Trans Americas 2009 - The Blog

Despite all the cubra libres, I slept soundly and woke early, around 6am local time. Up and showered and the bike packed, we walked down the road for a coffee and to stock up on cold water, expecting another long hot wait at the border. The ride there was brisk, the road empty in the early morning, and we arrived in plenty of time to park up (and be surrounded by the kids again), then Kevin walked across the bridge to check on everyone and ensure that Jeff and the van were first across, to give us somewhere to put our jackets and helmets so we would be more comfortable when helping the others on the bridge.

And so it began, the riders coming across the bridge. First across (and before I'd managed to get in position to take pictures) was Richard, riding with Karen on the back, the first pillion team on a trans-am to cross the bridge together. Then Julia, quickly followed by the others, all riding confidently and well across the bridge...





Only Jim had any issues, coming a cropper and dropping his bike, but he was unhurt and we soon had him on his feet again and paddling forwards he made it across the bridge. With them all safely across, we hung around eating breakfast and chatting while they dealt with their paperwork, and then we all rode away from the border as a group. The road wound its way back through Changuinola and out towards the 2nd banana bridge. Only whilst the bridge was still there, it didn't have any wooden planks on it, and right next to it was a shiny new bridge, all concrete and smooth tarmac...





To say we were disappointed would be an understatement... So on we rode, the road excellent and twisting and winding across Panama, with Kevin and Julia leading, then Richard & Karen with me behind. Karen was taking photos, including some pointing back, all the time Richard leaning their bike hard over in the corners, almost scraping his panniers in the process...





We stopped for lunch at a roadside cafe, the noodles very tasty, then filled up with fuel before heading out again. Now the road deteriorated a bit, some corners having big pot-holes on them, others very bumpy, the bike grounding out on more than one occasion, but the riding was great fun... Then it started to rain, so we pulled over and put on our waterproof jackets, leaving the trousers off as it looked like being a small storm... which it turned out to be, clearing up after a mile or two. Eventually we made it to the junction with the Pan American highway, and no sooner had we turned onto it heading towards David than the heavens opened... and when I say opened, I mean in the biblical “better get the ark finished quickly” way... Arriving in David it was almost impossible to see, the rain falling so heavily, forming small rivers across the road. Entering town trying to find the hotel, we were drenched by vehicles coming the other way, creating bow-waves as they passed... and if you think I'm exaggerating, take a look at this still from my on-bike video...





Some of the puddles in the road were a good 4” deep, and we had to do a u-turn on a flooded road when we missed the entrance to the hotel, which was interesting! But we all made it, rather sodden, and dripped water all over the posh marble entrance as we made our way to the rooms. After a quick shower I went and updated the blog for yesterday, then hung around chatting before eating dinner in the hotel restaurant. I was going to wander round town, the rain having eased but I was feeling a bit tired and couldn't be bothered...