MotoAdventureGal Finale: Flying to Seattle today

Bolivia's Camino Del Muerte, the Road of Death (Photo: Alisa Clickenger)

Alisa Clickenger's great South American motorcycling adventure comes to a close today. At around noon Mountain Daylight Time, she is flying out of Buenos Aires on her way to Seattle. She shipped her bike several days ago and when last she checked it was in Texas, en route to Seattle.

Alisa left her home in Connecticut in October intending to ride to Ushuaia, Argentina, the southern tip of South America. Delays due to illness and just generally having too good a time to push on resulted in her not reaching that objective but she's already planning "Lap number two."

When last we touched in with her she was in Peru. From Peru she pressed on to Bolivia and spent time in La Paz, being sick again. ("It knocked me flat!") On her final two days in La Paz she did day rides, the second being the world famous Camino Del Muerte (http://www.vacationideas.me/south-america/el-camino-de-la-muerte-road-of-death-bolivian-yungas/), or Road of Death. This road, from La Paz to Coroico, is a spectacular dirt road gouged into the side of a sheer cliff with drop-offs more than 6,000 feet in some places. With a much safer paved route elsewhere, the old road is mostly a draw for tourists and travelers.

"That was a highlight, I even bought a T-shirt."

   On the Road of Death (Photo: Alisa Clickenger)

From La Paz Alisa pushed on to Uyuni, famous for the Salar, the Bolivian salt flats. She met up with another rider and "We had a blast riding the Salar to Sucre and did a motorbike tour of the Salar."

Riding on to Paraguay, she got stuck after dark in an area with no hotels, so she camped. Not necessarily the safest thing to do but no bad consequences. In Paraguay it was a different world. The road was paved and there are a lot of Mennonites who have settled there.

"It was weird. People were addressing me in German, and then Spanish with a German accent. Just weird."

On to Concepcion, where an Adventure Rider invited her to stay at their house. Then, during "a couple miserable days in the rain, I had my first flat of the trip." She ended up that night in a small town where the only accommodations were a "love hotel."

Breaking the rules

At the Argentina-Paraguay border, "I broke my rules and stayed in a border town. And I got robbed. They broke into my panniers and took most of my stuff (including her Camino Del Muerte T-shirt!) but left my passport and papers."

Demoralized, she spent much of the next day with the police and then made a beeline for Buenos Aires. However, the Argentine police had different ideas for her so she was pulled over and broke another of her rules, paying them $100 to let her be on her way.

Reaching Buenos Aires, Alisa did some maintenance work on the bike and got it ready for shipping. Then it was on its way and now she is on hers. What now?

"My boyfriend has gotten a job in Rigby, ID, so we're going to live there. We're going to go to some Northwest rallies and then I'll ride to Ontario in August to be a presenter at the International Women Riders Congress and Festival."

The future

Beyond that, she plans to put together a slide presentation of her trip and will be looking for speaking engagements. She is also planning a series of magazine articles. Then, for 2011, Alisa is working with another rider to put together a cross-country ride for women who have doubts about their ability to do that sort of thing.

"I am personally empowered by my trip and I'd like to give that back. This ride will be instructional and will involve coaching. It will require that the rider first complete an MSF experienced rider course. We be camping and staying in hotels and using GPS. I want to show them the tools to make a great trip."

But how does it feel with the South American trip wrapping up?

"Would I do it again? Yes. What would I do differently? I'd worry less and bring less crap. Would I ride the same bike? Yes.

"It's bittersweet to be going home. I'm excited about doing something new, but I've been on the road a long time. I'm worried about staying in one place, but I guess I won't be in one place too long. There are four or five more months of riding before winter."

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MotoAdventureGal Finale: Flying to Seattle today