Two If By Land

“Whether a moment is difficult or not has mostly been determined by our state of mind. Early in the trip was probably the hardest in this regard. A lost part could send me into despair. Within the first week of riding in Baja, our steering head cap nut had somehow come loose and freed itself in the sandy paths along the Sea of Cortez. My despair must have been evident in my expression, because the proprietor of a nearby restaurant, and the only source of WiFi, kept reassuring me that everything would be fine. Sure enough, a local mechanic was able to fabricate the special nut by welding two nuts from two different car engines together. That got us back on the road and was my first lesson in the differences between the US and Latin America.” – Nathan Sharp and Diana Juárez

Nathan’s motorcycling adventures started during a trip to Southeast Asia in 2008. “I was a young college graduate backpacking through Vietnam with a buddy. We met a couple of guys who were offering motorcycle tours through some difficult to access regions of the country. I didn’t know how to ride at the time, so I rode pillion on one of the bikes. We rode for five days through incredible landscapes and remote villages in the central highlands. I decided then that motorcycles were the best way to travel.” Having returned home to San Francisco it took Nathan a while to get his gloves on his first motorcycle though. “It was the height of the recession, and I was without a job and only had a little bit of money. I ended up living in a 120 square foot artist’s loft trying to make my money last as long as possible. When I did finally land a full-time job, I went out and took a safety course and then shortly thereafter bought a 1983 BMW R65LS.”

Diana, on the other hand, took a slightly different route to ADV traveling. “Sitting on the passenger seat of Nathan’s BMW R65 almost five years ago, in a borrowed denim jacket and helmet, it was the first time I had ever ridden a motorcycle. I don’t ride my own bike and now, having enjoyed riding pillion over the past year and a half, I can’t say that I have the interest. Having caught so many little details of the landscape that my pilot can’t always see as we whiz by them, I might only be tempted to learn for emergency purposes. Or maybe I’ll have some kind of ‘Need for Speed’ epiphany, but for now, I’m not prioritizing it.”

It was Nathan’s former boss that came up with the name Two If By Land. “He came into the office one morning and excitedly told me that .land was a domain extension that you could register. So we started brainstorming some names that ended in land so that I could buy a good domain. He threw out Two If By Land and it stuck. It’s funny because the name makes some sense to an American with just a little knowledge of American history. The phrase is a play on a stanza from a well known American poem about the American Revolution. It goes ‘one if by land, two if by sea.’ I didn’t consider, however, that no one outside of the US would recognize the reference. Now when anyone asks, they also get a short American history lesson.”

Nathan has had the idea for an extended overland ADV trip in mind since his first backpacking trip. “I thought at first I might want to sail around the world. However, in the interim, I learned that I didn’t love the ocean enough to spend that much time with it.” During that time his motorcycling dream lay dormant before Nathan decided that he would begin preparing for it. “I had worked on my career for almost ten years, and I thought the time was right to take a break.” Diana, on the other hand, had been longing to travel ever since she’d studied abroad in Glasgow, Scotland. “I had never traveled independently and was privately battling an eating disorder that, among many other things, limited what I imagined I could achieve. I eventually found help and took my first few steps down a long road to recovery, which coincided with Nathan telling me about his “Motorcycle Diaries” dream and asking me if I wanted to come along. I wanted so badly to say yes. So, of course, I said, ‘No.’ But soon after, I said, ‘Wait, I mean, yes, of course, I want to come!’ Nathan truly inspired me to start imagining a new path for myself.”

Before the duo left on the trip, they were living on Nathan’s boat. “It was a beautiful wooden fishing boat built in 1927. Following my romantic impulses, I bought her without knowing the first thing about boats. I quickly realized just how rash my decision was. I had to learn about tying knots, types of ropes, basic woodworking, paints, varnishes, Diesel engine maintenance, sealants, signs of wood rot, epoxies, and wiring. And that was just for maintenance. I never even got around to learning how to drive her well. Every weekend and most of our holidays were spent working on boat projects. It was exhausting.”

