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Adolph Rabun's low rider
By Blake Spurney Editor
New Chief Magistrate Dave Adolph's version of extreme motorcycling took him to the southernmost city in the world this past fall.
On his way, he also had to endure some extremely close calls - one of the mechanical nature and the other involved an armed robber.
It's no surprise that few people are willing to accompany him on his travels. Or as Adolph puts it, the longer the trip, the smaller the pool of people willing to accompany him because of the time commitment, among other factors. His version of riding doesn't involve relaxing and seeing sites.
"In my opinion, motorcycling is the physical act of sitting on a motorcycle and riding it," he said. "It's not going to Myrtle Beach and sitting for a week.
"Like I told someone in South America, I'm not a tourista but a motociclista."
On his most recent trip, Adolph, 60, and his riding companion of 25 years, Bob Tisch of Owenton, Ky., left Oct. 7 on their way across South America. The first leg of the trip took them to the Panama Canal, and then they flew to Bogota. While in Colombia, an officer stepped in front of Adolph and pointed a gun at him.
"I thought if he was serious enough to pull out a gun, I might want to pull over," he said.
The officer indicated Adolph was stopped because he wasn't wearing a reflective vest. The nation was hit hard by motorcycle-riding assassins during the cocaine wars in the 1980s and '90s. Now riders have to wear vests with a registered number.
The main purpose of the "traffic stop," however, was financial. Neither spoke the other's language, but finally Adolph made out "cien," which meant the officer wanted $100. Adolph eventually talked him down from that amount while "negotiating an armed robbery."
Later, Adolph was ripped off when he was given counterfeit Peruvian currency while exchanging money on his way from Ecuador to Peru.
The most harrowing experience was yet to come. His BMW's rear brakes went out while riding in the Andes Mountains in Ecuador. The front brake line also was leaking, and he had to refill it each day. Mechanics and parts are hard to come by when one is riding at an altitude of 13,000 feet.
"That's the challenge of being a traveler; every day something happens," he said. "I like to go on this stuff. Anybody can go to Cherokee in a comfortable car."
Adolph and Tisch separated in Chile when Tisch reunited with a former girlfriend he knew as an exchange student 30 years earlier. He opted to stay behind, while Adolph continued on to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, on the southern edge of the continent.
"So our meandering gypsy run through there turned out to be a love ride," Adolph said.
Some of the areas Adolph rode through included the driest desert on earth in Atacama Desert, which gets an inch of rain every 100 years. Gas stations in such remote locations are separated by 200 miles.
But that doesn't mean one is alone out there. Adolph said plenty of world travelers were on the roads riding motorcycles or bicycles. He met people from Sweden, Japan and Spain.
Getting to the tip of the continent meant enduring dirt roads through a desert in Patagonia, Argentina, in which the wind gusts made it nearly impossible to keep the motorcycle upright. Adolph finally figured out that he needed to travel fast enough to where he wouldn't blow over, but not without hitting the ground a few times. He also laid his motorcycle down occasionally while dealing with faulty rear brakes.
Adolph planned to ride his way back across the continent, but he called his planned three-month excursion short in Buenos Aires and flew home. The brakes finally had gotten to the point he considered it too dangerous to continue.
Adolph's wife, Ruth, heard from him nearly every day and somehow managed to stay calm during his adventure.
"If he's happy, I'm happy," she said. "I just lived one day at a time the last time he was gone. Knowing Dave, he makes the best out of anything."
On his way, he also had to endure some extremely close calls - one of the mechanical nature and the other involved an armed robber.
It's no surprise that few people are willing to accompany him on his travels. Or as Adolph puts it, the longer the trip, the smaller the pool of people willing to accompany him because of the time commitment, among other factors. His version of riding doesn't involve relaxing and seeing sites.
"In my opinion, motorcycling is the physical act of sitting on a motorcycle and riding it," he said. "It's not going to Myrtle Beach and sitting for a week.
"Like I told someone in South America, I'm not a tourista but a motociclista."
On his most recent trip, Adolph, 60, and his riding companion of 25 years, Bob Tisch of Owenton, Ky., left Oct. 7 on their way across South America. The first leg of the trip took them to the Panama Canal, and then they flew to Bogota. While in Colombia, an officer stepped in front of Adolph and pointed a gun at him.
"I thought if he was serious enough to pull out a gun, I might want to pull over," he said.
The officer indicated Adolph was stopped because he wasn't wearing a reflective vest. The nation was hit hard by motorcycle-riding assassins during the cocaine wars in the 1980s and '90s. Now riders have to wear vests with a registered number.
The main purpose of the "traffic stop," however, was financial. Neither spoke the other's language, but finally Adolph made out "cien," which meant the officer wanted $100. Adolph eventually talked him down from that amount while "negotiating an armed robbery."
Later, Adolph was ripped off when he was given counterfeit Peruvian currency while exchanging money on his way from Ecuador to Peru.
The most harrowing experience was yet to come. His BMW's rear brakes went out while riding in the Andes Mountains in Ecuador. The front brake line also was leaking, and he had to refill it each day. Mechanics and parts are hard to come by when one is riding at an altitude of 13,000 feet.
"That's the challenge of being a traveler; every day something happens," he said. "I like to go on this stuff. Anybody can go to Cherokee in a comfortable car."
Adolph and Tisch separated in Chile when Tisch reunited with a former girlfriend he knew as an exchange student 30 years earlier. He opted to stay behind, while Adolph continued on to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, on the southern edge of the continent.
"So our meandering gypsy run through there turned out to be a love ride," Adolph said.
Some of the areas Adolph rode through included the driest desert on earth in Atacama Desert, which gets an inch of rain every 100 years. Gas stations in such remote locations are separated by 200 miles.
But that doesn't mean one is alone out there. Adolph said plenty of world travelers were on the roads riding motorcycles or bicycles. He met people from Sweden, Japan and Spain.
Getting to the tip of the continent meant enduring dirt roads through a desert in Patagonia, Argentina, in which the wind gusts made it nearly impossible to keep the motorcycle upright. Adolph finally figured out that he needed to travel fast enough to where he wouldn't blow over, but not without hitting the ground a few times. He also laid his motorcycle down occasionally while dealing with faulty rear brakes.
Adolph planned to ride his way back across the continent, but he called his planned three-month excursion short in Buenos Aires and flew home. The brakes finally had gotten to the point he considered it too dangerous to continue.
Adolph's wife, Ruth, heard from him nearly every day and somehow managed to stay calm during his adventure.
"If he's happy, I'm happy," she said. "I just lived one day at a time the last time he was gone. Knowing Dave, he makes the best out of anything."
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