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Dos Semanas En Mexico

Joined
Feb 12, 2013
Messages
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Location
Kerrville
Two idiots who don't know better than to stay out of Mexico.

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Through a set of unforeseeable circumstances, I have two consecutive weeks of vacation!
Two weeks feels so luxurious! Lots of possibilities for destinations. We can go further afield and spend more time at each stop…

John and I discuss possible destinations and the various combinations of transport. Of course every scenario involves motorcycles. It’s just the choosing between which bikes; all pavement? All dirt? A mix of the two? What about trailering to a destination? If we trailer the dirt bikes, do we want to camp (yes). If we ride the street bikes, do we want to camp (depends).

Mexico is always in the running and finally wins out. It just can’t be beat as a destination. Much as we both want to see the American West--Mexico is closer, offers a fabulous experience and the economics can‘t be ignored. (Kinda sad that we can’t afford to tour in our own country, but there it is.)


So, Mexico it is. With the destination in mind, we again consider which bikes. We settle on the Stroms. We can cover more ground quicker and more comfortably and the Givi cases offer more security than the soft bags on the dual sports.

Ok, we’ve chosen our destination (albeit writ large) and our conveyance, better get packing.

Our trusty steeds in Mexican countryside.


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Wife and i just got back from a couple weeks in the Monterrey/Torreon area. Waiting for the rest of your story.
 
Pre-trip Drama

A few weeks ago, I had to cancel a solo trip to see the solar eclipse due to a charging issue with my bike. I took it to a local shop and they diagnosed a bad regulator/rectifier. $300. later and the bike is home and apparently running fine. A week later on a day ride I am absolutely deflated to see the voltmeter dropping below acceptable levels.

With less than a week before our planned departure for Mexico, John and I scramble, trying to replace or repair the stator. We think we get it sorta fixed. We pack extra parts and tools “just in case” and decide to make a go of it.

Leaving Texas

With crossed fingers and a bit of duct tape (jk) we left Kerrville Monday, Sept 25 at 2:00 in the afternoon. The lateness of our departure doesn’t concern either of us as our first stop is Laredo, only ~250 miles away. We take secondary roads as much as we can. On one such road I see signs for Bigfoot, TX. I want to see the town with a name like that and decide it would be fun to take a pic of my big feet in Bigfoot. Alas, our route veers away from Bigfoot. Instead we roll into Pearsall and enjoy some tacos and a Blizzard at the local DQ.

First night away from home, we stay at the Red Roof Inn in Laredo. Have dinner at the Palenque Grill (walking distance from the hotel and was excellent.)


Best margarita EVER
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26sep, Tu

120 miles ridden today and no forward progress!

This morning we crossed into Mexico at the Columbia Bridge just north of Laredo. Mexican border agents warn us that heavy downpours have flooded the main thoroughfare (MX85), apparently stranding large numbers of tractor trailers. They show us cellphone photos of semi’s in 4 ft of water on the highway.

However, we are not deterred as we are planning to ride a secondary route. The agents let us park in a sheltered area out of the rain while we take care of the paperwork. Soon we are underway. In Mexico at last! My anticipation rises as the familiar sights and smells of Mexico roll by. This road is familiar to me as John and I traveled down it on my first two wheeled trip to Old Mexico. I remember the town of Anahuac as we come to it and note the hotel we stayed at on that previous trip.

About 60 miles in, we are flagged down by a couple riding two-up on a small Chinese adv bike. They tell us of long sections of road construction ahead. They talk of deep, sticky, slimy mud and of dropping their bike twice.

It doesn’t take much to convince John and I; no way could we make it through on our heavily laden street bikes. We turn around.

Back in Anahuac, we stop at an Oxxo, grab a quick snack, make another plan and head out again.

Lunch from the Oxxo
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Even Anahuac has gotten the "big letters"
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Now our goal is the city of Monclova. We get all of 20 miles down the road when we hit a section of chewed up asphalt. John didn’t hesitate, rode right out onto it. Immediately a stream of expletives came through my Sena as he struggled to keep the bike upright. The loose plates of asphalt slipped and sank down as his tires rolled across. He brought the bike to a halt, only to realize he wouldn’t be able to turn around without riding down even further, to an area which appeared to give better footing. As he worked his way back to where I waited, he reported that where the chewed up section ended, mud began. We were foiled again!

You can just make out the headlights of John's bike
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We headed back to Anahuac and the nice little hotel (“Alas Blancas”) we had stayed at in 2015. I was looking forward to the well kept courtyard and the clean, pleasant rooms there. But we were in for yet another rudeness. Once the woman working the office realized we spoke little Spanish, her demeanor changed and she told us the hotel was full. Neither of us believed her but whut cha going to do? (I did let her know of my displeasure as we geared up.)

We have no alternative now but to head back across the border, regroup there and figure out if we can save this trip.

So that’s what we did. We rode through Nuevo Laredo. (The city we had avoided just a day ago, now we negotiate our way through in heavy rain and heavy traffic. Crossed the border back into Texas and holed up at a lousy Executive Inn in Laredo. The rain (did I fail to mention it has rained most of the day?) shows no signs of letting up. So we order pizza in, spread our riding gear out to dry, take hot showers, try to find weather reports for Mexico and determinedly plot our escape. We might be stalled, but neither of us speak of giving up.
 
Nice report. Please tell us more.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 
I'm assuming yours is the dayglo green one. Looks fine from a distance, at least. Decals or paint?
 
I'm assuming yours is the dayglo green one. Looks fine from a distance, at least. Decals or paint?

Tim, it's a peel and stick vinyl i picked up at a parts store. cut the shapes out free hand. Surprisingly, it is holding up well. (to everyone else's chagrin.)
 
27sep, We
In the morning (or was it late yesterday?) John had noticed one of the four bolts that hold his windscreen on, was missing. He now removes the windscreen, rides (in the rain which now is mixed with fog) to a parts store and returns with a suitable replacement bolt. We stand in the rain and bolt the thing back on.

By the time we have packed up and loaded up, the sky has lightened and the rain abates. Our plan is to ride to Roma, TX and use a ferry crossing there. We pass through an old section of Laredo, interesting to see the old houses and to muse that this is the city of my birth after all. (Not that I remember it.)

A stop in Zapata to enjoy a good, home-style lunch from D&E Foodcraft grocery store.
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We roll up to the Los Ebanos ferry crossing at 3:45 in the afternoon to find they have already closed for the day. John was surprised to see that the little crossing has been upgraded and modernized quite a bit. Here's a link to a brief article about the ferry.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...hand-drawn-ferry-is-unique-in-the-1834361.php

Disappointed but undeterred, we go a little further east to Mission/McAllen and make our crossing at the Anzalduas Bridge, which lands us in Reynosa.

We are in Mexico! Again!

The purple is day one. Blue is day 2
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Evening. I'm writing this from a comfortable, dry hotel room. We barely made it here! Seriously. Threaded “the eye of the needle” between storms. Was dramatic, speeding along the highway, eyeing dark, towering storms on either side and looking at mountains straight ahead. Although we rode in light rain most of the day, we somehow managed to avoid the worst of it. We passed through more than one town where, judging by the flooded side streets, we had just missed getting drenched.

Here= Montemorelos, a medium sized city on our way to Real de Catorce. We are tired and wet. Neither of us feel like hunting around for a cheap, decent place to stay. We are at the nice Hotel Monte Selerno (~$55)

290 miles today. Sorry, no pix from today's blitz.

Tomorrow, the fabled city of REAL DE CATORCE!


 
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