This Banana Bridge is no longer used. The new bridge was finished this year.
The planking has gaps, is warped and is not fastened to anything at all.
One opf the BMW's making it across.
The Banana Bridge that bit me!
The infamous Banana bridges of Panama have been the bane of motorcyclists since they were built in the early 20th Century. They were made to transport a railroad track in order to bring the banana crop into port. After their useful life as fruit transport bridges was over the Panamanians threw down rough boards so that cars and trucks could cross. No apparent consideration was made for large motorcycles. This morning was not a good one for Team America and Suzuki! As I tried to cross the uneven and heavily gaped planks my bike was thrown down three times. Once it was flipped completely between the railroad tracks. To make matters even worse all 16 of the BMW's got over without incident. I've been pondering the reason for this all day. The BMW's are much heavier than the Suzuki and have a lower center of gravity. Those are the only obvious differences. If those weren't the determining factors then the only other variable is rider skill. I certainly hope that isn't the reason. As I sit in our hotel lobby writing this I'm pretty down. However, on the bright side I suffered absolutely no injury (except pride). And the Suzuki's only damage is a minor scratch and a broken turn signal. Jeff already fixed the turn signal and a properly placed travel sticker will cover the scratch. Small, low speed falls are good reminders that one must be careful in motorcycle travel. Tomorrow is a 400 mile run to Panama City where we'll spend a few days trying to charter a plane to take all of the bikes to Bogotá.
1 comment:
i knew i was your favorite son
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