Dec 24th and 25th !!! Merry x mas everyone ....

Wow , I woke up on the 24th feeling great , it was raining and i was supposed to get an early start , nope not going out in the rain ! Not a good way to start the day at 3500m and in the rain. When it cleared I hit the road about 10am , the road was incredible smooth pavement and super curvy , no traffic , the day before x mas , up and down passes as usual , this was about 4 hrs everything was great untill .... I hit a dog .... I think I killed it , it ran out on a corner and I could not swerve so much as I would have wiped out. Theri were people right thero as well and i did not want to stop and cause a big deal of it . Peru is crazy with dogs, I have never had so many chase me untill this place, about 50 a day it was only a motter of time ... it was small so it did not bite it.... lucky, if it was bigger I may have taken a big tumble !!
After this the day went better , crossed a 4100m pass , incredible , scenery was amasing all day long hard to describe I will try to post pictures tomorrow or when i get to Cuzco. Yes, the local were right about the 3 days but it looks so close on the map ... only doing 200km per day at 30 km hr... not fast, but I feel blessed to be here with what I am seeing and feeling ... Complete freedom .....
I spent the night walking around town people watching , eveyone goes out on the street her for x mas . Had a relaxing morning sort of hit the road by 10am . All off road today slow and tedious.. averaged 25 km hr , constuction and out of the way roads, up and down and all around .... was in desert 2 times then up to 3900m , fog and hail again today . Put the warm cloths on, take them off , put them on, take them off .... you just have to laugh It was a fun day again and had a hamberger for supper , ran out of money and the machines don´t work in this town... it was a nice x mas day ! Hope your all well and the best for the new year, Feliz Navidad....

Dec 24 and 25th

Huanaco to Huancayo

Man , their are so many towns and villagaes out here with so many names which sound the same ...I never know where I am going, crossed over some high passes again today feeling real tired and sick and dizzy from altitude . Stopped to dry out all my gear.... sleeping bag, tent, mattress were all soaked from last night. Stopped at 3pm today I was told it would take another 3 hrs to reach the next town with a hotel so am resting up for the push tomorrow to Cuzco . I was also told it would take 3 day from here , well see ....

Huaraz valley southerly to La union

I decided not to cross the passes here as I was told I may have to wait while the snow clears and the traffic can pass, The highest pass here is 4700 m, I thought that would be cool to do but maybe not in the rainly season . This was a good decision, as I headed south I could see new snow down low already, I did not want to go to the coast again so decided to head inland I crossed over a 3100 m pass and it was raining and some hail , this day was the most amazing day for scenery on the trip so far. Roads were good for most of the day and it was incredible hope to post some pictures soon . The last part of the day was well nice but tough and slow going very windy and lots of mud and holes in gravel . It was 3pm and they said it was another 4 hrs of this type of road , I ended up making a few wrong turns out here , it is sort of like taking logging roads in Canada you never know here you are half of the time , most side roads are not marked , you supposed to know where you are out here .
Well I got to the top of another pass at dark and was not going to try top go down , I started to set up my tent on the side of this road when a truck stopped and said not too it was very dangerous for robbers !! So plan B keep going at dark I stopped and asked directions and know I was not going to get down and asked this family if i could camp in their yard at 3000m again. I ended up setting up in the dark and fog . The dogs did´nt like me camped in the yard and kept barking at me everytime i turned in the tent. Well it was a sleepless night between the dogs and oporing rain and the truicks passing by within a few feet. I was up at 5pm with everyone on else , I could hear people walking by my tent and talking about the gringo and why do they get up so early , it foggy, raining sort of and still dark, all they do here is heard sheep and cattle and donkeys . Well I said my goodbyes to the family and the dogs and headed down the windy muddy road for 2 more hrs . I am so happy I camped on the top that night instead of going down the road in the dark even if i didn´t get any sleep . I also ate something which made me sick this day and my kidney are really hurting to move much or bend over ...

Trujillo to Huaraz valley ,...