“Our initial plan had been to ride two bikes. Diana actually purchased her own bike for the trip that we were going to fix up, a 1982 BMW R65, and started taking a riding course. But, our hands were already too full. We were fixing up my bike, working on the boat, and Diana was also going to massage school. So we decided that we would do it on one bike and save some money on gas and border crossings.” Diana also had a tough time trying to finish her safety class. “The instructors kicked me out because I couldn’t keep up with the rest of the group, nor could I make a left turn. That was almost four years ago, and at the time, it was a giant blow to my self-esteem. I left the class with two competing thoughts; I’m a failure, and I’ll never be ready to leave, and, I’m going to show everyone that I can do it. I think a lot of my motivation in those days came from wanting to scratch up some evidence that my own deeply-held suspicions about my self-worth were wrong!”

“Now, having seen so much of our beautiful earth from the backseat, having translated our motorcycle crises and travel needs into Spanish. Spent time in workshops, metallurgy shacks, garages, and auto parts districts or country houses nearest to wherever we’ve broken down, I’ve not only fallen in love with motorcycle travel, but I’ve shown myself that I can do whatever I set my mind too. With a little genuine interest, creativity, and persistence I have that proof now. I’ve since realized that all I ever needed was a little more trust in myself. It’s cheesy but true. And having been spoiled with my very own human bug shield, I don’t think there’s any going back!”

One of Diana’s favorite moments of the whole trip happened fairly early on in San Marcos de la Laguna.“It’s a little hippie, new-age town on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. I bought a hand-woven shawl from a Kakchiquel woman named Imelda. She had lain her handiwork down at her feet while she sat on the stone steps of our hostel entrance, listening to the drum circle that was going on. We chatted a bit and then she invited me to sit down with her. We spent the rest of that evening and the next two evenings after that just talking, not just about cultural differences and travel, but about matters that were very close to our hearts and that transcended how very different our lives looked from the outside. I’ll never forget the trust she placed in me as her confidant, nor will I forget how she listened to me.”

For Nathan, it was watching the sunrise on the Salar de Uyuni. “The Salar is unlike anything I have seen. Complete silence and isolation in an endless field of blinding white. We camped deep out in the salt flat by one of the dirt islands to protect our tent a little from the wind. I woke up early while it was still dark. The salt reflects the moonlight so that the earth itself appears to glow, so I walked out away from our camp until I felt like I was the only thing in the Salar. A fantastic hue of colors lit up the sky in all directions around me. I felt like I was the centerpiece of a snow globe bathed in fluorescent watercolors.”

“Each time something has gone wrong, someone has always appeared to help us out. It sounds too fantastic, but it has always been true. In fact, many of our most difficult moments have led to our most memorable encounters. Sometimes I wonder if we had ridden a newer bike if maybe we wouldn’t have had certain issues. But then we wouldn’t have made so many great memories either. After sixteen months I still get frazzled when something goes wrong, but I don’t think it stresses me out as much. We try to prepare for everything, but once in a while, we have to rely on a miracle or good luck or whatever you want to call it. And that’s when something extraordinary can happen.”

“I tell people that I purchased the gas tank and it came with a motorcycle. When I saw it on eBay with the 11 Gal / 41 L HPN tank, a couple of old school aluminum panniers, and a Corbin seat, I knew it was the one. I bought it unseen and had it shipped from Arizona to California. I figured it is best to buy old bikes from Arizona because things don’t rust in the desert. It arrived with tractor parts in the panniers and straw in the exhaust. I couldn’t start it because somewhere along the line the key had gotten lost.” Nathan opted to purchase an R80ST since it was within budget and provided a great starting place to build on. “Frankly, it’s was also because I couldn’t afford an R80GS. I love the old airheads. They are simple, reliable, and built to last. For me, there is a romance to them that goes back to my childhood. My dad taught me to recognize their unique horizontally opposed engines when we were on vacation driving around the USA. I never saw them when I was home in Texas. They were, for me, a symbol of the freedom of the road. A lone rider and a motorcycle exploring the world.”

