Where is Waldo?

Hey my people! Here is the recent scoop... I am in Alaska. Allegedly, Eagle Global took possession of the Buell Ulysses on Friday. Recent conversation with EGL vice president indicate the motorcycle should arrive into Fairbanks Harley-Davidson sometime next week hopefully Wednesday or Thursday. After the bike has been prepped, I am going to ride the motorcycle to Prudhoe Bay. However, based on my previous experiences, I am going to refrain from making any plans or arrangements until I actually see the motorcycle. Keep reading the posts!

Chris Carr

Final update

Hi everyone,
Sorry for not giving news sooner. As some of you already know, I had been fighting with Eagle Global logistics (shipping company) since last Friday trying to get the motorcycle out of customs. Unfortunately, once the bike arrives in customs, receivers names can no longer be changed, so I had to fly back home. According to the last EGL representative, the bike should leave custom tomorrow and be shipped back to Atlanta. It is to my regrets that I have to abort the project because of unfortunate events that are out of my control. But things usually happen for good reasons. Stay tune...this is not over yet!

Day 4 in Buenos Aires

Argentina customs is closed for the weekend, so the saga of getting the Ulysses released will resume on Monday. The big concern now, as you know, is that there is a 3-5 day ride to Ushuaia to actually start the ride. Initially this may not seem like a big deal, but the fact is the start date originally set for the August 21th, then changed to the 26th, and now maybe September 2nd (a 2 week delay). The big question will be the Antigan pass in Alaska, if there is snow the road can be impassable, which could make breaking the current record an even bigger challenge, and potentially even impossible. Currently, discussions are taking place with Chris Houghton, owner of Harley-Davidson of Atlanta, John Flickinger, CEO of Buell motor company, and Chris Carr to develop possibly an entirely new strategy for being successful at this ride. Other concerns are the Pan American highway in Peru and the conditions of the road there since the earthquake. Additional obstacles could be found in the aftermath of hurricane Dean and its impact on Central America. While we anticipated obstacles along the way, this situation is something that has everyone involved scratching their heads wondering how this could have happened. Each day that goes by poses a bigger challenge in Alaska, not to mention the financial consequences. Chris informed me that customs is charging $150.00/day storage fee for the motorcycle. Lets hope Eagle Global Logistics can remedy this unfortunate situation. I want to thank everyone supporting this project and for all the people who have called Chris during this mess.

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!