For this trip we created a Facebook Group where we use to post on a daily basis.
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Enjoy ...
Make Life A Ride !
Saturday, April 10, 2021
Sena 10C Evo Videos
These are the different Sena videos (using an EVO 10C EVo camera on my helmet) that I took during our trip.
Day 1 - Dallas, TX to Del Rio, TX
Day 2 - Del Rio, TX to Saltillo, MX through USA/MX Border Crossing Acuna, MX Piedras Negras, MX
Crossing the bridge into Mexico
Day 3 - Saltillo, MX to San Luis Potosi, MX through Ruta 20
Ruta 20 in the middle of the rain
Day 4 - San Luis Potosi, MX to Guanajato, MX through Hidalgo, MX
Arriving in Guanajuato, MX with tunnels
Arriving at hotel in Guanajuato, MX
Day 5 - Guanajuato, MX to Tamazunchale, MX
Day 6 - Tamazunchale, MX to Jalpan de Serra, MX through Xilitla and Las Pozas
Going down steep hill close to Las Pozas, MX
Riding in Sierra Gorda on way to Jalpan de Serra
Day 7 - Jalpan de Serra, MX to Real de Catorce, MX
Police and military presence in Jalpan de Serra
Riding in formation in the Sierra Gorda
Truck accident in the middle of the road
Cobblestone road towards Real de Catorce, MX
On the hill approaching Real de Catorce, MX
Entering and riding in the tunnel in Real de Catorce, MX
Arriving at hotel in Real de Catorce, MX
Day 8 - Real de Catorce, MX to Monterrey, MX
On the hill leaving Real de Catorce, MX
Curves close to Saltillo, MX on the Highway 57
Day 9 - Monterrey, MX to San Antonio, TX
Leaving Monterrey, MX with sunrise
Truckers sleeping on he side of the road
Truck traffic north of Monterrey, MX
Hammered by the wind on the way to Colombia Bridge
Hammered by the wind on the way to Colombia Bridge 2
Hammered by the wind on the way to Colombia Bridge 3
Day 9 - Monterrey, MX to San Antonio, TX
At dawn we had our bikes packed up and left the hotel and were surprised that even though it was very early on a Saturday there was already a lot of traffic. �As we traveled north, we were able to enjoy the sunrise on our left and by the time the sun was up we ere already on the outskirts of the city.
The travel to the border was done on Highway 85 where we had to pay tolls a number of times but we made good time. The amount of trucks on the road is amazing as this is main corridor for this type of traffic between this very industrial area in Mexico and the United States. We had to be quite careful as our motorcycles as big as they are compared to other motorcycles are no match for these 18 wheelers.
We had decided to cross the the Mexico-US border at Colombia bridge which turned out to be a great idea as there was little traffic and we made good time. The first process was to export the bikes from Mexico, which would release our $400 deposit per bike back to our accounts and then we had to get through immigration in the United States. All went very smoothly and we were riding north already in US soil before 12pm.
Paula and I needed to only do another 160 miles (260 kms) to get to San Antonio; TX where we would spend the night and Paula would get a flight back to Dallas, TX in the morning and I would need to do another 500 miles to get to the Big Bend National Park on the South-West corner of Texas.
Bo, Dave, Colin and Craig had another 450 miles (720 kms) to go as they wanted to get home by Saturday night.
We arrived safely in San Antonio, TX in about two hours and still had time to go to the River Walk where we had a late lunch/early dinner and by the time we got back to the hotel we started getting the messages that everybody had arrived safely at home.
I really enjoyed our trip where the main highlights for me was our first dinner in Los Compadres in Saltillo, MX, riding the Ruta 20, the beautiful city of Guanajuato, MX, riding in the Sierra Gorda, seeing the rain forest and Las Pozas and go back in time and experience the unique town of Real de Catorce, MX.
Make Life A Ride !
Friday, April 9, 2021
Day 8 - Real de Catorce, MX to Monterrey, MX
This would be the last night we spent in Mexico and we decided to do it in the city of Monterrey, MX.
But first we had to deal with leaving Real de Catorce, MX with loaded motorcycles which was another adventure. I specially enjoyed riding over the cobblestones with our GSA. What fun …
We approached the city of Monterey from the West and we would need to cross it to the North East. This city is one of the most developed and livable cities in Mexico and because of its proximity to the United States it is the base of many international corporations. Interesting to note that its GDP per capita is twice that of the national average. This meant that there was a lot of traffic that we had to deal with at over 100F temperatures. As we arrived at our hotel they had a little device that is supposed to measure body temperature (for COVID purposes) and our bodies glowed bright orange all over.
As we were enjoying the air-condition environment this part of the city got impacted by a major power shortage and we had to wait a couple of hours, under generator power, until the full power came back on.
