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Day 125 - Some extra pics
The Big Big Trip Journal! If you want to make the man (or woman) upstairs laugh, just tell him your plans!
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HobbesOnTour
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Day 126, Thursday, January 16, 2020, Wildcamp to Concordia 65km
Min meters 145, Max Meters 2036, Total Climb 409, Total Descent 2182
I awoke at 2:30 am to the sound of nothing! It was a gloriously calm night, although the brightness in the tent suggested an interesting sky.
Since it wasn't cold I ventured out and savoured the night sky through the tops of the trees. Such clarity!
Back in bed I read for a little while before falling back to sleep.
I awoke as the sun was peeking over the mountains in the east.
My morning view!
Then it was up and a leisurely breakfast of coffee & porridge. The view is simply breathtaking, while the soundtrack is of some birds chirping, many insects buzzing and a cowbell or two! it seems like a sin to rush away from it! Logistically, I'll need to ration my water until I get more, but that's a price I'm happy to pay for this moment.
If yesterday was seduction day, today was the day La espinal del diablo ripped off my clothes and bonked me in ways that the Kama Sutra writers would have thought impossible!! Today was probably the greatest ride of my life! Like all great lovers she mixed in some agony to heighten the ecstasy and by the time it was all over I was totally drained - but that just may have been the humidity!
I started with a gentle descent that turned into a climb. In fact, that was the tempo for the first little while - a teasing descent, followed by a climb. I was seeing the same things I was seeing yesterday - the cliffs, the rows of blue mountains, the differing vegetation and if that sounds boring that's my poor writing style, not the environment. I was loving it! Again, I had the road pretty much to myself. One difference as I got lower was that some of the trees were flowering. It was not unusual to round a bend and find the road covered in fallen blooms, probably knocked off by some passing truck. Nashville may not have laid on a ticker tape parade, but Mexico was laying out flowers for me!
At around 11 am I crossed the Tropic of Cancer! Now, I suppose if I had planned this properly I wouldn't have been as surprised as I was! But, hey, I like surprises! Since there was a little shop I pulled in and scoffed some muffins and a coke and reflected on the fact that I had just entered the tropics - on my bicycle! Another conceptual moment meets reality! On some level I knew I'd cross such a boundary, but had never thought about when or where.
I continued on and met up again with the toll road. According to Gizmo there was a maze of intersections, entries & exits, with the added complication of roadworks, always a tricky thing on a bike. Ha! This is Mexico! Traffic was so light (read non-existent) that I could even stop at a crash barrier and savour the view!
It was from this point onwards that the bonking (in the non-cycling context) kicked in as it was pretty much downhill after that.
The downhill had different styles; gentle, mellow gradients, steep, fast gradients, random brutal climbs, but one consistency; Bendy as a very bendy thing!
Talk about fun! It was exhilarating! I gave up pretty quickly on stopping to take photos. The sensible reason is that the road seemed more compact and there were far fewer places to safely pull in. The honest reason is that somewhere deep inside a little boy broke out and wanted to race his bike!
And racing is what it really felt like! Sweeping left, then sweeping right, gathering speed then almost a dead stop before turning 180° under a cliff or over a direct drop to below! It did not stop! There were no straights for more than maybe 100 meters. Some of the turns were downright dangerous they were so tight, some so sweeping I could fly around them at full speed!
The bike handled brilliantly, no issues with the trailer. It helped that the surface had changed from chip and seal to baby smooth tarmac. And, of course, the lack of traffic! Of course, anytime I came in the vicinity of the toll road the noise of traffic from there caused a bit of confusion.
The only downer was watching my elevation fall at a scary rate! I had worked so hard to gain each and every one of those meters and now they were disappearing before my eyes!
Things started to calm down at about 300 meters. The road had changed back to chip and seal and the overall downwards trajectory was getting ready to self correct - I could see a nasty climb in the distance.
Then I encountered first one, then two then three tourers coming the opposite way. We pulled in and had a chat. There was a German couple and a third guy who had joined them that day. I felt so sorry for them facing into the climb that I was just finishing! When stopped I realised just how warm it was! Gizmo was showing mid 30sC and it felt it! There was a heavy humidity I hadn't had before!
That's a thing - the direction for this road. Every account I've read has been people going the other way to me. Thinking back, I think my direction would have delivered the most bang for effort. The descent towards Mazatlãn is streets ahead of the descent after Durango.
I wasn't that far from Concordia at this stage. That was where I was planning to stop, even though it was relatively early. The fact was, I was feeling very tired!
The evil climb I had spied I the distance didn't disappoint and was aided in its evilness by the heavy humidity.
The traffic had picked up too, closer to Concordia as evidenced by the first truck of the day! There were also several pickups operating as buses - a high canvas roof over the bed of the truck, two benches and as many people as possible crammed in! These guys were flying, too!
Entering Concordia there was some kind of control point. I was pulled over, but only for a chat. And a bottle of water!
The town is located just off the main road so I stopped at an Oxxo and grabbed a coffee. It's becoming a bit of a ritual now on arrival - a nice little pick me up at the end of the day.
I tracked down a hotel - recommended by one of the cyclists earlier and had a long, hot shower as well as doing some laundry. My Merino top is turning from blue to white with salt deposits!
Then I tried to update this blog but it was taking forever to load pictures. Giving up, I wandered around this pretty little town and found some dinner. Crossing the Tropic earlier had given me pause to check the time and I discovered I was an hour ahead of myself! A first for me!! So now I have an extra hour to play with.
The vibe in the town is so pleasant that I retired to the town park to write this. I fancy a beer, but nobody's selling any in the vicinity and I'm too lazy to walk around anymore. I've a sneaking suspicion that I might have a second dinner in a little while!
I'm within striking distance of Mazatlán now. After much to-ing and fro-ing the last few days it looks like my language lessons are organised, starting Monday. I need to organise some accommodation, I'm thinking AirBnb if I can't organise a homestay. I'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow as to how far I go. This side of the mountains is pretty warm!
I have to say I'm pretty excited at seeing the Pacific! It occurred to me today that when I arrive I'll have cycled from the Atlantic to the Pacific! That's pretty cool in my book!
As for La espinal del diablo; What a feckin' thrill!!! It shows up in most collections of "famous" or "dangerous" roads and there is no doubt that it is dangerous. The sheer number of roadside memorials in the forms of crosses or sometimes little shrines confirms this.
It's fame is well deserved in my view. The vistas are amazing, weather dependent, of course, the bends are thrilling.
It is not easy - there are times when it is damn hard work! I'd imagine that in poor weather it is far from pleasant, but thankfully, that wasn't an issue for me.
The traffic, where it exists, was exceptional in terms of how they treated a loaded cyclist. Hats off to Mexico!
That's another little check against my list of things I want to do. That list is getting pretty short now!
I lost my biking buddy along the way.
One thing is for sure - I'll never forget La espinal del diablo!
After I finished writing that I took another little wander around. Feeling peckish I had a choice of some street food or a pizzeria. The pizza would be the easy option so I opted for the street food. My usual approach of explaining I was hungry and had no Spanish yielded the best response yet - not just pointing at various ingredients but getting to taste them too!!! I had a delicious large burrito and a big (glass) bottle of coke - no beer unfortunately. The food was so good I had another! Ah! The joys of riding a bike!
I was really enjoying the evening - lots of people around, a very pleasant vibe, warm enough to sit in a t-shirt when it got better! There was music coming from somewhere - old, Spanish language songs - that just added to an already wonderful atmosphere.
There had been activity in front of the old church but now it kicked into life, first with a singer then with dancers. I moved around to get a better view and was entertained for the next couple of hours. It was fantastic! Men dancing, women dancing, sometimes separate, sometimes together. The dresses the women were wearing were just fabulous! So many colours and such movement! A wonderful spectacle!
Of course, they were amateurs but they really seemed to be enjoying themselves. One poor girl was terribly focused and working really, really hard. Unfortunately, she was so focused on what she was doing she wasn't aware of her co-dancers and often got separated from them. In another dance, two guys forgot to remove their hats at a critical time resulting in panic.
The audience were all local, and lots of children watching and dancing along. It really was a wonderful atmosphere and I got to witness it all! No planning could have anticipated this evening!
Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good!
If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/
for comments/questions/discussion.
Min meters 145, Max Meters 2036, Total Climb 409, Total Descent 2182
I awoke at 2:30 am to the sound of nothing! It was a gloriously calm night, although the brightness in the tent suggested an interesting sky.
Since it wasn't cold I ventured out and savoured the night sky through the tops of the trees. Such clarity!
Back in bed I read for a little while before falling back to sleep.
I awoke as the sun was peeking over the mountains in the east.
My morning view!
Then it was up and a leisurely breakfast of coffee & porridge. The view is simply breathtaking, while the soundtrack is of some birds chirping, many insects buzzing and a cowbell or two! it seems like a sin to rush away from it! Logistically, I'll need to ration my water until I get more, but that's a price I'm happy to pay for this moment.
If yesterday was seduction day, today was the day La espinal del diablo ripped off my clothes and bonked me in ways that the Kama Sutra writers would have thought impossible!! Today was probably the greatest ride of my life! Like all great lovers she mixed in some agony to heighten the ecstasy and by the time it was all over I was totally drained - but that just may have been the humidity!
I started with a gentle descent that turned into a climb. In fact, that was the tempo for the first little while - a teasing descent, followed by a climb. I was seeing the same things I was seeing yesterday - the cliffs, the rows of blue mountains, the differing vegetation and if that sounds boring that's my poor writing style, not the environment. I was loving it! Again, I had the road pretty much to myself. One difference as I got lower was that some of the trees were flowering. It was not unusual to round a bend and find the road covered in fallen blooms, probably knocked off by some passing truck. Nashville may not have laid on a ticker tape parade, but Mexico was laying out flowers for me!
At around 11 am I crossed the Tropic of Cancer! Now, I suppose if I had planned this properly I wouldn't have been as surprised as I was! But, hey, I like surprises! Since there was a little shop I pulled in and scoffed some muffins and a coke and reflected on the fact that I had just entered the tropics - on my bicycle! Another conceptual moment meets reality! On some level I knew I'd cross such a boundary, but had never thought about when or where.
I continued on and met up again with the toll road. According to Gizmo there was a maze of intersections, entries & exits, with the added complication of roadworks, always a tricky thing on a bike. Ha! This is Mexico! Traffic was so light (read non-existent) that I could even stop at a crash barrier and savour the view!
It was from this point onwards that the bonking (in the non-cycling context) kicked in as it was pretty much downhill after that.
The downhill had different styles; gentle, mellow gradients, steep, fast gradients, random brutal climbs, but one consistency; Bendy as a very bendy thing!
Talk about fun! It was exhilarating! I gave up pretty quickly on stopping to take photos. The sensible reason is that the road seemed more compact and there were far fewer places to safely pull in. The honest reason is that somewhere deep inside a little boy broke out and wanted to race his bike!
And racing is what it really felt like! Sweeping left, then sweeping right, gathering speed then almost a dead stop before turning 180° under a cliff or over a direct drop to below! It did not stop! There were no straights for more than maybe 100 meters. Some of the turns were downright dangerous they were so tight, some so sweeping I could fly around them at full speed!
The bike handled brilliantly, no issues with the trailer. It helped that the surface had changed from chip and seal to baby smooth tarmac. And, of course, the lack of traffic! Of course, anytime I came in the vicinity of the toll road the noise of traffic from there caused a bit of confusion.
The only downer was watching my elevation fall at a scary rate! I had worked so hard to gain each and every one of those meters and now they were disappearing before my eyes!
Things started to calm down at about 300 meters. The road had changed back to chip and seal and the overall downwards trajectory was getting ready to self correct - I could see a nasty climb in the distance.
Then I encountered first one, then two then three tourers coming the opposite way. We pulled in and had a chat. There was a German couple and a third guy who had joined them that day. I felt so sorry for them facing into the climb that I was just finishing! When stopped I realised just how warm it was! Gizmo was showing mid 30sC and it felt it! There was a heavy humidity I hadn't had before!
That's a thing - the direction for this road. Every account I've read has been people going the other way to me. Thinking back, I think my direction would have delivered the most bang for effort. The descent towards Mazatlãn is streets ahead of the descent after Durango.
I wasn't that far from Concordia at this stage. That was where I was planning to stop, even though it was relatively early. The fact was, I was feeling very tired!
The evil climb I had spied I the distance didn't disappoint and was aided in its evilness by the heavy humidity.
The traffic had picked up too, closer to Concordia as evidenced by the first truck of the day! There were also several pickups operating as buses - a high canvas roof over the bed of the truck, two benches and as many people as possible crammed in! These guys were flying, too!
Entering Concordia there was some kind of control point. I was pulled over, but only for a chat. And a bottle of water!
The town is located just off the main road so I stopped at an Oxxo and grabbed a coffee. It's becoming a bit of a ritual now on arrival - a nice little pick me up at the end of the day.
I tracked down a hotel - recommended by one of the cyclists earlier and had a long, hot shower as well as doing some laundry. My Merino top is turning from blue to white with salt deposits!
Then I tried to update this blog but it was taking forever to load pictures. Giving up, I wandered around this pretty little town and found some dinner. Crossing the Tropic earlier had given me pause to check the time and I discovered I was an hour ahead of myself! A first for me!! So now I have an extra hour to play with.
The vibe in the town is so pleasant that I retired to the town park to write this. I fancy a beer, but nobody's selling any in the vicinity and I'm too lazy to walk around anymore. I've a sneaking suspicion that I might have a second dinner in a little while!
I'm within striking distance of Mazatlán now. After much to-ing and fro-ing the last few days it looks like my language lessons are organised, starting Monday. I need to organise some accommodation, I'm thinking AirBnb if I can't organise a homestay. I'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow as to how far I go. This side of the mountains is pretty warm!
I have to say I'm pretty excited at seeing the Pacific! It occurred to me today that when I arrive I'll have cycled from the Atlantic to the Pacific! That's pretty cool in my book!
As for La espinal del diablo; What a feckin' thrill!!! It shows up in most collections of "famous" or "dangerous" roads and there is no doubt that it is dangerous. The sheer number of roadside memorials in the forms of crosses or sometimes little shrines confirms this.
It's fame is well deserved in my view. The vistas are amazing, weather dependent, of course, the bends are thrilling.
It is not easy - there are times when it is damn hard work! I'd imagine that in poor weather it is far from pleasant, but thankfully, that wasn't an issue for me.
The traffic, where it exists, was exceptional in terms of how they treated a loaded cyclist. Hats off to Mexico!
That's another little check against my list of things I want to do. That list is getting pretty short now!
I lost my biking buddy along the way.
One thing is for sure - I'll never forget La espinal del diablo!
After I finished writing that I took another little wander around. Feeling peckish I had a choice of some street food or a pizzeria. The pizza would be the easy option so I opted for the street food. My usual approach of explaining I was hungry and had no Spanish yielded the best response yet - not just pointing at various ingredients but getting to taste them too!!! I had a delicious large burrito and a big (glass) bottle of coke - no beer unfortunately. The food was so good I had another! Ah! The joys of riding a bike!
I was really enjoying the evening - lots of people around, a very pleasant vibe, warm enough to sit in a t-shirt when it got better! There was music coming from somewhere - old, Spanish language songs - that just added to an already wonderful atmosphere.
There had been activity in front of the old church but now it kicked into life, first with a singer then with dancers. I moved around to get a better view and was entertained for the next couple of hours. It was fantastic! Men dancing, women dancing, sometimes separate, sometimes together. The dresses the women were wearing were just fabulous! So many colours and such movement! A wonderful spectacle!
Of course, they were amateurs but they really seemed to be enjoying themselves. One poor girl was terribly focused and working really, really hard. Unfortunately, she was so focused on what she was doing she wasn't aware of her co-dancers and often got separated from them. In another dance, two guys forgot to remove their hats at a critical time resulting in panic.
The audience were all local, and lots of children watching and dancing along. It really was a wonderful atmosphere and I got to witness it all! No planning could have anticipated this evening!
Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good!
If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/
for comments/questions/discussion.
OP
OP
HobbesOnTour
Guru
- Location
- España
Day 126 -:some extra pics!
OP
OP
HobbesOnTour
Guru
- Location
- España
Day 127, Friday, January 17, 2020, Concordia to Mazatlán 58km
Min meters -17, Max Meters 224, Total Climb 594, Total Descent 612
Back in my hotel room last night I booked an AirBnB in Mazatlán for tonight. This morning I regretted that choice. I got up about 8 am and for the first time in a long time I wasn't cold. I wandered back up to the town square/park and sat down enjoying my breakfast. This place is so nice I wanted to stay another day. I'd do nothing except sit in the park and watch the world go by……
On the other hand, today was the day that I should be arriving at the Pacific Ocean, something that has been growing in significance the past couple of days. Not for the first time reality meets concept and I am feeling pretty excited!
So, I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the park, then returned to my room to pack up. It was warm! I was lathered in sweat just putting the panniers on!
I set off into the rolling countryside. The road was busier, for sure, but traffic was still very respectful and supportive - lots of beeps! On the flat I was ticking along fine, but there were a few long climbs that slowed me down and I really started to feel the heat! Then, the descent on the other side provided a wind that cooled down my sweaty body wonderfully!
I can't say that the landscape was as interesting as yesterday, but it was interesting and pleasant; more agricultural land, the hills dotted with flowering plants as well as bushes. To be honest, my head wasn't in it - the sea, nay the ocean, was just down the road - that's where my mind was!
I had planned to rest up in Villa Union and have a bite to eat. A chaotic little town, but charming. In the end I just kept on rolling wanting to get to the water!
It was in Villa Union that I said goodbye to Mex 40. What a ride it has been! Not always pleasant on the way to Durango, but such a thrill the last couple of days! It probably seems silly, but I was a little sad turning on to Mex 15 to Mazatlán.
The one advantage of 15 was a shoulder - no bad thing considering this road was a whole lot busier!
Since it was pretty flat I was making reasonable time and going fast enough that the wind was keeping me cool. Stopping for a photo or a drink really exposed me to the full on heat! Gizmo was reading mid 30sC and it felt every one of those degrees.
Riding the shoulder was interesting in itself. The surface was variable and sometimes full of gravel, or even sand. It was wide enough that I could weave along, picking out the best line. Closer to the city it was used by buses and other two wheeled transport - going the wrong way! It even disappeared for a while, being replaced by rocks and dried mud! Never a dull moment!
Mazatlãn is by far the largest Mexican city so far, yet it was relatively straightforward to get to the centre. Chaotic, certainly, but straightforward. Turning left on roads with two or more lanes was tricky, but doable with patience. There tends to be such chaos in Mexican towns and cities that an Irishman on a loaded bike fits right in!
Unusually for me, I was actively not looking in the direction of the sea as I approached town. Frankly, the approach wasn't the most scenic and I really wanted my first view of the Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, to be a good one.
I climbed a bit of a hill and there it was directly across the road! It was cloudy and therefore dull, but I'm pretty sure my smile alone added to the lumen level! I was delighted! I was so satisfied! Feck it - I was damn proud of myself! Ocean to ocean!
It sounds silly, but up until a day or two ago I hadn't thought of this in that way. Mazatlãn was the first decent place I came across in my planning that had a language school. The sea would be a bonus to spend time around. But I've actually cycled across a continent! Feck it, but that deserves a little self praise!
I sat, for what must have been half an hour, just feeling and then absorbing that feeling. Then the sun came out and things got even better! There's a cycle path along the beach so I headed down there and found a restaurant to stop and eat where I could keep an eye on the bike. I even treated myself to a beer!
I got talking to a Canadian guy who was very impressed with my travels. He Winters here every year and I know he meant well, but he started telling me horror stories of thievery and bike accidents. All of a sudden I could feel my paranoia growing and was finding it difficult to relax. My bike was in full view about 10 meters from me but now every passing person was a threat. Not a nice feeling.
I paid up and walked back along the beach just savouring everything. Stick me by water and I'm happy! Today, I was beyond happy!
I grabbed a coffee at an Oxxo (more paranoia!) and sat down facing the sea to write this. I've to get to my AirBnB soon so I'm nearly finished the write up for this leg. I've promised a bike/gear list that I'll post in the chat thread sometime soon.
What I would like to say to anyone thinking of taking a trip on their bike (or indeed anything similar) to just do it! By all means give yourself the best chance to succeed with some prep and practice, but don't wait until everything is perfect - because it never is!
