Its not totaly unfeatured country but its completely covered in thicket and there are no real views or forests or anything really... But there is certainly "lots of it".
... In fact, its so "middle of nowhere" that its the area where Che Guevarra fled to. About 200Km from here he and his band of rebels were in fact eventually captured and Che was then promptly (8 October 1967) executed by the Bolivian Army.
I find it quite ironic that all the "Che mania" that is about these days has led to assorted tourist activities and museums and National parks etc that are set up, maintained, and profited from, by the government of the Country that hunted him down in the first place ... I suspect that Che would "roll in his grave" if he was still in it... An archaeological effort in the late 90s eventually located his remains and they have now been moved to Cuba... :?
But, back to my little tale...
So, its about 1pm, and Im riding in through the outskirts of what turns out to be Bolivias largest city... Yep, thanks to oil and agriculture down here, the city is bigger than LaPaz. This whole area of Bolivia really does not fit our Western conceptions of what Bolivia is (altiplano and mountains and llamas and people in bright coloured clothes with silly Bowler hats etc.)
Now I have no idea where Im trying to get to but I know that all the motorbike parts and sales and repair places are usually located in the one area... Its the same for all "types" of business with all the banks in one place, all the tourist services in another, and all the shoe shops in yet another. Urban Geographers have a name for this grouping effect and it happens in Western Cities too... But it seems more pronounced down here.
Anyway, I figure if I can get to any motorbike shop then they will know where to direct me and Ill take it from there. And Im scanning for a motorbike shop but while Im stopped at a traffic light, someone in the car next to me asks the usual "where are you from" and I answer that but then ask them if they know where there is a motorbike repair place for "big" bikes...
This gets an enthusiastic response and though I lose the detail of the words (my Spanish is really lacking when they start talking fast) I get the idea and when the light turns green Im following the guy in his car as he weaves through the traffic bedlam like there is "no tomorrow"... Perhaps I should have mentioned that its not quite this urgent and that it would be better if I got there alive... Oh well, just try to keep up and we will see how it goes.
After about ten minutes of playing "catch the lunatic in the car", we arrive somewhere and he points at what is clearly a parts place with motorbike brand advertising plastered all over the front of it... YES! :))
So, I park and wave and shout my thanks to "the lunatic" who happily disappears off into the traffic... No doubt to help some other poor foreigner in distress :))
Then I go talk to the guys at the counter... Who have no customers at the moment and are slacking around and chatting up the cash register girl etc... You know how it is :)
And, I go through my story with a bit of pantomime to fill in the language gaps... Yep, they get it, and the guy Im talking with goes over to the computer and starts asking me for bike model and year type details...
... He confirms that my model bike is not imported into Bolivia and that there will be no parts for it anywhere. Then he wants to look at the old sprocket (to see if it matches one from another bike) but I say "Its on the bike and if I take it off Im stuck here so Im leaving it as is for the moment"... And we get into the discussion of options etc...
So, I park and wave and shout my thanks to "the lunatic" who happily disappears off into the traffic... No doubt to help some other poor foreigner in distress :))
Then I go talk to the guys at the counter... Who have no customers at the moment and are slacking around and chatting up the cash register girl etc... You know how it is :)
And, I go through my story with a bit of pantomime to fill in the language gaps... Yep, they get it, and the guy Im talking with goes over to the computer and starts asking me for bike model and year type details...
... He confirms that my model bike is not imported into Bolivia and that there will be no parts for it anywhere. Then he wants to look at the old sprocket (to see if it matches one from another bike) but I say "Its on the bike and if I take it off Im stuck here so Im leaving it as is for the moment"... And we get into the discussion of options etc...
But apparently my problem is not that uncommon here because after I explain the cruder "weld on new metal for each tooth" solution, he suggests the "franken-sprocket" option... I say "yeah I know, great idea but where can I get that type of work done?". To which he responds with "Oh, just down the road here a few blocks, they do it all the time."
Cool :)
Its now about 2pm.
