HalfThrottle

My days with the long haired freaky people are over for now. To...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:10:05 -0700

My days with the long haired freaky people are over for now. To be honest having long hair is a major pain in the ass. Tangles after long rides, mouth fulls of my own hair when trying to eat. Definitely a few things I won’t miss.

Both my wife and I went in together and had a lot of our hair cut off to donate to Locks of Love here in Panama. I had always planned that once it was long enough to do somebody some good I’d cut it off. Because the hair needs to be in a pony tail that took longer than I had thought. It was cool being a hippie, but it’s nice to have short hair again.

I want to start doing a video each Sunday which I will add to...

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:32:10 -0700

I want to start doing a video each Sunday which I will add to the playlist, “True Story Sunday.” Something from my past, maybe about dating, or Army life, even motorcycle adventures. I hope I can keep it up for a while and make it a Sunday tradition. If you have any suggestions for topics I should cover please post a comment below, and I’ll try to get to it.

—————————-Spoiler’s below————————————-

This story is about a short relationship I had with a girl I met at church. We had fun for a while and I was thinking of inviting her to Thanksgiving dinner with my family, but then something very weird happened. Fellas if your girlfriend has to explain to you that she left her tampon in too long and needs to go to the emergency room because she doesn’t want to wake up dead the next day. It’s a deal breaker.

Hey, I just moved to Alto Boquete and bought a small motorcycle. I drive to David regularly. I need clothes so I can ride in the wet season and a better helmet. Is there a store I David? Also, any advice for being able to see when riding in the rain? Thanks, Ron

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:30:55 -0700

There is an MPH in David that sells that sort of stuff, but they are famous for being very expensive. Hardware stores sell cheap rain gear. Fog is a big problems in the rain, I’ve heard RainX works well. I don’t know if you can find any around here.

Hey Ryan. My names Rob, yellow57 on youtube. I would like to get your ebook The Volcán Barú Adventure, can I view on my computer, I don't have a ipad or iphone? Thanks, keep up the great videos, I'll be watching.

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:02:00 -0700

Thanks for you interest in my book. Unfortunately the iPad is the only device The Volcan Baru Adventure can be viewed on. This is something I hope Apple changes in the future. But it’s what I’m stuck with for now.

Because I know you will be devastated by this news here is a picture of Wilford Brimley riding a motorcycle. I hope it cheers you up.

http://amzn.to/zf2cKHI shot this video on my ride up Volcan...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:21:36 -0700

http://amzn.to/zf2cKH
I shot this video on my ride up Volcan Baru. I didn’t include this vid in the book I wrote (http://bit.ly/waKPPE) about the experience because it didn’t fit in with the story being told.

The road up Volcan Baru was the roughest I have ever attempted to ride. Leaving the Happy Trails Panniers at home and using their top plate with the Rok Straps was a good decision. The Rok Straps did a great job of holding down all my gear over the very rocky road on the way to the top. If you do need to strap some gear down on your bike and your using a simple bungee cord, you’re a dummy. Get something that was made for the purpose.

In this vlog I talk about free fruit when living in Panama. ...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:09:49 -0700

In this vlog I talk about free fruit when living in Panama. When your neighbors can’t
eat all the fruit their trees produce they are desperate to give it away.

http://bit.ly/z45AXH
I also talk about repo cruises. I always keep my eyes open for a great deal on cruises from Panama. There is a short 3 day cruise coming up, sailing from Panama to Miami. It’s a 3 day trip for $99/person. I think it would be a very cool way to start or end a vacation in Panama. These repo cruise’s only happen a few times a year so you need to plan your trip around when they happen. Cheaper than a flight, and you travel in style.

I just received the following email from Dave the turtle guy....

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:34:45 -0700

I just received the following email from Dave the turtle guy. I’ve made some videos out at his eco lodge. Turns out saving turtles is pretty frustrating business.