Well today i got up early , by the time I ate and got loaded it was still 8pm , the winds started at 830pm , it was not so bad today as the mountains are blocking some of the wind , wow is it dry here , i don´t see how they live on what , they live in shacks and have nothing . We are so lucky to be born in Canada .... I ducked inland at Casma and started climbing up to 3000m , quite a change in 2 hrs from sweating to putting on the rain suit and cold weather gear .
Nice ride then I had fog for an hr on a very narrow rd with stright drop offs , probably better I could not see over the side , I think sometimes i´m scared of heights when i´attached to the earth . Got up into the high alto plana not much grows well up this high but they farm most every inch they can farm . Never seen another car for 3 hrs . Dropped into the valley at 4pm and like usual it started to pour again . So hotel shopping looking like a wet rat .... Got a decent hotel and a warm shower. This valley is world famous for mtn clibing with soth very technical ice /rock climbing and is like the chamonis or South america . But I found out it is the rainy season here and the summer season in Lima on the coast , go figure that one out ...

I´m in Peru .....

Well, what a difference a few days makes , I went from Quito which is a huge polluted city to a county train station at 3500m. The ride was good except the last 5 minutes which it poured rain and hail. Boy did I get wet ! I found this neat little train station which has been converted to a hotel at the base of the highest mtn , in Equador . Had a nice supper and was the only one in the hotel . Next morning I woke up to clear sky´s and had a chance to see the Chimborazo mtn before it closed in . Next day , was a long ride I was trying to get close to the border so I could get to it early I didn´t want another 5 hrs wait.... nice windy roads all day up and down the mtns but I did not go below 3000m most of the day. Lots of poor people out here , the terrrain goes from dry desert to tropical sometimes depends on which side of the mtn your on .Up one side of the mtn down the other , all day long. I finally got a room at dark again ! I had to do this for the next 2 days .
Wow, only a few hrs from Macara the border , and it was so easy this time , no line ups and they were all really helpfull, what a change, I slipped thru in an hr both sides my exit and entry .
It was a marked change as go from 3550 m down to sea level and into Peru which seems to be very poor and barren. Now i´m travelling along the coast which is a desert ,very little vegatation except along the rivers and areas which are irrigated. I wanted to take the inland route but it is very slow and non paved and if I break down out their ... well I may have a wait and it is very dry and hot here. The past few evenings I rode late into the evening , 3 nights ago it was raining, hail and cold , then I had dense fog and bad roads, last night it was terrible winds and blowing sand.
Tonight I stopped at 4pm in Chicalayo only doing 4 hrs riding in , but stong coastal winds and blowing sand again, direct cross wind is starting to take the toll on me and it is really physical . The bike is at a constant angle and helmet gets blown sideways , so my neck it very sore..... ahhh, tomorrow i´m up early to beat the winds . I´m in a coastal town very cool ... old steets and nice atmosphere, very modern as well and everyone is shopping getting ready for x mas town in decorated in x mas trees and lights. Today had to buy a new toilet kit forgot it at my friends house in Quito. shit what a dummy ... Bike was burning a bit of oil today must have been the cross/ head wind and the passing of slow moving trucks. Tomorrow heading toward Hurez area, high mtns near 4000m lots of hiking and mtn clibing in this area, looking foward to getting out of this heat and wind....

X crossing into Ecuador ....

Its the 17th today , I was making terrible time in the last part of Columbia, very windy roads and truck traffic , I guess i have to get my ass out of bed earlier. But it is slow going some days. I was passed by some guys on bigger bikes today and tried to keep up with them , they were way to fast for me , I did pass them in town using my GPS for route finding and then we met up at the border. They are from Columbia and riding inot Ecuador on a 10 day tour , they helped me get thru Customs on the Columbia side , then we all waited at the Ecuador side ... for 5 Fu%$ing hrs , waiting to get a stamp into Ecuador , not a good start , but everyone was in the same boat , So next time I have to wait in a line up at Canada customs I will remember how organised it really is !! By the time we got out it was 5pm and getting dark and then it started to rain , I did make it to my friends house in Ibarra at 7.30 pm , 100 km north of Quito.
I stayed at Jorge house for 2 nights and toured around the area , I Put on an SIV course here in 1998 the first for Ecuadorian pilots and it was in this town , so it was cool to see it 10 yrs later .. Nice area but so complex with the weather systems , found some thermal pools and went for a soak for a few hrs and read my book , actually I read 3 books so far on my trip ... pretty nice !

