Just back from the Himalayas...

[dchakrab]

...where the riding was incredible :) My leg got well enough to hold a bike up, so a friend and I took two Royal Enfield Bullets (a cast iron 500 and a newer aluminum 350) on a fairly intense ride: Calcutta - Asansol - Varanasi - Allahabad - Agra - Delhi - Chandigarh - Manali. Up to Rohtang Pass, to see the glacier (in a snowstorm), and through some very hot, dry countryside in bandit country, and everything in between. Would have done the trip back through Nepal, but running out of money and time, we decided to leave that for next time.

Did two days camping on horseback, too. Damn horses don't lean too good, though (my first time).

So now I'm back, and broke, as is usually the case when I eye the Vision longingly...time to get that '83 running again. I'm hoping this just means new battery and (of course) a carb clean, but we'll see :)

I'm terrified to take the carbs off, but I think it's going to have to happen, since I can't find the mechanic buddy who did the cleaning for me last time. I've screwed up one set of these before, so I'm hoping the Lucky Carb Cleaning Shop is open for business?

How is everyone?

[Rick G]

I envy you your trip, what an adventure !!! I'd love to  to own an  RE bullet, there really cool!
Lucky isn't doing carbs , but I am , PM me if you  need yours done.

[dchakrab]

It was certainly an adventure...we broke pretty much everything including the hub on a rear wheel (and that was halfway up the mountainside in the rain) :)

Dodging insane Indian traffic, yaks, cows, camels, two peacocks, people, one little girl on a bicycle (on a national highway!), and a couple of inconvenient mountains, we finally made it to Manali, where we drank a lot and let our butts recover. The ride back was rushed, since I had to make it back in time to catch a flight back to Chicago. I'm eyeing a Calcutta - Goa trip next time I'm there, and possible trips to Alaska or Argentina if I ever save up enough for one of those butt ugly BMW adventure bikes :)

I'll shoot you a PM, and we'll take it from there. Thanks!

  Dave.

[h2olawyer]

Sounds like a great trip!  Glad you are continuing to heal.   ;D  Any photos?

Rick - I thought you didn't touch 83 carbs.   ;)

H₂O

[abogado68]

When any body want to ride down south (Mexico) I will be more than happy to help and even serve as a guide. It would be great, a guide and attorney for the the following price: laughs, good times and maybe tequila and coronas or indio beer,oh I almost forgot great tacos for the beer and tequila.

[dchakrab]

@Abogado68:

I will try and remember to look you up when I attempt a ride into Mexico, or (perhaps) ...Argentina :)

And I took a bottle of Herradura with me on this trip...we ended up drinking most of it up in the mountains, either straight or mixed with this delicious local apple juice they make up there (sounds strange, but it was a heavenly combination). Will try and find a mezcal next time.

@H20:

I really, really, really hope Rick will take '83 carbs. The trip was incredible...I need to ride more, around the world. I've got photos, a couple on Facebook, will find some time once I'm caught up on work stuff and get them all posted to Flickr. You'll even see my fat ass on a horse :)

[Night Vision]

When any body want to ride down south (Mexico) I will be more than happy to help and even serve as a guide. It would be great, a guide and attorney for the the following price: laughs, good times and maybe tequila and coronas or indio beer,oh I almost forgot great tacos for the beer and tequila.

hear that Tiger?
abogado, are you anywhere near Cancun?

[abogado68]

No where near cancaun. But near Ixtapa, Manzanillo, Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta. Tequila is good. White tequila is the best. Don Julio white is my favorite. Straigt with orange juice, tacos etc as chaser. Don Julio 1942 aged is aslo a high quality tequila. A bit pricy though. Mezcal is different. My family makes very good homemade mezcal. More than happy to share a bottle with anyone. A lot of riders come south. Be sure to call me if anyone does. I'm a rider a vision lover and an attorney who will help any Rovers on their trip to mexico for free.

[Tiger]

 8) Hmmmmmmmmmm... 8)

[dchakrab]

Hmmm. You're near my girlfriend's mother's family...excellent.

Ok. I'm in. I should have a bike ready this year, so maybe next Spring / Summer? Anyone have estimates for riding times from the border to Acapulco? I can Google map to the border, though there are probably several interesting routes south from Chicago. This is now officially on my to-do list, competing with Alaska for next summer's long ride.

:) Anyone else?

I've got a friend wistfully planning Germany - India at some point, but we're both thinking it's going to take 4-5 years to save up enough to be able to take six months off and cover expenses for a trip that long.

[Rick G]

If your going to travel through northern AZ, on your way to Mexico , you must stop in Kingman!

[abogado68]

DCHAKRAB,

The best time to ride in Mexico is between the end od Sept -Nov; and the later part of Jan-Jun. Summer is our rainy season and in Dec., there is a lot of traffic coming down. Very dangerous on a bike. The weather between Sept and Dec is nice and cool. The northern states that border with Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, the temp goes up to 120° in the shade in summer. We try to avoid that. The roads coming down from Nogales, Laredo, Mcallen, Tijuana, Mexicalli are excellent. Stay on the toll roads. A bit expensive but safe and they come with insurance for the toll. To Acapulco either you drive through Mexico, City or Through Michoacan. I recommend Michoacan, because you drive by Lazaro Cardenas and Ixtapa. The beaches in Michoacan are beautiful and mostly virgin, that is no turismo. Nice for bikes. Read the following link, this guy rode down fron San Fco to Acapulco in 2000 the roads are a lot better nowadays. It's an intresting story and very helpful because he rode down the same roads you will take coming down from Arizona. http://www.macaskill.com/Mexico/Mexico.html

Have a great weekend.

[kiwibum]

wow, just picked this as a random interesting thread to read while procrastinating work. I'd be keen to join any ride anywhere if I am available at the time. Not worried about it being on an XZ, I'd be happy tagging along on a scooter :D