“Sunday, Feb., 12, 2012
Sorry that this is not a personal note written to each of you, but I
don´t think that I have the energy or the stomach to write this more than once. This latest news
has made me physically sick, and it may prove to be the last straw that this old camel can carry.

As you may already know, my North American neighbor, who goes by the name ¨Johncho¨, has an ¨Eco Tourism¨ project that he calls Mono Feliz. For many years I have tried to get him to stop his dogs from killing sea turtles and digging up turtle nests I have also tried to stop him from serving endangered animals to his guests, and many other un ecological things that are against the law but he continues to do anyway. Johncho lives with a Panamanian woman named Luzmila, and Luzmila has a brother named ¨Chombito¨. When Chombito had to sell his house in order to return some of the money that he had stolen from the town of Beja Vista, Johncho and Luzmila moved
this thief into a shack on the beach. This may not have been so bad but he is also one of the last full time poachers of threatened and endangered animals that are still making a living by hunting the last of the animals in this area. When Chombito moved to the beach, last November 2011, He
became the biggest problem that I faced in trying to save sea turtle nests, and adult turtles. In December when his three teenage sons came to stay with him for school vacation, Chombito stayed in bed and sent his boys to poach the turtle nests. I would have liked to have been able to take their pictures while they were robbing the nests, but I walk with a flashlight and they were
always long gone by the time I found the empty nests. To solve this poaching problem, I would take a book and sit on the beach all night. This severely cut into Chombito´s egg selling business and his solution was to go to the police and make a false report that said I have been threatening his children and chasing then, taking their pictures and using foul language. The only time that I have taken their pictures was when they were here with their mother and all the other children from the Beja Vista School, to listen to me talk about saving the environment and to release baby sea turtles. The part about me chasing them and using foul language does not even deserve to be addressed, but the police inspectors say that these children need to be psychiatrically tested to
determine the extent of damage my abuse has caused them. According to my lawyer my only defense was to file my own police report and try to have him sent to jail for filing a false police report, this has already cost me more time and money than I can afford. But what may prove to be the last straw came last night when I learned that the Mono Feliz Clan, the same people that have
been giving me the most trouble and who have been responsible for killing tens of thousands of turtles in the years that I have been trying to save them, has asked the governmental authority (A.N.A.M.) for permission to start a turtle incubation project. This permission would allow them to take all the nests they could find and also give them an excuse to be on the beach all night where
they could also take the adult turtles. I am so tired of the lies, corruption, and complete lack of ethics and honor that I am seriously looking for a way out of here. I do not want to walk away from 12 years of my life´s work, or my life´s savings, and so, I will continue with my environmental projects, and entertain the youth groups that want to come and hear my seminars, but I do not
think I can continue for much longer without monetary help and recognition from some influential organizations. One man working alone is easy to ignore. If you know anyone with some clout please point them in my direction.

Tue., Feb., 12th. I have just learned that another of the poachers, a man that I have been trying to have arrested, has also applied for permission to start a turtle incubation project. This man´s name is Chano, and he is one of the five men that beat and robbed me when I was taking pictures of them shooting monkeys almost 4 years ago.

Still hanging on, but not by much………….Dave”

For a long time I thought that I needed to leave Panama for 72...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:41:15 -0700

For a long time I thought that I needed to leave Panama for 72 hours when it was time to renew my tourist visa. Well today I had the process done in 2 hours. Most of that time was spent wandering around in the shops, and eating at Burger King. I simply asked the border agent if I was allowed to return the same day and he said, “Yes.”

Can’t believe you just watched that whole video to learn something I could have told you in a few sentences.

Hello from Cartagena. We are traveling from Buenos Aires to Florida USA. Now final drive bearing from our BMW R1200GS (2004) is broken. Next week we come to Panama with Stahlratte and are in Panama City 20th of Feb. Plan is to replace whole final drive unit with used one from USA /Europe. Do you know any address in Panama City where we can send the used final drive unit and is there any good mechanic if we have to change only the bearings and seals? Thanks in advance, Heikki & Ulla from Finland

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:08:18 -0700

There is a BMW dealership in Panama City and they service motorcycles. Before you order and ship a final drive you might check if they have one. They could certainly install it if you do need to ship it down.

