Trans Americas 2009 - The Blog

First, an apology. I've been having problems transferring images to the website, another problem with the Internet in the hotel, solved by going to Buck 'n' Lil's Grill next door, where they have free wi-fi that doesn't cause the same problem...

When I arrived at the Sheraton last night and checked in, Jim was already here as his Suzuki wasn't going to be dropped off at the BMW dealer for servicing (he's made his own arrangements), and had accepted the upgrade of our room to a suite for a small payment.. so when I woke this morning, he was in the ante-room working on his laptop and I had the whole bedroom to myself, which was very nice. We have this little desk in the ante-room where we can plug our laptops in and work, and before breakfast I set to trying to resolve the Internet problems. A quick diagnosis and it was obvious the problem was with the ISP, so I called their technical support people and after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, with me having to use technical language to convince them it wasn't user-error, I managed to get them to accept it was their problem and they needed to fix it...

With that being dealt with, I went and ate breakfast, and then we rode our bikes over to Iron Horse BMW (which is on the same street as the hotel, just 2 blocks down, but Tucson is a really spread-out city, so those 2 blocks means 2.5 miles!). With my bike checked in, we wandered round the shop (I didn't see anything I wanted to buy), and then Jeff brought us back to the hotel in the back of the van... seems odd, not having my bike with me...

Back in my room I tried the Internet again, and lo and behold, it was now working. And not just for me, but for everyone. That meant I could chat to Tracy on Skype, which is always a great way to make my day. We then enquired about the nearest shopping mall, and were directed to La Encantada, so Nick and I jumped in a cab whilst Andy (whose wife Sandra has come to visit) took Max & Christine in the hire car they've got and followed us. $25 later, we were dropped off at the mall, which only had about 30 shops, all designer affairs (Louis Vitton, Victoria's Secrets that sort of thing). I managed to find a rather posh supermarket to get some deodorant and toothpaste, and then we were done. With an agreed meeting time an hour away still, and Andy & Sandra nowhere to be seen, Max, Christine, Nick and I did the only thing we could, and had a cold beer. When we finally found Andy & Sandra again, we all squeezed into their car and went back to the hotel, in time to surf the web for a bit (trying to sort out a curry-house for tomorrow night) before the big meeting...

At 4pm we assembled in the conference room and listened to Kevin give us the run-down on the border procedures and things to watch out for when we enter Mexico. Richard had already entered the Mexican spirit, by shaving his goatee...





Kevin's main point was that the “holiday is over, the adventure begins now”, and that Mexico has a lot of hazards and we had better be concentrating. No more “racers and chasers”, bigger gaps between riders, dogs (a big hazard), trucks, people, etc. In other words, it's all about to change, and we'd better be ready... We're all very excited at the prospect, and raring to get going...

At the end of the meeting, Nigel announced he'd had an idea. We have the “Prat Hat” award, which is done roughly once a week for the person who's done something daft, but he thought it would be a good idea to also have a “Gold Star” award for the person who has done the most for the group, awarded on an “as needs” basis, with the person who gets the award the most throughout the trip getting a momento at the end. This got a warm reception, and the first recipient, selected by Nigel (in future it will be by a committee of Kevin, Julia and the current gold-star holder) was Christine, for maintaining the group's morale and generally always being cheerful and smiley. We'll see how the award works going forwards, but it adds another dimension to the group dynamic...

Then it was time for the weekly “Prat Hat” award, delayed from last Friday so that we could ensure the new recipient gets to wear it during the border crossing on Saturday... The nominations this week were a little thin on the ground, the shortlist being: Nick (for missing a junction on the Interstate then claiming he did it deliberately, and for complaining that his steak was too small compared to mine at the Jacob's Lake Inn), Gerald (for getting stopped for speeding in the Mesa Verde National Park, the incident being recorded by Richard for all to see) and Kenny (for leaving the group to head home and for his spectacular crash in the sand at Monument Valley). After pretty poor defence cases all round, the votes were cast and Gerald got the award... I give you Gerald, in the Prat Hat:





With the award ceremony over, it was time to eat, and we had a large table laid out for us next to the pool, where we could see the live Jazz band that was playing to a small but appreciative audience. Live music is always welcome, and these guys were very good, especially the youngsters (one was only 14). They even had an old black lady sing with them on some songs, including one they dedicated to us, “Get your kicks on Route 66”...





The final entertainment of the evening came when Jeff remembered that he'd left Candy (his “girlfriend”, see earlier post...) in the conference room. She'd been deflated and strategically placed half out of a pannier in Andy's room when Andy went to pick his wife up from the airport, and had been returned just prior to the meeting. Re-inflated at the dining table, Jeff was dancing with her by the pool when Rich pushed them both in. Jeff then proceeded to “rescue” Candy (although I'm not too sure about his rescue technique)...