Today i´m at my freinds house Henri in Quito , stayed last night and am planning to leave today to head south , have to make some miles , i figure it will take 3 days to leave Ecuador and head for Peru for x mas . I just don´t want to cross again on a Sunday like last week .. but you never know here ... life is good anyways .. at least i´m not in - 40c like Alberta ... Ha ha ....

Tripping around ...Bucamarunga .

I spent a few days around Bucamarunga and small city about 1 million . Richi and I went riding out back and was showing me some of his flying sites , nice area lots of flying sites , deep valleys. Launch is in front of his house and you can pretty well fly all day here it seems , thermaling in the morning and ridge flying in the afternoon . I was flying at about 5pm and crossed a ridge out 8km away and did not make it back, had to land out ... tons of power lines just missed one on landing that I could not see ... yeeee ...
Well I finaly left B munga and headed over to Medellin another city , nice ride it took about 8 hrs , the last few were real twisty and got back into the swing of the bike again , F´´$&/$king crazy drivers here . I have heard they are going to get worse in Peru ... great . I spent a few days in Medellin , got my speedo cable fixed , 2 new signal light holders the other ones rotted off , the Kawi dealer gave them to me for free , sweet as the other ones were duct taped on .
Exited Medellin this morning, stayed in a great area of medellin and was a few blocks from all the bike shops , even better . Well I was supposed to be in Cali tonight but did not make it so I am in a small town called ?? about 100 km short , I only did 50 km in 2 hrs this morning traffic and twistys lots of landsides and construction, they just finished a very rainy time down here and had major floods and landslides I´m glad I was not doing this trip 1 - 2 weeks ago.. I also met up with a british biker whom i´d passed and then I got a flat on the rear tire . He stopped and helped me with the fix , put the new tube in and found out it had 2 holes in it , from rubbing in the boxes , so it took longer than usual to get back on the road . Just as we got back on the road it started pouring rain , on with the rain gear and back on the road . The next few hrs were slow , lots of stops for traffic and bad visability , I left the british guy, he was going a diffefernt route, immediatly after this my bike started to slow down then stopped in the pouring rain .... shit !! what could it be... I put the choke on and it started again, it ran rough for the next hr, then went back to normal, maybe water shorting something out .. or bad gas ? I was to tired to continue to Cali and it was dark so. off to a side town for a hotel . I can ´t believe I only did 250 km today i´m so tired the concentration is intense your riding has to be on the ball all the time whew .. i´m gojng to bed .....

Yahoo , I made it to Columbia...

Well after a few days of sorting out my rotten bike , had to pull the carb. off again .It´s a big hassel this time I took it into a mechanic and used his air hose to blow it out . It is now working fine, must have been some clogging in one of the holes , the gas was bad as well . I did get out of Panama the next day like I thought . Loaded the bike at the cargo terminal at 9am and was at the Passenger termimal at 10:30am . I had Omar a guy whom owns a Import/ Export business in Panama meet me at the cargo terminal, he took care of my papers with customs for the past year and helped me get my bike on a flight right away. Then he gave me a ride to the terminal such a nice guy , whom also rides a big 1100 harley, he just said to me well we are all bike riders and we help each other... all he wanted was to see me continue my journey without problems . Remember I had left my bike in Panama illegally , so when I came back into Panama I had to legally get it back into the country , so I could then take it out again , so he took care of the customs B.S. that goes on !!
Most flights were full but I did manage to catch a flight on Copa at 11:30 am and was in Bogata by 1:30pm . As I was sitting in the lounge waiting for the plane , I was talking with a woman , whom was also getting on my flight , well her Family owns the shipping company who I shipped my bike with , what a shot of luck ! She helped my get a taxi and find my place in the city and told me to contact her the next day to get the bike out easy. Well I was out of customs and had the bike waiting for me at the shipping company 2 hrs later. That´s luck for you ... but then the bike started acting up going thru Bogata city ,only 7 million people in this city ...
I couple of days in the city to sort the bike troubles out and now I am in Bucamarunga a city north about 8 hrs drive . Staying at http://www.colombiaparagliding.com/ it´s a nice place over looking the city. Richi Mantilla owns the company, does tours and tandems . A great place to fly and chill out for a few days . Bogata was a nice city as far as cities go relaxed, modern, clean and seemed friendly. Columbia is working hard on their bad reputation and are welcoming the tourist to their nice country . The county side was a mix of new zealand and switzerland , very green nice lakes and lots of farming . The roads were ok , lots of construction and crappy drivers passing going up hills with solid lines .... you really have to keep your wits about you , interesting and heart stopping sometimes !
Well thats about it for now , tomorrow i´m going flying and tuesday heading for Medellin west of Bogata . My speedometer cable holder fell on the bike and hit the spokes while i was riding yesterday causing the cable to get ripped apart , now i need a new one as i don´t know how fast I am going or how many km I have done .... oh well small problems on a trip like this ... cheers

