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Day58-Ushuaia and the End-of-the Road!, Wed, Feb 23, 2011

From Deadhorse, AK to the End-Of-The-Road” sign in Tierra Del Fuego National Park!

Start & Stop: Rio Grande to Ushuaia, Argentina

Mileage:  155 uneventful miles (uneventful is a good thing)

Hotel:  Hosteria Foike. Gobernador Campos No. 1554. Ushuaia 9410. Argentina

Fuel: $3.267 Argentine Peso /l liter ($0.82 USD/1 liter) or $3.09 per gal!

Currency Exchange: $1 USD = $4.02 Argentine Peso

February 23, 2011 - Lisa Landry & Dean Tanji at the "End-of-the-Road" sign, Tierra del Fuego National Park,

Dean: We’ve been planning this ride for over 4 years.  Lisa and I originally rode to Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay in May 2009.  Lisa made it all the way to Deadhorse.  I threw a chain 58 miles out of Deadhorse and had to be towed in.  The chain wrapped around the primary gear, damaged the housing and broke a gear in the tranny.  I ended up shipping it home to Southern California.  In July 1, 2010 I returned to Deadhorse to finish that last 58 miles!  And officially start a TransAmericas (North, Central and South Americas) ride.

We spent years going over maps, high-lighting special stops such as Macchu Pichu, the Bolivian Road of Death, the Hand in the Desert.  I built two Tanji special Flatbed Fuel Cells for our VStroms to extend the range over 425 miles.  This enabled us to run 200 miles hard then have 200+ miles to refill/top off the tanks.  We created GPS waypoints for all our planned overnight stops and desired tourist stops.

And after 58 days on the road, we’re only 135 miles from our long planned goal — Ushuaia, Argentina.

Our ride in from Rio Grande was cool and chilly.  The cloud level was low and we could see rain in the horizon.  Rio Grande is on the Atlantic Ocean.  The landscape coming in from Rio Grande is beach and desert.  Halfway to Ushuaia we start climbing foothills then over a mountain pass before dropping down into Ushuaia.  We ride through the little Strait of Magellan port town of Ushuaia and back onto an unpaved 21 km hardpacked dirt/gravel road into the Tierra Del Fuego National Park, $65 peso ($16.17 USD).  Our “End-Of-The-Road” sign is located at the western most corner of the park at the Antarctic ocean.  This officially completes our Trans-American Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Terra Del Fuego, Argentina ride.

July 1, 2010 - Dean Tanji in Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay AK

Lisa: I slept til almost 8 this morning, just because I could, but also because the pasta I had last night was such a carb load that I couldn’t help it.  Dean and I both got ready rather slowly today.  Not for lack of excitement about what the day would bring but for me at least, I had a vague sense of unease.  We’ve planned this for so long and yet, the way things have been going, I was just so concerned that *something* would happen and one or both of us would not ‘finish’ the ride.  By finish, I mean get to The End of The Road – the end of Rta 3.  I know it’s symbolic and I know we got to Tierra del Fuego but that wasn’t the point.  We wanted our bikes parked in front of The Sign.

The three of us (Herbert decided to ride with us today) left Rio Grande about 10ish and the ride was uneventful.  Cold, a little wet but nice road, beautiful scenery, light traffic, no road construction – perfect.  About 75 miles out, Herbert needed gas and a hot drink (wearing lightweight leather jacket and chaps, he’s not exactly ready for this) but because Dean’s bike is so limiting, we went on ahead.   Herbert did not know about the end of the road photo so we told him we’d wait for him just inside the city of Ushuaia.

You all have heard that I listen to music every day and today was no different.  Since Dean lost his antenna when we trucked out of the mud in Bolivia, we’ve had no CB communication and I tend to get lost in my tunes.  This morning I chose a playlist I haven’t listened to in quite a while, one of the first I made when we started the trip.  Jeez, I should have checked it first.  Sometime this morning something was just not right – oh yeah, because I had Nat King Cole singing “I’ll be Home for Christmas”.  Yep, since we were to be on the road from Nov 29 til Dec 23rd, I added some Christmas songs to my playlist so I could enjoy the holiday spirit even while dealing with Central American bandito policia.  That was all well and good but today it was slightly annoying but became rather humorous, especially as the snow topped Andes drew closer.  Oh well.

Pulling up to the mythical sign, I was unprepared for it I think.  Seeing ‘Alaska 17,845 Km.’ written there surprised me and made me realize that this IS a big ride.

We rode out of the National Park seemingly a LOT faster than we rode in…hmmm…but then the Finding a Hotel routine commenced.  We had some difficulty locating the hotel recommended to us.  After a bit of a cluster, we found it but also found it was very new and very expensive.  We are filthy dirty, riding filthy dirty bikes and people of simple tastes.

Dean: We hung around the “End-Of-The-Road” sign for an hour.  Mostly trying to realize that our ride was completed.  We were elated to be done and depressed that we were done!  Now what??

