Nov 15, 2015. Guanacevi, Mexico.
Pavement or not, there was still quite a bit of climbing but all of it was rideable. Looked like it will storm but never did.
Nothing too eventful on the way to Santiago Papasquiaro except for getting sick.
Not sure if it was food or water related. Kind of weird considering I have never really been sick since I got to Canada in 2003 (fake sick for school does not count!). Took an extra day in town and headed out - town days end up being fairly expensive room is about 20-25$, food about the same.
City planning in Santiago Papasquiaro.
The highway was pretty narrow and fairly busy. At one point a truck passed me, giving me a lot of space and after he was gone, I saw a small car driving out of the shoulder on the other side. The man started honking and waving, I guess cyclists arent the only people that would like 3 feet passing distance :)
It was 130km to Durango via a paved road in a flat alley but I was already missing the dirt and the mountains.
So while pushing my bike up another un-rideable stretch I kept wondering: whats wrong with me? Why not take the easy way? Big towns, food, easy camping in cornfields and no hills.
The road did not seem too promising but there were tire tracks, so it must lead somewhere.
Technical descent from 2900m on the other side. And by technical, I mean me squeezing on the brakes and trying not to fall.
The Schwalbe - Mondials which lasted a whooping 5000km in last year are almost done now at about 2000. The sidewall cuts I got back in copper canyon are widening despite the tire boot. Will cover them with duct tape but I'll need to switch to a proper (and bigger) MTB tires.
At times the road was just impossible. Sliding backwards while pushing and using the brakes between each step.
But it was also some of the best riding so far in Mexico.
There was even a restaurant in town.
And cowboys rounding up some burgers-to-be.
A pickup driving super slow pulled over. They asked me where I'm going, surprised to see a cyclist here. I too, can't believe that people drive these roads home.
There was a rodeo at the next towns, where drunk cowboys (everybody was holding a beer...) would chase after cows and catch their tails.
Wonder if this is considered drinking and driving, or maybe only if the horse has had alcohol?
Great camping off the road, didn't even have to carry my bike over the fence. Lion king style.
Road turned to pavement but there were barely any cars. Using recycled material to build fences is pretty important!
I opted to skip highway 40D to Durango but got on the 40. To shake things up, there was a canyon in the way. A canyon, which the newer 40D crosses with a bridge.
A semi which passed me earlier was waiting beside the road. Super excited, the driver starts talking to me, handshakes, fistbumps and more handshakes. I think they offered me a place to stay in town but I wasn't very sure. Kind of wished I spoke a bit more Spanish.
It was all downhill to the massive blob of houses, buildings and streets called Durango.
There was even a walmart! There wasn't much selection in terms of 26" MTB tires in the bikeshops I visited. There was a Trek Durango, which was closed but it seemed that they only had 29" bikes there, odd.
Tires can wait until Guadalajara. 30km out of town the hills started and so did the views.
And the switchbacks which will have to wait for tomorrow.
At Mezquital, my new amigo rode with me down to the plaza.
The food stall owner had lived in Colorado and spoke some english. Over burritos, his 3 kids thoroughly questioned me about every detail of the trip, having him translate. Sometimes they would forget and just speak to me in Spanish, haha.
Then I followed the DJ ATV out of town.
Decided to cheat and take the paved road instead of the dirt switchbacks. Jokes on me, I ended up climbing 1600m.
Then down again...
...oh
A semi pulled over ahead of me to remove a rock from its wheels. Hmmm... why not get a lift to the top?
Saved some 1100m of climbing and arrived just in time for the sunset.
Still more climbing to go but I tried to keep up with this rider. Seems all men in Mexico carry a neat colorful manpurse. Not kidding, if I wasnt wearing a backpack, I'd be rocking one of those :)
Ended up riding along a ridge for the rest of the day. Passing by small towns and even a no-biking sign.
What followed was a glorious 2200m descend to the valley floor. Which by the way was hot as hell.