Anytime I need to ship something to Panama I use a company called Airbox Express. You might be able to set up something with them. They would bring your package and hold it in their office until you can pick it up. Or find out if you can ship to the BMW dealership in Panama City and have them hold the part for you.

Good luck look me up when you’re in David.

In Panama there are hotels known as “push buttons. They...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:18:21 -0700

In Panama there are hotels known as “push buttons. They are called this because typically you can pull up to a window, push a button, slide some money through a slot, get a key, and head to a room all without actually seeing a person. Everything is set up so the customer can stay anonymous. Basically they cater to people who are cheating on a spouse.

I stayed in a place like this in Mexico by accident once. Mitch and I shared a king size bed, and I’m sure everyone assumed we were lovers enjoying a night of bromance.

Cool thing about them is the garage. Which is only there to hide your car from prying eyes while you do your business. But it was nice to be able to park our bikes somewhere safe for the night.

Recently fellow youtuber and motovlogger Svengalie decided to...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:11:25 -0700

Recently fellow youtuber and motovlogger Svengalie decided to take his life. Sven and I had been in email contact and I was trying to help him relocate to Panama or Costa Rica. I was completely shocked when I heard the news, and can’t seem to stop thinking about it.

I never met him in person, but felt like we had become friends. I’m so sorry to see him go. I know it’s a bit taboo to talk about suicide, but if anything good can come from this tragedy it’s awareness that depression is real, and can have drastic consequences if not addressed. Watch out for your loved ones, watch out for your acquaintances, watch out for yourself. If you need help get it. If you sense a friend might need help ask them about it, and work to get them in counseling.

I hate to think of anyone in so much pain that they would want to leave this world before their time. Rest in peace Svengalie. I’ll always regret I wasn’t able to show you around Panama.

Are you going to do a ride to the bottom of South America? Also why so rough on your bike? I had to wait 20 years to get a bike again and its kinda hard to watch you be so rough.

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:42:24 -0700

I would love ride through South America, but don’t really have the budget for a trip like that at the moment.

Beating on my bike isn’t normal. I realize that, just today I was thinking about how nice it is to have a motorcycle an not worry about anything breaking on it. When most people have a bike, they take good care of it so it will last a long time or they can get a good price when it’s time to sell.

I don’t care about any of that. I just ride, do crazy stuff, and enjoy it. If someday it ends up a puddle of goo in the middle of nowhere, well then I’ll film that too.

Any advice for someone doing a charitable bike ride around the world who needs to make some money but not go over the top with ads?

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:53:35 -0700

I don’t know what to tell you. Getting money from people is hard. You can try self publishing ebooks, becoming a youtube partner. But you really need to have a high volume of traffic to be successful at either of those things.

You could try to get some sponsors, but they will normally just give you stuff, not money.

Making money on the road is tough no matter how you go about it. Just wait until you are on the road trying to get yourself around the world, but still have time to edit videos and write blogs.

hey half throttle i love you videos man its great how you set up the camera but it must take you a long time to do all the filming hey im wondering what do you do for a living in panama?

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:15:13 -0700

Yes it does take a while to film yourself on a motorcycle. Takes me forever to get anywhere on a ride because I’m always stopping to set up the camera, ride passed the camera, and stop again to pick up the camera. It can be tedious but I enjoy making motorcycle videos, so that keeps me going.

My video work provides a small amount of income for me, and here in Panama it’s been enough to get by. But I live on a tight budget. A few days ago I launched a book about one of my adventures here in Panama. I rode from the beach to the highest point in Panama. The book has over 70 minutes of video from the trip, and lots of photos too.

