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5 guys meet on the internet & head to Mexico for a Good Time!

philipbarrett

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Part 1 : The Prequel

Well it all started with a simple post by severely right here -

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100591

And pretty soon idle chit-chat became why-nots and then became lets-go's. So, 8 weeks later we found ourselves making the (long and wet) run to the border for a rendezvous with our local "connection."

So, come along for the ride.

:rider:
 
Part the 2nd : The Prologue

Introducing your cast for this ride report;

"If there's Mole I'm in" philipbarrett
"border crossing boss" dmux
"Time to drop this thing in another country" alpine357
"Sayonara you suckers, I'm off around the world after this" stalefish

and

"I can't believe I got talked into escorting these Gringos around Mexico" kayakkawakid


Plus we were joined for the 1st day road sections by "did I really buy a Connie to ride with a bunch of sub-500cc thumpers?" Thomas

And all performed under the ever-watchful gaze of Ivonne (more on her later).
 
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Part the 3rd : Day One, in which our intrepid heroes cross the border and make a run for the hills. Or the ride to be known as Asiento del Fuego :angryfire



We'd been smart enough to process our paperwork the night before. Actually, dmux had been smart enough to both process his paperwork earlier in the day and actually go to the correct bridge to do so. We were not that smart. One aborted border crossing later we headed to the right bridge where dmux made his 3rd run for the day and had us help carry those funny packages for him.

Having secured the documentation required and paid all and sundry for the same privilege we collected up kayakkawakid Friday morning having arranged to meet Mr. - I drove all night - stalefish on the "otherside."

The crossing was uneventful, having picked up stalefish on the Mexican side we made it through the decidedly unlovely roads of Reynosa finally stopping for lunch in China (not actually pronounced China and apparently we were in General Bravo anyway) for some lunch at Los Ahijados where kayakkawakid met his old neighbors from Texas, because, well it's a small world after all.

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Back on the road & it was a high speed run (well anything over 45 is a high speed run for an XR400R with trail gearing) that apparently caused a little too much warmth in the nether regions. Luckily my fellow travelers were there to assist in the extinguishing of the small fuego, right after they'd done laughing.

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Lots more highway slog and one small ...er...deviation from course later we finally hit the stuff we'd come for. Rayones is where the dirt finally starts and we rode through the clouds (but no rain) to Galeana.

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The Hotel Magdal na had plenty of rooms and we pulled in for the night, watched closely by the rooftop guard.

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Then beers, dinner, beers & bed. In that order.

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Part the 4th : In which The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Thumpers



We met outside the hotel at 8am (we are a late rising, civilized bunch here, not the BMW MOA) and having secured coffee at the OXXO debated the most important part of the day, breakfast. Luckily this chap showed up selling packs of 4 breakfast tacos made by his mother for 20 pesos a pack. Egg & Potato, Cabrito, Bean & Cheese and another one we all forgot. Equally delicious, made even better by the price.

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Then it was on to the 2nd most important order of the day. Where to ride. With our trusty MexTrek guide in hand and using stalefish's prior knowledge we came up with a hybrid plan of Top of the World and a general meander through the highways & byways North of Galeana.

Remember Ivonne? She watches. More on her later.

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First stop the Pozo del Gavilan which translates into "really large hole in the ground you might not want to ride up to at night." This guy wasn't so lucky.

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Doesn't look so big eh? Try this on for size.

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Next stop, the Cerro El Potosi or "Top of the World" or (from the original Galeana ride report over on that "other" forum) the "Worst Ride I Ever Took." Actually, provided you like steep rocky climbs that go on for ever, it's a whole lot of fun. Of course the comment above was made on a V-Strom which might not have been the sharpest blade upon which to attempt this.

Once at the top, it really is the top, all 12,221 feet of carburetor gasping top.

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Where we basked in the sun. And took Studly Adventurer pictures.

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Until the clouds came in.

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And we took more Studly pictures.

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We found some type of plant that no doubt dmux would be adding to his cross border excursions.

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Heading back down we interrupted the frolics of a pair of horses. The equine professionals amongst us assured the group that these lads had lost their tackle, were devoid of the family jewels, were cojones free...you get the idea. They also like trail mix.

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and we liked the view, deciding this was THE PERFECT CAMPSITE.

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Don't change that channel...
 
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Woah. More. I like everything about this thread.
 
Twice to Galeana, never went to the top of the world or the sinkhole. I need to ride a little less and tour a lil more. Keep it coming! :clap:
 
Hotel Magdel na. Spit out my coke. But give them a break. The neon repairman has only known about the repair job for like 6 - 8 weeks. A.K.A. "barleyritenow".

Related Q, how much are rooms there now?
 
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Hotel Magdel na. Spit out my coke. But give them a break. The neon repairman has only known about the repair job for like 6 - 8 weeks. A.K.A. "barleyritenow".

Related Q, how much are rooms there now?

Still 280 pesos for a single and 360 pesos for a double, it hasn't changed in 7 1/2 yrs,
and " ivonne is watching us " and boy was that tequila and lime ice cream good !!
 
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Part the 5th : Day 1 continues and we ride, and ride, and ride.

Bottom of the hill necessitated a stop for in Dieciocho de Marzo, a Coca, snacks and the World's Most Interesting Restroom.

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The chickens don't mind if you don't mind, they've seen it all before..

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Back on the trail, we headed North through Los Mimbres and Cienega del Toro (where we had our first bandit encounter) through the spectacular farm valleys of the area.

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Yes, these pequeño bandidos took most of our candy without mercy.

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We turned back South and started through the canyons that follow the Rio Pilon. No pictures here as a rough trail, 1,000ft drop and no guardrails tends to focus the mind on riding only.

We stopped to admire a natural bridge where safety is our second concern.

