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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