Mexican Holiday Ramble

So a few months ago Scott (LaOutbackTrail) start babbling about another trip south and somehow I convinced him to curtail this assault to 6 days. A guy only gets so much vacation. The kicker was that I was already scheduled to be in Kansas City for the holidays visiting the in-laws. For the geographically challenged that's well north of the border. Day 1 started at 5 am at a blistering speed along the highways of eastern Kansas. Unfortunately for me the Blue Valley highway drops from 70 to 50 as it enteres Ft. Scott. The piggly-wiggly pulled me over, but as it was still the holiday season, and I had a jayhawk sticker on the back, he let me go...even with my Texas license. Whew. 12 hours later we rolled into Houston to meet Scott and Jim at mi casa. Not lacking for entertainment Scott and Jim informed me that a drug bust had just taken place across the street from my townhome. Sweet, the ride hasn't even started and already the police activity is picking up. An hour passes as I gather my pre-packed gear, load the 3rd bike, dump all the holiday cheer out of the 4runner and into the house, and kiss my better-half goodbye.

Somehow climbing back into a car for another 6 hours after already riding for 12 seems like a lot more fun when you're starting a new trip. Off we drove to McAllen, TX and the Marriott. This is definetely the place to stay and the secured parking garage helps too. Jim scored a spot on the roll-out and Scott was forced to cuddle with me as they only had king-size beds. Day 2 saw us well rested and ready for Mexico.




Scott's xr650l




Jim's BMW 650 Dakar





First stop was for Jim and Scott to change money near the border. Me, I think this is a stupid idea because I like to hide a few bucks on my bike and I don't want to do it with curious onlookers. I pre-ordered my dough from my bank...you can do it online with Bank of America and had the pleasure of securing funds well in advance of the trip. Now that I think of it I need to take the money off the bike...or perhaps just leave the pesos on for next time.

Scott thinking about how much money he needs...




Look for these signs near the border to change your $$ to pesos.




I have few photos of the border crossing as I was attempting to explain to the senorita behind the desk why she should join our tour. Somehow it was lost in the translation. Perhaps I shouold have used a few more hand-gestures.

Once inside Mexico and through the 20 mile checkpoint we had a 3 hour ride before the Sierra Madres loomed before us.

Passing through the border at Reynosa was no sweat once we figured out where the correct building and desk were located. Take Scott's advise and do the importation permit online. This will save you from having to bring your title, etc.

West of Montemorelos we started up into the twisties heading towards Galeana.



This shot is looking back at the pass cut in the rock from the previous photo.



This was my steed for the trip.
'06 KLR 650 w/9100 miles at the start. Passed through 10K on the way home.
Ortlieb thin dry saddlebags.
Wolfman tank bag
Dry-sack for the sleeping bag and the other two bags hold a tent and therm-a-rest.



The road to Galeana eventually turns to dirt.



We rolled into Galeana around 5 and secured ourselves a room at the hotel Jardin. They happened to have a room on the 3rd floor with three beds, but somehow Jim drew the short straw and ended up with fewer blankets than teh rest of us. Cold night for him. Rooms were pretty nice, but the bathroom smelled like somebody had let a giant chili induced fart and kept it sealed for a month in anticipation of our arrival. I'd stay there again in a heart-beat.

Day 2 began with another cloudless sky, brisk winter air, and freshly swept streets. Well, maybe just the square. The central square is a source of pride in many towns, especially this one.



Jim enjoys his breakfast in the morning sun as we pack up. Average temps over the New Year holiday were in the 40's-50's at night and 70's-80's during the middle of the day.



Heading north out of Galena we navigate 20+ miles of graded dirt road passing through a few small towns and dodging a few late 70's ford and chevy trucks. The views were pretty good...



But apparently Scott's bike had other ideas as it quickly shed a windshield bolt leaving Scott to strap his fancy new wind guard to the bake of his bike for the rest of the trip.

Great pics, keep them coming

I would have liked to have been there with you guys. Maybe next time.

Good stuff! I can't wait to head through there in March.

In the mean time, let me know if you'd like to trade for some of the tougher green plastics and tank. Man I wish I would have held out for the fast green...

We aren't on the same page here... I started a thread in the Tire Kicking section.... copying everything from ADVrider.

TourMeister, would you mind merging the two threads?