This day last year I had just had my third physio appointment after suffering a hernia in my back. I couldn't walk more than a couple of hundred meters, I couldn't sit or stand for more than a few minutes. I was in constant, unbelievable pain. A year later I've cycled ocean to ocean.
If I can do it, just about anyone can!
Epilogue….
It was a pretty straight, direct route to my AirBnB, but as is the case with most of my plans……
To say it was chaos would be an understatement. Rush hour in Mazatlãn is like nothing I've experienced before! Buses picking up & dropping off passengers in the middle of the road, cars doing the same, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists moving in straight lines irrespective of what side of the road they were on. Dogs running around. Hawkers selling God knows what. The noise! Horns being used as a warning, a recognition, frustration, to announce the arrival of buses or cabs.
A multidimensional cacophony of sight and sound! I had been feeling a little drained - this was a jolt of electricity to a flagging heart!
I would have hated to be in a rush and stressed. Instead, I took my time, went off course to avoid trying to merge through several lanes of traffic and generally just enjoyed the experience. I never once felt in any danger. It was just such an incredibly different experience to anything before on a bike. What a welcome to Mazatlán!
To be continued….
Somebody's missing ......
If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/
for comments/questions/discussion.
Min meters -17, Max Meters 224, Total Climb 594, Total Descent 612
Back in my hotel room last night I booked an AirBnB in Mazatlán for tonight. This morning I regretted that choice. I got up about 8 am and for the first time in a long time I wasn't cold. I wandered back up to the town square/park and sat down enjoying my breakfast. This place is so nice I wanted to stay another day. I'd do nothing except sit in the park and watch the world go by……
On the other hand, today was the day that I should be arriving at the Pacific Ocean, something that has been growing in significance the past couple of days. Not for the first time reality meets concept and I am feeling pretty excited!
So, I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the park, then returned to my room to pack up. It was warm! I was lathered in sweat just putting the panniers on!
I set off into the rolling countryside. The road was busier, for sure, but traffic was still very respectful and supportive - lots of beeps! On the flat I was ticking along fine, but there were a few long climbs that slowed me down and I really started to feel the heat! Then, the descent on the other side provided a wind that cooled down my sweaty body wonderfully!
I can't say that the landscape was as interesting as yesterday, but it was interesting and pleasant; more agricultural land, the hills dotted with flowering plants as well as bushes. To be honest, my head wasn't in it - the sea, nay the ocean, was just down the road - that's where my mind was!
I had planned to rest up in Villa Union and have a bite to eat. A chaotic little town, but charming. In the end I just kept on rolling wanting to get to the water!
It was in Villa Union that I said goodbye to Mex 40. What a ride it has been! Not always pleasant on the way to Durango, but such a thrill the last couple of days! It probably seems silly, but I was a little sad turning on to Mex 15 to Mazatlán.
The one advantage of 15 was a shoulder - no bad thing considering this road was a whole lot busier!
Since it was pretty flat I was making reasonable time and going fast enough that the wind was keeping me cool. Stopping for a photo or a drink really exposed me to the full on heat! Gizmo was reading mid 30sC and it felt every one of those degrees.
Riding the shoulder was interesting in itself. The surface was variable and sometimes full of gravel, or even sand. It was wide enough that I could weave along, picking out the best line. Closer to the city it was used by buses and other two wheeled transport - going the wrong way! It even disappeared for a while, being replaced by rocks and dried mud! Never a dull moment!
Mazatlãn is by far the largest Mexican city so far, yet it was relatively straightforward to get to the centre. Chaotic, certainly, but straightforward. Turning left on roads with two or more lanes was tricky, but doable with patience. There tends to be such chaos in Mexican towns and cities that an Irishman on a loaded bike fits right in!
Unusually for me, I was actively not looking in the direction of the sea as I approached town. Frankly, the approach wasn't the most scenic and I really wanted my first view of the Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, to be a good one.
I climbed a bit of a hill and there it was directly across the road! It was cloudy and therefore dull, but I'm pretty sure my smile alone added to the lumen level! I was delighted! I was so satisfied! Feck it - I was damn proud of myself! Ocean to ocean!
It sounds silly, but up until a day or two ago I hadn't thought of this in that way. Mazatlãn was the first decent place I came across in my planning that had a language school. The sea would be a bonus to spend time around. But I've actually cycled across a continent! Feck it, but that deserves a little self praise!
I sat, for what must have been half an hour, just feeling and then absorbing that feeling. Then the sun came out and things got even better! There's a cycle path along the beach so I headed down there and found a restaurant to stop and eat where I could keep an eye on the bike. I even treated myself to a beer!
I got talking to a Canadian guy who was very impressed with my travels. He Winters here every year and I know he meant well, but he started telling me horror stories of thievery and bike accidents. All of a sudden I could feel my paranoia growing and was finding it difficult to relax. My bike was in full view about 10 meters from me but now every passing person was a threat. Not a nice feeling.
I paid up and walked back along the beach just savouring everything. Stick me by water and I'm happy! Today, I was beyond happy!
I grabbed a coffee at an Oxxo (more paranoia!) and sat down facing the sea to write this. I've to get to my AirBnB soon so I'm nearly finished the write up for this leg. I've promised a bike/gear list that I'll post in the chat thread sometime soon.
What I would like to say to anyone thinking of taking a trip on their bike (or indeed anything similar) to just do it! By all means give yourself the best chance to succeed with some prep and practice, but don't wait until everything is perfect - because it never is!
This day last year I had just had my third physio appointment after suffering a hernia in my back. I couldn't walk more than a couple of hundred meters, I couldn't sit or stand for more than a few minutes. I was in constant, unbelievable pain. A year later I've cycled ocean to ocean.
If I can do it, just about anyone can!
Epilogue….
It was a pretty straight, direct route to my AirBnB, but as is the case with most of my plans……
To say it was chaos would be an understatement. Rush hour in Mazatlãn is like nothing I've experienced before! Buses picking up & dropping off passengers in the middle of the road, cars doing the same, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists moving in straight lines irrespective of what side of the road they were on. Dogs running around. Hawkers selling God knows what. The noise! Horns being used as a warning, a recognition, frustration, to announce the arrival of buses or cabs.
A multidimensional cacophony of sight and sound! I had been feeling a little drained - this was a jolt of electricity to a flagging heart!
I would have hated to be in a rush and stressed. Instead, I took my time, went off course to avoid trying to merge through several lanes of traffic and generally just enjoyed the experience. I never once felt in any danger. It was just such an incredibly different experience to anything before on a bike. What a welcome to Mazatlán!
To be continued….
Somebody's missing ......
If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/
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OP
OP
HobbesOnTour
Guru
- Location
- España
Days 128 - 156 Spanish days in Mazatlãn. 0 km
First things first, I'm a dumbass and misspelled ":El espinazo del diablo" in my last few posts! I can't get in to change it, so I'll leave it as an example of my overconfidence and suffer whatever criticism comes my way. To anyone reading this who is offended I offer my apologies. I know it bugs me when people misspell places that are close to my heart.
Mazatlan is a city in excess of 1 million people. At times it seems like that (think rush hour) and at times it seems like a friendly little village!
It's got a perfectly decent beach that is used, but certainly not overused (mind you, it is winter!), a walk along it is calming to the soul. Along the beach is a four lane dual carriageway that seems to be busy all the time, but that really comes to life at the weekends with cars, beach buggies, open air taxis and taxi pickups all cruising up and down, blasting music and often with their own light shows! It's certainly different!
Further down the beach there are lots of municipal facilities where people gather to do aerobics, boxing, basketball, swimming. On a Saturday morning the area is a hive of activity.
I'm told the city has recently come to life and started redeveloping. That's clear along the beach - recent high rise apartments or hotels, more on the way, older buildings and some derelict sites.
Away from the beach you can walk five minutes in one direction and enter a modern shopping mall, while five minutes in the other will bring you to the municipal market and loads of fresh food, fruit, vegetables, seasoning, coconut water and just some amazing aromas.
There are little stores everywhere selling the basics. I've no idea how they can all survive. Food stalls are everywhere too, sometimes a permanent feature, sometimes temporary. It's not unusual to see a section of road blocked off with rope tied to three or four plastic containers containing a stick and cement. Hang around long enough and some people will show up with a van, remove the rope, set up a kitchen on the side of the road, perhaps with a few seats and serve up some delicious food. I don't just mean delicious - I mean really delicious!
It's friendly too. I'm pleased to report that my idea of Mexico as a land of smiles has not been altered. Most people are quick to smile and project a friendliness as warm as the weather.
Learning a new language at 47 years of age is not an easy thing!
I've always had the idea that foreign languages are not my thing. In my lifetime I've studied Irish, Latin & French in school, German in university, lived in the Netherlands for 20 odd years (odd on every meaning of the word!). I have excelled in absolutely none of them!
This time, I've been determined to give as good a shot as possible. Anytime the dark thought of "I'm just not cut out for languages" arose I've hammered it down. The thought may not be front and center, but it refuses to surrender the edges of my mind.
Nonetheless, I think I've made some progress.
It's an interesting experience to go back to school as an adult after a long break.
It's only in the last few years that I've learned to be comfortable with myself and not to beat myself up over mistakes and errors. Starting to cycle coincided with that change of mindset.
However, going back to school found me heavily conflicted between my old attitude of beating myself up for every error and my newer approach of doing the best I can and forgiving the mistakes.
There were days I was so frustrated with myself it was like a cold, black cloud had wrapped me up and wouldn't let me do anything. Thankfully, the ocean was a ten minute walk away. A walk along the beach in my bare feet and the ocean washed the negativity away.
To do things right I should by rights, stay for a minimum of two to three months but that's just not practical from a timing or budgetary point of view. My hope is that I'll have enough of a grounding that will let me develop more as I work my way south.
There's always the possibility of stopping somewhere further down the line too, depending on progress and season.
Just learning new vocabulary is incredibly difficult! At times it seems like my head is solid wood and there's no place for anything new! But, progress is being slowly made.
Gender's a pain in the ass! It's not enough to know the word for chair, I have to know if it's a boy or a girl!
And the rules!!! Not to mention all the irregulars!!
One of the hardest things is processing the sounds.
V is like B, H is silent, J is H, LL is J, G is K. My poor brain is addled! I hear a word and it appears to have no relationship to what it looks like! Dutch words come to mind first, but I've also recalled words that I thought I had failed to learn in French more than thirty years ago! Our minds are very strange, very powerful things!
This is the longest I've been off the bike since I started.
It was an interesting experience the first week, setting up home in a new city. It's been twenty years since I did that. It was a bit scary finding my way around but also very rejuvenating.
When I did start to relax I found myself getting quite tired.
I've tried not to overeat which is not easy for two reasons;
My body has become accustomed to processing a fair whack of food every day - it expects it!
And the food is so darn good!! It's not all spicy (but when it is...it is!!) It's simple, fresh and very tasty. If style over substance is your thing, Mexico may not be for you. But if you prefer how something tastes to how fashionable, modern or equipped a restaurant may be, then hightail it over here!
Noise
There is no escaping the noise generated when more than two Mexicans gather!
A walk along the Malecon, beach front exposes the stranger to the sounds of engines, horns and various forms of music being pumped out of a variety of vehicles.
Horns are used in vehicles as a warning (I'm coming up behind you), as a reminder (hey! The lights are green), a greeting, a call to passengers (your bus is here) or from Taxis looking for a fare.
On a side note, walking around back in Monclova every taxi beeped at me as I was walking around. In Torreon, taxis were smaller, yellow cars with horns that sounded like wolf whistles and were constantly in use looking for fares. In Durango it was far more civilised and Mazatlãn is a mix.
However, there appears to be very little aggression in the use of horns.
Street stalls and restaurants often have a large speaker blasting out music, sometimes even a full band! The music definitely stirs something in me. There are surprising connections to Irish music in terms of themes (emigration, separated by borders or distance, homesickness) and my exposure to some of the Texan music means that the instrumentation, rhythms and sounds are not strange in my head.
Noise, like I said is everywhere, yet it doesn't seem excessive to me. For some reason, it seems to "fit". Maybe that's just my travelling head speaking and I'd have a different view if I lived here, but I'm not so sure.
Most of the Mexicans I meet are very quick to smile and it seems that celebrating whatever and whenever possible is the default option. The noise is simply proof of that so I'm happy that I get to hear it!
Roads & traffic
It's difficult to accurately describe the chaos of traffic on urban streets. Often a lane is "lost" due to parked cars, buses or taxis pick up and deposit passengers in the middle of the road, cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians often travel the wrong direction on busy roads. The surfaces are unbelievably poor, especially for a bike. Not to mention incredibly effective speed bumps! It is such a shock to the system when compared, for example, to The Netherlands.
However, I'm loving it! Talk about feeling alive!
I can't say that every driver is considerate, but the vast majority are and even more are patient. It looks crazy! It seems to be death defying! In actual fact it's reasonably safe and a hell of a lot of fun!
Security Presence
Wandering around the old town it was a shock to round a corner and almost walk into four or five soldiers in full camoflauge clothing (white and grey) sporting some serious hardware. They were laughing and joking amongst themselves, but the sheer number of clips sticking out of their pockets was a strong counterpoint to the light and breezy image they projected.
Occasionally I'd encounter a couple of pickups with a couple of guys and a heavy machine gun mounted in the bed of the truck.
These sights seem so out of place, yet a look at a newspaper will demonstrate that they are not quite as left of field.
Speaking only for myself, once they are out of sight I quickly forget about them.
Sunsets
Mazatlãn sits inside a gentle bay with islands of various sizes at each end of the bay.
Walking along the Malecon was a delight as the sun sank down.
Looking straight out to sea the sky was layered in soft colours sliding gently into the sea. The colours could be golden orange fading to to the palest of blues, or vibrant pink, merging to purple and dissolving into a vibrant blue.
Clouds took on all kinds of colours and depending on their shapes and the wind became works of art or mythical creatures moving across the sky.
Sometimes the sea reflected the colours from the sky - a perfect canvas above, a living, breathing piece of body art below.
Depending on position I could watch the sun sink down into the sea or watch it turn an island the darkest of blacks as it descended behind it.
What was truly amazing was that the scene changed constantly.
It was never still. Colours morphed from one to another. Clouds became birds, then, elephants, tumbled into forms from fantasy novels and finally faces, slowly aging as the last of the sun's rays died and grey took over.
On the right side of the bay, the contrast between the islands and the skies above, between and behind them was a picture in picture light show, while away to the left the lights of the old town grew stronger as darkness fell.
For a few nights I had the pleasure of watching the tiniest sliver of a moon crescent slip slowly beneath the waves. On other nights, a moon, full and proud hung in the sky directly behind me as I watched the show.
The greatest nature documentary on the largest screen ever!
Every evening was different. It was like some artist started with a blank canvas every evening and attempted to create the world's most beautiful painting. Down on the beach, away from the traffic, this presentation was accompanied by the sound of waves breaking on the shore.
There are worse ways to spend an evening!
VW Beetles
In Mexico, these are everywhere! Some old and battered, held together with rust and prayers, while others are wonderfully souped up and modified. I think Mexico was the last place they were manufactured and it's a real pleasure to see so many. I've admired those cars ever since being brought to see "The Love Bug" in a cinema by my sister many years ago.
The Next Stage
There have been definite stages to this trip, in my mind at least.
The US was about visiting places I wanted to visit. Mexico, so far, was about getting to Mazatlãn to get some Spanish under my belt. And food!!! I checked off various things along the way - Charleston, Nashville, Austin, Texas in general (although I really only dipped my toe in the huge lake that Texas is). There were trains and diners and Dairy Queens, the hospitality of a church and Fire Stations. There was El espinazo del diablo. All things that I had wanted to experience, had been aware of.
From now on that changes. My to do list has one item left on it! And that's a road in Colombia.
I've not read anything nearly as much about the rest of the way to "El fin del Mundo" as I have to this point. I've read accounts of bike trips but haven't visualised and inspired myself as I did for the previous stages.
From now on, I'm painting onto a blank canvas as opposed to colouring by numbers.
It's scary, certainly, but also exciting and liberating!
What that means is that there is no definite route in my mind. I have limitations in terms of visas, security and climate that will have impact, but decisions about destinations and routes will be made on the fly.
I've done more and more of this style of touring as time has gone on, although never on such a massive scale. It wouldn't have been unusual for me to head off on a circle route some weekend and wander off it half-way through the first day. Instead of heading north, I might turn south for some Belgian frijtes. Instead of heading to the sea, I might turn east and head for some currywurst!
There's wonderful advantages to that type of touring, but there's always the disadvantage too - a lack of a definite goal may mean that it is never achieved!
I'd like to get to Ushuaia - it would be an interesting place to have been, but there is not a burning desire to get there, as there was with Nashville or Austin, for example. I don't intend on rushing past places, or people, that speak to me simply because the goal is Ushuaia.
My goal for the next stage is simply to take on board as much as I can from the journey. Hopefully, it will be enjoyable, but honestly, that is unlikely to be the case all the time. Maybe I'm just dumb, but misery and suffering can have its benefits too!
So….. if you are finding yourself frustrated with my progress, or lack of it, or my wandering around, well that's just tough! You think you can do it better? Be my guest!
My general plan is to head south towards Puerto Vallarta, then inland to Guadalajara. I'll head a bit south, then do a loop around Mexico City, going around on the Northern side, west to east. Everyone I've spoken to has said Mexico City is a must visit so I'll either pop in on the bike or take a bus. Then south towards Pueblo, further south to Oaxaca and as far as Comitán near the Guatemala border. At that point I'll either head south into Guatemala or turn east and head into Yucatan to explore the Mayan history of the region. I'll figure that out closer to the time.
But that could change tomorrow!
Central America has taken up more of my thoughts recently. One of the three cyclists I met on my way to Mazatlãn expressed surprise that I planned to cycle there. The El Salvadorean army walked into their parliament the other day, fully armed, when the parliament was debating increasing their budget. MS13 attacked a court and freed one of their leaders a couple of days ago in Honduras.
Further south, Colombia has been heating up for a while. There's a three day travel ban enforced by rebels currently taking place in some regions.
It seems like my adventure is only begining!
First things first, I'm a dumbass and misspelled ":El espinazo del diablo" in my last few posts! I can't get in to change it, so I'll leave it as an example of my overconfidence and suffer whatever criticism comes my way. To anyone reading this who is offended I offer my apologies. I know it bugs me when people misspell places that are close to my heart.
Mazatlan is a city in excess of 1 million people. At times it seems like that (think rush hour) and at times it seems like a friendly little village!
It's got a perfectly decent beach that is used, but certainly not overused (mind you, it is winter!), a walk along it is calming to the soul. Along the beach is a four lane dual carriageway that seems to be busy all the time, but that really comes to life at the weekends with cars, beach buggies, open air taxis and taxi pickups all cruising up and down, blasting music and often with their own light shows! It's certainly different!
Further down the beach there are lots of municipal facilities where people gather to do aerobics, boxing, basketball, swimming. On a Saturday morning the area is a hive of activity.
I'm told the city has recently come to life and started redeveloping. That's clear along the beach - recent high rise apartments or hotels, more on the way, older buildings and some derelict sites.
Away from the beach you can walk five minutes in one direction and enter a modern shopping mall, while five minutes in the other will bring you to the municipal market and loads of fresh food, fruit, vegetables, seasoning, coconut water and just some amazing aromas.
There are little stores everywhere selling the basics. I've no idea how they can all survive. Food stalls are everywhere too, sometimes a permanent feature, sometimes temporary. It's not unusual to see a section of road blocked off with rope tied to three or four plastic containers containing a stick and cement. Hang around long enough and some people will show up with a van, remove the rope, set up a kitchen on the side of the road, perhaps with a few seats and serve up some delicious food. I don't just mean delicious - I mean really delicious!
It's friendly too. I'm pleased to report that my idea of Mexico as a land of smiles has not been altered. Most people are quick to smile and project a friendliness as warm as the weather.
Learning a new language at 47 years of age is not an easy thing!
I've always had the idea that foreign languages are not my thing. In my lifetime I've studied Irish, Latin & French in school, German in university, lived in the Netherlands for 20 odd years (odd on every meaning of the word!). I have excelled in absolutely none of them!
This time, I've been determined to give as good a shot as possible. Anytime the dark thought of "I'm just not cut out for languages" arose I've hammered it down. The thought may not be front and center, but it refuses to surrender the edges of my mind.