Panama Red .....

Hi . Finally arrived in Panama after 24 hrs of travel , yeah it sucks but no pain no gain right ... so did i tell you it rained non stop for the next 4 days , i went and bought an umbrella . Stazing at a friends house right now where i have the bike stored . Well actually it seems i did not store it, what was i thinking when i left here . Oh boy what a mess , the battery was dead , the chain was rusty metal was corroded and everything was covered with bird shit. 

the battery was completley dry, so i walked around about 4 miles and found all the bike shops in Panama , ther last one was the kawi dealer , but not the place you get parts , Finally managed to get oil fliters , oil , new battery and lubricant , chain oil as well. Back to the bike , well 4 days of work later it is back to running well , i had to pull the carb off twice , to clean it or the bike would not run without the choke on . Did some research on the internet and found a solution , drill 2 holes in tis and that and all is running well now - The bike is like new , and im just waitng for permit to enter the country so i can leave it. Their are 2 ways to get to Columbia , by boat or by plane.  I was to late to book the boat so i will leave by plane, so the bike get loaded on the cargo plane and i take the passenger plane hopefully tomorrow but you never know... i am in Panama .... more to come from Columbia ...            

Brasil Tour dates ......

Hi everyone , Brasil tour dates are March 1-10th 09. Come on out and fly your brains out in Governador Valadares world famous flying site and host of the World Championships 2005. This will be my 8 year leading trips into this area everyone comes back with great reviews and tons of hrs of flying time . This site is know for light large thermals and smooth flying. It is a great place to learn to thermal better and start your x-c flying career, for more details contact me and book early . Remember to get your Brasil entry visa and book your airline flights if you intend to go soon. Cheers

New flight suit and Acro Harness from Woody Valley

Hi , Woody valley has 2 new items , 1 is and new flight suit and the other is a Acro harness new designed and with 2 reserve underneath, just in case . check out http://www.woodyvalley.com/ for pictures and details ...

Advane wins PWC again 4 years in a row !

Andy Aebi wins the World Cup for 2008 and Stefan Schmocker finishes third. This means that an incredible series of ADVANCE successes continues into a fourth year.ADVANCE competition pilots Andy Aeby and Stefan Schmocker placed first and third respectively in the final rankings of the 2008 Paragliding World Cup and so can seamlessly add to Chrigel Maurer’s three titles (2005-2007). This continued success also puts ADVANCE designer Thomas Ripplinger into the limelight, as well as the whole production team. Quite simply such success would be impossible without the tireless efforts of all concerned! Thomas Ripplinger head of Advance design, has once again produced superb wings for the guys to compete on. The success of the Competition team directly translates into the use of the design technology with Advance serial class gliders.The World Cup finale in Castelo, Brazil, was lucky with the weather, and it was possible to fly seven tasks. Andy, who arrived in Brazil in pole position, was able to maintain his advantage and therefore has won the PWC overall title for the first time (having finished third last year). Stefan Schmocker was also able to capitalise on the strong position he had already established in previous rounds, finishing in third place overall in Brazil. Other ADVANCE pilots Heli Eichholzer (AT) 7th, Jeremie Lager (F) 14th, Michael Sigel (CH) 17th and Orlin Dimov (BG), 30th, round off our small but fantastic ADVANCE Pro-Comp Teams’ great results.Thanks to our ADVANCE team pilots the unbelievable ADVANCE success story, set in train with the introduction of the HiArc-concept more than four years ago, forges ahead. (More about HiArc under OMEGA 7)The whole ADVANCE team sincerely congratulates the pilots for their great performances. Results and pictures: http://www.paraglidingworldcup.org/

Well i guess i'm a bit behind on this !!

