New Helmet For The R1200GS In Chile

Nolan N-103 N-Com
Nolan Modular Helmet

Internal Sun Visor like the helmet of a Fighter Pilot. Very cool feature!

Wired for sound with custom built in speakers

Just plug the iPod into the built in

inputs, and your good to go! After riding thru five days of constant 50-60 mile per hour winds in Argentina, this past January and February, wind that was constantly trying to remove my helmet with my head still in it, I decided I needed a better fitting helmet. Since I have been so satisfied with the two Nolan N-103 N-Com helmets that I bought here in the States for my K1200LT, I decided to order a Nolan for the R1200GS in Chile. Nolan has made some nice improvements since I bought the first two helmets a few years ago. Two of the best improvements are, the built in sun visor that can be operated by a slide lever on the side of the helmet. The other is the integration of the plugs for the sound system. The female plugs are now built into the side of the helmet, and not a wire hanging down, as they were before. The helmet fits snugly and is very comfortable. Another feature found only on the Nolan helmet, is the seat belt type chin strap. It operates much like a seat belt buckle found in a car or airplane. It's visible in the bottom picture above. Very easy to get on and off! For more info on Nolan helmets, go to: http://www.nolanhelmets.com/

Llaima Volcano Erupts Again In Chile

Volcano Llaima April 2009
Llaima Volcano Feb. 2009
SANTIAGO, April 4 (Reuters) - Chile's Llaima volcano, one of South America's most active, spewed a more-than-1,000 metre (1,094 yard) flow of lava on Saturday in a fresh eruption, the country's National Emergency Office (ONEMI) said.Llaima, which lies in Chile's picturesque lake region about 435 miles (700 km) south of the capital Santiago, erupted on Jan. 1, 2008 and has spewed pyroclastic rock and ash sporadically since."There are permanent explosions that reach 600 metres above the crater. Falling ash is visible and ... a flow of lava of more than 1,000 metres has been observed," ONEMI said on its website.It said experts were evaluating the possible evacuation of 17 people in the area surrounding the volcano.Chile's chain of some 2,000 volcanoes is the world's second-largest after Indonesia. Around 50 to 60 are recorded to have erupted, while 500 are deemed potentially active.The 10,253-foot (3,127-metre) Llaima was the second to erupt in the past year.The Chaiten volcano, 760 miles (1,222 km) south of Santiago in the Patagonia region, erupted last May for the first time in thousands of years, spewing ash, gas and molten rock and prompting the evacuation of thousands of people.Ash from Chaiten soared 20 miles into the atmosphere, swelled rivers and caused floods that damaged dozens of houses and destroyed much of the nearby town of the same name.Chaiten erupted again in February, prompting a fresh evacuation of residents who had rejected a government plan to abandon the town and rebuild it a few miles away. (Writing by Simon Gardner; Editing by Paul Simao)

On The Trail Of Butch And Sundance

The Wild Bunch Hideout in Argentina
The Wild Bunch
Since spring is just around the corner, I'm starting to think about future bike rides. One of the future rides I'm considering (for next year) is a ride to follow Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to their hideout in Argentina. I hinted at this possibility when I planned this past years ride in Chile and Argentina, but while in Argentina, I questioned people in the town of San Carlos De Bariloche about the ledgend of the two gringo outlaws and, although they had heard of the ledgend, nobody could give me any specific information. Well, now I have some. I have found a location for the "Wild Bunch's Ranch" in Argentina. Actually, three very rustic buildings in the Patagonia of Argentina just as they where in 1905. It's on the eastern edge of the Andes Mountains near a large lake south of the famous Route 40 near the town of Cholita, Argentina. This will be the theme for next years adventure in South America. Now starts the investigation.