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Finally here!!!

Well, it was a long day of traveling. 600am wake up time and finally got to the hotel here in Lima around midnight.
Nothing of interest durring the travels. Same old thing, airports and airplanes.

BMW did a nice press release while we were taveling.....



BMW of North America, LLC


NewsFlash
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Motorcycle Men on a Mission: BMW Performance Center Instructors Travel to Peru on Motorcycle Mission for Abandoned Children

Most days, Jim Millard and Ross McKinney dedicate their time and talent to helping motorcyclists improve their riding skills on and off the road at the BMW Performance Center. Beginning tomorrow, they will test their own motorcycle skills in the mountains and deserts of Peru to help nearly 300 abandoned children living in an orphanage in Moquegua. The pair is teaming up with motorcycle journalist Neale Bayly to raise money and awareness for Wellspring International Outreach, a charity founded by Bayly, to help the abandoned children of Peru.

The men will ride from Lima to Moquegua and back on BMW R 1200 GS and F 800 GS motorcycles for seven days to deliver $10,000 raised for the orphanage this year. They will be joined by videographers and producers who will film the adventure for an upcoming web series on www.speed.com.

“Both Jim and Ross are experienced adventure riders and have a strong interest in mission work,” commented Bayly. “When we met at the Performance Center and they learned about my previous missions on behalf of the Peruvian children, they were eager to participate. I couldn’t ask for two better guys to accompany me on this trip.”

For more information about Wellspring International Outreach, visit:

www.wellspring-outreach.org.

Look for posts from Jim and Ross on:
BMW Motorrad USA's GS Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGSXPLOR
BMW XPLOR Rider Community website: http://www.bmwxplor.com/

So that was cool.

The downside is that my cell service is not working so I´m going to have to get my wife to give them a call and find out exact what it is that I am paying the extra monthly fee for international calling for.
Well, gotta go for now. I was just informed that my BMW R1200GS motorcycle has arrived !!!!!

Heading out tomorrow

So the bags are packed and ready to go. 

Went to the Dr. today and got some altitude sickness meds, stomach bug meds and some pain meds. 

Have all my electronics paired and ready. 

I have the new BlackBerry Torch paired to the Cardo in helmet communication system. 

 www.cardosystems.com/scala-rider/scala-rider-q2

Also have my iPod touch paired to it as well. So I'll have some tunes for the long ride days. And should I get a call I can answer it hands free while riding. I love technology :-)

Gonna call it a night and spend some time with the family before I head out. 

The Trip

So, How did I end up on a trip to Peru?

One of the founders of an organization called Wellspring International Outreach wellspring-outreach came to my work on an unrelated matter to the Peru trip.

The gentleman's name is Neale Bayly. Neale is a photojournalist and an avid motorcyclist. He spends most of his time either on two wheels or writing and photographing them. This is ultimately what brought Neale to my work. 

While Neale and I were working together for a couple of days, he told me about his story and the missions work he had been doing in Peru. He asked me if I was interested in going. 

Unfortunately there was a detail about his upcoming trip that did not sit well with me. It was an issue that from a Christian point of view I could not overlook. However, all I told Neale was that "I wasn't really sure I could", kind of as a respectful decline. That was on day one. 

On day two, first thing in the morning, I approached Neale to "officially" decline his offer to go on the trip. This is where it gets good. At least to me anyway. 

I walked up to Neal and told him "Neale, I cant go on the trip. I have some personal conflicts and I just cant go." Neale was very understanding and said "Hey, no problem". However, God was not quite so understanding, and he was making it clear to me that I needed to be straight with Neale and tell him exactly why I was declining his offer. "But God, I cant do that, its embarrassing" I said in my head.  Guess what, God could care less if I am embarrassed. So after a short internal battle I looked at Neale and said "Ok Neale, here's the deal. I am a Christian and I cant go on the trip because........." (not going into that detail because its not relevant and would require more explaining than its worth) 

So I said that to Neal and awaited his response. Neale replies with "Thank you! Thank you!" "I have been struggling with this myself and you putting it out there has made the decision easy for me" If I need to change that situation in order for you to go, consider it done." I almost hit the floor. Neale says, "I too am a Christian and have been struggling with this myself ever since it was positioned to me. I have had a bad feeling in my gut the whole time." (I'm guessing it felt much like the feeling I was having just before coming clean with Neale) So, in the end, Neale changed the situation and I talked to my wife and I became a part of the trip. 

Within the same day of my confronting Neale with my issues and Neale making the changes, God made things happen. Things for the trip that Neale had been trying to make work for quite some time just fell in place literally within the hour of the changes being made.  Neale called me at one point and was just dumbfounded at how fast things had all of a sudden come together. 

So at the end of it all the riders on the trip will be Neale, myself and a fellow instructor Ross McKinney. 

So what the trip about or for? well I encourage you to visit the Wellspring Outreach link above. The site does a great job of explaining who they are. On this particular trip we are taking the Church money for the 300+ children that they are caring for.

This trip also has a couple other agendas that we will be working on, but more about that later. 

The trip begins on August 24th and we return September 3rd. We have three BMW motorcycles waiting for us as we arrive in Peru. 

Ill post more regarding the actual trip later. 

Until then, God bless.