Big Bikes in Small Pueblos

Whenever a group of us shows up in a small town on big bikes, we are always the centre of interest.

There just aren’t any other large motorbikes in South America – anything above 150cc causes as much stir as if a Ferrari has rolled into town. There follows the inevitable questions “Que motore?” so you have to be able to say in Spanish “Mil Doscientos” (1200cc) and then they ask “Que velocidad?” and everyone gasps when you tell them “doscientos” (200 kph). When the topic turns to the price of the motorcycle, it is best to change the subject – the cost of a new BMW R1200GS in Colombia is 4x the Per Capita GDP.

But when you show up with big bikes AND a few soccer balls donated by Nike for our trip, you get a crowd instantly. We had a great time on the ride from Popayan to Pasto in Colombia when we pulled into El Estrello and found the local soccer pitch; a dirt block way back from the main road. Within minutes there was a crowd of kids and parents and then shortly afterwards the town soccer coach heard about our appearance and he turned up with his whistle like a badge of office around his neck.

Other sights along the way – local bus with more stuff and persons piled all over it including two scooters – no lane splitting allowed but nobody takes any notice of the signs – lunch of smoked fish and chicken in an area that, even a year ago, was a FARC stronghold and their are still soldiers on every bridge to guard them against attack.