Nonetheless, I think I've made some progress.
It's an interesting experience to go back to school as an adult after a long break.
It's only in the last few years that I've learned to be comfortable with myself and not to beat myself up over mistakes and errors. Starting to cycle coincided with that change of mindset.
However, going back to school found me heavily conflicted between my old attitude of beating myself up for every error and my newer approach of doing the best I can and forgiving the mistakes.
There were days I was so frustrated with myself it was like a cold, black cloud had wrapped me up and wouldn't let me do anything. Thankfully, the ocean was a ten minute walk away. A walk along the beach in my bare feet and the ocean washed the negativity away.
To do things right I should by rights, stay for a minimum of two to three months but that's just not practical from a timing or budgetary point of view. My hope is that I'll have enough of a grounding that will let me develop more as I work my way south.
There's always the possibility of stopping somewhere further down the line too, depending on progress and season.
Just learning new vocabulary is incredibly difficult! At times it seems like my head is solid wood and there's no place for anything new! But, progress is being slowly made.
Gender's a pain in the ass! It's not enough to know the word for chair, I have to know if it's a boy or a girl!
And the rules!!! Not to mention all the irregulars!!
One of the hardest things is processing the sounds.
V is like B, H is silent, J is H, LL is J, G is K. My poor brain is addled! I hear a word and it appears to have no relationship to what it looks like! Dutch words come to mind first, but I've also recalled words that I thought I had failed to learn in French more than thirty years ago! Our minds are very strange, very powerful things!
This is the longest I've been off the bike since I started.
It was an interesting experience the first week, setting up home in a new city. It's been twenty years since I did that. It was a bit scary finding my way around but also very rejuvenating.
When I did start to relax I found myself getting quite tired.
I've tried not to overeat which is not easy for two reasons;
My body has become accustomed to processing a fair whack of food every day - it expects it!
And the food is so darn good!! It's not all spicy (but when it is...it is!!) It's simple, fresh and very tasty. If style over substance is your thing, Mexico may not be for you. But if you prefer how something tastes to how fashionable, modern or equipped a restaurant may be, then hightail it over here!
Noise
There is no escaping the noise generated when more than two Mexicans gather!
A walk along the Malecon, beach front exposes the stranger to the sounds of engines, horns and various forms of music being pumped out of a variety of vehicles.
Horns are used in vehicles as a warning (I'm coming up behind you), as a reminder (hey! The lights are green), a greeting, a call to passengers (your bus is here) or from Taxis looking for a fare.
On a side note, walking around back in Monclova every taxi beeped at me as I was walking around. In Torreon, taxis were smaller, yellow cars with horns that sounded like wolf whistles and were constantly in use looking for fares. In Durango it was far more civilised and Mazatlãn is a mix.
However, there appears to be very little aggression in the use of horns.
Street stalls and restaurants often have a large speaker blasting out music, sometimes even a full band! The music definitely stirs something in me. There are surprising connections to Irish music in terms of themes (emigration, separated by borders or distance, homesickness) and my exposure to some of the Texan music means that the instrumentation, rhythms and sounds are not strange in my head.
Noise, like I said is everywhere, yet it doesn't seem excessive to me. For some reason, it seems to "fit". Maybe that's just my travelling head speaking and I'd have a different view if I lived here, but I'm not so sure.
Most of the Mexicans I meet are very quick to smile and it seems that celebrating whatever and whenever possible is the default option. The noise is simply proof of that so I'm happy that I get to hear it!
Roads & traffic
It's difficult to accurately describe the chaos of traffic on urban streets. Often a lane is "lost" due to parked cars, buses or taxis pick up and deposit passengers in the middle of the road, cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians often travel the wrong direction on busy roads. The surfaces are unbelievably poor, especially for a bike. Not to mention incredibly effective speed bumps! It is such a shock to the system when compared, for example, to The Netherlands.
However, I'm loving it! Talk about feeling alive!
I can't say that every driver is considerate, but the vast majority are and even more are patient. It looks crazy! It seems to be death defying! In actual fact it's reasonably safe and a hell of a lot of fun!
Security Presence
Wandering around the old town it was a shock to round a corner and almost walk into four or five soldiers in full camoflauge clothing (white and grey) sporting some serious hardware. They were laughing and joking amongst themselves, but the sheer number of clips sticking out of their pockets was a strong counterpoint to the light and breezy image they projected.
Occasionally I'd encounter a couple of pickups with a couple of guys and a heavy machine gun mounted in the bed of the truck.
These sights seem so out of place, yet a look at a newspaper will demonstrate that they are not quite as left of field.
Speaking only for myself, once they are out of sight I quickly forget about them.
Sunsets
Mazatlãn sits inside a gentle bay with islands of various sizes at each end of the bay.
Walking along the Malecon was a delight as the sun sank down.
Looking straight out to sea the sky was layered in soft colours sliding gently into the sea. The colours could be golden orange fading to to the palest of blues, or vibrant pink, merging to purple and dissolving into a vibrant blue.
Clouds took on all kinds of colours and depending on their shapes and the wind became works of art or mythical creatures moving across the sky.
Sometimes the sea reflected the colours from the sky - a perfect canvas above, a living, breathing piece of body art below.
Depending on position I could watch the sun sink down into the sea or watch it turn an island the darkest of blacks as it descended behind it.
What was truly amazing was that the scene changed constantly.
It was never still. Colours morphed from one to another. Clouds became birds, then, elephants, tumbled into forms from fantasy novels and finally faces, slowly aging as the last of the sun's rays died and grey took over.
On the right side of the bay, the contrast between the islands and the skies above, between and behind them was a picture in picture light show, while away to the left the lights of the old town grew stronger as darkness fell.
For a few nights I had the pleasure of watching the tiniest sliver of a moon crescent slip slowly beneath the waves. On other nights, a moon, full and proud hung in the sky directly behind me as I watched the show.
The greatest nature documentary on the largest screen ever!
Every evening was different. It was like some artist started with a blank canvas every evening and attempted to create the world's most beautiful painting. Down on the beach, away from the traffic, this presentation was accompanied by the sound of waves breaking on the shore.
There are worse ways to spend an evening!
VW Beetles
In Mexico, these are everywhere! Some old and battered, held together with rust and prayers, while others are wonderfully souped up and modified. I think Mexico was the last place they were manufactured and it's a real pleasure to see so many. I've admired those cars ever since being brought to see "The Love Bug" in a cinema by my sister many years ago.
The Next Stage
There have been definite stages to this trip, in my mind at least.
The US was about visiting places I wanted to visit. Mexico, so far, was about getting to Mazatlãn to get some Spanish under my belt. And food!!! I checked off various things along the way - Charleston, Nashville, Austin, Texas in general (although I really only dipped my toe in the huge lake that Texas is). There were trains and diners and Dairy Queens, the hospitality of a church and Fire Stations. There was El espinazo del diablo. All things that I had wanted to experience, had been aware of.
From now on that changes. My to do list has one item left on it! And that's a road in Colombia.
I've not read anything nearly as much about the rest of the way to "El fin del Mundo" as I have to this point. I've read accounts of bike trips but haven't visualised and inspired myself as I did for the previous stages.
From now on, I'm painting onto a blank canvas as opposed to colouring by numbers.
It's scary, certainly, but also exciting and liberating!
What that means is that there is no definite route in my mind. I have limitations in terms of visas, security and climate that will have impact, but decisions about destinations and routes will be made on the fly.
I've done more and more of this style of touring as time has gone on, although never on such a massive scale. It wouldn't have been unusual for me to head off on a circle route some weekend and wander off it half-way through the first day. Instead of heading north, I might turn south for some Belgian frijtes. Instead of heading to the sea, I might turn east and head for some currywurst!
There's wonderful advantages to that type of touring, but there's always the disadvantage too - a lack of a definite goal may mean that it is never achieved!
I'd like to get to Ushuaia - it would be an interesting place to have been, but there is not a burning desire to get there, as there was with Nashville or Austin, for example. I don't intend on rushing past places, or people, that speak to me simply because the goal is Ushuaia.
My goal for the next stage is simply to take on board as much as I can from the journey. Hopefully, it will be enjoyable, but honestly, that is unlikely to be the case all the time. Maybe I'm just dumb, but misery and suffering can have its benefits too!
So….. if you are finding yourself frustrated with my progress, or lack of it, or my wandering around, well that's just tough! You think you can do it better? Be my guest!
My general plan is to head south towards Puerto Vallarta, then inland to Guadalajara. I'll head a bit south, then do a loop around Mexico City, going around on the Northern side, west to east. Everyone I've spoken to has said Mexico City is a must visit so I'll either pop in on the bike or take a bus. Then south towards Pueblo, further south to Oaxaca and as far as Comitán near the Guatemala border. At that point I'll either head south into Guatemala or turn east and head into Yucatan to explore the Mayan history of the region. I'll figure that out closer to the time.
But that could change tomorrow!
Central America has taken up more of my thoughts recently. One of the three cyclists I met on my way to Mazatlãn expressed surprise that I planned to cycle there. The El Salvadorean army walked into their parliament the other day, fully armed, when the parliament was debating increasing their budget. MS13 attacked a court and freed one of their leaders a couple of days ago in Honduras.
Further south, Colombia has been heating up for a while. There's a three day travel ban enforced by rebels currently taking place in some regions.
It seems like my adventure is only begining!
Attachments
OP
OP
HobbesOnTour
Guru
- Location
- España
Day 157, Saturday, February 15, 2020, Mazatlãn to El Rosario 75km
Min meters -69, Max Meters 95, Total Climb 515, Total Descent 481
Getting back on a loaded bike after a month off takes a bit of practise. Scratch that. The practise actually starts with packing the panniers. A regular system, honed after months on the road fell apart from lack of use once I started packing!
A few blogs I had read mentioned that Ruta 15 had no shoulder and was very busy. These bloggers regretted not taking the cuota (toll road). I'd discussed this with my homestay host and he suggested the Libre (free) because the Govt. were no longer collecting tolls - the locals instead sought a voluntary contribution. In effect, this meant that the toll road was virtually free and as a result busier than the Libre.
In any case I knew 15 had a shoulder as far as Villa Union and I could postpone a decision until then.
I decided to ignore my planned route after about 50 meters! I wanted one last ride along the Malecon.
Introducing Mazi, my new travelling buddy! 😀
Getting out of Mazatlãn was surprisingly straightforward, if not bumpy and exciting at times. It wasn't long until I was on the familiar (for me) Ruta 15 heading towards Villa Union.
The last time I went through Villa Union I had planned to stop and eat, but my excitement at almost reaching the ocean drove me on. Today, there was no hesitation - I stopped and ate three delicious tacos washed down with a Coke.
On the way in to Villa Union I had met two road cyclists. As it turns out they were on a 300km randonee having started at 6am! They had to go up to Concordia before looping around to El Rosario, my destination for the night. I sure did not envy them! They did advise me to take the cuota, though. So I did!
This one was only a two lane, although it had a lovely wide and clean shoulder. Blissful riding. Traffic was light and tended to come in bursts.
The first thing I noticed was the multiple stalls along the road selling bags of prawns. Picture the scene….a table stacked high with sealed bags of prawns, a parasol and a man or woman sitting in the shade. Gizmo was showing 30+C! I wouldn't be eating those prawns!
It got progressively warmer until Gizmo broke 40C! Most of the time I was fine, tipping along at a reasonable pace, the wind keeping me cool. But there were some hills, or perhaps, more accurately valleys. If the climb was too steep and I slowed down too much I really, really felt the heat.
There were lots of places where I could stop, and where they coincided with shade I took advantage.
Having not ridden any distance worth talking about in the past month I was happy enough with my progress. As I closed in on El Rosario I even started to consider continuing on to the next town another 25km down the road.
Tequila Country!
However, the heat was taking it's toll and about 5km from El Rosario I pulled in under a bridge for a long rest in the shade. It was then that I noticed my flag was gone again! It had been one of my jobs to make it more secure and I thought it was bomb proof. Tsss! Dumbass!
It was most likely knocked out on the outskirts of Mazatlãn and there was no way I was going back! I'll sort some kind of an alternative out further down the road.
Eventually I rolled off again in the cooler 30sC and decided to check out El Rosario, get some water and if I wanted to I still had time (just about) to continue on.
The toll booth was manned alright, but when I stopped to lug my bike onto the path (to avoid the sensor) I was just waved on through. The man and woman sitting at the booth were most certainly not government employees!
The first thing about El Rosario that struck me was a fantastic looking cemetery. There was a nice vibe to the place and as I cycled along I decided that this was worth exploring. I found a cheap hotel, checked in and went exploring.
I reckoned I had an hour or so of daylight so headed straight to the old cemetery. It's in a very poor state given that the latest burial I could find was 2004, but some of the monuments date back to the late 1880s.
As well as a couple of dogs and a cat there are some chickens wandering around. After that I went off seeking a ruin that I had glimpsed on the way in. Unfortunately, parts of it have recently fallen and tape is up barring entry. I can't even tell what it was, but it was certainly impressive.
Then it was popping hither and tither on the bike checking out the town.
Near the cemetery I had seen quite a few roadside restaurants setting up so I toddled back for my dinner. They hadn't been setting up…..they had been closing down! Back towards the hotel to another cart and I had the most delicious quesadillas with meat fresh from the grill. I managed to do the whole thing in Spanish (which made me immensely proud!) even asking which of the two sauces was the most spicy. (We'll ignore the fact that one of the sauces was guacamole!)
Let me take a moment to describe the scene. It's less than 10 meters from a t-junction on the minor road. There's a large trolley containing a grill, with a roof.
There are five guys either cooking meat, preparing meat for cooking or chopping vegetables. Beside the trolley there are two tables with benches, also under a roof. Behind, there are several cool boxes containing cold drinks, meat, veggies, sauces etc. There's no menus. One of the guys was most helpful demonstrating what they could do for me.
Once I ordered, 6 bowls were dropped on my table with guacamole, two other sauces, a chopped tomato and herb salad, cucumber & radish slices and limes. Also on the table are napkins. I'll be getting no cutlery. There's a lot of eating with hands here!
When my quesadillas arrive they are on a plate wrapped inside a plastic bag. (When I'm finished, they just whip the bag off and put the plate in a new one!)
There's no electricity. There's no huge choice.
And the food??? Delicious!
I love the simplicity of the whole operation.
My hotel room is about as basic as they come. My door doesn't even have a key! The lady told me it was perfectly safe, that she was there the whole time. To be honest, I had no qualms about leaving my gear in the place when I went off exploring.
Still not sure where I'm off to tomorrow! For the time being I may try to head off at first light with a view to taking a break during the hottest part of the day. Cycling at about 40C is not a lot of fun if it goes on too long!
Tomorrow I'll have some Spanish verbs and other words so I can practise different tenses as I cycle!
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
Min meters -69, Max Meters 95, Total Climb 515, Total Descent 481
Getting back on a loaded bike after a month off takes a bit of practise. Scratch that. The practise actually starts with packing the panniers. A regular system, honed after months on the road fell apart from lack of use once I started packing!
A few blogs I had read mentioned that Ruta 15 had no shoulder and was very busy. These bloggers regretted not taking the cuota (toll road). I'd discussed this with my homestay host and he suggested the Libre (free) because the Govt. were no longer collecting tolls - the locals instead sought a voluntary contribution. In effect, this meant that the toll road was virtually free and as a result busier than the Libre.
In any case I knew 15 had a shoulder as far as Villa Union and I could postpone a decision until then.
I decided to ignore my planned route after about 50 meters! I wanted one last ride along the Malecon.
Introducing Mazi, my new travelling buddy! 😀
Getting out of Mazatlãn was surprisingly straightforward, if not bumpy and exciting at times. It wasn't long until I was on the familiar (for me) Ruta 15 heading towards Villa Union.
The last time I went through Villa Union I had planned to stop and eat, but my excitement at almost reaching the ocean drove me on. Today, there was no hesitation - I stopped and ate three delicious tacos washed down with a Coke.
On the way in to Villa Union I had met two road cyclists. As it turns out they were on a 300km randonee having started at 6am! They had to go up to Concordia before looping around to El Rosario, my destination for the night. I sure did not envy them! They did advise me to take the cuota, though. So I did!
This one was only a two lane, although it had a lovely wide and clean shoulder. Blissful riding. Traffic was light and tended to come in bursts.
The first thing I noticed was the multiple stalls along the road selling bags of prawns. Picture the scene….a table stacked high with sealed bags of prawns, a parasol and a man or woman sitting in the shade. Gizmo was showing 30+C! I wouldn't be eating those prawns!
It got progressively warmer until Gizmo broke 40C! Most of the time I was fine, tipping along at a reasonable pace, the wind keeping me cool. But there were some hills, or perhaps, more accurately valleys. If the climb was too steep and I slowed down too much I really, really felt the heat.
There were lots of places where I could stop, and where they coincided with shade I took advantage.
Having not ridden any distance worth talking about in the past month I was happy enough with my progress. As I closed in on El Rosario I even started to consider continuing on to the next town another 25km down the road.
Tequila Country!
However, the heat was taking it's toll and about 5km from El Rosario I pulled in under a bridge for a long rest in the shade. It was then that I noticed my flag was gone again! It had been one of my jobs to make it more secure and I thought it was bomb proof. Tsss! Dumbass!
It was most likely knocked out on the outskirts of Mazatlãn and there was no way I was going back! I'll sort some kind of an alternative out further down the road.
Eventually I rolled off again in the cooler 30sC and decided to check out El Rosario, get some water and if I wanted to I still had time (just about) to continue on.
The toll booth was manned alright, but when I stopped to lug my bike onto the path (to avoid the sensor) I was just waved on through. The man and woman sitting at the booth were most certainly not government employees!
The first thing about El Rosario that struck me was a fantastic looking cemetery. There was a nice vibe to the place and as I cycled along I decided that this was worth exploring. I found a cheap hotel, checked in and went exploring.
I reckoned I had an hour or so of daylight so headed straight to the old cemetery. It's in a very poor state given that the latest burial I could find was 2004, but some of the monuments date back to the late 1880s.
As well as a couple of dogs and a cat there are some chickens wandering around. After that I went off seeking a ruin that I had glimpsed on the way in. Unfortunately, parts of it have recently fallen and tape is up barring entry. I can't even tell what it was, but it was certainly impressive.
Then it was popping hither and tither on the bike checking out the town.
Near the cemetery I had seen quite a few roadside restaurants setting up so I toddled back for my dinner. They hadn't been setting up…..they had been closing down! Back towards the hotel to another cart and I had the most delicious quesadillas with meat fresh from the grill. I managed to do the whole thing in Spanish (which made me immensely proud!) even asking which of the two sauces was the most spicy. (We'll ignore the fact that one of the sauces was guacamole!)
Let me take a moment to describe the scene. It's less than 10 meters from a t-junction on the minor road. There's a large trolley containing a grill, with a roof.
There are five guys either cooking meat, preparing meat for cooking or chopping vegetables. Beside the trolley there are two tables with benches, also under a roof. Behind, there are several cool boxes containing cold drinks, meat, veggies, sauces etc. There's no menus. One of the guys was most helpful demonstrating what they could do for me.
Once I ordered, 6 bowls were dropped on my table with guacamole, two other sauces, a chopped tomato and herb salad, cucumber & radish slices and limes. Also on the table are napkins. I'll be getting no cutlery. There's a lot of eating with hands here!
When my quesadillas arrive they are on a plate wrapped inside a plastic bag. (When I'm finished, they just whip the bag off and put the plate in a new one!)
There's no electricity. There's no huge choice.
And the food??? Delicious!
I love the simplicity of the whole operation.
My hotel room is about as basic as they come. My door doesn't even have a key! The lady told me it was perfectly safe, that she was there the whole time. To be honest, I had no qualms about leaving my gear in the place when I went off exploring.
Still not sure where I'm off to tomorrow! For the time being I may try to head off at first light with a view to taking a break during the hottest part of the day. Cycling at about 40C is not a lot of fun if it goes on too long!
Tomorrow I'll have some Spanish verbs and other words so I can practise different tenses as I cycle!
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
OP
OP
HobbesOnTour
Guru
- Location
- España
Day 158, Sunday, February 16, 2020, El Rosario to Acaponeta 89km
Min meters -8, Max Meters 88, Total Climb 416, Total Descent 354
Today's opening lines contains a phrase I never thought I'd be writing down - I'm waiting for a newly married couple to come of the local church. I've no idea who they are, yet feel strangely captivated by their monumentous ceremony! More later!
