Team Awful, Costa Rica, 2001

In the winter of 2000, several friends of mine from the Colorado 500 put together a trip to Costa Rica.  It was a guided tour put on by Motos Costa Rica and led by Chip, a friend of some of the guys who used to work for Coopers Cycle Ranch in New Jersey.  He now works for Motos Costa Rica as head mechanic and guide, is married to a Tico (or is it Tica?) and loves it there.  I too could learn to live in CR, it is an incredibly beautiful country.  These photos do not do it justice at all (I have since learned how to use my camera and future pics will be better!)  I left Phoenix International Airport New Years Eve 2000, expecting to be in San Jose by about 10 pm.  I ended up spending the night (and into the next year) on the tarmack at DFW due to a snow storm in Dallas!  I finally arrived at the villa about 6:00 am and we left for our first days riding about 8:00! In 2002, the guys went back along with several other friends of ours including Greg Stith, a retired Major with the New Jersey State Police and a good friend of mine. I couldn't make this trip and it turned out to be Greg's last ride.  He hit a truck head on just outside the village where they were staying and was killed instantly.  Chip put up a very nice memorial at the site of the crash.

I wish I could tell you more about this country but it was just beautiful.  What seemed strange was the remoteness of the country and yet each little house seemed to have electricity and each was very nicely maintained, even though very simple.

Chip led the way across this river after his favorite crossing appeared to be too deep. We first stopped at a crossing about 2 miles from this one and Chip talked to a Tico who indicated we could cross.  The guy was wet to his waist though from evidently leading his cattle across.  We chose to come up here.  Then after Chip made it across, and Wade Fuller nearly capsized following, Chip told us there was a very nice bridge just a 100 yards upstream!  Big John Russell and I opted for the bridge.

This photo was taken from atop a large boulder on a ridge above the villa.  We could see the villa from here but it is too small to see in the picture, probably a mile or more away.  The road up here was very slippery from a recent rain and it was all we could do to keep the bikes upright.  By the way, I didn't mention but we were riding 350 Suzuki Dual Sports.  Perfect way to get around here.

This is typical of the lush tropical vegitation that grows everywhere in Costa Rica but especially at higher altitudes.  We were unable to visit the popular volcano (the name escapes me) due to heavy rain and poor visibility.  Visit the web site and click on Team Awful 2001 pictures to see much more (and better photos!)

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