Early morning riding through the town of Huzamota. Groups of children going to school, packs of stray dogs looking for food,
band of horses heading to who knows where and absolutely ignorig the gringo on the bike,
herds of cows blocking the way...
and a murder of crows circling above... probably a dead cow, or riding the wind streams up.
How to parallel park your donkey. They just don't teach those things in driving school.
It was very hot but kind of manageable, only if I wasn't climbing up all day.
The pavement ended and it looked like I took the newly cut road, instead of the proper one. Decided to try this shortcut trail to the main road. Bad idea, lost my footing at one spot and nearly dropped the bike down the hillside, got off with a bruise and a broken spoke.
Few hours later, there was brand new pavement again.
And time for a siesta, few spoonfulls of Nutella, funny how intense scraping the last little bit can get. Forgetting that I am almost out of water, at 2200m and climbing and that the sun will set soon: it's all about getting to the next scoop!
Sadly all new roads come with fences on both sides, using concrete posts, which as I have seen on some of the not so new roads can easily fall apart. Such a big waste of concrete, why not instead build a hoover dam or two?
Some people working on the new road have set up makeshift tents nearby. Heading over to my bike I had the 2nd fall of the day on the loose gravel. Maybe its all that heat, I asked the family for some water and they filled my bottle with cloudy water. It sometimes surprises me to think that this is what most people drink here.
Got to town just as it was getting dark, 7 pickup trucks - Jalisco municipal police, armed to the teeth. I get some water, juice and to my surprise, there is a hotel here and even better - its 30 pesos ($2.5), best of all there was no need for setting an alarm as there are donkeys in the yard to wake me up...sadly there was no snooze.
Rained all night and all day, I decided to stay since it was pretty cheap. No restaurants here but food store across the street. As I was eating dinner, it turns out that I will have a roommate. Andreas from Sinaloa who drives cement truck here, he had a crash too.
Day 2 at Santa Cruz, pretty chill, stay indoors and listen to the rain fall on the metal roof. Visited the store to grab some food and it seems that everybody is watching Star Wars 2: the one about the clones, or maybe it was 3. Yoda was fighting count duku(?). It was the family who owns the store and the hotel which is actually one of their spare rooms. The driver of the Corona beer delivery truck has joined them, the truck - left running for a while now. They tell me rain until Sunday, not sure if I want to rest a third day, I will probably head out tomorrow... or maybe not.
Its funny how not in a rush I am, a friend I met in university lives in El Salvador and the kind folks at Klymit agreed to send me a replacement pad (mine has been leaking, so every 2-3 hours I blow it up). So I sent that there thinking El Salvador is after Mexico... well, it's not. Anyways, I figure a month or two until I get there.
I rode up a tiny road to find the "ecotourism" cabins, two dogs started chasing and barking at me but I could tell they werent sure if they wanted to bark or play. Ending up giving 3/4ths of a bark and then pausing for a bit and wagging their tails the entire time.
The clouds cleared just in time for the sunset.
And in the morning I climbed a water tower to see the large cut on the mountainside where I made my way down 6 days ago.
Typical morning in Las Canoas. Music playing, smoke, sun, few people trying to unstuck a pickup truck from the mud in the middle of town, a gringo taking a picture of town and then talking about it in a blog.
Then some rolling hills and lots of happy faces along the way. I think life here is tough but peoole know how to enjoy it. Kids are always out playing, not inside on Xboxes and playstations.
There was a petrol station with wifi, store and restaurant. I wondered if I should eat here or in the next town - 30km away. I asked the store clerk, who spoke some english:
"Is it uphill, downhill or flat to Huej..... huejo....huehohi...." I gave up trying to pronounce it and just pointed east.
"Huejoquilla? Its flat."
Flat. Yeah right.
Then while climbing for 20km in the blistering heat, I wondered if the word "flat" did not translate well in spanish.