Looking in the mirror last night it was pretty evident that I got some sun yesterday! This morning one of the first things I did was to smear my face and neck in factor 50 sun cream! Believe it or not, that's the first sun cream I've applied on this trip. I find that once I'm moving and there's a bit of wind I tend not to burn despite my relatively pale complexion. Nothing pale about my face this morning, though! 😀
I was awake about 6 am after a fairly decent sleep. I got myself together while waiting for the sun to wake up.
Setting off, the first thing I noticed was a slightly sensitive derrière - not surprising really after being off the bike for so long.
I didn't get very far before stopping at a bakery for breakfast, then a filling station for water.
I'd decided to continue on the cuota, at least for the first 30km or so. Then the two versions of 15 merge for a little while before separating.
Setting off, Gizmo was already showing 23C and that climbed steadily all morning.
The road was busy, certainly, but I had the decent shoulder to myself.
Now that I'm back on the road I've noticed a massive drop off of motivational beeps and waves.
I ticked along steadily, stopping regularly for water and a breather. When the two 15s merged they formed a dual carriageway with a shoulder. Right on cue at 35km there was a line of roadside restaurants and two separate checkpoints. One was for tax, the other was pulling random cars over and searching them. I was waved through both so pulled up for another breakfast. Despite advertising all kinds of food, I could only have chorizo & eggs - fine by me!
When I sat down at the little table to eat I was surprised when I received so many tortillas. The mystery was quickly solved when the cook's daughter sat down beside me! Then the cook herself joined me! It appeared that since she had to cook for me she cooked for themselves too! Unfortunately, they were too engrossed in their phones to give me a chance to practise my Español.
When it was time to leave the temperature had risen above 40C again! When the sun slipped behind a cloud for a few minutes it was pure Bliss!
I'd pretty much decided to opt for the shoulderless Libre simply because there were little towns along the road. Sticking with the cuota meant no services for 60km. In this heat I'd prefer my services. Coming up to the turn off I had no reason to change my mind - the trucks took the toll road as did most of the other traffic.
Immediately the landscape changed, or to put it more accurately, the landscape didn't change, I was just closer to it.
This part of the world is very green, a lush, healthy green.
The surface might be a little tougher and the hills a little longer, but the cycling, or rather, the travelling is nicer. More hills, more bends, more interesting, generally. The traffic was very light as well.
But it was hot!
Bang on cue after another 20km I came to a little village, bought a Coke and an icecream and plonked myself down in the shade.
While sitting there, on the path, the lady next door came out to sweep her path. Next thing she's sitting down beside me for a chat! Woohoo! A chance to practise my Español!
I can't say I covered myself in glory but I certainly didn't disgrace myself! When I asked her to slow down she was very careful to start every sentence slowly. However, about half way through her natural tempo kicked in and I was hearing gibberish! Despite that, it was pleasant and interesting. She wanted to know why I had no kids - hard enough to answer in English!, why I didn't have a wife - ditto! I didn't feel interrogated, I'd just met someone who was naturally curious.
I really let myself down at the little shop, though! I'm having problems with the teens and the "ty's", especially from fifty upwards. Buying a Coke I proudly counted out my coins (in Spanish) up to fifty to be told I was wrong! They gave me back thirty five pesos - I was mortified!
The next little town is another 20km away, I'll be taking a break here for another while. It's too darn hot!
After writing that I took out my Kindle and started reading Paul Theroux's account of travelling to Patagonia by train. I've read snippets from it before in another of his books, so thought it might be an idea to check out the original. The hard pavement meant that I slowly slithered down until I was practically horizontal! Of course, that meant that I was almost drifting off to the land of nod! My friendly neighbour brought me back to this world when she was leaving so I climbed back aboard for the last stage to Acaponeta.
The temperature had dropped about 10C - it was now only 31 or 32 and the wind had picked up. The fact that it was a headwind didn't register - it was cooling!
The road was deathly quiet and interesting to ride along. Bends, hills, developed land, undeveloped land. And it all seemed quite close.
Not for the first time today I found myself pulling the brakes going down a hill. Not because I was going too fast or it was dangerous, simply because the wind was so nice I wanted to extend it as long as possible!
I crossed into a new state, Nayarit and not long later turned off 15 to go to Acaponeta.
There's a few hotels there but using IOverlander as a reference I found probably the cheapest. I've read a few complaints but for 250 pesos I can't complain. The lady at check in was most friendly and patient with me as I stumbled & tripped over my words. In my defence, I was very hot, more than a bit tired and probably a bit dehydrated. I dropped my bags in my room, walked across the town square to an Oxxo, got a beer & sat in the square to revive myself.
You know, Mexico has it's problems but I'm fairly sure that having a beer in public on a hot day has no bearing on them. That very same act in the US would get me arrested (unless I hid my beer in a paper bag!) - of course so long as I wasn't in a dry county!
When I say square, it's actually a little park with a fountain, lots of plants and seats. All around it are little food stalls and the atmosphere is simply wonderful.
Feeling a little lightheaded I went back to the hotel, stopping to check out the view from the balcony at the top. The hotel is right beside the church where a bride, dressed in red, was waiting to enter.
I had a shower and did some laundry, got some fresh clothes and set off to hunt down some dinner.
The poor bride was still outside! I wandered over and watched as the priest blessed herself and her bridesmaids and anyone, it seemed, who was in the area. Then, with incense lit, a little procession set off up the aisle, some people with a book (Bible?), a cross, the priest and his incense and finally the bride, accompanied by a guy on a guitar and an amazing female vocalist.
Inside the Church is spectacular! It has the most wonderful colour scheme of a vital blue and a yellow that just seems to shout life and energy. I don't recall coming across such a colour scheme in a church before.
The church was full and there were many onlookers outside as well.
At that point I wandered off for dinner heading for a stall that had the most wonderful aromas. I ordered four quesadillas, two with chorizo and two with beef. Ah. Words fail me! Made with such care right in front of me by two ladies, one of whom kept an eye on me warning which of the sauces were spicy! I'm obviously foreign so need to be protected! 😀 An interesting thing too, was that my two quesadillas with chorizo were served first. Only when I was finished were the other two served! Far swankier places in the US couldn't figure out that element of service!
After that it was a little walk around, then some ice cream. It's a wonderful privilege to drop into these little towns, be accepted and to get to see what everyday life is like.
The Bride & Groom finally came out to absolutely no fanfare! Most of the guests had left as the couple stayed inside the Church for photos. Outside, it was a case of hanging around for a few minutes and then walking off. My take on the whole thing is that the Church ceremony is the main thing. The Bride was certainly not a small lady, but the Groom, however, was the metaphorical stick insect!
I did sneak into the church at the end and it really is a wonderful building - bright and cheerful.
I was thinking today of what I could do to make sure I have an early start in the morning. Step one was having an early night, but since I arrived I have not stopped smiling and it seems like such a waste to rush out of here! Tomorrow might be a short day!
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
Min meters -8, Max Meters 88, Total Climb 416, Total Descent 354
Today's opening lines contains a phrase I never thought I'd be writing down - I'm waiting for a newly married couple to come of the local church. I've no idea who they are, yet feel strangely captivated by their monumentous ceremony! More later!
Looking in the mirror last night it was pretty evident that I got some sun yesterday! This morning one of the first things I did was to smear my face and neck in factor 50 sun cream! Believe it or not, that's the first sun cream I've applied on this trip. I find that once I'm moving and there's a bit of wind I tend not to burn despite my relatively pale complexion. Nothing pale about my face this morning, though! 😀
I was awake about 6 am after a fairly decent sleep. I got myself together while waiting for the sun to wake up.
Setting off, the first thing I noticed was a slightly sensitive derrière - not surprising really after being off the bike for so long.
I didn't get very far before stopping at a bakery for breakfast, then a filling station for water.
I'd decided to continue on the cuota, at least for the first 30km or so. Then the two versions of 15 merge for a little while before separating.
Setting off, Gizmo was already showing 23C and that climbed steadily all morning.
The road was busy, certainly, but I had the decent shoulder to myself.
Now that I'm back on the road I've noticed a massive drop off of motivational beeps and waves.
I ticked along steadily, stopping regularly for water and a breather. When the two 15s merged they formed a dual carriageway with a shoulder. Right on cue at 35km there was a line of roadside restaurants and two separate checkpoints. One was for tax, the other was pulling random cars over and searching them. I was waved through both so pulled up for another breakfast. Despite advertising all kinds of food, I could only have chorizo & eggs - fine by me!
When I sat down at the little table to eat I was surprised when I received so many tortillas. The mystery was quickly solved when the cook's daughter sat down beside me! Then the cook herself joined me! It appeared that since she had to cook for me she cooked for themselves too! Unfortunately, they were too engrossed in their phones to give me a chance to practise my Español.
When it was time to leave the temperature had risen above 40C again! When the sun slipped behind a cloud for a few minutes it was pure Bliss!
I'd pretty much decided to opt for the shoulderless Libre simply because there were little towns along the road. Sticking with the cuota meant no services for 60km. In this heat I'd prefer my services. Coming up to the turn off I had no reason to change my mind - the trucks took the toll road as did most of the other traffic.
Immediately the landscape changed, or to put it more accurately, the landscape didn't change, I was just closer to it.
This part of the world is very green, a lush, healthy green.
The surface might be a little tougher and the hills a little longer, but the cycling, or rather, the travelling is nicer. More hills, more bends, more interesting, generally. The traffic was very light as well.
But it was hot!
Bang on cue after another 20km I came to a little village, bought a Coke and an icecream and plonked myself down in the shade.
While sitting there, on the path, the lady next door came out to sweep her path. Next thing she's sitting down beside me for a chat! Woohoo! A chance to practise my Español!
I can't say I covered myself in glory but I certainly didn't disgrace myself! When I asked her to slow down she was very careful to start every sentence slowly. However, about half way through her natural tempo kicked in and I was hearing gibberish! Despite that, it was pleasant and interesting. She wanted to know why I had no kids - hard enough to answer in English!, why I didn't have a wife - ditto! I didn't feel interrogated, I'd just met someone who was naturally curious.
I really let myself down at the little shop, though! I'm having problems with the teens and the "ty's", especially from fifty upwards. Buying a Coke I proudly counted out my coins (in Spanish) up to fifty to be told I was wrong! They gave me back thirty five pesos - I was mortified!
The next little town is another 20km away, I'll be taking a break here for another while. It's too darn hot!
After writing that I took out my Kindle and started reading Paul Theroux's account of travelling to Patagonia by train. I've read snippets from it before in another of his books, so thought it might be an idea to check out the original. The hard pavement meant that I slowly slithered down until I was practically horizontal! Of course, that meant that I was almost drifting off to the land of nod! My friendly neighbour brought me back to this world when she was leaving so I climbed back aboard for the last stage to Acaponeta.
The temperature had dropped about 10C - it was now only 31 or 32 and the wind had picked up. The fact that it was a headwind didn't register - it was cooling!
The road was deathly quiet and interesting to ride along. Bends, hills, developed land, undeveloped land. And it all seemed quite close.
Not for the first time today I found myself pulling the brakes going down a hill. Not because I was going too fast or it was dangerous, simply because the wind was so nice I wanted to extend it as long as possible!
I crossed into a new state, Nayarit and not long later turned off 15 to go to Acaponeta.
There's a few hotels there but using IOverlander as a reference I found probably the cheapest. I've read a few complaints but for 250 pesos I can't complain. The lady at check in was most friendly and patient with me as I stumbled & tripped over my words. In my defence, I was very hot, more than a bit tired and probably a bit dehydrated. I dropped my bags in my room, walked across the town square to an Oxxo, got a beer & sat in the square to revive myself.
You know, Mexico has it's problems but I'm fairly sure that having a beer in public on a hot day has no bearing on them. That very same act in the US would get me arrested (unless I hid my beer in a paper bag!) - of course so long as I wasn't in a dry county!
When I say square, it's actually a little park with a fountain, lots of plants and seats. All around it are little food stalls and the atmosphere is simply wonderful.
Feeling a little lightheaded I went back to the hotel, stopping to check out the view from the balcony at the top. The hotel is right beside the church where a bride, dressed in red, was waiting to enter.
I had a shower and did some laundry, got some fresh clothes and set off to hunt down some dinner.
The poor bride was still outside! I wandered over and watched as the priest blessed herself and her bridesmaids and anyone, it seemed, who was in the area. Then, with incense lit, a little procession set off up the aisle, some people with a book (Bible?), a cross, the priest and his incense and finally the bride, accompanied by a guy on a guitar and an amazing female vocalist.
Inside the Church is spectacular! It has the most wonderful colour scheme of a vital blue and a yellow that just seems to shout life and energy. I don't recall coming across such a colour scheme in a church before.
The church was full and there were many onlookers outside as well.
At that point I wandered off for dinner heading for a stall that had the most wonderful aromas. I ordered four quesadillas, two with chorizo and two with beef. Ah. Words fail me! Made with such care right in front of me by two ladies, one of whom kept an eye on me warning which of the sauces were spicy! I'm obviously foreign so need to be protected! 😀 An interesting thing too, was that my two quesadillas with chorizo were served first. Only when I was finished were the other two served! Far swankier places in the US couldn't figure out that element of service!
After that it was a little walk around, then some ice cream. It's a wonderful privilege to drop into these little towns, be accepted and to get to see what everyday life is like.
The Bride & Groom finally came out to absolutely no fanfare! Most of the guests had left as the couple stayed inside the Church for photos. Outside, it was a case of hanging around for a few minutes and then walking off. My take on the whole thing is that the Church ceremony is the main thing. The Bride was certainly not a small lady, but the Groom, however, was the metaphorical stick insect!
I did sneak into the church at the end and it really is a wonderful building - bright and cheerful.
I was thinking today of what I could do to make sure I have an early start in the morning. Step one was having an early night, but since I arrived I have not stopped smiling and it seems like such a waste to rush out of here! Tomorrow might be a short day!
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
OP
OP
HobbesOnTour
Guru
- Location
- España
Day 159, Monday, February 17, 2020, Acaponeta to Las Peñitas 68km
Min meters 22, Max Meters 123, Total Climb 387, Total Descent 335
I slept well last night until I didn't. Having bought a couple of beers I sat on the upstairs terrace of the hotel, posted yesterday's update and enjoyed watching the little town wind down for the night. I turned in about 11pm, much later than I had planned, fell straight asleep and stayed that way until about 2:30. After waking up I found it very difficult to get back to sleep. Result? A not terribly well rested me.
The morning was pleasantly cool and I rolled out of town to rejoin 15 again. At the junction I stopped for breakfast at one of the many stands and enjoyed a coffee while watching all the hustle and bustle. This was where buses, pickups and all manner of vehicles were picking up people to bring them to their day's work.
Heading off I was pleased to note a strong headwind and the fact that a lot of cloud was blotting out the sun. I quickly had a choice of the Libre or Cuota and opted to stay on the Libre for the same reason as yesterday - services.
It being a Monday the traffic was heavier, but nothing uncomfortable. The landscape was lush and interesting if not spectacular. Mountains not too far off in the distance were shrouded in a heat haze despite the fact that today is definitely cooler.
I've two options today, one about 50km down the road, the other about 100km. When I get to my first option I'll see how I'm feeling.
This is an agricultural area with signs of life regularly along the road. There's people out working too, either on the road, clearing scrub or tending to trees. I'm pleased to report that there's been a jump in positive beeps today, but the really striking thing is the quality of the greetings from people along the way. There are throaty roars and cheers, cries of "animo" (which I'm assuming is a compliment!), waves that begin at the hip to get as much power into the arm swing and smiles that are as bright as the sun burning me at over 40C. They use their whole face to smile here, not just their mouths. Eyes light up and twinkle just as brightly as the mouths. There's a depth and genuineness (if that's even a word!) that I think is wonderful. It is certainly inspiring and motivational.
At about the 20km mark the sun came out and at about the 25km mark I came to a little place to stop and rest in the shade. Heading off again the sun was out and the temperature slowly climbed back up to 40. In contrast to yesterday, the wind was quite strong and I welcomed it, even if it was slowing me down.
Close to 1pm I came to Rosamorada, one of my options for the day. I had seen the twin spires of the church from the road and that probably would have drawn me in anyway. Up close it's a little neglected, but inside it is bright and airy.
Sitting here in the plaza opposite the church yet another lady sat down beside me for a chat! Not as demanding as yesterday, but I acquitted myself ok, I think.
Having read different accounts over the years of cyclists passing through this part of the world, many have camped in the town plaza or square. I've a better understanding of that now since most have a covered bandstand and normally a room underneath it too - perfect for protection from the elements. Something I must add to my to-do list.
When the clock struck three I roused myself and slowly got aboard Roccado. I was feeling a bit stiff!
I set off recrossing the train tracks at the edge of town - an adventure in itself - and turned down the road. I was heading for the small town of Las Peñitas another 20km down the road. The temperature had dropped to the mid thirties and the wind had picked up. There was thin cloud cover so the sun was still doing its thing!
The water in both my (bike) bottles had warmed up so much as to be almost undrinkable. I broke into my half liter reserve in my pannier a few times.
Traffic was heavier, but the majority were excellent at waiting to overtake. The rolling hills of earlier became a relatively flat road and I rolled happily along. Before I really knew it I was in
Las Peñitas, a small, rural town. The hotel was at the end of another road and I checked in with no problems. I sucked down a liter of ice cold water, then hopped back into the town to get some food. I've decided to cook tonight - more as a means of lightening my load than any comment on the eateries here. First stop was some agua de coco - coconut juice! Delicious! I couldn't see an open fruit shop - I'd been hoping for an avocado, so went into the Oxxo for water, chorizo & eggs.
I couldn't find any eggs and may have said the wrong thing when asking for them! I rolled back to the hotel, took out the trangia and cooked off the chorizo, then mixed it into frijoles (refried beans). Wrapped up as a taco - delicious!
It's happened once before that when removing the lid of the Trangia burner the rubber seal stays on the burner. After the first time I'm always careful, but not careful enough today! Another rubber ring gone!
The hotel has a lovely courtyard where I sat and cooked and am sitting now writing this.
I'm about 70km from Tepic but I'm not sure about the climbing. Google maps will tell me I climb 300m and descend 1200m which means Tepic is 8-900m below sea level.
Cycle.travel has it perfectly flat to just outside Tepic, then a 1500m jump with the max climb of 128%! Bummer - with my gearing the max I can manage is 125% 😀 In fairness to cycle.travel it's not designed for use in Mexico although I can still get it to work.
At some point tomorrow I'll have the chance to rejoin the cuota which will make sense if there's a lot of climbing - the shoulder will be invaluable.
In any case, I'm prepping for an early start.
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
Min meters 22, Max Meters 123, Total Climb 387, Total Descent 335
I slept well last night until I didn't. Having bought a couple of beers I sat on the upstairs terrace of the hotel, posted yesterday's update and enjoyed watching the little town wind down for the night. I turned in about 11pm, much later than I had planned, fell straight asleep and stayed that way until about 2:30. After waking up I found it very difficult to get back to sleep. Result? A not terribly well rested me.
The morning was pleasantly cool and I rolled out of town to rejoin 15 again. At the junction I stopped for breakfast at one of the many stands and enjoyed a coffee while watching all the hustle and bustle. This was where buses, pickups and all manner of vehicles were picking up people to bring them to their day's work.
Heading off I was pleased to note a strong headwind and the fact that a lot of cloud was blotting out the sun. I quickly had a choice of the Libre or Cuota and opted to stay on the Libre for the same reason as yesterday - services.
It being a Monday the traffic was heavier, but nothing uncomfortable. The landscape was lush and interesting if not spectacular. Mountains not too far off in the distance were shrouded in a heat haze despite the fact that today is definitely cooler.
I've two options today, one about 50km down the road, the other about 100km. When I get to my first option I'll see how I'm feeling.
This is an agricultural area with signs of life regularly along the road. There's people out working too, either on the road, clearing scrub or tending to trees. I'm pleased to report that there's been a jump in positive beeps today, but the really striking thing is the quality of the greetings from people along the way. There are throaty roars and cheers, cries of "animo" (which I'm assuming is a compliment!), waves that begin at the hip to get as much power into the arm swing and smiles that are as bright as the sun burning me at over 40C. They use their whole face to smile here, not just their mouths. Eyes light up and twinkle just as brightly as the mouths. There's a depth and genuineness (if that's even a word!) that I think is wonderful. It is certainly inspiring and motivational.