With confused emotions we reluctantly leave.

I want to get back to Ushuaia, checked into a hotel and find a flat spot to park the bike.  Several followers have posted that the cat converter or blocked mufflers might be causing the 3K loss of power problem.  The first thing I do is get the V-Strompasourus up on the center-stand, unpack all the luggage, remove the Jesse saddlebags. The right muffler comes off in 20 minutes, and I fire up the bike and the engine still chokes at 3K.  OK, lets get the left muffler off.  With both mufflers off, the engine still looses all power at 3K.  No Joy once again.

More Photos.

Feb 23, 2011 - Lisa Landry and her '08 VStrom DL650

As we have done throughout our ride, Lisa leaves a little bit of Eddy James at the "End-Of-The-Road."

I'm pointing to the "End-Of-The-Road" sign location.

Feb 23, 2011 - Dean Tanji, Herbert Krein, Lisa Landry;

77 comments to Day58-Ushuaia and the End-of-the Road!, Wed, Feb 23, 2011

  • M Hickman

    Lisa & Dean,

    Congratulations!

    ~ Michael

  • Lynda L

    Awesome!! You both deserve a medal for all you’ve been through!!

  • Dave Chiurazzi

    CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    WOW – WHAT AN AMAZING ACCOMPLISHMENT!!!!!

    I STILL CAN’T FATHOM WHAT YOU TWO HAVE DONE – CONGRATS AND BIG PROPS TO BOTH OF YOU – WOW!!!!

    WHAT AN INSPIRATION – I AM SUPER IMPRESSED – GREAT JOB YOU TWO AND THANKS FOR ALL THE POSTS – IT HAS TRULY BEEN GREAT FOLLOWING YOUR EPIC ADVENTURE – TREMENDOUS!!

  • Jack Ferguson

    Congratulations ya’ll. Yours has been an “epic” adventure and you have persevered in spite of it all. You have memories to last a lifetime I’m sure and we all thank you for sharing your travails with us on this site. TCARS and see you in Jax,

  • Colin Tanji

    CONGRATULATIONS!!! Fried baloney biscuits on me!!!

  • Tom Botz

    Great job! Congrats!

  • Toni Clark

    That’s my girl!!!! I am awed and amazed and impressed and jealous and, well, just so dang proud of you! Now get your ass home :)
    Love you,
    Your Forever Sister

  • Mike Rose

    What mere mortals are those of us that read your adventures. Amazing journey! Come home safely and start planning your next adventure.
    My thrill of the day was remembering to buy kleenex tissues when I went shopping.
    Ride Safe
    Mike

  • H Marc Lewis

    Congratulations on a job well done!

    It’s going to be so relatively boring when you get home. Oh, I forgot — IBR is coming up in a few months. Never mind…

    :-)

  • R. Eroen

    CONGRATS … GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT for you both! Now we’ll switch our prayers for getting you (and bikes) back home safely (without hurting each other). But, before anguishing about that, CELEBRATE! You deserve it!

  • pete Springer

    …and thru it all, you both kept your composure, and great sense of humor. In my imagination I see Dean smiling tolerantly like a rock star, While Lisa Taps her finger at him impatiently. What a trip! Congratulations.
    …Oh, and thanks for keeping up the blog.

  • Puppychow

    Captcha Captcha’ed my post again..

    WHOOOHOOOO!!!! Party time! Congratulations! Great picture too! You both look relieved and relaxed and tired but surprisingly good – considering the beating you have taken during the journey!
    Hope to see you soon when you are back home!

  • Lurleen

    I am so proud of you both!! This is fabulous.

  • Bob Curzon

    It has been a privilege to follow you two. But the trip is not over, yet! You still have to ride/fly home. Are the bikes staying in SA, or getting shipped back?
    You’ll have to come to an American Thunder meeting for show-and-tell.
    Continue to travel safe. =-)

  • Brian Tanji

    Congratulation

  • Ernie Conner

    Congratulations! It has been a thrill watching and reading about your journey. It had me on the edge of my seat not unlike a suspense novel! Enjoy the rest of your journey in safety and good health and look forward to seeing you after you arrive safely home.

  • Hal Risser

    What an amazing adventure! You’ve done it, all safe and sound and everything! Will be shaking your hands in June. Be Safe !

  • Cathy Lindfors

    WOW, Congrats you two!!!!!

    Not sure how you both managed to keep it together through all that god throw at you.
    Again congrat’s to my favorite Iron Butt guy and of course Lisa (the guardian Angel), truly enjoyed the adventure.

    Get home safe

  • Mike Meier

    Once again, I am in awe. You two look great. The bikes look thrashed, but that’s only appropriate. Congratulations, and come home safe.

  • TurboDave

    Great news and sincere Congratulations on a completed UCC. You two are quite a team! Have a peaceful rest for a few days.

  • Jerry W

    Here ends National Route 3.
    Here Dean and Lisa exhaled deeply.

