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Oct 12

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Switzerland. Arguably the most beautiful country we have ever been to. The alps. The valleys. The craftmanship in their new buildings, the character of their old and their stunning use of concerete shapes for their brutalist side. There is a phenomainal standard to seemingly everything they do.

Running has always allowed us the privilege of seeing behind the curtain, glimpsing a little of the local life as we head down roads or trails that most visitors will pass by. Running here is just the same; but hillier apparently.

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Oct 10

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We have been on a bit of a rampage. London to France, across into Belgium and then Luxembourg, Germany, and into Switzerland. In six days.

So far, super impressed with Germany. Everything is just so nicely dialled and the Germans are friendly and, contrary to popular belief, pretty funny too. Oh, and some of their roads are absolutely incredible to ride.

The German Black Forest was beautiful, but then we got into the Swiss green valleys and Alps, and they are absolutely stunning, almost everywhere, almost all the time. Chocolate box houses sitting on massive fields of perfect, lush green grass. Sometimes next to a stunning lake, like these in Lungern.

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Oct 2

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Guess where? We're back on the road, and after a brief stop in London to see the ginge aka @jamiemollart we headed south, through the channel tunnel and are now camped out at a nice little guys house near Calais. The French don't understand Spanish, but that seems to be what our brains default to after 8 years travelling around Latin America. We'll just speak it louder.

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Sep 22

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Sep 12

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Jul 10

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As the clock limps towards 3pm I realise my work is done for the day. Feeling uninspired and far from motivated my eyes wander over to the bike keys. Surely the heady smell of pine and exhaust can cure my malaise. Clothes on. Helmet buckled. Happy mode unlocked.

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Jun 29

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We’re back in Canada. And I am back on the mountain goat. It’s so, so light compared to the big Africa Twin we travel on. Amazing on the trails, terrible on the road. It is a one-trick-pony but that one trick is a hell of a lot of fun.

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Jun 13

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I am reminded that it comes quickly; the last of things. That acceleration of time towards a inevitable future date.

Having been small enough to overtake the long line of cars, but now too large to fit in the long line of numerous Motos, we are now sitting in the sun at the Paraguy border just a cars short of Argentina.

Our last border crossing of our American road trip. A trip that has lasted 8 years, 6 months 11 days, 19 countires and some thirty five thousand kilometres to complete. A reel of memories plays in my mind as we inch forward. The sights we’ve since, the trails we’ve ridden, the people we’ve met. The wind and rain, the blistering heat of Central American and Mexico. The opposite ends of food quality.

But here we are. Just a few days away from Buenos Aires where we’ll say goodbye to the moto as it heads to London, UK to await our arrival at some point later in the year.

One of the hardest things about our travel is that we know we will not be back. The world is too big. There are too many places to see. We’ll never be this immersed in such breadth of Latin American culture again and it’s somewhat heart breaking to think of it likely never playing such a huge part in our lives. A first world problem.

Thank you dear Latinos. It’s been one hell of a ride.

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Jun 4

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One of our best stops of the trip and one of the warmest welcomes thanks to Yellow Cardinal Lodge - @yclodge and three beautiful ladies; Norma, Agostina and Tati.

Rustic chic, tranquil natural ranch setting, great food and warm Argentinian hospitality. Thank you! 🙏

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Jun 3

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#motoadventure #adventuremotorcycle #motorcycletravel #ridetheworld #southamericatravel

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May 30

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Another day, another border. Paraguay, our nineteenth country of this Big Road Trip, our last of the Americas, and arguably our easiest yet as we roll forward from the passport stamping kiosk towards a man leaning against a wall who we are told is the Aduana customs official.

Half border official, half supermarket greeter. His smiling Argentinian demeanour at odds with border officials from Central America. A collection of countries whose staff have somehow obtained both the air of boredom through decades of repetition and the cluelessness of those newly recruited to the role. He holds out a hand and we pass out Temporary Import Permit which he glances at, folds, and places in his pocket. Those who have crossed borders with a vehicle before will appreciate our joy at such brevity.

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May 26

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May 20

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A quick 10km run following a route created by ‘Routespinner’ ended up as a 2+ hour run / hike by mistake. Funny how maps make trails looks so easy. We did get the chance to run down the deserted Praia da Lagoa and see their cute little town though.