The Holiday Inn where we stayed was quite new with great amenities and we specially enjoyed a great dinner.
After the power came back the rooms were nicely rolled down and we had a great night sleep.
Make Life A Ride !
Thursday, April 8, 2021
Day 7 - Jalpan de Serra, MX to Real de Catorce, MX
After spending the first hour dealing with the curves in the Sierra Gorda the road straightened out as we made our way North.
Eventually we reached the Highway 57 and slab it to Matehuala, MX where we took Ruta 62 and about 17 miles north of Real de Catorce we hit the cobblestones. It’s not easy to reach this former silver mining town, but as a fan of Wild West-style ghost towns, for me it was worth the effort and one of the highlights of this trip.
After the 17-mile cobblestone road we journey along a narrow 1.5-mile-long tunnel that is not for the faint of heart specially behind old Mexican cars with high carbon emissions. Once we went through the tunnel we felt like we had entered the twilight zone, gone back in tiie and we were in an episode of Westworld.
We parked the motorcycles in probably the most interesting hotel in our trip. It had a big patio in the back that overlooked the mountains and we saw the most beautiful and serene sunset.
As we still had some time before the sun went down we went to walk the town and see the church. We felt the rich history and that every corner had a story to tell.
Horses, sometimes with people on them, roam the streets and the sounds of their hooves on the cobblestones brought back memories of western moves I had watched as a young boy. The roads are very steep and slippery and walking or horse riding is the best way to get around town.
I wished we had at least another day or two in this unique town to see the many unusual sites in the area.
Make Life A Ride !
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Day 6 - Tamazunchale, MX to Jalpan de Serra, MX through Xilitla and Las Pozas
Another full day deep into the Sierra Gorda and the highlight of this day was the visit to Las Pozas in Xilitla, MX.
“Las Pozas ("the Pools"), near the village of Xilitla, more than 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level, in a subtropical rainforest in the mountains of Mexico, is a garden created by Edward James, an eccentric English poet. It includes more than 80 acres (32 ha) of natural waterfalls and pools interlaced with towering Surrealist sculptures in concrete.”
We spent about 2 hours visiting Las Pozas and were mightily impressed with the level of creativity and surrealism.
It is a unique place to see the over 30 Surrealist-inspired concrete sculptures “ranging from plant sculptures to winding staircases to nowhere, and cathedral inspired screens — some ornately finished, others seemingly incomplete, although it is unclear if they were ever intended to be “finished.”
We arrived at the site at 10am but we were only able to start the tour at 1pm so we stayed in a nearby restaurant, where we also had lunch, enjoying the tropical forest all around us.
The ride to Jalpan de Sierra was another one through many curves and very enjoyable.
Jalpan de Serra is also the site two of five Franciscan missions, including the first one, to have been built in the mid-18th century, and declared a World Heritage Site in 2003. Our hotel was just on the other side of the road of this beautiful church.
The Hotel Mission is very nice and we would highly recommend it. It has a pool that helped us decrease our very hot body temperature after riding at 110F (43C) and we stayed in for dinner on the inside patio of the hotel.
While we were having fun dining in the pool, walking in the main municipal square and seeing the church, a close by “lavandaria” did our laundry which cost $3.60 and they even delivered last thing in the day to our hotel.
Our hotel room that evening smelled of freshly washed clothes.
Make Life A Ride !
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Day 5 - Guanajuato, MX to Tamazunchale, MX
This would be one of our longest days on the motorcycle, even though in terms of miles we would only have to do 285 miles (460kms). The reason being the thousands of curves we would encounter as we made our way through the Sierra Gorda mountains.
So we left Guanajuato at the crack of dawn after negotiating with the hotel to have a driver come one hour earlier to move the cars so we could take out the bikes. We made it !
The Sierra Gorda is extremely rugged with high steep mountains and deep canyons with a very wide diversity of plant and animal life, which is due to the various micro environments created by the ruggedness of the terrain and wide variation in rainfall. This area is the second most populated natural protected area in Mexico, and it has severe problems with poverty.
For lunch we stopped in Zimapán which is the largest city in the Hidalgo portion of the Sierra Gorda. and was founded in 1522. It is primarily a mining center, extracting various metals and stones from the steep mountains that surround it. We had difficulty in finding a suitable restaurant but eventually we found Los Arcos and were very well served. We left the bikes outside under the watchful eye of a guard that we convinced to take care of them.
The rest of the afternoon was spent doing curve after curve and as we had communication working between us we kept commenting how well the curves were designed for our motorcycles. It was an absolute blast of a day of riding with the only problem being the very high heat and humidity that we encountered as we entered the rain forest.
When we arrived at the town of Tamazunchale, I can say we were happy to get off the bikes and just relax in our air-conditioned rooms.
Make Life A Ride !
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