Check out the “The Volcan Baru Adventure.” And watch me take a beating on the way to the roof of Panama.

http://bit.ly/waKPPEA few weeks ago I rode my motorcycle to the...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:04:43 -0700

http://bit.ly/waKPPE
A few weeks ago I rode my motorcycle to the top of Volcan Baru the tallest peak in Panama. I took a serious beating on the ride, and got some great video out of it. I wanted to do a ride from sea level to the top of Panama, so I started at the beach and filmed my ride to the top. It was exhausting, and horrible, and everything an adventure should be.

For this series of videos I wanted to do something special, something different so I have created an iPad book. The book has a bunch of photos, and 7 different videos with a combined length of over 70 minutes. Since it’s a book I was able to fill in the gaps between the videos and give more detail about what’s happening and what I was feeling. I’m really happy with they way it turned out. I’ve been asked a lot about DVD’s of my videos, or a book about my adventures. Well this is both. You get to read about the trip, see the photos, and watch the videos all in one place. Once it’s downloaded you don’t need to wait for video to buffer before watching them it’s all there you just hit play and it goes. Really if you have ever wanted to come along on one of my rides this is the closest you will get without flying to Panama and renting a bike.

I keep calling it a book because I don’t know another name for it. It’s more like a mini adventure and you get to come along for the ride. I’m very excited about it, it looks great on the iPad.

http://bit.ly/waKPPEFor the Volcan Baru Adventure I wanted to...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:02:40 -0700

http://bit.ly/waKPPE
For the Volcan Baru Adventure I wanted to do something special, so I turned the adventure into an interactive book. I’m pretty excited about how it turned out, and I think you will really enjoy it.

The book is has a lot of pictures, and video. Over 70 minutes of video that won’t be seen on youtube is embed in the book. Read a little, look at some photos, read a little, watch a video. With the magic of the iPad the book is very cool.

Lately in Panama the Ngobe have been protesting over mineral...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:06:40 -0700

Lately in Panama the Ngobe have been protesting over mineral rights to their land. The government wants to build a large open pit mine in the Commarca, and the Ngobe are pissed off about it. They have set up a blockade near San Felix and no vehicles other than ambulances have been allowed through for 5 days. David is running out of gasoline, and Panama City is running out of vegetables. These blockades really screw up a lot of stuff for the country, but it’s the only way the Ngobe have to fight for the land. They are forced to inconvenience everybody in order to be noticed. I just hope it’s over soon, and no one gets hurt.

Skeefoo and I went for a short ride on a dirt road above...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:23:22 -0700

Skeefoo and I went for a short ride on a dirt road above Boquete. We checked out a small lodge that does canopy tours. It looked like a lot of fun and we stayed to watch a few people flying over head then headed back down the road. It had been very windy while we were up there and we didn’t ride for long on the road before we came to a large tree that had fallen over blocking our path. There was no way the 2 of us were going to move it alone, so I headed back up to the lodge for help.

After a few minutes they sent a crew of guys down with machetes, and chainsaws to clear the tree. I couldn’t resist trying to pull the tree with the bike, it didn’t budge but I had to try.

On the way back from Volcan I busted out the Drift helmet cam...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:03:02 -0700

On the way back from Volcan I busted out the Drift helmet cam for a little vlog. Narrow mountain roads like this can be dangerous, mostly because of epically stupid people trying to pass. I prefer to take them slow and stay behind something much larger than myself. That way if some dummy does try to make a pass on a curve they run into a dump truck instead of me.

Some of you have been asking for longer videos, well you have...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:37:03 -0700

Some of you have been asking for longer videos, well you have received. I always have a lot of fun at places like this, but mostly because I like to goof off as much as I can. Luckily my tour guide didn’t seem to mind my smart ass comments.

She showed me many different artifacts that had been found on the property. Jars and small stone tables, and even though I like to joke around I did learn a lot. The thing that amazed me the most is they have determined the people who settled and lived in this area so long ago were of Asian and African decent. Most places like this are from the indigenous population of Panama. Which made me wonder just how those 2 groups ended up in Panama living together.

I have a really hard time wondering around museums they are just so boring, but going to a place like this where I can actually experience the things that happened really makes me want to learn.