2023 south amEriCa part 1

seats cold, and a bit damp from some overnight rain. The start was delayed by ½ an hour – we had 40km of gravel to get to the main road, apparently with some clay which could get slippery, then 50m of bitumen, then the last remaining Ruta 40 gravel section of 73km. JC decided to lead from the back in case there were dramas, so Scott with Gina, Rex, and I (the only one with a working GPS) were tasked with opening the piste.

Marketing team working with a 1960’s school atlas

I found 75kmh to be about perfect so even when occasionally ploughing into the piles of loose marbles it was easy. Those that had trouble were usually travelling slowly – the conundrum of fear of crashing at speed versus making it difficult, and so more likely to crash. Regardless, only one minor off and all pulled into the Estancia OK.

Classic Patagonia landscape

The Estancia was a beauty. Situated in a river valley between mountains of river pebbles, there were horses, cows, and sheep. And cats. Lots of cats. A walk up onto the mountain of river pebbles gave great views, before we were escorted back to the Estancia by a one-eyed cat. Dinner that night was another epic meat extravaganza washed down with a few reds, and sleeping well as a result. Up for Day 10, it was cold. Bloody cold. Ice on the motorcycle

Carlos the one-eyed cat relaxing before guiding us safely back the the estancia

We had a ball, the road was a lot easier than the previous day except for a straight just before the tiny section of bitumen. Confusion reigned – were we supposed to stop there? No was the consensus, we were supposed to meet up at a viewpoint over a lake. Tragically we missed the viewpoint, and by the time we’d figured out we’d missed it we were miles along. Never mind, keep going until we reached the end of the gravel and we found the servo at Tres Lagos. We never saw any lakes there, let alone 3. The group eventually caught up with us, and news came that Cindy had crashed, luckily only a bruised rib - but after she’d ridden on to the lake viewpoint she’d discovered the bike was badly leaking oil so it was up on the truck.

White Tiger Down: Selfie taken in case of condor attack before being found

The weather suddenly got ugly with relentless rain as we trundled into El Chalten, or El Carlton for those about to miss the start of the AFL season back home. Dripping wet we were into the hotel, but quickly dried off and down to a local bar for a Gin Tonic (&s are not popular in Argentina apparently) and local IPAS.

Day 11 was a free day, with priorities finding the Tigressa oil leak source, finding toothpaste, finding more Gin Tonics, and getting pictures of the local scenery especially Mt Fitz Roy when it appeared through the clouds. The leak location was found – definitely the seal on the output drive shaft – so JC called ahead to our next night’s stop at the large town of El Calafate, hopefully one was available there. More Gin Tonics were found, and we got some teaser quick glimpses of the mountains.

No place for a Tiger

The first part of the journey had ended., with a few days of raw tourism coming up. The only major downside was a leaking bike, but the prognosis was hopeful and the chances of finding more Pisco Sours and Gin Tonics was good.

Stay tuned for part 2…

100 Year Dinner Celebration - Thurs 21st September

Display of Bikes - Sat 23rd September

Thebike display will be run by our club at the central location of Reddacliff Place in Brisbane. We are looking for suitable bikes from all years and all models to display at this special event to celebrate this enormous achievement of the BMW brand that we all love to ride.

Do you have a bike that is suitable? If it is an older BMW (60’s or earlier) and it is completely assembled, presentable, registered or not, we want to hear from you.

If your BMW bike is from the ‘70’s up to latest models and is in good visual condition, special or a rare model, we want to hear from you as well.

We have a target of one hundred bikes, to display an example of as many different models as possible. A selection process will be undertaken from the applications and consideration will given to bikes that fit the above criteria as well as bikes with high kilometres or extraordinary travel achievements.

To nominate your bike, send the following details to bmw100@bmwmcq.org.au:

• What Model it is.

• Year of Manufacture.

• Total Km’s Travelled.

• Longest Journey Travelled.

• A Photo.

We want one of every BMW! But do we want this R100R Bobber? Could cook a nice lunch under the tank though...

BMW started production of the BMW R 32 in Munich in 1923. That is definitely worth celebrating!

To see the Promotional Video for the the events celebrating click on the Link below: https://vimeo.com/796122577

**SAVE THE DATE** There will be a BMWMCQ hosted dinner event to commemorate 100 years of BMW Motorcycles as a warm-up to the Bike Display, to help us celebrate this milestone in style!

When? Thursday 21st September

Where? Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Manly

Details to follow shortly!