March 2024
M T W T F S S
« Mar    
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Weather

Failure notice from provider:
Connection Error:http_request_failed

Failure notice from provider:
Connection Error:http_request_failed

Failure notice from provider:
Connection Error:http_request_failed

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

  • Gwen & Will Edgerley

    Congratulations to both of youfor achieving your primary goal
    at the end of the world! Now you can relax a bit before starting your journey home. Our love to both of you.

  • Phil Toconita

    What a fantastic journey! Many happy returns! From the snowy plains of MN.

  • Marsha Kaye

    WOW….Good job!!! Congratulations to you both!!!!!!! Come home safe.

  • Roger

    Lisa and Dean, you two have had a truly challenging, frustrating at times, adventure. It’s great to see that you’ve made it to the end of the road. CONGRATS. Now, have a safe trip home. We look forward to seeing you state side.

  • Big high fives to you both. The goal and prize are yours!!

  • Enjoyed following your journey! Safe home!

  • chuck hickey

    Amazing journey – and amazing you haven’t killed or maimed one another !
    I have this feeling that you are going to put the bikes on the ferry – and Grand Pa Dean will fall asleep on the cruise – and bang – just like that some uncommon motorcycle fix will come to him – requiring a band aid, chewing gum and duct tape – and voila _ the Strompapotomus will be healed.

    congratulations folks – YOU DONE IT !!!!!!!!!!!

  • chuck hickey

    I can go to bed now !!

  • Joel Key

    ANDALE GUEY!!!!!! You make a nephew proud Uncle Dean.

  • michiel kerkhof

    What a ride it was…..congratulations to both for sharing an adventure with all of us that will last a lifetime!!

  • Amy E

    Amazing accomplishment!!! Congratulations, job well done. What a team. Love

  • Matias

    You Guys Rock!!

    congrats to both of you!!

    the crates are waiting here for you!!

    i leave this sunday to Rio Puelo ( near Puerto Montt ) before i go trough the path i have to cross ( you know what)
    ps:

    i have a friend who is stranded in Ushuaia right now.. he is doing the same adventure but in a Suzuki GN 125 ( yeah that’s a very small bike ) from Venezuela… he is a Kid … crazy for some but with good “cojones” to me…. he is broke, jobless, foodless etc…. if you guys can extend a hand to him that would be great.. he has a Facebook account..you can search him ( tocando latinoamerica ) in Facebook…

    i suggest him that he can create a Paypal Account so i can send some bucks to him…

    again… congrats to you guys…

    see you soon!

  • Tina (BMWGirl)

    WOW!!! Such an incredible journey! Congrats on your persistance and accomplishment! Thanks for taking us along! See ya in JAX!

  • Bounce

    Congratulations. These things are what make like worthwhile. What memories! Thanks for letting us follow along.

    Be safe on the last bit back to the shipping depot and airport.

  • BrianB

    Congratulations to the both of you! Safe travel back to the states. Dean what can I say you always make it interesting with man vs. machine. Remembering the 01 Rally and the knocking HD at the start, that finished.

  • Chris McGaffin

    Fantastic news. You will NEVER forget THAT trip. Thank you for taking so much trouble keeping the blog up to date. It must have been a real pain at times but it was very much appreciated.
    Safe journey home.

    I’ll now have to find something else to read whilst supping a red wine.

  • Karol Patzer

    Congratulations!!!! Great ride..thanks for the posts!

  • Don Lindfors

    Way to cool guys. It’s been fun following along, and I’m damn sure I don’t want to ride Central America ~ I wouldn’t have dealt with the Banditos as well as you guys.
    deano, can’t wait to see you when you get back, and I’ll have to come over and figure out what the heck is wrong with that Suzi

  • Brian R

    I’m back in the saddle again in Ferntucky (with a level 4 snow blizzard bearing down on the Casa) so I can better see the pictures and appreciate the last few posts.

    All I can say is WOW! You guys Rock! Dean, you can break my dishes, Lisa – you can have YOUR room anytime you like. I am so proud to hijack your story with my friends and family and pretend I could do something like this!!!

    Now be extra careful coming back – we want big pieces back here at the home front.

  • Ron Allen

    Copngratulations you guys, i have followed your adventure from day one. I’ll miss reading your blogs curiosity is kiling me about the cause of the problem with the v-pig.

  • Congratulations to you both on your accomplishment and PERSEVERANCE! So happy for you both. You both deserve a cold beer, a soft bed, and many ZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

  • tlc

    For being only 11° there it doesn’t look cold. Now in Michigan there would be snow, and more snow…
    Congrats on reaching your goal and taking us along for the ride. It was a great journey and you are more adventuresome than I would ever be. Hope to see you soon in LA.

  • Kevin Huddy

    Congrats again!!

    Dean, Could it be fuel venting… rather a lack of venting. I’m thinking a vacuum is developing in your fuel system and starving the engine at higher RPMs.

    • Dean

      Kevin, thanks for the input on my loss of power at 4K, then 3K and now around 2K! I got several venting recommendations to check my fuel tank vent. At both dealers the vent was checked (both on the bike and off the bike). With the tank on the bike, I can blow air easily and it can be heard at the gas cap. I have even ridden for 30-min with the gas cap open to see if it is a venting issue. No Joy!
      We hare having fun anyhow. Somehow at 45 MPH we rode almost 400 miles Friday, Feb 25.

  • Minuend

    Wow, what can one say? You guys are my heroes. Be safe and report on the way back. We want to see if Dean’s Curse extend to ships.
    Thanks for the ride!
    Jerry

Leave a Reply to Craig Chaddock

 

 

 

You can use these HTML tags

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>