So I scoot down the road a few blocks and sure enough there is a bike mechanic shop as stated ... And the owner speaks pretty good English too. I explain my problem in Spanish and he nods and says yep, we can do that. And I ask the price and he has a quick word with one of his guys and comes back and tells me its price (only about US$10!). And I ask how long... Another quick chat with the guy... "By about 6pm today"... Really great :))
I say "Yeah, lets do it", and so we move the bike in under the shade and I set about taking the old sprocket off.
It takes only about ten minutes to take the chain cover off, disconnect the clutch linkage, loosen the big nut, loosen the chain tension, and finally get the old sprocket off.
Close inspection shows that the old one is really quite bad too.
So, now Im told I need to go get the new sprocket that I want to use as a "tooth donor".
Id got the impression at the parts place that this place would either have the part or could find it, but I was not quite right on that, so I walk back to the parts place. This time we start looking for some specific parts... First thing is to find a "donor"sprocket that would fit my size chain, and that they do have parts for... Answer is "Honda Transalp"
OK, Now how many teeth do I want... Answer is fifteen... But, no, they dont have that... Its either fourteen or sixteen... hmmm
... fewer teeth makes the bike stronger but slower and less fuel efficient, and its also harder on the chain because it turns a tighter radius on the smaller sprocket.
... more teeth makes the bike weaker but faster and more fuel efficient, as well as being easier on the chain... hmmm
I decide to go with the fewer option because I want to know how the bike behaves with this "more off-road" oriented option and how much it effects the other things (speed, fuel efficiency, chain life etc).
OK, I spend all of US$10 for the part and then walk back to the repair place.
I hand over the parts to the guy working on the lathe and tell them Im off to get some food and water and Ill see them in a couple of hours... Its about 3pm
I go get food and drink and then spend a while at an internet place to fill in the time (writing the previous post).
At about 5pm I go back and see whats happening...
Well, the old sprocket has been "lathed" clean of teeth etc. The donor sprocket is in the lathe and has the hub removed and is just getting a bevel cut on the inner face to allow space for welding.
I sit around and watch this for a while but its apparent it will take longer since they have yet to lathe the old sprocket to size so that the old hub (with the splines that fit on my drive shaft) fits inside the new rim of teeth.
I spend the time checking out the mechanics shop and all the activitie... Its very busy here... There are three guys working on bikes, There is a guy dedicated to machining with the lathe and a mill; There is a guy dedicated to "seating" valves in engine heads; And there is another guy who runs the honing and boring machines for engine heads... And there are a dozen bikes in pieces all over the place. The place is not that big (maybe 20m x 20m) but its an absolute hive of activity... And they are doing quite sophisticated work in a very fast and professional way. The place looks messy to be sure, but I watched the quality of work and its pretty high (as it must be for this kind of engine work)... Im impressed!
Then, as my sprockets slowly "become one" I decide to do a bit of "fixing" on my bike and I set about "bending" my crash bars into the correct position again... They were bent a bit "skew wiff" by my "prang" down on ruta40 and I havent straightened them yet.
So, I get that done just as my new "franken-sprocket" is ready for fitting... Its about 6:30pm.
It takes me the last half hour
of light to put it all back together and see that it works...Which it does :) Great Job :)))))
I pay up and some more cos they helped me with other stuff and it really is good value for money (Id have paid about $200 back in Canada for the same work!!)
Then Im out and on the streets in the dark and in a foreign city and on to the next problem...
Finding a place to stay and to park the bike!
I work my way into the centre of the city (with a question or two of passers by).
I park on the street and start looking in my book for a map of where there are cheap places (about 7:30pm)... But I dont get far before Im "accosted" by a couple of locals with all the usual questions... Where from, where to, how long etc.. etc.
And pretty quickly Im the "local entertainment" for about a dozen interested people. I dont really mind, so I chat away with them all (this is the process by which my Spanish improves... ever so slowly). And after about an hour I say that I really do need to go find a place to stay... They understand but they also offer to watch my bike while I go look on foot (they say there are lots of options within a few blocks of here).
Great, so I leave the jacket and helmet and "do the walk around"... And I find separate places for me and the bike and get settled in and showered all by about 9pm...
And so, another day full of fun and interesting experiences comes to a close... :))))