At about the 20km mark the sun came out and at about the 25km mark I came to a little place to stop and rest in the shade. Heading off again the sun was out and the temperature slowly climbed back up to 40. In contrast to yesterday, the wind was quite strong and I welcomed it, even if it was slowing me down.
Close to 1pm I came to Rosamorada, one of my options for the day. I had seen the twin spires of the church from the road and that probably would have drawn me in anyway. Up close it's a little neglected, but inside it is bright and airy.
Sitting here in the plaza opposite the church yet another lady sat down beside me for a chat! Not as demanding as yesterday, but I acquitted myself ok, I think.
Having read different accounts over the years of cyclists passing through this part of the world, many have camped in the town plaza or square. I've a better understanding of that now since most have a covered bandstand and normally a room underneath it too - perfect for protection from the elements. Something I must add to my to-do list.
When the clock struck three I roused myself and slowly got aboard Roccado. I was feeling a bit stiff!
I set off recrossing the train tracks at the edge of town - an adventure in itself - and turned down the road. I was heading for the small town of Las Peñitas another 20km down the road. The temperature had dropped to the mid thirties and the wind had picked up. There was thin cloud cover so the sun was still doing its thing!
The water in both my (bike) bottles had warmed up so much as to be almost undrinkable. I broke into my half liter reserve in my pannier a few times.
Traffic was heavier, but the majority were excellent at waiting to overtake. The rolling hills of earlier became a relatively flat road and I rolled happily along. Before I really knew it I was in
Las Peñitas, a small, rural town. The hotel was at the end of another road and I checked in with no problems. I sucked down a liter of ice cold water, then hopped back into the town to get some food. I've decided to cook tonight - more as a means of lightening my load than any comment on the eateries here. First stop was some agua de coco - coconut juice! Delicious! I couldn't see an open fruit shop - I'd been hoping for an avocado, so went into the Oxxo for water, chorizo & eggs.
I couldn't find any eggs and may have said the wrong thing when asking for them! I rolled back to the hotel, took out the trangia and cooked off the chorizo, then mixed it into frijoles (refried beans). Wrapped up as a taco - delicious!
It's happened once before that when removing the lid of the Trangia burner the rubber seal stays on the burner. After the first time I'm always careful, but not careful enough today! Another rubber ring gone!
The hotel has a lovely courtyard where I sat and cooked and am sitting now writing this.
I'm about 70km from Tepic but I'm not sure about the climbing. Google maps will tell me I climb 300m and descend 1200m which means Tepic is 8-900m below sea level.
Cycle.travel has it perfectly flat to just outside Tepic, then a 1500m jump with the max climb of 128%! Bummer - with my gearing the max I can manage is 125% 😀 In fairness to cycle.travel it's not designed for use in Mexico although I can still get it to work.
At some point tomorrow I'll have the chance to rejoin the cuota which will make sense if there's a lot of climbing - the shoulder will be invaluable.
In any case, I'm prepping for an early start.
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
OP
OP
HobbesOnTour
Guru
- Location
- España
Day 160, Tuesday, February 18, 2020, Las Peñitas to Tepic 69km
Min meters 17, Max Meters 1035, Total Climb 1486, Total Descent 631
It was bound to happen sometime - a thoroughly awful day. There were several times during the day that I was sure that it was the worst day on a bike….ever! And that includes the day I fell off in Spain. As is usual in these cases, it wasn't one thing that was the problem, it was multiple things.
I had another of those "sleep a bit, then wake up" nights and when the sun was starting to light up the sky I was brewing coffee and making porridge. My neighbours who had arrived after I turned in the night before were unfazed to see someone with a kitchen set up on the terrace outside. The man did chat with me, at first confusing a child's bike for my mode of transport!
Unfortunately for me, the one morning I'm up, fed & watered when it's bright enough to cycle was also the morning of dense fog. I took my time getting ready and slowly headed off.
Visibility was enough for me to be seen on the road, but not good enough to see the mountains all around. At that time of the morning the road was busy, but I had no reason to be particularly anxious.
The plan was simple - about 70km to Tepic. The first 35km on the Libre, then join the Cuota and climb into Tepic. The morning was cool, I was on the road as early as was safe - Everything was looking good!
The only problem with the fog and the dense cloud cover was that it was very humid. After about 12km I pulled into a filling station for a cold drink feeling a little spent. The traffic was heavy and the road was either rising or falling.
However, I may just have discovered the greatest little Pemex! They had a solitary speaker set up outside that was playing the most wonderful ballads! Most were distinctly sad, and one in particular was mesmerising. I've no idea what the lyrics are, but he definitely missed her, his life is empty without her. His accordian is weeping for her. It's a wonderful, haunting human sound. The perfect combination of voice, theme and instrument. Given the day I had ahead of me I really shouldn't have hung around, but the music was just so calming and good I couldn't resist staying around for a few more songs!
Feeling a bit better I set off again. Ever since I started again in Mazatlán my legs have been much stiffer than normal. I was finding the going quite tough. Then, a little later I could feel the humidity lifting as the sun burned off the cloud cover and then the fog. Where a few minutes before a murky grey draped the landscape, now that self same landscape was a brilliant, luscious green, illuminated by an energetic sun in a brilliant blue sky.
I started to power up without the humidity, enjoying the freshness in the air. Unfortunately, that didn't last too long as the temperature rose steadily until one torment replaced another.
At the 30km mark, the cuota merged with the libre and at the 35km mark a line of small businesses appeared along the road. There really was no thinking to be done - I had to stop. I was hot, tired, thirsty and lacking confidence in being able to make it to Tepic.
In front of one roadside stand I spied a sign advertising fresh coconuts. That was that settled, then!
I pulled up in front of the fruit stand, but actually it was the guy behind who had the coconuts. Gasping I explained my desire for "agua de Coco" and I was presented with a cold plastic bag of the delicious juice. Ripping the bag open like a local I started to suck the life restoring agua Vida down - only to make a hames of it and have juice flowing down my chin! My new amigo smiled and offered me a straw! I sat down on a low wall and finished the second half of my bag with a little more decorum. I even managed to have a little chat too! Once finished, I focused on the fruit stand and saw big, plastic cups of all kinds of exotic fruit. I'm not a fruit fan, but these looked irresistible! I approached the lady for one and without really thinking agreed to salt and lime juice…..but what was I thinking about chili??
I'm glad I was a bit ditzy because it was a fascinating experience! My first taste had my poor body convulsing with the shock of the bitter lime juice, the salt and the hot chili. It gave a laugh to my coconut amigo, the fruit lady and her colleague who was running a food stand. After that my palate adjusted and I slowly savoured mango, pineapple, orange, coconut papaya and possibly something else all soaked in lime, salt and chili.
While sitting, resting and eating I had a chance to watch Mexican microeconomics in action. Two deliveries were made by adapted motorbike - one of fresh tortillas and another of cheese - for the food stand beside me. Both times payment was in cash, no receipt nor invoice. A pickup pulled up for the fruit lady but she declined what was offered. Mobile phones were very important and quantities were small. When you're operating a stall on the side of the road, most likely with no power, storage is very limited.
Labour is obviously cheap otherwise such operations cannot survive nor offer a living. I'll see that with work crews on the road, too. A couple of days ago I passed eight guys working on clearing the side of the road, hacking at tall grass and sweeping debris off the side of the road. Their tools were a pickup, machetes and brooms. In Europe it would be one, possibly two big machines and as many men.
The coconut guy had two little kids with him, the eldest I reckon was just below school age, the younger wasn't more than three. The three year old had to be watched like a hawk - this was beside a busy road, but the older was roaming as he pleased - again, very different from my own experience.
Even though I knew I was hungry I couldn't face the thought of food so I prepared to get ready to leave. Some newcomers were all questions about my trip. I always try to mention what a positive experience I am having in Mexico, especially in contrast to what people said on the way to Mexico. Without fail, people are very appreciative, often puff out a bit with pride and thus far have never had a bad word to say about Americans and their opinions.
I set off again, but once out of the shade the full force of the sun hit me. Within one km I was wilting again. In another km the road was splitting again and I knew I couldn't go on the cuota like this so I pulled into a restaurant for a rest in the shade and to have some food.
At about 3pm I started to get organised for the last push to Tepic, stocking up on cold water at a filling station. No more services until Tepic.
I had less than 30km to go, normally something I'd be totally confident about, but not today.
Along with the heat I was developing what I presume is a saddle sore - or at least a very sensitive spot on my ass. I don't think I've ever had a saddle sore and this was just adding to my general sense of malaise.
The route would climb, then drop, only to climb again. I knew Tepic was at about 900 meters and I'd started at about 20 or 30. I'd climb towards 400 then at about 390 drop down only to start up again. At least there was shade and with the shoulder I could stop at will.
So it went, slowly gaining altitude, stopping regularly for a rest and water, the km markers slowly getting lower and lower.
With about 11 km to go I knew I was in trouble. I was ascending a long curve slowly that thankfully was in the shade when I realised I was feeling very, very hot, but in a different way from before. It was like I was being cooked from the inside. Looking up ahead I could see the road turn in the opposite direction - into the sun - and the shoulder disappeared. I pulled in, locked the brakes and just straddled the bike. Both my legs were trembling violently, I was feeling lightheaded and the thought of water made me nauseous. I parked the bike and sat down in the ditch. I just couldn't summon the energy to do anything else.
I reckon I was there for over an hour, just trying to cool down, watching the trucks labouring up the hill that was stumping me. I tried drinking, but anything more than a sip was impossible. Strangely, my mouth would dry out almost immediately after drinking. I took to pouring some water over me to cool me down.
By now I knew that I'd be getting into Tepic after dark - not something I was relishing. Even if I saw a spot to throw up the tent I didn't have enough water. Even though I didn't want water, I knew I'd need more than what I had during the night.
Setting off again I was glad to see that I only lost the shoulder for a couple of hundred meters. At one stage I felt a cool wind and noticed some radio antennae beside me. I was at the top of the climb!!! It was all downhill now!
Except it wasn't. I arrived at the toll booths - these manned by locals too, a little tent village set up. I was waved on through and started another climb. Shortly after the two 15s merged and became more interesting. I was still stopping regularly and now had my lights on.
On the edge of the city I saw a Pemex and pulled in. I bought a Danish and some Gatorade and sat down at a little table. I felt a whole lot better after them and a guy came over to talk. Thankfully, he wanted to use his English, because my brain was gone. As nice as he was I couldn't really concentrate. He was offering recommendations for restaurants and hotels that I just could not process.
I knew where I wanted to go, a new hostel that seemed straightforward to get to. By now it was pitch dark, no streetlights, my shoulder disappeared so I walked my bike over rubble along the road for about a km until a shoulder re-emerged. Hopping on, I set off on the last leg. Thankfully, Tepic was an exception to most Mexican cities in that the surface was reasonably good. In my confused state I missed a turn and had to cross a busy 4 lane dual carriageway. That took about twenty minutes!
Finally, at last, I rolled up to my destination, a surprisingly fancy and trendy place. Soaking wet, bedraggled and panting I was an alien amongst the trendy set in the open air restaurant. I took a private room, staggered into the shower and downstairs for dinner.
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
Min meters 17, Max Meters 1035, Total Climb 1486, Total Descent 631
It was bound to happen sometime - a thoroughly awful day. There were several times during the day that I was sure that it was the worst day on a bike….ever! And that includes the day I fell off in Spain. As is usual in these cases, it wasn't one thing that was the problem, it was multiple things.
I had another of those "sleep a bit, then wake up" nights and when the sun was starting to light up the sky I was brewing coffee and making porridge. My neighbours who had arrived after I turned in the night before were unfazed to see someone with a kitchen set up on the terrace outside. The man did chat with me, at first confusing a child's bike for my mode of transport!
Unfortunately for me, the one morning I'm up, fed & watered when it's bright enough to cycle was also the morning of dense fog. I took my time getting ready and slowly headed off.
Visibility was enough for me to be seen on the road, but not good enough to see the mountains all around. At that time of the morning the road was busy, but I had no reason to be particularly anxious.
The plan was simple - about 70km to Tepic. The first 35km on the Libre, then join the Cuota and climb into Tepic. The morning was cool, I was on the road as early as was safe - Everything was looking good!
The only problem with the fog and the dense cloud cover was that it was very humid. After about 12km I pulled into a filling station for a cold drink feeling a little spent. The traffic was heavy and the road was either rising or falling.
However, I may just have discovered the greatest little Pemex! They had a solitary speaker set up outside that was playing the most wonderful ballads! Most were distinctly sad, and one in particular was mesmerising. I've no idea what the lyrics are, but he definitely missed her, his life is empty without her. His accordian is weeping for her. It's a wonderful, haunting human sound. The perfect combination of voice, theme and instrument. Given the day I had ahead of me I really shouldn't have hung around, but the music was just so calming and good I couldn't resist staying around for a few more songs!
Feeling a bit better I set off again. Ever since I started again in Mazatlán my legs have been much stiffer than normal. I was finding the going quite tough. Then, a little later I could feel the humidity lifting as the sun burned off the cloud cover and then the fog. Where a few minutes before a murky grey draped the landscape, now that self same landscape was a brilliant, luscious green, illuminated by an energetic sun in a brilliant blue sky.
I started to power up without the humidity, enjoying the freshness in the air. Unfortunately, that didn't last too long as the temperature rose steadily until one torment replaced another.
At the 30km mark, the cuota merged with the libre and at the 35km mark a line of small businesses appeared along the road. There really was no thinking to be done - I had to stop. I was hot, tired, thirsty and lacking confidence in being able to make it to Tepic.
In front of one roadside stand I spied a sign advertising fresh coconuts. That was that settled, then!
I pulled up in front of the fruit stand, but actually it was the guy behind who had the coconuts. Gasping I explained my desire for "agua de Coco" and I was presented with a cold plastic bag of the delicious juice. Ripping the bag open like a local I started to suck the life restoring agua Vida down - only to make a hames of it and have juice flowing down my chin! My new amigo smiled and offered me a straw! I sat down on a low wall and finished the second half of my bag with a little more decorum. I even managed to have a little chat too! Once finished, I focused on the fruit stand and saw big, plastic cups of all kinds of exotic fruit. I'm not a fruit fan, but these looked irresistible! I approached the lady for one and without really thinking agreed to salt and lime juice…..but what was I thinking about chili??
I'm glad I was a bit ditzy because it was a fascinating experience! My first taste had my poor body convulsing with the shock of the bitter lime juice, the salt and the hot chili. It gave a laugh to my coconut amigo, the fruit lady and her colleague who was running a food stand. After that my palate adjusted and I slowly savoured mango, pineapple, orange, coconut papaya and possibly something else all soaked in lime, salt and chili.
While sitting, resting and eating I had a chance to watch Mexican microeconomics in action. Two deliveries were made by adapted motorbike - one of fresh tortillas and another of cheese - for the food stand beside me. Both times payment was in cash, no receipt nor invoice. A pickup pulled up for the fruit lady but she declined what was offered. Mobile phones were very important and quantities were small. When you're operating a stall on the side of the road, most likely with no power, storage is very limited.
Labour is obviously cheap otherwise such operations cannot survive nor offer a living. I'll see that with work crews on the road, too. A couple of days ago I passed eight guys working on clearing the side of the road, hacking at tall grass and sweeping debris off the side of the road. Their tools were a pickup, machetes and brooms. In Europe it would be one, possibly two big machines and as many men.
The coconut guy had two little kids with him, the eldest I reckon was just below school age, the younger wasn't more than three. The three year old had to be watched like a hawk - this was beside a busy road, but the older was roaming as he pleased - again, very different from my own experience.
Even though I knew I was hungry I couldn't face the thought of food so I prepared to get ready to leave. Some newcomers were all questions about my trip. I always try to mention what a positive experience I am having in Mexico, especially in contrast to what people said on the way to Mexico. Without fail, people are very appreciative, often puff out a bit with pride and thus far have never had a bad word to say about Americans and their opinions.
I set off again, but once out of the shade the full force of the sun hit me. Within one km I was wilting again. In another km the road was splitting again and I knew I couldn't go on the cuota like this so I pulled into a restaurant for a rest in the shade and to have some food.
At about 3pm I started to get organised for the last push to Tepic, stocking up on cold water at a filling station. No more services until Tepic.
I had less than 30km to go, normally something I'd be totally confident about, but not today.
Along with the heat I was developing what I presume is a saddle sore - or at least a very sensitive spot on my ass. I don't think I've ever had a saddle sore and this was just adding to my general sense of malaise.
The route would climb, then drop, only to climb again. I knew Tepic was at about 900 meters and I'd started at about 20 or 30. I'd climb towards 400 then at about 390 drop down only to start up again. At least there was shade and with the shoulder I could stop at will.
So it went, slowly gaining altitude, stopping regularly for a rest and water, the km markers slowly getting lower and lower.
With about 11 km to go I knew I was in trouble. I was ascending a long curve slowly that thankfully was in the shade when I realised I was feeling very, very hot, but in a different way from before. It was like I was being cooked from the inside. Looking up ahead I could see the road turn in the opposite direction - into the sun - and the shoulder disappeared. I pulled in, locked the brakes and just straddled the bike. Both my legs were trembling violently, I was feeling lightheaded and the thought of water made me nauseous. I parked the bike and sat down in the ditch. I just couldn't summon the energy to do anything else.
I reckon I was there for over an hour, just trying to cool down, watching the trucks labouring up the hill that was stumping me. I tried drinking, but anything more than a sip was impossible. Strangely, my mouth would dry out almost immediately after drinking. I took to pouring some water over me to cool me down.
By now I knew that I'd be getting into Tepic after dark - not something I was relishing. Even if I saw a spot to throw up the tent I didn't have enough water. Even though I didn't want water, I knew I'd need more than what I had during the night.
Setting off again I was glad to see that I only lost the shoulder for a couple of hundred meters. At one stage I felt a cool wind and noticed some radio antennae beside me. I was at the top of the climb!!! It was all downhill now!
Except it wasn't. I arrived at the toll booths - these manned by locals too, a little tent village set up. I was waved on through and started another climb. Shortly after the two 15s merged and became more interesting. I was still stopping regularly and now had my lights on.
On the edge of the city I saw a Pemex and pulled in. I bought a Danish and some Gatorade and sat down at a little table. I felt a whole lot better after them and a guy came over to talk. Thankfully, he wanted to use his English, because my brain was gone. As nice as he was I couldn't really concentrate. He was offering recommendations for restaurants and hotels that I just could not process.
I knew where I wanted to go, a new hostel that seemed straightforward to get to. By now it was pitch dark, no streetlights, my shoulder disappeared so I walked my bike over rubble along the road for about a km until a shoulder re-emerged. Hopping on, I set off on the last leg. Thankfully, Tepic was an exception to most Mexican cities in that the surface was reasonably good. In my confused state I missed a turn and had to cross a busy 4 lane dual carriageway. That took about twenty minutes!
Finally, at last, I rolled up to my destination, a surprisingly fancy and trendy place. Soaking wet, bedraggled and panting I was an alien amongst the trendy set in the open air restaurant. I took a private room, staggered into the shower and downstairs for dinner.
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
OP
OP
HobbesOnTour
Guru
- Location
- España
Day 161-2, Wednesday-Thursday, February 19-20, 2020, Rest & Recovery in Tepic. 0km
The hotel/hostel is certainly a little odd. It's definitely new, modern in what would be described as Boutique style. The restaurant is busy, the menu a blend of Mexican and European influences. The only beer is a boutique coffee stout - hardly ideal in these temperatures. The clientele is definitely of the young and trendy set - I fit right in!
Upstairs is split between two dorms and two private rooms. Bright, clean, orthopedic mattresses it's certainly a significant step up on some of the other places, yet the lack of a fan in the rooms is remarkable because this is the first room without one! And it is noisy!
Everyone is very friendly and very keen to speak in English, so much so that I'm having to request Spanish only!
It was nice to wake up after 8 am and not immediately feel the need to jump up and get going. I'd pretty much made up my mind the night before that I was going to take a rest day, but I went through the motions anyway;
Sore legs? Check!
Sore ass? Check!