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And climbed down, like a billion steps, to admire nature's hard work.

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dmux took it all in his stride.

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And I found evidence of Aztec civilization.

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See it?

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We found more rocks embedded in weird places.

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After a 121 mile day, much of it vertical and the sun setting, it was time to head back to the hotel, mas cervecas, dinner, ice cream and a really good night's sleep.

Remember Ivonne? All will be revealed. See you in the morning.
 
Part the 6th : In which the Famous Five become politicos for a day.

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Remember Ivonne? June 7th is the regional election day for Nuevo Leon and this is a Big Deal. The main players are the PRI (more liberal, who ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century) and the PAN (more traditional, who are the party of Vicente Fox & Calderon). They take their elections very seriously around these parts and Ivonne's face could be seen on almost every fence, wall and car window from the largest towns to the remotest villages. Not a bad face to have staring at you admittedly and I'm hoping she'll consider a run for the Texas Governor's seat soon.

Why is all this important? Stay tuned...

Day 2 sadly lacked the appearance of Taco Boy. So after coffee we decided on some Southerly routes and rode the paved twisties to Iturbide where breakfast was served.

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Huevos rancheros, eggs were farm fresh, hopefully not the same chickens as yesterday though.

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Breakfast successfully put to rest, we hit the dirt heading South under threatening clouds. Neither the goats or Ivonne seemed to be dissuaded by the weather so neither were we.

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Traffic jam? Out here? Yes, in Camarones we'd stumbled across a PAN rally packed with more people and vehicles than these deserted hills could possibly have produced. After some serious negotiations from our resident speaker de Espanol it was decided that we could first pass through, then actually participate in the festivities.

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The locals were friendly...

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...naturally dmux was busy winning the hearts and minds of the people...

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...and I was questioned by the local PAN leader's husband and since their candidate and I shared the same name all was smiles and happiness.

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La musica blared, speeches were made and the dancing commenced. They certainly know how a good time is put together at these rallies!

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With much fanfare "los motos" departed, however this was not the last we were to see of the PAN supporters! We continued South through forested and somewhat muddy trails (it had rained hard the previous night) to Santa Inez. Deserted, because, well everyone was at the PAN rally weren't they.

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At this point the road turns North again and we headed up towards Buena Vista, stopping on the way to admire the BEST CAMPSITE EVER! Which I guess is why it's called Buena Vista?

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Stalefish caught the kids heading to school.

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Pretty soon we started meeting the folks heading home from the rally. Whole families in trucks, waving & laughing, all politely pulling over to let us by. On the steepest hill we met a line held up behind an overheated Ford. Luckily Los Motos are always prepared and we dived in with mucho agua and mucho advice in a language they couldn't understand. A good time was had by all, the truck was resuscitated and we were off.

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Today was water crossing day. We'd met a few along the way but this one caused much merriment for the politicos and us combined.

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How it's really done.

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We rode through the late afternoon sunshine into a flooded Galeana (we'd again missed all the bad weather) and nearly fought a fierce battle in the streets for the Last Mole in Town. I won by playing the race card (English you know).

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We finished the day with homemade Tequilla Ice Cream which was as delicious as it sounds.

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Part the 7th : In which Los Motos sadly return to their real lives.

Having rendezvoused at the ungodly hour of 7am we decided that, after the thunderstorms the previous night, pavement would probably be the best way to the border. No pictures but stunning curves as the sun rose over the mountains.

Lunch was at the same location and before you know it we were waiting in line to get our TVIPs stamped.

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and finally farewells.

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So what's more to say? Great riding, fantastic company and I think a good time had by all. To all the naysayers, we weren't robbed, accosted, threatened or shown anything but courtesy and friendliness from the locals.

Thanks guys for making this all happen, it was a weekend I'll not forget for a long time.

:clap:
 
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What a great pictorial report! Man I want to go on one (actually many) of these trips so bad. Every time I even think about trying to join in, I get waylaid by life events, and have to bail. :giveup: Perhaps this October will be the time I finally get there. I haven't even put myself on the possible list...approaching it this time in stealth mode. Hoping I can accidentally sneak in on the trip, without notice or other medalling interferences from the outside world. :trust:
 
Oh and another thing - if it hadn't been for thrillbilly's help & hard work getting Squeaky sorted & running again, I'd have been stuck watching the TV all weekend!
 
Thanks for the report Philip. Great job. I had quite the time riding with y'all. Things went amazingly smooth on this ride. No breakdowns, no flats, no injuries. A few navigational challenges were easily overcome.
I look forward to doing it again in October.
 
Awesome report!!! I can't wait for October. Only 137 days to get affairs in order, get your clear title, a passport, and $250 cash saved up. Seems pretty simple right now.
 
Oh and another thing - if it hadn't been for thrillbilly's help & hard work getting Squeaky sorted & running again, I'd have been stuck watching the TV all weekend!
Dude... I've just gotta go next time. This thread will linger on in my head until I finally get to make it happen.

I'm really proud of ol squeaky! I went out and did some stuff to mine today, and finally took her off the stand and started her up. I'm still trying to figure out what she likes in her current state of tune to start, but three kicks isn't bad. Right? Hadn't been started in about two weeks, and the carb had been drained since...

Anyways.... IVE GOTTA GO ON THIS TRIP NEXT YEAR!
 
Many thanks for the ride report, sorry I couldn't make this one, looks like an epic ride. So looking forward to October. Vaya con dios, amigos.:clap:
 
but three kicks isn't bad. Right? Hadn't been started in about two weeks, and the carb had been drained since...

3 kicks is great from a drained carb. Kicks 1 & 2 were pulling gas in. I pull in the de-comp lever and give about 4 kicks prior to starting normally when she's cold & drained.
 
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