  • John H

    CONGRATULATIONS again and many, many thanks for posting your adventures here.

    It has been great fun looking forward to reading it every day and it has also been a much needed dose of “motorcyclene” to get me through while I have been off the bike recovering from shoulder surgery!

    OK, no rest for the weary and all that….
    Get things arranged to get home safely and finish getting ready for the IBR!
    :)

  • Diane Z

    Truly an amazing adventure, thanks so much for keeping us posted.
    Congratulations, have fun celebrating.

  • Ray D. KD6FHN

    Wow and congratulations, take a deep breath and think about what you 2 have just accomplished. It is just so awsome to be able to travel with you. Be safe now you hear and we look forward to seeing you home safe and sound. God Bless

  • Bob K

    Congratulations to Dean and Lisa on their endeavors! Woohoo! Now where’s your next trip? Europe/Asia?!

  • Awesome! Congratulations you two on your accomplishment and the blog! Outstanding!

  • Paige Ortiz

    Dean and Lisa, Congratulations, and glad you made it safe…though we haven’t heard of any misadventures you may have gotten into in the last 158 miles. Here’s to a rather uneventful return.

  • Jim Ward

    Super accomplishment, with lots of challenges. It’s been fun tracking you, both blog and SPOT.

    Probably too soon to think about the encore, huh.

    Have a safe trip home.

  • Brian Casey

    A fantastic accomplishment! Congrats!

  • Alex Harper

    Congratulations Lisa and Dean! Fair winds and following seas on your return journey. I’m really looking forward to seeing you, hopefully prior to Seattle.

  • Rick Martin

    Outstanding ride to you both! I really enjoyed `riding’ along.
    Thank you.
    Have a safe return trip.

  • Jeff E

    Congratulations!!!

  • Brother Tom

    Hopefully Dean can find a very good SA beer and Lisa some passable Chilean or Argentina wine to celebrate your amazing accomplishment. As for shipping the Vpig home, maybe Dean could get a good offer from some kid on the street and save the shipping. But then he won’t be happy until he gets it home and solves the RPM problem….not matter what it costs. Tom

  • Donna Fousek

    Congratulation. Way to go

  • Brian R.

    Congrats to both of you

  • I learned alot from your adventure, many thanks…but like in Magnum Force…Dean,I got’s to know…, when you find out what made you’re scoot lay down, please let us know! Glad you both had a safe trip! Jim

  • Mark H.

    Thanks for taking us along. I’m sure there were 18 billion times when the last thing you wanted to do was peck at a keyboard after a long, hot (or chilled), dry (or drenched), grueling day.

    P.S. The known VPig Universe (those smart enough to follow the circus, anyway), will be waiting to see what you find out about the bike.

    Congrats Again,

  • John, Sharon and Akzl

    WOW- An adventure we were able to enjoy with the two of you. My hat is off to you for the patience and persistence it took to complete, not to mention the balls. We had more fun following the trip and thank you for taking the time to keep this up to date the whole way! By the way Dean want to sell my your VSTROM……rotflao….

  • Van Freidin

    Congratulations, I have enjoyed your adventure, and look forward to the next.

  • Kevin (AKbeemer)

    Congratulations to you both for a great adventure well taken. Thanks for dragging us along.

  • Patrick Ford

    Congratulations on a great ride. Thanks for posting all of your adventures for us who can only sit at home and dream of …maybe some day. :o ) What a trip and the memories for a life time.

  • Well done, Lisa and Dean. It really was worth all the effort, wasn’t it? It’s a great feeling completing the TransAmericas ride, although I did it bottom to top! Hope my Wee doesn’t have problems like yours, especially in the wilds of Africa!

    • Dean

      Margareet,
      Thank You! You are such an inspiration to us.

      Thanks for the “Locals” road advice from Cerro Sombrero to San Sebastian. It does go way out into the boonies!! :) The unpaved hardpacked dirt/gravel did have a surprising amount of truck traffic.

  • Congratulations and THANK YOU for taking the time and effort to share your incredible adventures with us stay-at-homes. I’m sure it wasn’t always easy to write up a blog every day. It sure brightened up all of our days however. Hopefully the ferry trip will be a fitting interlude with the famous scenery along the Chilean coast. I’m sure we’d all like to see photos of that.

  • Kirsten T-S

    Very, VERY cool!. Thanks for sharing the journey.

  • John Parker

    Most excellent adventure folks. Congradualations on a ride well done. Now don’t forget to get your vials of Antarctic Ocean water and sand to go with your Arctic sample. Have a great trip home.

  • Steve Aikens

    Great ride – terrific adventure. Congrats.

  • Josh Lawrence

    What an amazing journey, thanks for sharing this ride with the rest of us.

  • Cal Hashimoto

    Congrats Grande Dean and Lisa! Your physical efforts of getting there are only equal to the amount of work it must have taken getting this blog out for all that are following your progress – Kudos to a tremendous journey!

  • John Stamps

    Congratulations to both of you!!!

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