Skip to main content

Throttle Jockey: Mind the (Darien) Gap

throttle jockey mind the darien gap gap1
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Roads criss-cross our planet, which is handy, especially if your zen thing is to roll up the miles on your motorcycle. But there are also wild places in our world as yet unspoiled by pavement, and in those areas, dual-sport motorcycles can usually get you where you want to go, since all you need is some single track or a cow trail or foot path or any byway about 4 inches wide. Just ask this guy.

But there are still places that lack even that kind of access; think of Siberia, the Atacama Desert, the vast expanses of the Sahara. Perhaps one of the most famous – and smallest – is the Darien Gap, a 90ish-mile stretch of jungle and swampland that adjoins Panama and Columbia on the land bridge that is Central America. Now, a group of guys on bikes is going to give crossing it a go in 2017. Let’s wish them luck – they’re going to need it. Lots of it. But they may have an advantage.

The Darien Gap, or just “the Gap” in motorcycle parlance, is the only break in the continues ribbon of roadway known as the Pan-American Highway, a 19,000-mile series of interconnecting highways that begins at Prudhoe Bay well above the Arctic Circle in Alaska and ends near the South Pole in Ushuaia, at the tip of Argentina. Yeah, road trip!! But there’s just one little problem: the Gap.

Most people just go around the Gap by boat or over it in aircraft. But for adventurous motorcycle types, The Gap is the Mount Everest of dual-sport riding. Those that have crossed it usually use a combination of boats, barges, and overland routes led by local guides. Pure “overland” crossings are the most difficult option. It’s basically Pandora on Earth: many of the zillions of critters (snakes, insects, bigger animals) are out to bite you, poison you, eat you.

Topography runs from impassable swamps to 6,000 foot high mountains. What humans are there range from tough indigenous tribes (your source for guides) to well-armed FARC Marxist rebels with a history of leaving no witness as to the locations of their hideouts. Oops, we thought you were a spy. Bang. There are no cities, towns, gas stations, Qwik-E-Marts or Red Boxes.

The Gap has actually been crossed before by motorcycle (an early BMW R80 G/S) and a few 4-wheel rigs, but to give you some perspective on the scope of the overland challenge, a couple in a Jeep CJ-5 crossed it in the 1980s, and it only took them 741 days. To go 125 miles. 741 days.

This latest group to take on the Gap are looking to complete a true first: a full top-to-bottom traverse of the Pan-American Highway, including an overland crossing of the Darien Gap. If they succeed, they will be the first to “complete” the entire trip solely on bikes going overland. Those that crossed before simply crossed the Gap, not the whole of the highway.

Their “advantage”? So far, all of the current participants are members of the U.S. military, so this isn’t their first foray into treacherous survival situations. Seasoned photographer/videographer and U.S. Army Corporal Jake Hamby will document the effort for a feature called Where The Road Ends (preview trailer below). Reached through Facebook, Hamby said the final rider roster has not been set and planning is still in the early stages.

In order to hit The Gap at the best time to cross, the men will ride out of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska – in December. Thank goodness for heated riding wear as they expect temperatures to be well below zero for much of that leg. Temps will naturally climb as they approach the tropics. I’d love to see the packing list.

An Oregon BMW dealership is lending support, but whether that means the guys will be astride BMW G/S Adventure battle wagons or the more svelte (and lighter) G/S 800 machines remains to be seen. Or perhaps other bikes will be involved. Winch company Warn is also in on the support list, a true test if there ever was one. Numerous other companies are also in on the adventure.

I’m hoping to get a chance to talk with the team as they pass through Oregon next year, so stay tuned for updates. And wish them luck.

All images by Jake Hamby

Bill Roberson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Please reach out to The Manual editorial staff with any questions or comments about Bill’s work.
Everything points to Apple TV+ making a change you’re not going to like
Is an ad-supported tier coming to Apple TV+?
The Apple TV Plus Logo

It turns out that TV worked pretty well under its old model. According to a new report from Business Insider, Apple TV+ may be the latest streaming service that's set to introduce an ad-supported tier and charge those who don't stream with ads a premium fee to access their great shows and movies.

At this point, the report is still speculation, but Apple has made several recent hires in the advertising space that seem to suggest the direction they're planning to take. The company recently hired former NBCUniversal ad executive Joseph Cady to serve as executive vice president of advanced advertising and partnerships, a move that comes following the company's hiring of another former NBCUniversal executive, Jason Frum, who joined Apple's video ad sales team.

Read more
From Gilda Radner to Ali Wong, these are the best female comedians of all time
These women from all generations will make you laugh out loud
Ai Wong comedian 2017 Moontower comedy festival

Hot take: I don’t care for straight male comedians. It’s not that they’re not funny, they’re just … I don’t know, boring? Maybe that’s reductive of me, but I never seem to leave a straight male comedian’s set feeling particularly inspired. And though some may argue that it’s not important for a set to "inspire" its audience, I’d actually argue that the opposite is true. For me, I want to see a comedian use humor to address real issues and say real things about the world, even if they do it in a completely goofy way.

Therefore, I tend to prefer female and female-identified comedians. They’re sharp, tough, and have often seen shit that makes their comedy feel raw and true. Undoubtedly there are male comedians who do this, too, but to a much lesser degree, in my very humble and very personal opinion.

Read more
12 classic sci-fi books everyone should read
If you love science fiction and reading, these classic sci-fi novels are a must
Man reading a book and drinking coffee

It may feel like we were recently living in a science-fiction dystopia life -- and in some ways, we were -- but that doesn't mean that we should simply avoid an entire genre of writing. Hardly. In fact, this is probably the perfect time to explore classic sci-fi books, to see what the masters have written, and maybe even see if someone predicted anything like this. Many, though, simply ignore sci-fi wholly and completely because of an association with robots, aliens, and the like.

Long story short, if you think you don't like sci-fi, you have never read great books from the genre. But indeed, many such books abound, including a number that has delighted generations of readers going back well over 150 years. In fact, one of the best things about so many sci-fi books is their very timelessness. As by definition, this type of fiction breaks away from the norms of the everyday world -- whether slightly twisting things or taking place on entire other worlds -- the stories often feel as fresh and relevant today as when they were published decades ago.

Read more