Story by Dave Edinger
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the March 2014 edition of the Indiana MSTA newsletter. The story has been edited to match the MSTA website’s style.
We started our trip with a flight to Guatemala City on Dec. 20, and we had a driver take us into Guatemala City to meet our friends Cesar and Irene Passarelli at their amazing home. We originally met them on our Edelweiss tour of Sicily and Italy two years ago as well as two other Guatemalan couples, the Santos and the Castillos.
Cesar loaned me his backup bike, which was a 1200cc Honda Crossover. It was an automatic with paddle shift option. I have to admit I was intimidated at first. I started in full auto to avoid the instant pull when passing. Coming to a stop without pulling in the clutch goes against 36 years of riding experience. Eventually we stopped at a resort. After checking in, we sat outside for a coffee while taking in an amazing view that included an active smoking volcano — one of 23 in the country.
When we left I accidentally switched the bike to manual paddle shift mode. I noticed when I left I was still in first gear and it didn’t shift. So, I had to learn the paddles quickly on the fly. It took some getting used to, but the Honda started to pull better and had a nice exhaust note. Cesar and Irene were on their BMW R 1200.GS. Riding took total concentration, as there were countless loose dogs along the road. Luckily they were not as aggressive as dogs at home.
The roads were not always good. You had to watch for potholes and serious speed bumps that caused us to test the ABS more than once. It is common to split lanes in Guatemala, but the drivers don’t give way as they do in Europe. If you had hard saddlebags, you had to be very cautious. Missy said this was only the second ride we had together that she was concerned. The other was in Africa. There were also a lot of roadblocks along the way, but they were only stopping those ornate chicken busses to ensure they were not over stuffed. They’re old American school busses ornately decorated — painted and with all sorts of lights. They do this because about 20 percent of the population can’t read! But, they can tell one colored bus from another. Later, Cesar and Irene took us to a nice lunch and the Ducati shop where we tried to find a Ducati Guatemala shirt. No luck.
Then it was time for a dual sport day. I grabbed my gear and walked across the village and we left about 9:30 a.m. I rode a Yamaha YZ250F, while the guide rode a Yamaha WR450. The poor chase rider had no goggles and carried the group’s water and tools aboard a small Honda 200. We started down the highway a bit — no license plates or insurance. Then we turned onto a dirt road into one of many small, poor villages. This was rubber plantation territory where people can live on the land for free but must work for low wages. We stopped at one grove where they cut out small sections of bark, which can yield up to 20 cups of rubber from each cut. We were riding around the base of a volcano all day, with more river and creek crossings than I could count. It was a great day of riding and a good experience. I discussed with the owner the option of a partnership and try to expand the business by capturing more street oriented business and maybe add other neighboring countries.