Rest day? Check!
So, I rolled out of bed and wandered down for breakfast. I had some lovely coffee, eggs, chorizo & refried beans then sat back and savoured a relaxing morning. I'd brought my Kindle, stopping reading when Theroux crossed the border into Guatemala - lots of time for that later - and dug into one of the Mexican history books I have.
My understanding of Mexican history is, to put it very gently, lacking. I'm aware of the Mayan, Inca & Aztec civilisations of this part of the world, have the most basic understanding of the Spanish conquests, and know very little about contemporary Mexico. I had tried to read about it previously, but I found it hard to concentrate when the location was very abstract. It's not so abstract now!
I had an endless supply of coffee while I read for another hour or so, then eventually roused myself to have a shower and take a wander downtown. Strangely, I was close the centre of a large city yet had seen none of it!
I had a choice of routes into the centre so took a meandering exploration. I stopped off at a former convent (although I think abbey or Monastery might be more accurate). It is now the state Tourism co-ordination office and I was greeted by a stunning lady who was more interested in hearing my adventures than telling me the history of the place - of course, I was happy to indulge her! I wandered into the attached church, where the founding monk is buried. While looking at the simple altar a wizened, shrunken lady came up to me pointing out where the abbot was buried. I thanked her but she followed me then made a point of tapping the collection box located on the railing. Perhaps the Government warnings should include little old ladies in churches!
I walked along and through a wonderful park that has an open air cinema! They really like their Plazas and Parks in this part of the world. They are uniformly respected and maintained and receive a lot of use.
Hitting the old centre there was another couple of Plazas, one opposite the Governor's offices, one opposite the Cathedral. All around were little side streets full of little stores and stalls.
Some of the stores are absolutely tiny, perhaps two or three meters wide and extending back maybe five meters. There is a large number of indigenous crafts for sale, jewellery, leatherwork and the likes. Lots of bright, vibrant colours.
There must be at least 50 shoe shine chairs in operation in the plaza opposite the Cathedral - another example, I suppose, of microeconomics in action. Every large town has these. As I walk past them the eyes of the shoe shiner drop to my feet to see if I'm a potential customer.
Closer to the river there is an open air market of sorts, often just a covering on the ground with clothes, shoes, tools or old appliances offered up for sale.
On one street there were a lot of clothing stores and something seemed a bit strange about them that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Eventually, the penny dropped! The half mannequins used for jeans were backwards - the ass being visible, not the front! I've also learned that "Colombian" style jeans do for the ass what Wonderbras do for parts further north; Every day is a learning day!
I also visited the regional history museum which thankfully had a decent amount of English information.
It showed the history of the region through a variety of stages and had some very interesting examples of pottery, jewellery and even recreations of burial chambers.
I can understand that a lot can be deduced when a burial chamber is discovered in terms of culture, religious beliefs and technological development based on what is included in the chamber, but skeletons can be analysed in ways that point to diet, health and illnesses of the time.
In other areas of the museum were the remains of a giant mammoth, an exhibition on the restoration of statues found in very poor repair (it looked particularly interesting, but lacked English translations) and an exhibition on Peote, a type of cactus famed for its hallucigenic properties. It is a part of this region's culture going back thousands of years. All in all, a worthwhile visit.
I grabbed a coffee and people watched for a while. Town was very busy, nobody seemed too affected by the heat, unlike myself.
I bought a sun hat because I'm definitely going to need one whenever I'm not on the bike. If I didn't stand out as a foreigner before now, I sure as Hell do now!
I slowly took a different route back to the hotel, wandering up and down little streets at will. I didn't quite feel comfortable in the restaurant the night before, do decided to grab a pizza and a beer to eat back in my room. Unfortunately, there was a two for one offer - order 1, get 2. It was not possible to explain I only wanted one. My offer that the staff could have my second one was treated with the enthusiasm one would expect from people who work in a pizzaria! In the end I got two small ones.
Back in my room I started to look at my map but couldn't focus so lay down and enjoyed some Netflix. Atypical is surprisingly good and has some real Laugh Out Loud moments! I recall reading blogs and being surprised when people on long tours would do that. Honestly, now I can understand it fully. There are limits to just how much strangeness I can take on board. Right now, I'm drained and exhausted; exploration needs to take a back seat for a little while.
Update:
The next morning I didn't need to work hard to convince myself to take another day off. It was almost 9 when I woke up, my legs were still sore, and the sun was already shining brightly. Cue a second morning of leisurely coffee and reading, followed by another walk.
I'd bought a pair of croc imitations in Mazatlán but the straps have broken off on both. With these temperatures the combination of sweaty feet and slippy crocs means that I regularly lose one or the other when getting on or off the bike. Today, I picked up a pair of sandals to replace them.
I have to say that I'm already doubting the rough route I had mapped out for myself in Mazatlán. I'm finding the heat to be very sapping. I've cycled in 40C before in Northern Spain and managed fine, but that was mainly along the coast where humidity wasn't a factor and a refreshing wind was blowing. There is no coastal road from Mazatlán south along the coast. Yesterday was the first opportunity to take a road west to the coast that would let me continue by the coast. Of course, that's a more direct route to Guatemala, missing out everything else in Mexico.
I'm hoping a substantial part of my bad reaction is due to my month off in Mazatlán and that I'll find my biking legs again soon. If not, I'll have to consider heading directly south. That will have the advantage of cutting short my exposure to the rainy season further down the road.
If it sounds like I'm complaining - I'm not. I'm just trying to record what it's like. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried at times on the road to Tepic, but at the same time, it's all part of the adventure. There's only so much that can be prepared for, the rest has to be dealt with as it happens. It's the whole "solo or not" debate in microcosm - Being solo I can stop for a couple of days without any problem, however, it also means I've no support along with me.
I do have to say, too, that I feel quite secure and safe here in Mexico. I'm confident that if I needed to, I could have stuck out my thumb and someone would have stopped to give me a lift. I'm just absolutely rubbish at asking for help! Something else for my to-do list!
I'm finding it very interesting how quickly being in Mexico becomes "normal", emphasised when every now and then the fact hits me - I'm in Mexico!
Today, while wandering in the park Adolfus approached me with his two kids. I obviously stand out as a foreigner and having lived in North Carolina he wanted to try out his English. His face lit up with such delight when I told him what I was doing and we figured out that I'd cycled where he used to live! These moments of connection are really wonderful. People are so genuine and the idea of a long bike trip is so far from the normal yet so romantic it's impossible not to be encouraged and remotivated by them. It's also a very good reminder of just how lucky I am to be able to do this.
Later, back at the hotel and looking at routing options for tomorrow I began to feel the apprehension growing. Inspiration struck, I fired up YouTube and watched the tango scene from Scent of a Woman. It's not on my to-do list because it's more of a dream, but I want to learn to Tango in Argentina! One magical night in Vienna at the end of my first ever bike tour I watched people getting dance lessons on a temporary floor in a city park. Oh how I wanted to join in! Next time I will!
I'm ready for tomorrow now!
The hotel/hostel is certainly a little odd. It's definitely new, modern in what would be described as Boutique style. The restaurant is busy, the menu a blend of Mexican and European influences. The only beer is a boutique coffee stout - hardly ideal in these temperatures. The clientele is definitely of the young and trendy set - I fit right in!
Upstairs is split between two dorms and two private rooms. Bright, clean, orthopedic mattresses it's certainly a significant step up on some of the other places, yet the lack of a fan in the rooms is remarkable because this is the first room without one! And it is noisy!
Everyone is very friendly and very keen to speak in English, so much so that I'm having to request Spanish only!
It was nice to wake up after 8 am and not immediately feel the need to jump up and get going. I'd pretty much made up my mind the night before that I was going to take a rest day, but I went through the motions anyway;
Sore legs? Check!
Sore ass? Check!
Rest day? Check!
So, I rolled out of bed and wandered down for breakfast. I had some lovely coffee, eggs, chorizo & refried beans then sat back and savoured a relaxing morning. I'd brought my Kindle, stopping reading when Theroux crossed the border into Guatemala - lots of time for that later - and dug into one of the Mexican history books I have.
My understanding of Mexican history is, to put it very gently, lacking. I'm aware of the Mayan, Inca & Aztec civilisations of this part of the world, have the most basic understanding of the Spanish conquests, and know very little about contemporary Mexico. I had tried to read about it previously, but I found it hard to concentrate when the location was very abstract. It's not so abstract now!
I had an endless supply of coffee while I read for another hour or so, then eventually roused myself to have a shower and take a wander downtown. Strangely, I was close the centre of a large city yet had seen none of it!
I had a choice of routes into the centre so took a meandering exploration. I stopped off at a former convent (although I think abbey or Monastery might be more accurate). It is now the state Tourism co-ordination office and I was greeted by a stunning lady who was more interested in hearing my adventures than telling me the history of the place - of course, I was happy to indulge her! I wandered into the attached church, where the founding monk is buried. While looking at the simple altar a wizened, shrunken lady came up to me pointing out where the abbot was buried. I thanked her but she followed me then made a point of tapping the collection box located on the railing. Perhaps the Government warnings should include little old ladies in churches!
I walked along and through a wonderful park that has an open air cinema! They really like their Plazas and Parks in this part of the world. They are uniformly respected and maintained and receive a lot of use.
Hitting the old centre there was another couple of Plazas, one opposite the Governor's offices, one opposite the Cathedral. All around were little side streets full of little stores and stalls.
Some of the stores are absolutely tiny, perhaps two or three meters wide and extending back maybe five meters. There is a large number of indigenous crafts for sale, jewellery, leatherwork and the likes. Lots of bright, vibrant colours.
There must be at least 50 shoe shine chairs in operation in the plaza opposite the Cathedral - another example, I suppose, of microeconomics in action. Every large town has these. As I walk past them the eyes of the shoe shiner drop to my feet to see if I'm a potential customer.
Closer to the river there is an open air market of sorts, often just a covering on the ground with clothes, shoes, tools or old appliances offered up for sale.
On one street there were a lot of clothing stores and something seemed a bit strange about them that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Eventually, the penny dropped! The half mannequins used for jeans were backwards - the ass being visible, not the front! I've also learned that "Colombian" style jeans do for the ass what Wonderbras do for parts further north; Every day is a learning day!
I also visited the regional history museum which thankfully had a decent amount of English information.
It showed the history of the region through a variety of stages and had some very interesting examples of pottery, jewellery and even recreations of burial chambers.
I can understand that a lot can be deduced when a burial chamber is discovered in terms of culture, religious beliefs and technological development based on what is included in the chamber, but skeletons can be analysed in ways that point to diet, health and illnesses of the time.
In other areas of the museum were the remains of a giant mammoth, an exhibition on the restoration of statues found in very poor repair (it looked particularly interesting, but lacked English translations) and an exhibition on Peote, a type of cactus famed for its hallucigenic properties. It is a part of this region's culture going back thousands of years. All in all, a worthwhile visit.
I grabbed a coffee and people watched for a while. Town was very busy, nobody seemed too affected by the heat, unlike myself.
I bought a sun hat because I'm definitely going to need one whenever I'm not on the bike. If I didn't stand out as a foreigner before now, I sure as Hell do now!
I slowly took a different route back to the hotel, wandering up and down little streets at will. I didn't quite feel comfortable in the restaurant the night before, do decided to grab a pizza and a beer to eat back in my room. Unfortunately, there was a two for one offer - order 1, get 2. It was not possible to explain I only wanted one. My offer that the staff could have my second one was treated with the enthusiasm one would expect from people who work in a pizzaria! In the end I got two small ones.
Back in my room I started to look at my map but couldn't focus so lay down and enjoyed some Netflix. Atypical is surprisingly good and has some real Laugh Out Loud moments! I recall reading blogs and being surprised when people on long tours would do that. Honestly, now I can understand it fully. There are limits to just how much strangeness I can take on board. Right now, I'm drained and exhausted; exploration needs to take a back seat for a little while.
Update:
The next morning I didn't need to work hard to convince myself to take another day off. It was almost 9 when I woke up, my legs were still sore, and the sun was already shining brightly. Cue a second morning of leisurely coffee and reading, followed by another walk.
I'd bought a pair of croc imitations in Mazatlán but the straps have broken off on both. With these temperatures the combination of sweaty feet and slippy crocs means that I regularly lose one or the other when getting on or off the bike. Today, I picked up a pair of sandals to replace them.
I have to say that I'm already doubting the rough route I had mapped out for myself in Mazatlán. I'm finding the heat to be very sapping. I've cycled in 40C before in Northern Spain and managed fine, but that was mainly along the coast where humidity wasn't a factor and a refreshing wind was blowing. There is no coastal road from Mazatlán south along the coast. Yesterday was the first opportunity to take a road west to the coast that would let me continue by the coast. Of course, that's a more direct route to Guatemala, missing out everything else in Mexico.
I'm hoping a substantial part of my bad reaction is due to my month off in Mazatlán and that I'll find my biking legs again soon. If not, I'll have to consider heading directly south. That will have the advantage of cutting short my exposure to the rainy season further down the road.
If it sounds like I'm complaining - I'm not. I'm just trying to record what it's like. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried at times on the road to Tepic, but at the same time, it's all part of the adventure. There's only so much that can be prepared for, the rest has to be dealt with as it happens. It's the whole "solo or not" debate in microcosm - Being solo I can stop for a couple of days without any problem, however, it also means I've no support along with me.
I do have to say, too, that I feel quite secure and safe here in Mexico. I'm confident that if I needed to, I could have stuck out my thumb and someone would have stopped to give me a lift. I'm just absolutely rubbish at asking for help! Something else for my to-do list!
I'm finding it very interesting how quickly being in Mexico becomes "normal", emphasised when every now and then the fact hits me - I'm in Mexico!
Today, while wandering in the park Adolfus approached me with his two kids. I obviously stand out as a foreigner and having lived in North Carolina he wanted to try out his English. His face lit up with such delight when I told him what I was doing and we figured out that I'd cycled where he used to live! These moments of connection are really wonderful. People are so genuine and the idea of a long bike trip is so far from the normal yet so romantic it's impossible not to be encouraged and remotivated by them. It's also a very good reminder of just how lucky I am to be able to do this.
Later, back at the hotel and looking at routing options for tomorrow I began to feel the apprehension growing. Inspiration struck, I fired up YouTube and watched the tango scene from Scent of a Woman. It's not on my to-do list because it's more of a dream, but I want to learn to Tango in Argentina! One magical night in Vienna at the end of my first ever bike tour I watched people getting dance lessons on a temporary floor in a city park. Oh how I wanted to join in! Next time I will!
I'm ready for tomorrow now!
OP
OP
HobbesOnTour
Guru
- Location
- España
Day 163, Friday, February 21, 2020, Tepic to Jula 70km
Min meters 949, Max Meters 1435, Total Climb 1157, Total Descent 1143
My alarm woke me up while it was still dark and I was still groggy. I showered, packed and moved all my gear downstairs, loaded up the bike and headed off. I'd spent a few minutes monitoring the traffic and all seemed good. I joined the flow with no problems and while there wasn't a shoulder for the first couple of km it wasn't missed. I rejoined 15 while still within the city limits and from then on had a shoulder most of the way out. A couple of guys wound down windows to have a chat as I cycled along. Hopefully all the bigger places will be like this to cycle in.
I pulled into a Pemex to top up my tyres and had a little chat with the attendant. Each pump is manned and they'll fill your tank, wash windscreens, top up your air - all for a tip. They don't seem pushy at all and it was no problem to roll up on my bike.
A little later I pulled into the last Oxxo for breakfast and got talking to a guy who spent twenty years working in Vegas. His English was excellent so it was a nice broad conversation. As usual, he was happy to hear my glowing review of Mexico, but abruptly warned me to never cycle at night! A little later he elaborated on the crime problems in Mexico, the levels of influence and corruption of the cartels and how it is now a much broader enterprise than just drugs. Oil and oil derivatives are now big business too. I was more than a little surprised that he was talking so openly in a public place about these things, but he didn't seem to be bothered at all.
Setting off again I was quickly on the Cuota and had a shoulder, slightly lower than the road itself and guarded by a rumble strip - a rarity in Mexico.
It's a 4 lane split highway and was reasonably busy, but I felt perfectly secure riding along.
Stopping under a bridge for shade I was not happy to see the trailer's tyre flat! I'd fixed a slow puncture in it in Mazatlán, but then the valve had been giving me problems. I removed the tube, pumped it up - and it stayed up! Argh!
I popped in a new tube, keeping the other one for emergencies only, then set off again.
It had been 25C at 8 am and now was in the 30s, but at least there was a wind. There was a fair bit of slow and steady climbing until I came to a toll plaza about 35km along. I pulled in for a cold drink, a rest and some snacks. No hot food anywhere!
I rested up then set off again through the toll gates. This is another one taken over by locals so I'm just waved through.
On the other side I commenced a long winding climb. I watched the temp on Gizmo rise from mid 30s to 47C! At that point I started looking for shade! There's not a lot when the sun is directly overhead but passing by a cliff I saw enough for the bike and me to sit down.
I'm going to wait for the sun to move before I go any further.
I stayed there until 15:30, a good two hours. When I set off again it was cooler, but still in the high 30s. Today, I was stopping even more frequently than before and sipping water every time, as opposed to taking a long drink. It seemed to work better as a process. It's strange how within a couple of minutes of taking a drink the back of my throat and the roof of my mouth becomes sticky. If I swallow my throat closes and for a moment it seems like it will stay closed. Similarly, my tongue feels like it will stay stuck to the roof of my mouth.
The countryside is interesting, lots of green, rolling hills in the foreground, blue hills further back. Given the heat I'm surprised to see such greenery. Normally I'd be far more enthused by the countryside but this heat saps everything!
I seemed to be constantly climbing. I wasn't the only one having problems - many of the trucks were labouring too. A lot of the older ones crawled past me moving barely twice my speed with engines screaming in protest.
I had picked out the small town of Jala as the first of my likely destinations and at this stage it was looking like it was my only option. In my sweat-soaked, heat-addled condition I had misread the scale on Gizmo. Instead of being about 5km away I was about 20km!!
Immediately I started scanning for likely spots to camp because there was no way I'd make it before dark. As luck would have it, this coincided with what I think is a volcanic valley because both sides of the road were covered in strange rocks. Not a hope of pitching a tent. I did come across one spot but rejected it since it was too visible from the road.
I wasn't particularly worried, just frustrated that this is proving harder and slower than I had expected. I'm just really glad that I don't have a deadline to be anywhere. I'm understanding that this heat is a little out of the normal - poor old Durango, in the mountains, is suffering from unusually low temperatures.
Just when all hope of reaching Jala in daylight were gone, I crested a hill to meet a sign warning of dangerous descents for the next 8km!!
Wahoo!!!
I pulled in, switched on all my lights and headed down. Oh! The pleasure! It was so cool! I even started to feel a little cold! I had to focus though - the shoulder was fine at low speed, descending in fading light made it trickier. When it finally levelled off I didn't have far to go to turn off for Jala. The hotel is right on the edge of town, there's a little restaurant opposite. I am sorted!
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
Min meters 949, Max Meters 1435, Total Climb 1157, Total Descent 1143
My alarm woke me up while it was still dark and I was still groggy. I showered, packed and moved all my gear downstairs, loaded up the bike and headed off. I'd spent a few minutes monitoring the traffic and all seemed good. I joined the flow with no problems and while there wasn't a shoulder for the first couple of km it wasn't missed. I rejoined 15 while still within the city limits and from then on had a shoulder most of the way out. A couple of guys wound down windows to have a chat as I cycled along. Hopefully all the bigger places will be like this to cycle in.
I pulled into a Pemex to top up my tyres and had a little chat with the attendant. Each pump is manned and they'll fill your tank, wash windscreens, top up your air - all for a tip. They don't seem pushy at all and it was no problem to roll up on my bike.
A little later I pulled into the last Oxxo for breakfast and got talking to a guy who spent twenty years working in Vegas. His English was excellent so it was a nice broad conversation. As usual, he was happy to hear my glowing review of Mexico, but abruptly warned me to never cycle at night! A little later he elaborated on the crime problems in Mexico, the levels of influence and corruption of the cartels and how it is now a much broader enterprise than just drugs. Oil and oil derivatives are now big business too. I was more than a little surprised that he was talking so openly in a public place about these things, but he didn't seem to be bothered at all.
