4. Maitenance Day
Day 90
I had a restless sleep last night. Getting too excited to get on the road again. But before I do that, my bike needs some TLC. I will be doing some maintenance items ahead of schedule but at least I am good for awhile and in proper BMW shop.
I quickly pack what I need. I don’t know how long I will be at the bike shop so I am packing my laptop, just in case. Nice day so I head to Bogotá’s traffic. GPS says it is 12 km away but 30’. I know what that means. Traffic jams. And CRAZY traffic. Nothing I’ve seen or experience before. Bikes, cars, truck, motorcycles. The lines on the road are for decoration only. No rules, bigger balls win. Squeezing between cars is expected. My bike is MUCH bigger and wider then their little scooters. Surprising I can keep up with them. But the roads are bad. The problem riding close behind the cars is that you don’t see the potholes which could swallow a dump truck. And there is no room to move to the side as there are more bikes there. You need to be 100% aware of your surroundings all the time. It is exhaustingNo problem finding the bike shop. I am one hour early. I did it on purpose so bike has time to cool down so they can start working on it right away. I got a local deep fried breakfast pastry and a coffee and waiting for the shop to open.
8 am sharp, the gates are opened. Nice shop! The manager comes and we discussed what I need. I wanted a small maintenance but then I pushed it a now I am having done the full service. At least I know my bike will be good heading further into an unknown. The shop is nice, clean with all the proper equipment. The manager showed me around. They have all bikes data stored and tracked electronically. They have a customer area with couches and work desks with USB ports. And got offered pretty much any drink I want. Fast internet here as well so work on my blogs and pics while they are working on my bike bellow. Not a bad setup.
BTW, I asked how much new bike costs here. OMG! My bike, actually the lower model cost here in conversion $49,000! Crazy.
So I spent the whole day there. Luckily I brought my laptop with me. It is 3 hrs before the closing and my bike is in pieces. The sunset is in 2 hrs. I really do not want to ride in Bogota at night. I talked to the owner of the shop, a super nice guy. He tells me that normally this inspection is done in 2 days. They have 2 mechanics working on my bike. Everybody is gone but my mechanics, the owner and me. Finally all is done. But the bike doesn’t start! After few tense minutes they find a kink in the fuel line and the problem is fixed. All done. It is 1825. The sun is long gone. This will be interesting. And it was. Holy crap! It is impossible to describe. The traffic is insane and everybody else as well. Made it home exhausted and in piece. 12 hrs day …
I quickly changed and headed for a dinner. I am joined by another adventurer who stays in the hotel next to mine. This guys rides a Harley (a warning flag … ) and he rides 1,000/day. There is no way he will be able to continue to do that. But I question the motive. Why doing at all when all you do is riding the whole day. Everybody has their own way of doing it, I suppose.
During dinner we get an intel that there will be a big protest and blockades in Bogotá the next morning. All around us. Only way to solve this issue is to leave before the barricades go up. But I am too tired to pack or to do my blog tonight. Ready for bed, it might be interesting day tomorrow.