Countdown to March 29 Launch

 I have embarked on what I hope will be a 4 month, 17,000 mile motorcycle ride through the US and parts of Mexico and Canada to visit family and friends and to benefit Children International.  Please consider supporting me – learn more here Will's Charity Ride for Children International - PledgeIt

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April 2, 2024 Hotel Tripui South of Loreto, BCS Mexico 

Yesterday I noticed a whining noise each time I started the motorcycle.  At first, it was pretty minor, almost indecernable.  Plus I just had the starter replaced less than 500 miles before the ride.  So as other motor folks might think, maybe I just imagined it, until it becomes really obvious and consistent.  Well it has become both obvious and consistent. 

I am 200 miles north of the nearest city, La Paz, BCS.  In between are 200 miles of sand, 12 varieties of Cardon Cactus, not a drop of water, or a living being.  

As I write this, I am safely escounced in a nice hotel.

So as Bill Murray said in Stripes in 1981, "and then depression set in."  Only for me it's not depression, but anxiety.

So I've  been trying to call mechanics in La Paz, but my Spanish has been deteriorating for years without use, and talking to mechanics in Spanish about my bike hasn't been fruitful. 

As fate might have it, I have a friend from Mexico (Etienne Ricardez) that Charlene and I helped out of a jam when he was riding his motorcycle from Puebla, Mexico to Vancouver BC last summer. (Right, Mike Y?).  He called ahead to a Yamaha mechanic in Los Mochis, which is on the mainland.  The rational is that on the mainland there are more resources to solve my potential problem.  I have a reservation to take the ferry from La Paz to Topolobampo on Friday.  Los Mochis is just 15 miles away, I'll ride the bike there Saturday morning.  Fingers crossed that the bike makes it there.