Setting off again I was quickly on the Cuota and had a shoulder, slightly lower than the road itself and guarded by a rumble strip - a rarity in Mexico.
It's a 4 lane split highway and was reasonably busy, but I felt perfectly secure riding along.
Stopping under a bridge for shade I was not happy to see the trailer's tyre flat! I'd fixed a slow puncture in it in Mazatlán, but then the valve had been giving me problems. I removed the tube, pumped it up - and it stayed up! Argh!
I popped in a new tube, keeping the other one for emergencies only, then set off again.
It had been 25C at 8 am and now was in the 30s, but at least there was a wind. There was a fair bit of slow and steady climbing until I came to a toll plaza about 35km along. I pulled in for a cold drink, a rest and some snacks. No hot food anywhere!
I rested up then set off again through the toll gates. This is another one taken over by locals so I'm just waved through.
On the other side I commenced a long winding climb. I watched the temp on Gizmo rise from mid 30s to 47C! At that point I started looking for shade! There's not a lot when the sun is directly overhead but passing by a cliff I saw enough for the bike and me to sit down.
I'm going to wait for the sun to move before I go any further.
I stayed there until 15:30, a good two hours. When I set off again it was cooler, but still in the high 30s. Today, I was stopping even more frequently than before and sipping water every time, as opposed to taking a long drink. It seemed to work better as a process. It's strange how within a couple of minutes of taking a drink the back of my throat and the roof of my mouth becomes sticky. If I swallow my throat closes and for a moment it seems like it will stay closed. Similarly, my tongue feels like it will stay stuck to the roof of my mouth.
The countryside is interesting, lots of green, rolling hills in the foreground, blue hills further back. Given the heat I'm surprised to see such greenery. Normally I'd be far more enthused by the countryside but this heat saps everything!
I seemed to be constantly climbing. I wasn't the only one having problems - many of the trucks were labouring too. A lot of the older ones crawled past me moving barely twice my speed with engines screaming in protest.
I had picked out the small town of Jala as the first of my likely destinations and at this stage it was looking like it was my only option. In my sweat-soaked, heat-addled condition I had misread the scale on Gizmo. Instead of being about 5km away I was about 20km!!
Immediately I started scanning for likely spots to camp because there was no way I'd make it before dark. As luck would have it, this coincided with what I think is a volcanic valley because both sides of the road were covered in strange rocks. Not a hope of pitching a tent. I did come across one spot but rejected it since it was too visible from the road.
I wasn't particularly worried, just frustrated that this is proving harder and slower than I had expected. I'm just really glad that I don't have a deadline to be anywhere. I'm understanding that this heat is a little out of the normal - poor old Durango, in the mountains, is suffering from unusually low temperatures.
Just when all hope of reaching Jala in daylight were gone, I crested a hill to meet a sign warning of dangerous descents for the next 8km!!
Wahoo!!!
I pulled in, switched on all my lights and headed down. Oh! The pleasure! It was so cool! I even started to feel a little cold! I had to focus though - the shoulder was fine at low speed, descending in fading light made it trickier. When it finally levelled off I didn't have far to go to turn off for Jala. The hotel is right on the edge of town, there's a little restaurant opposite. I am sorted!
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
OP
OP
HobbesOnTour
Guru
- Location
- España
Day 164, Saturday, February 22, 2020, Jula to Ixtlán del Rio 20km
Min meters 1011, Max Meters 1190, Total Climb 553, Total Descent 486
Last night was very simple. I had a shower, lay down for a little while then wandered across the road to a simple restaurant. I had a delicious meal of tacos and eggs washed down with a beer. I bought a bottle of cold water & returned to my room. Town was a good 15 minute walk and I had no energy. I got back to my room, lay down and promptly fell asleep. Unusually, I slept right through the night, waking about 6 am. I tried to get up, but failed, so rolled over again. I woke up about 8 and slowly started getting organised. My plan was to hit the town, look around, have a bite to eat and hit the road. I had a couple of options and one wasn't too far away.
Ha!
Rear tyre was flat as a pancake! This is a new tyre picked up in Mazatlán because the other one with the torn sidewall couldn't be repaired and I figured I had used up all my luck with it. The only tyre I could find was a Chinese brand with zero puncture protection.
I set about removing the tube and finding the hole. Once patched I checked the tyre and found the offending wire. Tiny! Then I loaded up and went to town. It's a pleasant place with a lovely cycle path into town. I stopped at the shadiest taco stand for breakfast then headed over to the Oxxo for more water. Soft rear tyre! Darn!!
I unpacked the bike, upended it, removed the wheel and took out the tube. I pumped it up but couldn't find a hole and the patch seemed good. I increased the pressure. Ditto. I paused for a coffee and in the time it took to drink it the tube softened again. Nothing for it but to replace the tube and investigate further when I have a bowl of water.
Setting off again I pulled into a Pemex to top up the air, having a chat with the attendant who was more interested in my marital status than my trip!
I left town and rejoined the cuota. Within minutes Gizmo was reading 40C! Today is going to be short!
There was a bit of wind which helped enormously with regulating the temperature, but there is no getting away from the fact that I am just not designed for these conditions! Progress was steady enough, except when climbing. Shade was pretty rare so it was a case of head down and grind it out.
There was a bit more variety to the landscape but I'm finding it hard to drum up the enthusiasm to enjoy it properly. Even stopping to take a photo is like someone switching on a grill over my head!
I was heading for a secondary option from yesterday, the town of Ixtlán del Rio. It has some ancient ruins that I thought would be good to visit. Before too long I got to ride past the town before turning off the cuota. I arrived into the old centre and sought out some agua de Coco. Delicious! Then I rode past the couple of hotels, turned around and rode the few Kms up and out of town to the ruins.
In these places they have a book that they want you to fill in with your personal info - name, origin etc. The museum in Tepic wanted my educational achievements and this one wanted my entry and exit times!
There are lots of these ruins in Mexico. Unfortunately most have been looted through the centuries, not just for valuables but for things like stone. This one has been restored to some level and while it's interesting, it doesn't (or at least it didn't for me) grab my attention.
Rather than being told that this is a three story building, I'd like to know what the building was (likely) for and how it was used. It seemed the only definitive buildings were altars. I wandered around and while it was pleasant, I probably got more enjoyment out of the different cacti!
Rolling back into town I checked into the cheapest hotel, had a shower and went for a wander. It's a busy place, the main plaza beside the main road through the town. It's sorrounded with little stores. Since I'm finding the going tough, I thought a little music might help me along in the heat. I realised I haven't even hummed anything in days! I've headphones but use them rarely on the road for safety reasons but also because they can tend to isolate me from people - and that's counterproductive in Mexico. I saw some portable speakers in a window & popped in. My old iPod doesn't do Bluetooth so I needed one with a cable. Not only was the lady in the shop very helpful, her colleague tested everything out on his phone, pointing out that the cable I'd selected had problems connecting with the speaker. He suggested a different, cheaper cable. Have to say, I was impressed!
I grabbed some empanadas for dinner, then got some pastries for breakfast. I'm planning on hitting the road early tomorrow.
While wandering around I came across another wedding at the local church! This one was a far more stylish affair, although there was no sign of the bride! She did eventually show up and was ushered inside quickly. Somehow, this one was a bit too "showy" and didn't pique my interest like the last one.
Then it was back to the hotel to check out that tube. I inflated it and found about 4 or 5 tiny holes all along the seam. Pffffft! Another tube gone!
Then an early night was had.
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
Min meters 1011, Max Meters 1190, Total Climb 553, Total Descent 486
Last night was very simple. I had a shower, lay down for a little while then wandered across the road to a simple restaurant. I had a delicious meal of tacos and eggs washed down with a beer. I bought a bottle of cold water & returned to my room. Town was a good 15 minute walk and I had no energy. I got back to my room, lay down and promptly fell asleep. Unusually, I slept right through the night, waking about 6 am. I tried to get up, but failed, so rolled over again. I woke up about 8 and slowly started getting organised. My plan was to hit the town, look around, have a bite to eat and hit the road. I had a couple of options and one wasn't too far away.
Ha!
Rear tyre was flat as a pancake! This is a new tyre picked up in Mazatlán because the other one with the torn sidewall couldn't be repaired and I figured I had used up all my luck with it. The only tyre I could find was a Chinese brand with zero puncture protection.
I set about removing the tube and finding the hole. Once patched I checked the tyre and found the offending wire. Tiny! Then I loaded up and went to town. It's a pleasant place with a lovely cycle path into town. I stopped at the shadiest taco stand for breakfast then headed over to the Oxxo for more water. Soft rear tyre! Darn!!
I unpacked the bike, upended it, removed the wheel and took out the tube. I pumped it up but couldn't find a hole and the patch seemed good. I increased the pressure. Ditto. I paused for a coffee and in the time it took to drink it the tube softened again. Nothing for it but to replace the tube and investigate further when I have a bowl of water.
Setting off again I pulled into a Pemex to top up the air, having a chat with the attendant who was more interested in my marital status than my trip!
I left town and rejoined the cuota. Within minutes Gizmo was reading 40C! Today is going to be short!
There was a bit of wind which helped enormously with regulating the temperature, but there is no getting away from the fact that I am just not designed for these conditions! Progress was steady enough, except when climbing. Shade was pretty rare so it was a case of head down and grind it out.
There was a bit more variety to the landscape but I'm finding it hard to drum up the enthusiasm to enjoy it properly. Even stopping to take a photo is like someone switching on a grill over my head!
I was heading for a secondary option from yesterday, the town of Ixtlán del Rio. It has some ancient ruins that I thought would be good to visit. Before too long I got to ride past the town before turning off the cuota. I arrived into the old centre and sought out some agua de Coco. Delicious! Then I rode past the couple of hotels, turned around and rode the few Kms up and out of town to the ruins.
In these places they have a book that they want you to fill in with your personal info - name, origin etc. The museum in Tepic wanted my educational achievements and this one wanted my entry and exit times!
There are lots of these ruins in Mexico. Unfortunately most have been looted through the centuries, not just for valuables but for things like stone. This one has been restored to some level and while it's interesting, it doesn't (or at least it didn't for me) grab my attention.
Rather than being told that this is a three story building, I'd like to know what the building was (likely) for and how it was used. It seemed the only definitive buildings were altars. I wandered around and while it was pleasant, I probably got more enjoyment out of the different cacti!
Rolling back into town I checked into the cheapest hotel, had a shower and went for a wander. It's a busy place, the main plaza beside the main road through the town. It's sorrounded with little stores. Since I'm finding the going tough, I thought a little music might help me along in the heat. I realised I haven't even hummed anything in days! I've headphones but use them rarely on the road for safety reasons but also because they can tend to isolate me from people - and that's counterproductive in Mexico. I saw some portable speakers in a window & popped in. My old iPod doesn't do Bluetooth so I needed one with a cable. Not only was the lady in the shop very helpful, her colleague tested everything out on his phone, pointing out that the cable I'd selected had problems connecting with the speaker. He suggested a different, cheaper cable. Have to say, I was impressed!
I grabbed some empanadas for dinner, then got some pastries for breakfast. I'm planning on hitting the road early tomorrow.
While wandering around I came across another wedding at the local church! This one was a far more stylish affair, although there was no sign of the bride! She did eventually show up and was ushered inside quickly. Somehow, this one was a bit too "showy" and didn't pique my interest like the last one.
Then it was back to the hotel to check out that tube. I inflated it and found about 4 or 5 tiny holes all along the seam. Pffffft! Another tube gone!
Then an early night was had.
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
OP
OP
HobbesOnTour
Guru
- Location
- España
Day 165, Sunday, February 23, 2020, Jula to Tequila 70km
Min meters 972, Max Meters 1309, Total Climb 1096, Total Descent 1193
Well, I woke up about 6 and was rolling out of the hotel by 7. The England v Ireland rugby match started at 8am so I was going to miss listening to that (not such a bad thing as things turned out!).
There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was blinding me as I rode out of town. Back on to the cuota and straight back into the climbing! It was pleasantly cool, Gizmo showing 16C and steady progress was made.
At the brow of one climb I took out my new speaker and gave it a go. Not great going downhill with the wind and passing trucks, but very pleasant going uphill - and there was a lot of that!
Back in the 80's there was a TV show "The Greatest American Hero" about a guy who was endowed with Superman style powers by mistake. He was a disaster, but the theme song was great. That came on the iPod as I was going downhill - one of those perfect unions of song and situation!
To say the last few days have been constant rolling hills would be too gentle a description, I think. Rolling is too soft a description for these, irrespective of the heat. I'm placated by the fact that many trucks and some buses have issues going up too.
I did have one longish descent, but the shoulder was very poor for most of it - a rumble strip in the middle and generally crap surface.
After about 30km I came to a toll booth - an actual official one this time, so pulled over, hopped onto a path and breezed on through like a seasoned traveller. On the other side were food stands so I pulled in for tacos and a cold coke.
When I got rolling again it was coming up to 11 am and hitting 40C. Then the real hard slog began. It seemed to be constant climbing. At least there was a strongish tailwind at times, appreciated more for its cooling properties than its assistance. At one stage I encountered another cyclist, a local, with his bike upturned and himself sitting on the side of the road. He was resting but had no water so I gave him half of mine.
An hour or so later, almost out of water I came to a little shop & pulled in to rest and resupply with cold water.
There was an army convoy ahead of me in the queue. These guys were all heavily armed, so I was prepared to wait. I eventually got to pay for my water then plonked myself in the shade outside to rest up. A couple of the soldiers came over for a bit of a chat. To say they were bemused by my plans would be an understatement!
Setting off again I was now facing into a long, flat road. It didn't matter that the sun was blasting down, I was flying along at a normal pace for what seemed like the first time in days! I was delighted with myself! The kms were ticking along and when I passed the town of Magdalene I decided to continue on. I'd thought of staying there but I was enjoying the cycling for the first time in days.
Of course, after Magdalene the road started to rise again, but I was in much better form to deal with it. I could see my turn off for Tequila steadily getting closer.
When it came I had to negotiate a toll booth then roll 5km downhill into town.
It's both pretty and busy. Lots and lots of hotels. The first one I picked at random had no-one at reception so I rolled down the street to another. It turned out to be an excellent choice, relatively cheap and very pleasant.
I shaved, showered and set off to wander around town. This is the centre of the Tequila industry and there are lots of interesting places to see. On top of that, there's a festival on tonight! How's that for planning?
It seems even the cars run on tequila!
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
Min meters 972, Max Meters 1309, Total Climb 1096, Total Descent 1193
Well, I woke up about 6 and was rolling out of the hotel by 7. The England v Ireland rugby match started at 8am so I was going to miss listening to that (not such a bad thing as things turned out!).
There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was blinding me as I rode out of town. Back on to the cuota and straight back into the climbing! It was pleasantly cool, Gizmo showing 16C and steady progress was made.
At the brow of one climb I took out my new speaker and gave it a go. Not great going downhill with the wind and passing trucks, but very pleasant going uphill - and there was a lot of that!
Back in the 80's there was a TV show "The Greatest American Hero" about a guy who was endowed with Superman style powers by mistake. He was a disaster, but the theme song was great. That came on the iPod as I was going downhill - one of those perfect unions of song and situation!
To say the last few days have been constant rolling hills would be too gentle a description, I think. Rolling is too soft a description for these, irrespective of the heat. I'm placated by the fact that many trucks and some buses have issues going up too.
I did have one longish descent, but the shoulder was very poor for most of it - a rumble strip in the middle and generally crap surface.
After about 30km I came to a toll booth - an actual official one this time, so pulled over, hopped onto a path and breezed on through like a seasoned traveller. On the other side were food stands so I pulled in for tacos and a cold coke.
When I got rolling again it was coming up to 11 am and hitting 40C. Then the real hard slog began. It seemed to be constant climbing. At least there was a strongish tailwind at times, appreciated more for its cooling properties than its assistance. At one stage I encountered another cyclist, a local, with his bike upturned and himself sitting on the side of the road. He was resting but had no water so I gave him half of mine.
An hour or so later, almost out of water I came to a little shop & pulled in to rest and resupply with cold water.
There was an army convoy ahead of me in the queue. These guys were all heavily armed, so I was prepared to wait. I eventually got to pay for my water then plonked myself in the shade outside to rest up. A couple of the soldiers came over for a bit of a chat. To say they were bemused by my plans would be an understatement!
Setting off again I was now facing into a long, flat road. It didn't matter that the sun was blasting down, I was flying along at a normal pace for what seemed like the first time in days! I was delighted with myself! The kms were ticking along and when I passed the town of Magdalene I decided to continue on. I'd thought of staying there but I was enjoying the cycling for the first time in days.
Of course, after Magdalene the road started to rise again, but I was in much better form to deal with it. I could see my turn off for Tequila steadily getting closer.
When it came I had to negotiate a toll booth then roll 5km downhill into town.
It's both pretty and busy. Lots and lots of hotels. The first one I picked at random had no-one at reception so I rolled down the street to another. It turned out to be an excellent choice, relatively cheap and very pleasant.
I shaved, showered and set off to wander around town. This is the centre of the Tequila industry and there are lots of interesting places to see. On top of that, there's a festival on tonight! How's that for planning?
It seems even the cars run on tequila!
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
OP
OP
HobbesOnTour
Guru
- Location
- España
Day 166, Monday, February 24, 2020, Tourist day in Tequila 0km
I'm generally not a fan of touristy places. The more a place becomes touristy, the less it resembles itself and the visitor becomes a consumer rather than an absorber. I prefer to absorb.
Indigenous people spinning down from a tree trunk in the plaza.
Tequila, with its lines of stalls selling Tequila crafts (miniature barrels, wooden cups, shot glasses and hip flasks of various designs) on the way into town was setting itself up as such a place. The "party buses" with pumping music driving through the centre only added to the impression. I think I've had just about enough of the VengaBoys! Yet, there's something charming about Tequila.
Apparently, crossing the state line (I'm now in Jalisco) put me in a different time zone so I lost an hour. This means I've little to no time to "do" anything such as visit a tequila distillery, despite the fact that many are located in the city itself. If I hang around tomorrow to visit I'll be losing the coolest part of the day. As I wandered around the town it grew on me to the extent that I thought I'd stay an extra day. I negotiated a price at the hotel for an extra night and relaxed.
Dinner was simply delicious. I started with guacamole, served with homemade chips. The amount of guacamole for the price would make a Dutch chef break down in tears! That was followed by delicious steak from the grill, beans, more guacamole, a flour tortilla filled with tomatoes and herbs all washed down with an ice cold beer. Sitting outside, eating my fill of simple, yet delicious, food watching the world go by was a great feeling.
The place is packed with tourists - all Mexican as far as I can make out. The scene did answer one question I had though. Everywhere I go that is in any way touristy, there are stalls and stalls selling sombreros - sun hats. Not the sombreros we typically associate with Mexico, more like Panama style, or cowboy style, all made of straw or some other light material. I couldn't figure out how all these people stayed in business. Well, just about everyone in Tequila is wearing one of these, all brand new. Business is booming!
Another booming business are the big, wooden cups. These are far too big to be useful for drinking tequila out of, so I'm guessing people are pouring their own drinks in there. Again, lots of people armed with these but no obvious signs of drunkenness.
The church in the centre of town is fabulous! I can't find out when it was built, but it is certainly rustic in style, although inside is very grand. Coming up to noon there are a couple of dozen people inside. The collection boxes are of thick steel with combination locks!
At night, the high stained glass windows are captivating when lit from inside. The bells in the bell tower work too!
Speaking of noise, every now and then, someone sets off a series of loud bangers somewhere in the centre. For about 10-15 minutes a constant loud bang every 20-30 seconds. When I say loud I mean very loud!
The distilleries themselves are located in the town itself, within walking distance. Jose Cuervo is the oldest and largest. They have a series of tours on offer, from a special train departing from Guadalajara to a tour of agave fields, to a simple distillery tour as well as a variety of tastings.
The area around Tequila, the town, has been granted World Heritage status based on its Tequila (the drink) history. There are numerous information signs in the city centre outlining the history and medicinal benefits of the drink. There is a distinct sense of pride over this status. The Jose Cuervo experience even pitches itself as a celebration of Mexico and its history rather than a commercial enterprise.
Oh! I have another bloody puncture! Going to bed last night the back of the bike looked odd - flat again!