Building this fence is like tetris in real life!
Once I got to the town whose name I could not pronounce, I had lunch and just as quickly left. One cool thing about stores here is that if you want part of something, thats ok. You can buy single sausages (you or the store clerk pick them from the package), a part piece of chese, a single battery from a 4pack and so on.
Riding out of Huejoquilla consisted of singing "Country roads" by john denver and yelling out "Huejoquilla! Huejoquilla!!!", as I finally learned to pronounce it. Not that it matters now :(
Hopped a stone fence to a neat flat spot. Pretty nice sunset.
Ever since I got to Mexico, I have switched diet from mostly chilli, instant mash potatoes and noodles to real potatoes, onion, now sasuage and cheese. While enjoying the meal a bug decided to get next to my backpack (or fall from the tree?) And die. How inconsiderate!!!
Lunch at a town whose name I cant remember.
Despite not showing on 2 of the 3 maps I have, I decided to try a route to Bolanos. Asked a man for directions and after 5 minutes, all I understood is take a left at the river. I think my talent is following directions which I do not understand. I dont even know the words for left or right, straight is Derecha, i think.
6pm, getting dark and looking for a campsite off the road. Now, I dont know about you but when I see somebody with a gun, my first thought is "wow, i havent shot that before, can I try?"
No luck finding a good view before dark, this would have to do.
Across the valley there were glittering lights. Too spread out to be a town, I kept wondering what they were.
The cloud filled valley in the morning did not offer any answers.
You know... 15 minutes can save you 15% or more on car insurance!
Then there was pavement but not your regular kind. Rocks, dust, gravel and potholes. Definitely keeps the touring cyclist on edge as hitting one would be game over for your rim. Or as a friend put it "or your face, i'm worried more about that"
Glorious downhill to Bolanos
Including rocks, gravel...
And pavement.
River towns seem to have pretty interesting buildings and tough climbs out of town.
Christmas decorations few towns downstream. Oh yeah, its december now
Mellow riding all day along the canon, few road signs and locals guided me to the climb.
Normally its tough finding camping up the switchbacks so I went for a horse corral, so what if I have some neighbours.
Autofocus 0, donkey 1
Watching the unreal sunset with my new friends.
Now, as it got dark another donkey and a black horse joined in. I went to check them out as it sounded like they were knocking over the stone fence, what vandals! They even watched me write this journal. (note, donkey saliva is hard to remove from tablet screen. dont leave your tablet unattended.)
Later I was awoken by one donkey checking out my bike. I let things play out a bit and he half undid the straps on my rear bag. Thats when I had to step in.
Its true when they say the grass is greener on the other side. As I gain altitude and roads on the other side of the canyon come into view, I am always jelaous and wish I was there instead, mainly because none of my maps show roads there.
Definitely feels that I am supporting the local economy by buying Cola and candy at the stores... at the expense of my health :)
Florencia - bigger town. Some people drive nice cars, I think I saw a BMW.
Somebody drove after me out of town to take a picture of me, I beat them to it!
Next town, nice downhill, cheap hotel and for the first time in 10 days, wifi.
Looking for a place to get a burger in the evening, I walk into somebodys kitchen turned to restaurant. Nobody is there, an old man walks in and tells me to wait, I do.
Then Jose walks in, he lived in north Carolina for 15 years so he speaks english, returned here to take care of his family.
"My dad called me, said there was a white kid who wanted to eat," he says, followed by "oh crap, I dont have an onion" and runs off.
Then come the two most beautiful double burgers Ive seen in a long time.
6am, fireworks, marching bands, bells... whats happening. By the time I got out it was all over.
Flowers seem to grow on trees here.
Leaning "deadhorse" on the tree, like the other horses.
Narrow roads, lots of traffic and easy grades. Baby tequila plants beside the road
A day away from Guadalajara, one canyon in the way. Biking in the heat and often thinking of going somewhere very cold next year...