Well as you can see my summer has been very busy, hense my lack of postings ! or i just forget , but now i have some time and the season is coming to a close. so what is new !! well i trained about 20 new pilots this summer ... welcome all my new fledgelings ! I am getting ready to finish my bike trip , from Panama where i left my bike last February. I will ride from Panama - Argentina - Brasil . I will be running tours to Brasil this season hope to ride my bike to Governadaor Valadares , but well see i only have 3 months and do not want to rush the trip.
I am also building a Garage on my property and a shop to do Paragliding repairs and inspections . I will try my best now to update this site and keep you informed of new... news so here goes .....cheers and have a great fall !

Spring Flying ....

ahhh so spring is here finally and the flying is sweet , really like spring flying except for the cold up high ... but the thermals are so nice and big and smooth usually, yesterday we flew off of Baldy late in the day , Doug and I found 1 thermal out in the valley and worked it over too Vernon Mtn , not a long or spectacular flight but really nice .....Doug had a great flight as well ... that's it ...

New light weight hiker .....

The ALPHA 4 HIKE has achieved all the specification parameters set for it by our R&D Team! Light - a perfect mix of materials.
New Skytex 27 g/m2 Material for the upper and lower wing surface
New Skytex 40 g/m2 for leading edge and ribs
Lightweight, specially coated lines
Narrow risers
Compact, light-as-possible backpackMore dynamic – better performance
Compared with the regular ALPHA 4 the HIKE can use a higher takeoff weight, in effect allowing a smaller glider to be flown; and it has thinner lines. Both of these features give it a bit more lively flying qualities, and much better performance – but passive safety is unchanged. Certification
The ALPHA 4 HIKE has been certified as EN B / LTF 1-2 in all three of its sizes (23, 25, 28).Availability
Production is underway. The first test gliders will be delivered from June (Week 23). At ADVANCE we’ve never wanted to produce a short-lived glider. But new materials, the obvious advantages of our Smart Sail System as a lightweight concept, and a growing pilot appreciation of lightweight equipment have now persuaded us to develop a moderately light glider. Based on the ALPHA 4 we’ve made a glider which will give the weight-conscious pilot a genuine lower-end intermediate alternative. But we’d like to make absolutely clear that, compared with a ‘normal’ ADVANCE paraglider, an ALPHA 4 HIKE’s lifespan will be clearly shorter, especially if doesn’t get kind treatment. Even though the lively handling and the good performance will very much encourage a lot of flying with this glider, the ALPHA 4 HIKE is, and always will be, a lightweight glider.

Impress 2 + Dhv certified harness...

IMPRESS 2+: a Plus for Protection and Safety 11.04.08 The popular, aerodynamically ideal ADVANCE IMPRESS 2 will also be available from the end of April in the PLUS version, with LTF certified back protector. The ADVANCE iMPRESS 2 is an aerodynamically efficient and versatile state-of-the-art harness. Initially developed for competition use, it has become very popular for all those pilots who like to enjoy the warmth of the speedbag on long flights. The new PLUS version (IMPRESS 2+), which comes with a thicker, LTF certified, back protector, provides even more protection and safety. The new protector is elegantly housed so that the appearance is virtually unchanged, and similarly any difference in the aerodynamics is negligible. From the end of April the IMPRESS 2+, in the same sizes and colours as the IMPRESS 2, will be ready for testing at flying schools. From the same time you will also be able to make an online booking for a test flight on this web site.

Spring course's in full swing !

Well finally a decent weekend for weather.... friday and saturday we had many student flights Jory Josh and Steve are on their way to becoming certified , we finsihed Saturday at the reserve throwing/packing course which about 30 pilots attended . No major hangups of deployments were found a few smaller ones with velcro holding problems ! Lets hope for a warmer spring and light thermal days to come ... cheers

Sigma 7 coming soon !!