Today, after my morning coffee I located the culprit - another tiny wire - and patched everything up. A good investigation of the tyre revealed another one working its way in. Hopefully, I can get a Schwalbe in Guadalajara and dump this Chinese one. I am carrying a spare, folding Mondial, but prefer to keep it for further south when I may really need it. Cycling in the shoulder exposes me to lots and lots of tyre debris - a significant proportion of which are tiny wires. The Mondial on the front and the Marathon on the trailer are having fewer problems.
The plan is to hit Guadalajara tomorrow. Depending on sources, it's the second or third largest city in Mexico, so entry should be fun! I'll stay for a couple of days and have a look around. There's a casa de ciclista in the city that is a bike shop, repair shop, advocate for cycling activities and a general promoter of cycling. I'm hoping they'll have what I need tyre wise. I've read many accounts of long distance cyclists passing through here so I'm looking forward to visiting.
I visited the National Tequila Museum, at a cost of about 75 cents. Short and sweet but without the commercial angle of Jose Cuervo. I joined an English speaking tour that started with a presentation video that was about 75% an ad for JC - Jose Cuervo, not Jesus Christ!
The distillery is undergoing maintenance at the moment so is not in production. There's a shortage of the specific agave plant required as well. It is one of two distilleries JC have, the other about 3 hours away - by car and about three times as big.
It was interesting, even if a lot of detail was skimmed over.
Tequila has to be distilled from the blue agave plant, the heart (like a big pineapple) is the main part.
Apparently, the legend is that a young girl witnessed some of these plants being struck by lightning. The resulting burned plants smelled good, so the people tried it and discovered that it made them laugh, filled them with joy and released their spirits to talk deeply on subjects. From this legendary beginning, people learned to ferment a crude wine from the blue agave. When the Spanish arrived, they brought European distilling skills and applied to the crude agave wine, Tequila was born.
The agave can only come from 5 states within Mexico and can only be distilled in Jalisco state to be called Tequila. There are different ages, although very few over three years of age. And there are at least two standards where one is blended with different types of alcohol.
It takes 8-10 years for the agave plant to mature so its "heart" can be used which requires a fair bit of forward planning!
The other people on the tour were all retired Americans. I particularly admired the tour guide who was gracious when informed that Mexico's roads were quite good! They'd been expecting gravel and sand. I wanted to tell them to go to Louisiana….but I was on my best behaviour!
I have no intention of getting on one of the party buses! I don't see the appeal of being blasted by party music in a bus shaped like a barrel or a bottle while driving out to an agave field. I've been seeing agave fields, sometimes in quite detail as laboured up hills the past week!
I'm hoping to get a very early start again tomorrow. It's basically one long climb. I did have a look at the libre on Google maps and the few pictures I looked at were full of traffic, so it's the cuota again tomorrow.
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
I'm generally not a fan of touristy places. The more a place becomes touristy, the less it resembles itself and the visitor becomes a consumer rather than an absorber. I prefer to absorb.
Indigenous people spinning down from a tree trunk in the plaza.
Tequila, with its lines of stalls selling Tequila crafts (miniature barrels, wooden cups, shot glasses and hip flasks of various designs) on the way into town was setting itself up as such a place. The "party buses" with pumping music driving through the centre only added to the impression. I think I've had just about enough of the VengaBoys! Yet, there's something charming about Tequila.
Apparently, crossing the state line (I'm now in Jalisco) put me in a different time zone so I lost an hour. This means I've little to no time to "do" anything such as visit a tequila distillery, despite the fact that many are located in the city itself. If I hang around tomorrow to visit I'll be losing the coolest part of the day. As I wandered around the town it grew on me to the extent that I thought I'd stay an extra day. I negotiated a price at the hotel for an extra night and relaxed.
Dinner was simply delicious. I started with guacamole, served with homemade chips. The amount of guacamole for the price would make a Dutch chef break down in tears! That was followed by delicious steak from the grill, beans, more guacamole, a flour tortilla filled with tomatoes and herbs all washed down with an ice cold beer. Sitting outside, eating my fill of simple, yet delicious, food watching the world go by was a great feeling.
The place is packed with tourists - all Mexican as far as I can make out. The scene did answer one question I had though. Everywhere I go that is in any way touristy, there are stalls and stalls selling sombreros - sun hats. Not the sombreros we typically associate with Mexico, more like Panama style, or cowboy style, all made of straw or some other light material. I couldn't figure out how all these people stayed in business. Well, just about everyone in Tequila is wearing one of these, all brand new. Business is booming!
Another booming business are the big, wooden cups. These are far too big to be useful for drinking tequila out of, so I'm guessing people are pouring their own drinks in there. Again, lots of people armed with these but no obvious signs of drunkenness.
The church in the centre of town is fabulous! I can't find out when it was built, but it is certainly rustic in style, although inside is very grand. Coming up to noon there are a couple of dozen people inside. The collection boxes are of thick steel with combination locks!
At night, the high stained glass windows are captivating when lit from inside. The bells in the bell tower work too!
Speaking of noise, every now and then, someone sets off a series of loud bangers somewhere in the centre. For about 10-15 minutes a constant loud bang every 20-30 seconds. When I say loud I mean very loud!
The distilleries themselves are located in the town itself, within walking distance. Jose Cuervo is the oldest and largest. They have a series of tours on offer, from a special train departing from Guadalajara to a tour of agave fields, to a simple distillery tour as well as a variety of tastings.
The area around Tequila, the town, has been granted World Heritage status based on its Tequila (the drink) history. There are numerous information signs in the city centre outlining the history and medicinal benefits of the drink. There is a distinct sense of pride over this status. The Jose Cuervo experience even pitches itself as a celebration of Mexico and its history rather than a commercial enterprise.
Oh! I have another bloody puncture! Going to bed last night the back of the bike looked odd - flat again!
Today, after my morning coffee I located the culprit - another tiny wire - and patched everything up. A good investigation of the tyre revealed another one working its way in. Hopefully, I can get a Schwalbe in Guadalajara and dump this Chinese one. I am carrying a spare, folding Mondial, but prefer to keep it for further south when I may really need it. Cycling in the shoulder exposes me to lots and lots of tyre debris - a significant proportion of which are tiny wires. The Mondial on the front and the Marathon on the trailer are having fewer problems.
The plan is to hit Guadalajara tomorrow. Depending on sources, it's the second or third largest city in Mexico, so entry should be fun! I'll stay for a couple of days and have a look around. There's a casa de ciclista in the city that is a bike shop, repair shop, advocate for cycling activities and a general promoter of cycling. I'm hoping they'll have what I need tyre wise. I've read many accounts of long distance cyclists passing through here so I'm looking forward to visiting.
I visited the National Tequila Museum, at a cost of about 75 cents. Short and sweet but without the commercial angle of Jose Cuervo. I joined an English speaking tour that started with a presentation video that was about 75% an ad for JC - Jose Cuervo, not Jesus Christ!
The distillery is undergoing maintenance at the moment so is not in production. There's a shortage of the specific agave plant required as well. It is one of two distilleries JC have, the other about 3 hours away - by car and about three times as big.
It was interesting, even if a lot of detail was skimmed over.
Tequila has to be distilled from the blue agave plant, the heart (like a big pineapple) is the main part.
Apparently, the legend is that a young girl witnessed some of these plants being struck by lightning. The resulting burned plants smelled good, so the people tried it and discovered that it made them laugh, filled them with joy and released their spirits to talk deeply on subjects. From this legendary beginning, people learned to ferment a crude wine from the blue agave. When the Spanish arrived, they brought European distilling skills and applied to the crude agave wine, Tequila was born.
The agave can only come from 5 states within Mexico and can only be distilled in Jalisco state to be called Tequila. There are different ages, although very few over three years of age. And there are at least two standards where one is blended with different types of alcohol.
It takes 8-10 years for the agave plant to mature so its "heart" can be used which requires a fair bit of forward planning!
The other people on the tour were all retired Americans. I particularly admired the tour guide who was gracious when informed that Mexico's roads were quite good! They'd been expecting gravel and sand. I wanted to tell them to go to Louisiana….but I was on my best behaviour!
I have no intention of getting on one of the party buses! I don't see the appeal of being blasted by party music in a bus shaped like a barrel or a bottle while driving out to an agave field. I've been seeing agave fields, sometimes in quite detail as laboured up hills the past week!
I'm hoping to get a very early start again tomorrow. It's basically one long climb. I did have a look at the libre on Google maps and the few pictures I looked at were full of traffic, so it's the cuota again tomorrow.
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
OP
OP
HobbesOnTour
Guru
- Location
- España
Day 167, Tuesdayday, February 25, 2020, Tequila to Guadalajara 70km, Total KM 6127
Min meters 1192, Max Meters 1704, Total Climb 1089, Total Descent 667
Mexico is feckin' Brilliant!! Have I said that before? I should be saying it every day! There was just something…...kind about today. Can days be kind? I don't know but I've been struggling for an adjective that encompasses the warmth, the hospitality and the vistas I experienced today. It will have to do.
I was up and out the door at 6:20am! The only problem is I'm in a new time zone and it was still dark! I'm not comfortable riding in the dark, even, or especially, in a town. Tequila is not set up for bicycles - cobblestones everywhere, not to mention the usual holes & speedbumps. A coffee at an Oxxo passed the time until it was bright enough to set off.
I was nervous about today. A steep climb, a drop, another steep climb then the city. Once on the (familiar) main road back to the cuota the day started with its kindnesses. The first were the views as the morning sun landed on various hills, fields, mountains and volcanoes. Yes, a volcano! Don't judge me but I was giddily excited to be cycling towards a volcano! Nothing like a volcano to make me feel far from home!
Then I caught up with and passed two guys walking out to tend their agave fields. Big cheers, waves, salutes. I'm crawling past them in my granny gear and their acting like I'm winning the Tour De France! Since I am clearly not a local, obviously foreign and most likely American I am always surprised at the generosity of spirit from people. These two guys were just starting their (hard) day's work yet had nothing but Goodwill for the guy on vacation.
Cycling on I passed two more guys, similar situation! Then I stopped for a rest and a photo as they caught up with me. One of the guys was much older (78) who was all excited by my bike and my trip. Like a child at Christmas. He wanted a photo. No problem. He wanted an action shot. No problem. I hopped on, turned around, rode downhill for a moment, then rode past him. It's funny the effect people can have on us. I really dislike my photo being taken but in these situations it would be beyond churlish to deny someone. He took three photos on his ancient iPhone, then wanted another couple of me standing beside the bike.
Then the chat started! He likes to walk, does it every day, recently walked 280km with a group. It's good for the health and the head. Cycling was the same. Did I like Mexico? It went on and on, his enthusiasm infectious. I was delighted I understood so much, although speaking was tougher. Mind you, I didn't have much of a chance to get a word in!
His younger companion was as enthusiastic and welcoming, albeit quieter. We all shook hands and said goodbye, then another photo and more goodbyes. On the side of the road looking down on Tequila, it was a lovely moment.
Before joining the cuota I had to manoeuvre through the toll booth, then another climb to the cuota itself. At the top I stopped for a breather and Lui pulled up looking much sweatier than me! He's on a bike too, although a nice light roadbike. More photos! More welcomes to Mexico. He lives in Guadalajara so any problems, call him. More connections made on Facebook. His English is about as good as my Spanish, but he kept looking at the bike and saying "strong". I think he means heavy!
There was more climbing on the Cuota but the landscape was interesting, varied and featured a volcano!! I had my speaker out and was singing and drum playing - at one point I believe I was conducting an orchestra!
A feature of the cuota the past few days have been viaducts spanning sharp valleys. These have often been a handy place to stop but aren't great for photos - my side invariably has the sun straight in my face and the other side has at least two fences between me and it. However, they are really, really good at scaring the bejaysus out of me! They wobble significantly with every truck!
The temperature was still in the teens because even the sky was being kind. Fluffy, white clouds were filtering out the power of the sun and casting wonderful shadows over all the land.
Over to my left were the rows of blue mountains that I have come to associate with Mexico. This morning they were just magnificent with a hazy mist rising up from them giving an air of mystery, intrigue and adventure.
The trucks were back on form too! Traffic was light but I was receiving regular toots and waves. When I did come to the long descent my shoulder was crap - a rumble strip in the middle - so I took a lane ready to pull in if something came up behind. No need. The trucks, to a man, all pulled over when they saw me. Not a hint of irritation at all. My mind wandered back to yesterday and the comment about the good roads in Mexico….she forgot about the good drivers too!!!
When I came to the next toll booth it was easy to hop up on the grass and two guys working stepped graciously out of my way, waving me on cheerily. Then it was time for tacos and a Coke before heading into another climb. Again, fantastic scenery and before I knew it I was merging with the regular 15 and on the edge of Guadalajara.
I did a quick traffic count at the merge point and I reckon that the libre had 20-30 cars for every one on the Cuota. Good call!
I was by now about 30km from the centre and my AirBnB and well ahead of schedule so I pulled in to an Oxxo for a leisurely coffee.
When I rejoined the road the miniscule shoulder came and went while immediately to my right was a pretty steep drop down to a drain. In fairness the traffic was very good to me, although I did pull in a few times for my own piece of mind.
I had used cycle.travel to plot my route in the city itself. At one point it took me off the main road into town which was no bad thing. However, a few turns later it had me running parallel to some train tracks. I knew very little about the approach to Guadalajara, but one thing I do recall is that cyclists are advised to avoid the tracks. So I did. Which had me heading the wrong way for a while on a main road until I got a chance to turn around.
In fact, the main road was alright for cycling if you don't mind a bit of chaos and the only high stress times were crossing entry or exit lanes. At one stage I did find myself completely without a shoulder but again, traffic was patient. After that, I took a parallel street until I saw a bike lane and then happily occupied that into the centre. Since I was so far ahead of schedule I decided to pay a visit to the casa de ciclista. Unfortunately, they have no tyres suitable for me in stock. There is another cyclist staying there but he was out. I left my number if he wants to meet up.
Then it was time to have a little exploration around my AirBnB and stop for a coffee.
I have to say that I was very happy with the approach to Guadalajara. A bit hairy at times, to be sure, but nothing too excessive. An example of the kind of patience I received….stopped at traffic lights I was in my own little world looking around and didn't notice the lights go green. The car behind me gave me the gentlest, softest, barely audible toot. It was almost apologetic!
The temperature today peaked at 36C which is the coolest I've had for a while. It really made a difference - another example of the kindness received today. Instead of being a hard slog in excessive heat, the day turned out to be a very pleasant cycle through some sunny countryside!
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
Min meters 1192, Max Meters 1704, Total Climb 1089, Total Descent 667
Mexico is feckin' Brilliant!! Have I said that before? I should be saying it every day! There was just something…...kind about today. Can days be kind? I don't know but I've been struggling for an adjective that encompasses the warmth, the hospitality and the vistas I experienced today. It will have to do.
I was up and out the door at 6:20am! The only problem is I'm in a new time zone and it was still dark! I'm not comfortable riding in the dark, even, or especially, in a town. Tequila is not set up for bicycles - cobblestones everywhere, not to mention the usual holes & speedbumps. A coffee at an Oxxo passed the time until it was bright enough to set off.
I was nervous about today. A steep climb, a drop, another steep climb then the city. Once on the (familiar) main road back to the cuota the day started with its kindnesses. The first were the views as the morning sun landed on various hills, fields, mountains and volcanoes. Yes, a volcano! Don't judge me but I was giddily excited to be cycling towards a volcano! Nothing like a volcano to make me feel far from home!
Then I caught up with and passed two guys walking out to tend their agave fields. Big cheers, waves, salutes. I'm crawling past them in my granny gear and their acting like I'm winning the Tour De France! Since I am clearly not a local, obviously foreign and most likely American I am always surprised at the generosity of spirit from people. These two guys were just starting their (hard) day's work yet had nothing but Goodwill for the guy on vacation.
Cycling on I passed two more guys, similar situation! Then I stopped for a rest and a photo as they caught up with me. One of the guys was much older (78) who was all excited by my bike and my trip. Like a child at Christmas. He wanted a photo. No problem. He wanted an action shot. No problem. I hopped on, turned around, rode downhill for a moment, then rode past him. It's funny the effect people can have on us. I really dislike my photo being taken but in these situations it would be beyond churlish to deny someone. He took three photos on his ancient iPhone, then wanted another couple of me standing beside the bike.
Then the chat started! He likes to walk, does it every day, recently walked 280km with a group. It's good for the health and the head. Cycling was the same. Did I like Mexico? It went on and on, his enthusiasm infectious. I was delighted I understood so much, although speaking was tougher. Mind you, I didn't have much of a chance to get a word in!
His younger companion was as enthusiastic and welcoming, albeit quieter. We all shook hands and said goodbye, then another photo and more goodbyes. On the side of the road looking down on Tequila, it was a lovely moment.
Before joining the cuota I had to manoeuvre through the toll booth, then another climb to the cuota itself. At the top I stopped for a breather and Lui pulled up looking much sweatier than me! He's on a bike too, although a nice light roadbike. More photos! More welcomes to Mexico. He lives in Guadalajara so any problems, call him. More connections made on Facebook. His English is about as good as my Spanish, but he kept looking at the bike and saying "strong". I think he means heavy!
There was more climbing on the Cuota but the landscape was interesting, varied and featured a volcano!! I had my speaker out and was singing and drum playing - at one point I believe I was conducting an orchestra!
A feature of the cuota the past few days have been viaducts spanning sharp valleys. These have often been a handy place to stop but aren't great for photos - my side invariably has the sun straight in my face and the other side has at least two fences between me and it. However, they are really, really good at scaring the bejaysus out of me! They wobble significantly with every truck!
The temperature was still in the teens because even the sky was being kind. Fluffy, white clouds were filtering out the power of the sun and casting wonderful shadows over all the land.
Over to my left were the rows of blue mountains that I have come to associate with Mexico. This morning they were just magnificent with a hazy mist rising up from them giving an air of mystery, intrigue and adventure.
The trucks were back on form too! Traffic was light but I was receiving regular toots and waves. When I did come to the long descent my shoulder was crap - a rumble strip in the middle - so I took a lane ready to pull in if something came up behind. No need. The trucks, to a man, all pulled over when they saw me. Not a hint of irritation at all. My mind wandered back to yesterday and the comment about the good roads in Mexico….she forgot about the good drivers too!!!
When I came to the next toll booth it was easy to hop up on the grass and two guys working stepped graciously out of my way, waving me on cheerily. Then it was time for tacos and a Coke before heading into another climb. Again, fantastic scenery and before I knew it I was merging with the regular 15 and on the edge of Guadalajara.
I did a quick traffic count at the merge point and I reckon that the libre had 20-30 cars for every one on the Cuota. Good call!
I was by now about 30km from the centre and my AirBnB and well ahead of schedule so I pulled in to an Oxxo for a leisurely coffee.
When I rejoined the road the miniscule shoulder came and went while immediately to my right was a pretty steep drop down to a drain. In fairness the traffic was very good to me, although I did pull in a few times for my own piece of mind.
I had used cycle.travel to plot my route in the city itself. At one point it took me off the main road into town which was no bad thing. However, a few turns later it had me running parallel to some train tracks. I knew very little about the approach to Guadalajara, but one thing I do recall is that cyclists are advised to avoid the tracks. So I did. Which had me heading the wrong way for a while on a main road until I got a chance to turn around.
In fact, the main road was alright for cycling if you don't mind a bit of chaos and the only high stress times were crossing entry or exit lanes. At one stage I did find myself completely without a shoulder but again, traffic was patient. After that, I took a parallel street until I saw a bike lane and then happily occupied that into the centre. Since I was so far ahead of schedule I decided to pay a visit to the casa de ciclista. Unfortunately, they have no tyres suitable for me in stock. There is another cyclist staying there but he was out. I left my number if he wants to meet up.
Then it was time to have a little exploration around my AirBnB and stop for a coffee.
I have to say that I was very happy with the approach to Guadalajara. A bit hairy at times, to be sure, but nothing too excessive. An example of the kind of patience I received….stopped at traffic lights I was in my own little world looking around and didn't notice the lights go green. The car behind me gave me the gentlest, softest, barely audible toot. It was almost apologetic!
The temperature today peaked at 36C which is the coolest I've had for a while. It really made a difference - another example of the kindness received today. Instead of being a hard slog in excessive heat, the day turned out to be a very pleasant cycle through some sunny countryside!
For comments or questions please use the chat thread here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-zone-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/page-12#post-5884122
Thank you!
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