Riding solo to the tip of South America

October 29, 1:59 PMMotorcycle ExaminerKen Bingenheimer

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Alisa Clickenger (left) at the end of the Dirty Dozen ride, Amy Preble and Genvieve Schmitt

"I call this my year of motorcycling," says Alisa Clickenger. Essentially homeless (by design) and a nomad since July 1, Alisa leaves in mid-November to ride her 2003 Suzuki DR650SE to Tierra del Fuego, the tip of South America. She'll be riding solo and I'll be following her journey and updating you on it here.

I met Alisa in Keystone, CO, this summer where she was one of the "Dirty Dozen" riders participating in the "Adventure for the Cures," a fundraiser to fight breast and cervical cancer. She will be continuing in that vein on this trip, with the ride being in part a fundraiser for breast cancer research. In a recent email she noted that "A close friend was diagnosed with breast cancer last week, and my motivation is powerful."

Alisa secured full sponsorship for the ride from Twisted Throttle, which specializes in motorcycle touring accessories. Her bike has been "fully outfitted" by the sponsor and they will be holding a Halloween Send-Off party for her Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Twisted Throttle headquarters in Peacedale, RI. From there she will make her way to Dallas, TX, for the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show (Nov. 13-15) and then it's on to Mexico.

From there, she says, "I'm not too much of a planner, but the general route is to go down through Copper Canyon and then over through Guatemala (not sure how to work in Belize yet) and then slowly make it south. I have no route set, just a handful of sites I definitely want to see, and I am sure the path will become clear as I ride."

Alisa has done some research on routes with the aid of websites such as Horizons Unlimited and Adventure Rider. She also expects that she will get to various places, buy maps, and speak with local people to get route advice.

She expects to be on the road for six months. This trip has been a long time coming.

"Three years ago I quit the corporate world and decided to invest in myself. I love travel, but for 10 years I was with a guy who hates to travel."

Once that relationship ended, "Suddenly I'm free, I'm riding a motorcycle, and I'm going!"

Last year she had some frequent flyer miles that were expiring so she flew to Nicaragua "to see if I could really do it." Now she is confident that she can go alone.

As much as the ride is for breast cancer, it is also a spiritual journey.

"I'm drawn to a lot of Mother Mary places," she says. "I'm not religious, but I've been getting messages in my dreams to go to these Mother Mary places."

"Mother Mary places," Alisa explains, is "Alisa lingo" for shrines that feature a statue of Mother Mary. "I expect deep, deep emotional experiences and personal insights at these Mother Mary places."

Adventure is inevitable on a journey of this sort. I look forward to helping Alisa share some of hers with you. She will also be chronically the trip on her own site, MotoAdventureGal.com.

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