Message from Chris

chris carr
Friday, 8/24/07, 9:44 AM

HEY EVERYBODY JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A QUICK UPDATE, I HAVE BEEN IN BUENO AIRES NOW FOR 2 DAYS. APPARENTLY, THE SHIPPING COMPANY MADE A HUGE ERROR IN SHIPPING MY BIKE, MY NAME DOES NOT APPEAR ON THE SHIPPING PAPERS SO CUSTOMS WILL NOT RELEASE THE BIKE TO ME. THE CLOCK IS RUNNING SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET THIS RESOLVED AND WE CAN START THE JOURNEY. THANKS TO EVERYONE AND I WILL TRY TO KEEP YOU POSTED.

The GPS tracking device

Just in case if some of you folks are wandering why the GPS still indicates a U.S/Georgia location for the bike, the answer is because the device is "off" at the moment. What you see right now is a sattelite image from several weeks ago. Once Chris turns it back "on", you'll see the "red dot" blinking in South America. I don't know if many of you are familiar with satellite imaging, but I find it fascinating that we are able to zoom in and out on a location, and adjust the image from "aerial" to "road" and "hybrid"...Anyhow, you guys should try it once the ride starts.

Day 1 in Argentina

Chris finally arrived in Argentina this morning at 9:00 a.m. Once he made his way to the Harley-Davidson in Buenos Aires, he was met by some very welcoming and helpful employees who helped him with accommodations. Chris plans on getting the bike out of customs Friday morning and start riding down to Ushuaia. It is now unclear how long the ride from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia will take, there were several mixed information from 18 hours to 4 days, but what is certain is that it is 2,000 miles.

updates on Chris' ride

Some of you guys may have noticed that the expected starting date has changed to the 26th due to some unfortunate delay in shipping the motorcycle to Argentina. Consequently, Chris had to change his flight to tomorrow morning so he can arrive in Buenos Aires on Thursday. Once there, he will have to fill up the bike with oil and gas and start riding to Ushuaia (the southern most tip of South America) which should take him about 3 days (2,000 miles)...then start the ride from there. This ride is going to be more challenging than expected because of the latest news about natural disasters such as earthquake, possible tsunamis and hurricane in South America, as well as the recent activity of Pavlof volcano in Alaska...All we are missing is a tornado along the way :) Otherwise, Chris is anxious and exited to finally start this amazing ride!