After the new years party, we had a day to get money, guide books, maps, and prep the bikes for Columbia. This was enough time but only just, and I was still feeling quite flustered and uncertain about the whole “going to Columbia” thing.
But, the sun went down as usual and it came up the next morning and we were off again.
Today we had to ride to where the boat was waiting for us. This meant riding from the Pacific side of Panama over to the Atlantic side, then along a highway for a bit and then down a 40Km dirt road. We were quite worried about this dirt road since we did not know how good or bad it would be and we couldn't’t seem to get any details. Eventually we were assured by the organizers (at the Hostel) that the track was in good condition and should be no problem. We were also told that the other travelers on the boat trip would be going in by 4WDs at the same time so we could follow them and they could assist us if needed.
So, at 6am we were outside the hostel with bikes and 4WDs and everyone ready.
The 4WDs started up and drove off before we even had our helmets on and that was pretty much the last we saw of them!
There were four of us on bikes and two had GPS so we were able to find our own way to the start of the dirt road (with a few questions asked of bystanders as usual). It only took about two hours to get here so things were going fine.
The dirt road however looked like it could get difficult as it had a high clay content and there were rain clouds in the area...
Soon enough we found that things were not quite as easy as we had hoped they would be!
The clay sections were quite wet in places and this gets really treacherous on a bike (and our bikes were all fully loaded and gassed up – max weight). Within the first 5km, we had all fallen off at least once and the trail was getting worse. The slippery clay just fills in all the lugs on our off-road tyres and we were left with nice smooth wheels to try to stick to the steep slimy trail.
It turned into the quintessential jungle trail riding that you see in your imagination.
My bike was the biggest and heaviest and least off-road-able and I dumped it in the mud at least a dozen times. Most of these were at less than walking pace and on steep down hills. The only way to try to get down these was to get yourself into one of the car wheel ruts, switch off the engine, and then use the clutch as a rear brake and the regular front brake. This way you can paddle with both feet and control each wheel individually. It didn’t really make much difference though since on anything but flat ground, the brakes just instantly lock up the wheels and then you try to ride the sliding bike down the bob-sled track using your feet to try to keep it upright. Usually sooner rather than later your foot slips and over you go! Then it would take two or three helpers to get the bike upright before you start the process all over again. It wasn’t long before we were all completely covered in mud and sweating buckets. That said, we were however all keeping very good spirits and laughing very hard each time someone took a spill. I particularly enjoyed the scene when I looked up to see Teryk’s head go bouncing down the trail – after a second look, it turned out that it was just his helmet.
So, some six hours later we arrived at a river bank in the middle of the jungle. All the bikes and bags and clothing was plastered in red clay mud. All the bikes had assorted “service issues” but we were alive and well and glad to be through it. My bike had the usual destroyed indicators and was belching huge plumes of oily smoke – For a while there I thought I had really damaged the engine and even seized it up at one point...
How to maximize the “Oh-No” feeling.
In retrospect though it turns out that my bike just does not like to be upside down!
When it is, oil leaks from the engine into the air filter box (not a good design in my opinion). Then when the bike is put right side up (with the assistance of others), the oil in the air box gets drawn down through the carb and into the cylinders. This just means the bike blows smoke for a while. But, if the bike is upside down for a few minutes, quite a lot of oil leaks out. And then after righting and restarting it, if you stop the engine before that oil has all gone into the running engine, it continues to drain into the carb and down into one or other cylinder through an open valve. Then if you try to start it up, you get whats called hydraulic lock on that piston and it won’t even crank over.
This feels really bad since you think you have seized your engine and you are in the middle of a jungle track covered in mud with just about no options of getting the bike in or out for repairs. This feeling of “oh shit” can be further heightened by the gentle rain and the sounds of Howler monkeys enjoying your predicament very vocally from the nearby trees!
I have found that this particular situation is best alleviated by using the “engine brake” technique to roll your dead bike down the next treacherously slimy hill to a flat spot. You then find when you get there that the steady slow pressure of using the engine to brake the rear wheel has slowly pushed the excess oil out of the locked cylinder and into the exhaust. Only then are you fully able to accept and enjoy the gales of laughter coming from your friends. This is because you are at last able to start your engine but your bike is now doing a great impression of something between a space shuttle launch and a London Fog!
Ahh the lessons of life :)))