As expected the R80ST has seen its share of upgrades; Mounted to the Tomaselli handlebars are a set of risers and MSR handguards. The front forks have been upgraded to a set from an R100GS with stopping power supplied by a Hayabusa front brake caliper. Rear suspension is handled by an Ohlins with the taller center stand provided by SWT Sports. The charging system is an Emerald Island 600w alternator while a PDM60 module managing the output. ADV Monster LED headlamp bulb along with LED fog lights takes care of the lighting. A Fiamm horn and LED rear turn signals to warn away pesky road bullies while the Acerbis mudguard and Puig Bikini fairing holds some of the dirt and bugs at bay. Lastly a sheepskin from Peru, named Woolworth, now covers the Corbin seat and warms the miles. “The preparation took all forms. When I bought the bike, it already had a few things I wanted like the tank, seat, and panniers. But I wanted a better suspension and charging system. Greg Hutchinson, a Bay Area Airhead guru, helped me get the front end setup and even had a custom bracket made for brake caliper and an axle spacer made so my 19” R80ST wheel could fit the R100GS forks. He has built several adventure airheads and helped with a lot of details that I would not have thought of on my own. I think the setup we have now is pretty solid, but it will always be a work in progress. I want to install an electronic ignition system to replace the ‘bean can’ ignition trigger, that is known to fail, and the ICU that did fail on me. It would also make full use of the dual spark plug setup I have and theoretically give me a few more horses.”

“In Guatemala, we added a pair of high powered LED Aux lights. We also added the rear turn signals because one of the original ones had broken off and melted behind the exhaust. We got a new seat molded in Bogota because we realized that foam doesn’t preserve as well in the desert as steel. However, for the most part, our setup has worked out pretty well.” Nathan also does all the regular maintenance while out on the road. “Stuff like oil changes, valve adjustments, the usual. I have a difficult time letting someone else wrench on my bike, especially on the road. If I can’t do it myself, I figure it’s just as well not to do it. When major engine work needs to be done, like when my flywheel broke, or when I need specialized tools, like to replace the bearings, I try to find a reputable mechanic with experience working on airheads. An exceptionally rare breed in Latin America. Fortunately, though the airhead community is relatively small, it is generous, and someone always seems to know someone who can help.”

“There is luggage in theory and luggage in practice, and the compromise between the two is constantly evolving. At a certain point in Colombia, we decided we weren’t going to be the most streamlined bike and still be able to carry everything we needed. So we bought a cheap backpack that could fit our tent and sleeping pads and a couple of soft panniers to strap to the tank. It was a sacrifice from the perspective of my aesthetic goals, but it has worked out pretty well for us. We had to ask ourselves ‘are we going to make this work or are we going to keep fussing about the details?’ Because ultimately, riding out a dirt road and camping all alone under Patagonian mountains is the most important to us.”

“The aluminum panniers are super simple. We don’t have to worry about fussy latches or plastic bits wearing out. They are mostly waterproof and fairly secure. The company is long out of business, so we have had to be a little creative. We lost an attachment bushing and got a new one made in Bogota. Diana sewed interior ripstop bags for them before we left to make it easier to take stuff out. We have an Enduristan duffel bag, two pannier toppers, and a tank bag. We love our Enduristan bags. They are super durable, and simple designs. The tank bag is handy for carrying fragile items like my camera, and it is easy to remove and take into a restaurant if we have to leave the bike somewhere. The side tank bags have also been useful for moving some weight forward. We usually carry three liters of water in them as well as a few items that are nice to have access to like waterproof gloves and our stickers.”

Successful overland travel comes in many forms for the two adventurers. “I think it has been really helpful that my microphone cable broke… In all seriousness though humor helps us out a lot. We can almost always make each other laugh. We sometimes fight of course, but I think we do a pretty good job of letting things go. If you can’t do that, I don’t think you can travel together very long. Because no one is perfect and you will probably eventually make an ass of yourself.” Diana concurs on this note. “Figuring out how to respect the others space when we seem to share space almost all the time has been so important. It’s an art we began learning while living together on our fishing boat, and which we are constantly refining. We don’t always get it right, but getting plenty of sleep and staying hydrated goes a long way too.”

“I am constantly finding parallels between poetry and overland motorcycle travel. Part of the magic of poetry, for me anyway, is finding and creating a language and form that feels authentic to the occasion of the poem. Travel not only allows me to refill my artistic coffer with new images and new language to describe them, while draining my financial ones, but it helps me grow into the ability to watch, wait, and listen. This is essential for writing poetry I think. And travel can also be like the experience of reading a poem. Sometimes, you happen to look up at just the right moment, maybe to shake the hair out of your eyes, and you see the shadow of a cloud darkening a peak in a way that you’d never quite noticed before, but that you feel like you understand or recognize in some deep, mysterious way. A good poem can feel like that.”

Having reached Ushuaia and completed their South American adventure Nathan and Diana are now planning to explore the ‘long way’ from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Follow along on their Instagram page.

All images copyright Two If By Land.