Well the much waited for.... Sigma 7 will be availible in June , lets hope Advance does not delay too much , but that was my last word from Daniel , also the Impress 2+ DHV certified cacoon harness will be ready in June as well . The new success harness is comming in june as well , what is with Advance this season , they must had learned their lesson from the bi beta 4 i guess... so i can't wait ,,, i'm flying the S7 this season .... now get that wing out !! cheers

Instructors and Tandem course "08"

Hi , I have released the dates for the course , May 3, 4, 5 th for the instructors course and 6, 7, 8th for the Tandem course . Come on out and progress to a higher level of pilot . Learn how to teach and to do Tandems in the best location in Canada . I have been running these courses for 17 years and am the most experianced instructor in Canada ! Let me help you become a competant Instructor and Tandem pilot so you can introduce new people to out exciting sport in safety, email me for details ... cheers

Bi Beta 4 has been released !

The much anticipated Bi Beta 4 is now in production !! Yahoo..... a new Tandem wing , many new improvments . New big years kit , new trimmer system and new tandem risers which are adjustable in the air for your passenger ! What more could a pilot want , besides and new designed wing and more performance , This will be a great seller for Advance for sure ! I will post details soon, as well Advance is releasing their new Harness the Impress 2 + , which is a DHV certified harness with 18cm back foam , ideal for those who want a pod harness and safety as well . And And ... the Sigma 7 is supposed to be out by Mid June , again big hype over this wing and many pilots waiting to buy it including myself , my summer wing !

Advance continues to rock the paragliding world with 1st class wings and harnesses often copied but never duplicated !! cheers

Brasil Trip 08

Well, well.... its all over another great month in G.V. Brasil . The flying was good , not the best at times but the guys from my group managed to fly everyday of the tour ! Bob had his best flights ever and was overcome with emotion on his second day ... 1st real thermal flight , 1st time in the clouds,1st x-c flight, 1st out and return , 1st time to land on the other side of the river with 2 hrs flying time ! Now they go back to Canada with experiance which would take years to do in Canada .... We had 4 Canadians in the comp here , we all did quite well .. In the end I placed 3rd in serial class , 16th overall , and won the x-c challange . my best year here in the comps .. one day last week flying 120km, 3 day total of 250km !!
Tuesday the 18th March I will be back in Canada for the season Teaching and Tandems for the remainder of the year hope to see all my friends this spring ... cheers

Motor bike photo's from peach ...

Hi , if your looking for a different perspective on our trip look at peachli's photos... kinda cool !
http://picasaweb.google.ca/pitsch67/

New models comming in spring !

In splendid weather ADVANCE were able to introduce the SIGMA 7 and the BI BETA 4, both in the final phase of their development, to a wide section of the public!This year, due to magnificent weather, the Stubai Cup 2008 attracted a huge number of visitors. From Friday to Sunday the sun was often blotted out by paragliders instead of clouds.For ADVANCE the announcement of the SIGMA 7 and the BI BETA 4 was our main feature. In the hands of the 10 pilots of the SPÄLTI OMEGA 7 up-and-comers team these wings were presented for the first time. Both these gliders are nearing completion and will be available in Spring/Summer 2008. (For detailed info. see the PDF) The iMPRESS 2+ harness, a certified version with a thicker protector, attracted a lot of attention, and not only from pilots from Germany. This harness is also just about to be finalised. On our homepage we will keep you up to date about the finishing touches to these products.The opportunity to try out gliders was enthusiastically taken up. Above all we were surprised at the large demand for the EPSILON 5 and ALPHA 4. Both these wings can also be used as motorgliders, and this year on our stand one could distinctly hear many dialects from the flatlands. It’s well known that both these gliders have already made many friends among the paramotor fraternity. The OMEGA 7 test glider also found itself almost permanently in the air - there was no sign of it relaxing on the stand. This wing continues to impress pilots, and so its elegant shape could frequently be admired from below.

New Reserve parachutes developed ..