For any runners out there. If you are not sure where to run when you’re away, check out https://routespinner.com
Despite the somewhat shady intro above, we’ve used Routespinner all through the Americas and, even in cities, it usually gives you a decent loop. Just plug in your distance and hit go, it gives you a bunch of options. Download one and upload the course to your sports watch for on the go directions.

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May 18

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We have a bike problem. Not sure what it is, but the Moto Center was on the way to Florianópolis, and I am keen to get it checked out.

I am at odds with the owner. I think it is something mechanical and less to do with me being stupid. He thinks my chain is too tight; it isn’t. He also thinks the chain is too dry. Arguably true, to a degree, but I only oiled it the other day, and the noise was still present immediately after.

Pulling away results in a grumbling, rasping noise that is quite cyclical and in time with the revolution of the wheels. It is still there rolling downhill with the engine off, so there’s that. At least it’s not an engine issue.

He rushes inside to get a can of chain lube and hoses most of the rear end of the bike with it. He intimates I should test ride it, so I hop on and am absolutely astonished to find the noise has gone. It’s usually mildly intermittent, but my ride around the block is unable to reproduce it.

I return to the shop and sheepishly acknowledge that the chain may have been too dry. The fact I brought my bike to a mechanic to fix that is fairly shameful. He feels sorry for me and gifts me the chainlube as if it’s something that I should know about and use more often, despite already having a can of expensive chain lube in my bike case.

Claire chats with the couple in Spanish, which they don’t speak, and laughs in all the right places when they reply in Portuguese, which Claire also doesn’t speak. I just ready the bike, confused.

We pull away and exit the town towards our next stop for the night. The grumbling, rasping noise that is quite cyclical and in time with the revolution of the wheels is back and as loud as ever.

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May 12

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Rio. Sunset. Taken by the mighty wife at #sugarloafmountain a few days ago. The sweet smell of Shakira lingering in the air from her 2 million deep free concert on #copacabanabeach (we didn’t go, not a fan of crowds and contrary to popular belief my hips do lie and preferred an early night). Nice view though. With Rio both sprawling inland and contained by the mountains and coast.

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May 8

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#maracanastadium #rio #footballstadium #footballstadiumsaroundtheworld #awayfans

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May 7

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Sunset over Rio. But, Jesus Christ, the ride up Sugar Loaf Mountain in a cable car is daylight robbery. Enough to have me reaching for a Bible as we glide up with a load of tourists on a gondola bubble doubling as a respiratory virus experiment.

At the top, the statue greets us, apologetically holding his arms wide from the distant peak. Apparently, we only needed to kneel and shut our eyes to see him, but here we are, 200m closer to his pretend dad and $100 USD lighter.

It’s nice though. In the same way that all major landmarks are. A reminder that humans can do great things when they feel like it.

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May 3

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Shaking things out around lake Rodrigo de Freitas in Rio. Some photogs take pictures of everyone and hand you a card to look up the results a few hours later. $4 seems a reasonable price too. The loop is a busy 7.5k with plenty of people watching and some wildly toned Brazilians along the way.

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May 1

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We’ve snagged a deal on an overnight flight to Rio. Business class, lie flat. Feeling pretty fly for a white guy as I lean against my personal cabin chatting to Claire whist gently kissing a cognac. Two stewards bustling to meet our needs, one taking my order for smoked halibut and champagne to be served once we’re in the air; a dinner that has delayed by an hour as maintenance on the plane has stalled any chances of being on time. Still, we’re in business class it could be worse.

The cabin crew huddle by the door. My phone pings. Our gate has changed but we’re already on the flight. Then the plane number changes. We’re told to deplane as there is an issue with ours.

I stare at my wonderfully spacious seat, blanket and United branded memory foam cushion. Opening the overhead bin with dismay and grabbing my carry-on. So near, but yet so far. Wandering, miserably, back into Houston Airport.

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Jan 18

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Jan 9

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Torres del Paine, Chile, a famous national park. To be fair, it was nice. I am sure a multi-day hike would open up some more natural wonder and no doubt it suffers from being famous, thereby ramping up the expectation. Plus, we live in British Columbia, so wide open spaces, mountains and snowy things aren't that unusual. To cut a long story short, nice ride through a nice place. Scenic, a bit touristy in places. Not as epic as we expected.
I did get a nice shot of a Vicuna mimicking the mountain backdrop and a lunatic holding a sign though.

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