found my replacement.  The tenant searching process has been interesting to say the least.  But as we're coming down to the wire, my trusty roommates are on the prowl for me.  Fingers crossed, we may have the right match lining up.

Tonight was a great night in the garage.  Just as I was starting to lose my cool, Matty came out with the guitar and played a 45 minute set while I wrenched away....

So with a Winter Storm Warning in effect for the next three days here in the mountains, I continue to push along against the odds.  Such a typical feeling prepping for departure on an epic journey.  Seems no matter how hard I try to prepare it always comes down to the wire.  Pressure's on.  Let's see if it all can come together.

I did manage to figure out a 007 location for a couple of emergency Benjamins.  You never know when some good ol' greenbacks could really save the day.  So I packed 'em up in some ziplocs and gave them a quick duct tape treatment.  And all the while this is going on I can't help but to think of 'Easy Rider' and how they stashed their money in the gas tanks.

Not too bad,  $400 in trusty U.S. currency already stashed away a mere 10 bolts away.  Should be close enough yet far enough.  I hope.

So for now... at 1 a.m. I'm signing out.  Fingers are crossed, hoping that in the morning I don't find high quality, fully synthetic racing oil pooled up under my bike.  Need to line up some travel insurance and some Mexican motorcycle insurance tomorrow.  Make a run to Home Depot and Wal-Mart (god I really hate those places) for the last minute add-ons, and start packing the bike.

My room is nearly packed up and I only need to copy all of my important documents and scan them into the electronic ether and I'm about out the door.

Of course that sounds easy here in text.  We shall see what comes of the day tomorrow.

Stay tuned...

All photos ©JustinKleiter2009

Final Countdown...

'It's the Final Count Down!'  You're meant to read that with an '80's hairband scream.  Did 'Europe' even write any other songs?  Well I guess they've served my purposes for this intro anyway.  It is the Final Countdown.  Only days until I leave on an extended hiatus from my life in Colorado, to explore unknown lands and cultures.  Unknown to me at least.  And some known too, that I'm eager to revisit.

My vaccinations are complete.  And what a stew they shot into me.  First round was Yellow Fever, Influenza (they couldn't spare me any H1N1 though), Tetanus (Tdap), Hepatitis A/B (these babies aren't cheap, either.  Hepatitis requires three visits at $60 a crack) oh yeah...

And I've been intentionally ingesting deadly Typhoid as well.  I'm not supposed to eat before I take this Live Ty21a so that it can get all the way to my small intestine before the capsule melts and it instead ends up in my stomach causing only god knows what to happen there!

So after making swiss cheese out of both of my arms and willingly eating Typhoid, I feel like I'm somewhat prepared to exit the wholly sanitary confines of the United States.

"Aren't you supposed to be out of our country by now?" asked my roommate Matt.  Everyone close to me is ready for me to get the heck out of town.  For weeks, even months, all they have been hearing me talk about is my motorcycle trip.  Now in the mad rush to pull it all together it is omnipresent.  They are tired of hearing about the 'Big Gay Motorcycle Trip,' as we have come to refer to it.  See there is so much planning and plotting and scheming to do, I couldn't keep it all to myself.  I mean, that wouldn't be fair, to do all this planning without asking everyone I know what they think too...  what?  Who would do that?

But soon enough.  Only days really.  I'll be out of here and they'll wish I was still here making a mess of the place.

For now, I'm going to make an even bigger mess in the garage.  Full Oil change, coolant change and some upgrade parts; a Evoluzione Billet Aluminum Clutch Slave (cuz nobody likes hanging out with an unworking clutch), guts for my rear brake master cylinder, remove a set of links on the chain, final bleed of the brakes, a quick spring preload adjustment on the front suspension, install new PIAA High Output headlight, a new air filter and aftermarket prefilter and I have to replace an o-ring at the gear indicator switch. The big KTM 950 Adventure is about to get torn down in the garage one last time.

Stay tuned for more...
Next up:  The Plan

Loose as it is there is actually an underlying current moving through this project.

Kickoff to Reality...

So I guess this is the official first post of my newest and grandest adventure yet.  (pauses. clears throat.)  With much preparation and aniticipation, I am finally poised for departure.  My plans are a loosely ruffled sort, the kind that most people wouldn't really refer to as plans at all.  But my goal is clear.  (Insert goal here.)  My insurance almost purchased.  My trusty steed almost ready.  My route, well my direction at least, is decided.  And so with a hurried, "oh my god it's snowing here already!" state of mind, I'm pulling together the myriad of details required to embark on a journey of this magnitude...

So with no further shenanigans, Uncle g.'s Wheelies for Peace presents...

2010: A Latin American Odyssey
a photographic inquiry by justin kleiter

©2009 justinkleiter@hotmail.com

stay tuned for more...