ADVANCE now offers two newly developed reserve parachutes, the NANO (Dwarf) and PROTECT II, which feature very fast opening performance.ADVANCE, Swing and U-Turn GmbH have formed a strategic development partnership in the field of reserve parachutes. These three companies are combining their project resources, so as to be able to bring new and topical technology on to the market at attractive prices as a result of intensive research and development.The most important feature of a reserve is its short opening time. To achieve this extremely fast opening behaviour the PROTECT II’s Rapid Inflation System (RIS) comes into effect:- the parachute has special bands which make sure that the canopy edges around the base don’t lie flat on each other. The precise pre-tension of these bands create air channels which enhance the opening qualities in the first split seconds of deployment. This means that the PROTECT II opens as fast as a small canopy, but provides the low sink rate of a large one.PARATEX RS TX40The light fabric of only 40g/sq.m is specially formulated to meet the specific demands of a reserve parachute by combining just the right relationship between weave density and weft. Paratex RS TX 40 uses both single and double polyamid threads, with the double threads cleverly worked into the weave. This creates an extremely light material with high strength and long life.

I'm back in Canada !!

ahhhh its cold here , -14 c last night that sucks ! but Spring is comming ! I decided to come home i was lonely for my dog and to sleep in my own bed and eat my own food ! Auber was happy i was home , I will have time to take care of bills , taxes and reflect on how nice a trip it was ... it's over for this winter but i will start my plans for next fall for the remained of the trip to Argentina , the bike is sitting in Panama for my return ! I am now making plans to go to Brasil in Feb for some flying ... , then come back when it is warm again ! pictures to follow soon . cheers

Panama and area ....

Well i spent about 5 days in Panama , and at first i hated it , busy and polluted compared to where i have been in the past number of weeks . The hotel was on a busy road and noisy, but the price was right , 38 dollar night . It was called Hotel Montreal ! But it was in a great area of the city and i felt totally safe at all times . The city is booming in construction, and lots of tourist. I made it finally to the canal !! It has always been a dream of mine to see this place and i was impressed ! Lots of older military bases and houses from the when the USA controlled the area are now left abandoned . The canel is surrounded with jungle and protected areas . I rode to the Colon area on the carribean coast and had a beer at Historic spanish fort , then rode 1.5 hrs back to the pacific coast and had a beer at the old USA fort . I did start to enjoy the city by the time i left and realised how much more i want to see when i go back later in the year.

Panama city !!

Yahooo .. i made it ! I made goal ! A lttle slow but ! Paragliding terms for those of you who don¨t know , anyways .... Yes i"m into the people the noise and the pollution . But I"m glad i can see the city i"ve dreamed about and read about ! No accidents , no banditos , just good riding and alot of nice memories . Just about 3 months ago we left , man did that pass quick ! Now i"m off to see the city the canel and the area ... cheers

Costa Rica..

Well, i must say i had alot of fun in Costa Rica , I went to few national parks , saw alot of birds Tucans , macaws etc , most of the monkeys and lizards and a few others.. I met alot of foriegn tourist mainly germans... and canadians ! But I never really met many Ticans... too bad . staying at hostels you don´t really get to meet the locals and to them your just another tourist ! but i did meet some interesting people and had some fun. Now after crossing into Panama the first stop was a mountain town i was reccomended , but when i got their it was packed with people , it was Satuday and they were having a festival ... so i exited after a few hrs and rode down the road to the city of David . from here i rode south to the coast and it again was so busy i just kept riding south , now i am in Santiago . Heading toward panama city ... i guess , maybe i´ll get side tracked for a few days on the beach before i enter the confusion of the city ! cheers

Has it been 2 weeks...

Well , I must confess, doing blogs is not really my thing, as you might be able to tell . While I am having fun, I keep forgetting to tell the world about it. I just crossed into Panama yesterday after leaving the OSA penninsula. The border crossing was easy and not busy, i had a couple of kids help me , one to watch my bike and the other to put every step in order , which ended up costing me 5 dollars and a coke ! Great value for the ease of the crossing !
After New years I ended up in rain for 3 days , everything was soaked , it was the hardest rain I have every rode in. Very interesting and a little dangerous ! Ended up going down to the bottom of the east coast , just before the Panama border . More rain and everything smelled like mold ... so I bolted for the west coast again made it to Uvita , a small little town below Dominical . I then visited Uvita for a few days and then went to the Osa penninsula, to see some wild life . It really is a nice place to see animals you only have seen in pictures .
Ahhh to be back where the sun is again and dry cloths... this is a nice area of Costa rica !

