A small twist in plans.

We figure that somewhere between Ambato and Quito would be a good place to stop for the day. Shortly after leaving the nice sunny valley of Ingapirca we ride into another cloud forest and of course rain, or maybe it is just heavy fog. Either way it is cool and wet which good for the bike because once we drop elevation it gets much warmer and soon thereafter the temperature light comes on, this time it stays on more than off.


We take a few short breaks to help it cool down but the slow moving traffic is a killer and I notice that on the hills I have no power and am almost at full throttle. Then we have to slow and I have lost first gear, well I know where it is it just isn’t working. This creates some extra stress on the bike as I have to feather the clutch in second gear and starting from the occasional stop in second soon proves more than the bike can give. The next hill I barely make it to the top as the clutch is slipping so badly, this isn’t good. After a short rest break on the side of the road, the clutch and engine has cooled enough to push on into Ambato. The first hotel we see is not very nice but it has a garage and is close to a few motorcycle shops, good enough for one night.

Ahh, crap. @#%*!

There is a friendly bunch of old fellas in the garage and soon enough the questions are flying. I think they were just hanging around drinking beer so once again these two gringos on bikes provided an entertaining break in the routine. One of the gents speaks perfect English and takes on the translator duties, partially because the others have been drinking and some of the vocabulary is unusual.

In any event the evening is spent investigating the bikes clutch and transmission. I pull the clutch cover off but there is no obvious damage and the oil does not smell burnt. There is not much that can be done with the transmission without some serious disassembly. I am forced to make the call of shipping the bike to Quito in hope of finding a shop that can repair it or end the motorcycle portion of the holiday and ship them home for repairs. Another first, I can’t fix the bike.

AH CRAP! @#%***!!

This is potentially a big change in the overall plans, assuming I can’t find a place to fix it that is, as we are not really ready to be without bikes in South America.

In the morning the hotel owner asks if I have fixed the bike, I do my level best to explain that I could not fix it and that we need a truck to transport the bike to Quito (150km away). He says no problem and within 10 minutes he has called and arranged for transport. We barely had time to go eat breakfast and the truck was pulling into the garage. First issue, no loading ramps and the truck is rather high. The hotel has some old metal gates or something stacked in a corner so I lay two of those down and roll the bikes up into the truck, 5 minutes and both bikes are loaded.



We figured it best that Brenda just ride in the truck instead of trying to follow behind. This was a good idea because Rodriguez, our driver, did not go over 70kph all the way to Quito. That would have driven Brenda crazy. Then there was the whole issue of where we were going, part of the night was spent online trying to find a bike shop or a shipping company. We decided on a shipping company as this is Carnival weekend and everything is closed for the next four days.

Our helpful host/proprietor of Hostal de Segovia.

Market day traffic jam.

 I had an address and a phone number but neither the hotel owner or the driver would call and confirm the location. Just to be clear Quito is not a small city and sprawls along the valley floor for some distance, plus there are numerous sub-burbs that are included as part of the city so it can be tricky to find an address. Our driver finally agrees to call the shipping company and verify the address and receive some directions. All confidence in his navigation skills has diminished significantly, he is even asking me for directions. I have my GPS but without a known destination it is only good as a tracking device. After a few awkward conversations on the phone, with each other, and with pedestrians along the road, we finally arrive at Pacific Air Cargo. The decision was also made to take the bikes directly to the shipping office as the bikes will be locked in their warehouse safe and sound until we can sort out more details.

Sorting out all our stuff as we are now pedestrians.

The biggest detail we have to worry about is time. We have three weeks left before we have to fly home, we can’t find out about a repair timeline until Wednesday 11^th,, after Carnival, and Ecuador is the strictest country regarding their 90 day vehicle permit. There is a process to add another 90 days but it takes a couple of weeks and from what we read it is best to apply at the end of the first 90 days, not with two months remaining.

Let me explain this to clarify for myself and anyone reading.

1. When entering Ecuador with a foreign vehicle you are granted 90 days by the Aduana office, after 90 days the vehicle has to leave the country or it will be confiscated by the authorities.
2. You are also granted up to 90 days on your passort as visitor visa.
3. Both can be extended but it is an application process, and it is best done at the end of the first 90 day period. Shows desperation or something.
4. I have to be back to work on March 1^st, Brenda will not stay here alone. This is two months before either the Aduana or visitor visa expire.
5. My bike will not likely be repaired before March 1st, which means that unless we are willing to fly back and take them out of the country they will likely be confiscated by the authorities.
6. Selling the bikes is not practical either as Ecuador has huge taxes on foreign vehicles being sold in the country. This also applies to new vehicles but that is a different story.

All this is why we like Uruguay, they have a 12 month Aduana permit and up to 6 month visitor visa.

Ok, now that I have accepted the fact that we have no option but to ship the bikes, the next step is to wait while the shipping agent gets quotes from the airlines. The airlines do not deal directly with the public, they will answer questions but will not complete a transaction without a freight forwarding company or something similar working as the middle man. A little tidbit of trivia: Ecuador is the world’s largest supplier of fresh cut flowers, especially roses. There are seven 747’s leaving daily from Quito loaded with flowers, it is a week before Valentine’s Day, and I want to ship a motorcycle. Probably not high on the airline’s priority list.

But we remain optimistic, it is not critical that the bikes fly out before us but that is the preferred arrangement, and we have a couple of weeks after Valentine’s day to get them on a plane. We also considered shipping by boat which is cheaper, until we have to drive to Vancouver and pick them up.