pigtails

was that a staying-in-all-weekend-watching-tv-with-the-curtains-closed-and-your-phone-turned-off kind of retreat, or an actual barefoot-up-a-mountain-with-a-load-of-blissed-out-hippies-getting-in-touch-with-your inner-self kind of retreat?

i thought you might be interested in this...

http://www.hpn.de/english/english.html

its a german company who specialise in modifying BMWs into full-on, hardcore, off-road desert bikes. they prepare the BMW factory paris-dakar bikes - they've got some really cool hi-res pics

thanks for the introduction!

here's another link you might like...

http://www.adventure-motorcycling.com/

the website is not especially informative but the books are excellent (the website is a way to keep the books up to date between reprints, so to get the most out of it you need the books). however, the website links to various other websites that are pretty informative - the 'horizons' website has a bulletin board which is full of useful stuff

if you're thinking about making a s. american trip, buying the adventure motorcycle handbook is a good palce to start!

that and a pair of pirelli MT21's!!!