New website comming soon !

Yes , Garth is building me a new site , for those of you who wonder why i haven"t changed my old tours and such ... hopefully we will have it up and running this spring ... cheers

Monteverde for new years !

I went riding in the back country heading north again, towards Monteverde or the high lands it was nice to be up high and cooler riding. checked out the small towns where the tourists don"t go. Made it to Monteverde in time to do the zip line at 1:30 , 2 hrs of fun the longest highest and such in Costa rica right now , i wanted the year to go out with some fun ! I quite enjoyed it for the money .. went to a pub for the evening and celebrated the new year ! Yahoo it"s 08 !!
I left today for lake Arenal over the back trying to get lost but not such luck today just a really nice ride in some great areas along the lake . It reminded me of new Zealand alot ! I also saw my first monkeys since being here on the side of the rd, in the trees , the mother was holding a baby which was so small you could barely see it on her chest . She was eating flowers while the little one was breast feeding, so cool . Now i am in La fortuna typing and tryng to see where to go next ... hmmm well see .

Parrita for x mas !

I made it to Barry and Janes house for x mas day ..they made me supper and we went boggie boarding and watched the sunset with beers in hand ! They just moved into their new house on bandaras beach north of Parrita . I spent the next few days lazing around reading , my secound book of the trip or is it the third ? hmmmm well it was nice to enjoy thier place and their company....thanks and bunch , Gracious ! I am starting run again, 2 months and about 6 dozen beer later my gut is getting bigger, i"ll look like my brother soon if i keep it up !! Stab! so working out has become a routine ... when i left Parrita i followed some back roads in to the forest and seen some Tucan birds , they are soooo cool , got lost found my way and got lost again . Nothing is marked in the back area here ... Went over a bridge and looked down into the river , lots of crocs and big as well 20 ft long.. , went paragliding on an evening flight in Caldara, saw the locals place to fly !

A sweet week in the sun !

Wow, they really have some nice beaches here , first stop was in the famous Tamarindo beach area , did"t really care for this area too developed and too many Canadians !! It was like a mini anybeach in America , complete with the bitching when the auto teller does not work , people are so stupid , they expect everything to work here like back at home . well f**%4uckin stay at home then. Enough said ... a day here was all i could handle. I slipped down the coastal rd checking out a bunch of beaches and areas and ende up staying in Sumara for x mas eve. This was a nice small town and not too over developed yet , the rd in here was through lots of forest and water crossing and swimming holes ! sweet ! I called it iguana road ....

Felix anos everyone !

Well , what a fun time i had trying to cross the border into Cosata rica , the day started out leaving San juan de sol just acroos the border . I decided to take a back rd .. ha... well i was in the boonnies , army guards checking me out thinking i"m smuggling some thing . 2 checkpoints looking for guns and dope. Then i thinking maybe it was not such a good idea to be by myself along the border in the middle of the mountains in Nicaragua. Well no problems except for this long hill which was all mud and ruts oh shit ! Well half way up i spun out and fell over and got stuck in the mud ! It was so hot out , 90% humidity .. about 1 hr of stuggling , pushing, swearing and laughing got me to the top . A few trips up and down to collect my cloths and helmet , the rest was smooth except when i hit a mud hole and crashed again , that shit is slippery for anything .. well i arrived at the border with mud all over me and the bike , i was quite the suprise for a few . I think all of costa rica was trying to get back to Nicarugua for x mas. It was either wait in line for 5 hrs joining the line about 2000 people , or pay for some service , 35 dollars and 1 hrs later i was out of Nicarugua . Now i had to enter Costa rica ! another 2 hrs and a few more dollars and i was heading for the beach .
I did fall again this day ... i was putting my kick stand down on a slight up hill trying to get my music on and over i went ... shit , you just have to laugh at my stupidity sometimes !!