The Wild Bunch In The Remote Backcountry of Mexico's Sierra Gorda

[tricepilot]

Our Man CeeBee in Pisaflores reading up on the local gossip and checking out the bikes for sale page.

It didn't seem to me that Pisaflores was a town that saw a lot of transient moto traffic from visitors north of the Rio Bravo (Rio Grande), but the locals didn't seem to bat an eye that we were there.

It was hot, humid hot. The idea that Pisaflores could have ever been the new Galeana for MexTrek New Millennium evaporated like the beads of sweat on my forehead.

The thing Pisaflores had going for it was the dirt road that connected it to Agua Zarca. Now THAT is a reason to visit the town.

Well, that, and the fact that you can get the best lunch in Mexico there for 20 pesos

 

[tricepilot]

The absolute best meal of the trip was in Zimapan, hands down.

What seemed like a non-descript burger joint on the centro turned out to be a chef's delight. We literally ran into a business guy from Mexico as we were walking to a Chinese restaurant when he mentioned he was going to his favorite place. He ended up having dinner with us and became our food director.

This plate had steak, fish, chorizo and all kinds of other tasty treats. Like often happens in Mexico, it was a true serendipitous delight. And there were TWO platters of it. Add a stack of tortillas de maiz and the feast was on.

 

[tricepilot]

Caballo Naranjo was really getting into the groove of the ride that day to Zimapan. Dirt and twisties, twisties and dirt. The continental TKC 80s intially looked like they were wearing a good bit, but hardly anything on that trip other than the long initial day from the border and the last day to the border was normal. Lots of crankin' and bankin' and lots of chewy dirt/rock road gave those tires a beating. The best thing I can say is I will probably get the same tires again for similar riding in Mexico.

 

[tricepilot]

The Giant Loop Coyote bag attached to the KTM 500 with two creative gizmos that you the casual reader might consider if you have a similar bike and a similar bag.

The first gizmo is shown below on the right side of the bike and is simply called Giant Loop Mounts.

I can save you some time and frustration by revealing that while they come in a set of 2, I only used 1 on the right side after calling Giant Loop themselves and they admitted on their KTM 500 the gizmo only had application on the right side of their bike as well. This is the important side as the idea is to make sure the Coyote Bag's strap is keep well clear of the exhaust.

Now on the left side of the bike, you can wrap the strap around a part of the exposed subframe, like most people do, or you can copy my solution.

Here it is:

That's a Hangar Strap I got from Amazon.com and what it did was provide an anchor point that closely approximated the anchor point on the other side of the bike. Two of those straps came in the order so I just put one away in case the original wears out down the road.

The Giant Loop Coyote is really the only way to go on a bike the size of a KTM 500, and everything about it is easy except each bike will have unique mounting challenges. I have a Pro Moto billet rack on the back of the bike so having a perfect place to sit the bag was no problem. I simply removed the two claw hook straps that came with the bag and replaced them with the single, provided plain strap and routed that through the holes in the bag where the claw hooks went. That threaded through the Pro Moto rack perfectly and the bag never shifted.

 

[tricepilot]

I don't know what I would do without this Giant Loop Diablo Pro tank bag. Highly recommended. If you absolutely are the kind of rider who has to have the kitchen sink riding on the tank there are larger bags, but for moving around while off road riding, I preferred the minimalist bag. This is their smallest bag.

The bag has a "base piece" which zips off and there are three straps to that which you have to decide where to place on your bike. For me it was fairly self evident where to route the straps, even on a bike with an aftermarket tank. The bag itself zips to the base piece and can be zipped completely off for security or one side can be zipped off for refueling. It will just lay to the side. Zipping back on while sitting on the bike was more difficult for some reason, probably due to the angle of the hands, but zipping it back on off the bike was a piece of cake.

At Giant Loop's recommendation I originally ordered their Buckin' Roll Tank Bag but I didn't like it at all and sent it back. The main reason was the side bag placement which totally interfered with my legs against the tank. Another thing I didn't like about it was the three separate compartments in three different locations on the tank. And it didn't come in KTM orange :lol3

The Diablo tank bag came with a separate, fitted, waterproof internal bag which provided another layer of "gear security". Apart from the waterproof nature of that piece, it gave me the feeling that nothing would go flying out of the bag, even if I left the main zipper on the bag open by mistake.

I'm not sponsored or paid to endorse Giant Loop in any way, but I like their gear so much I'm motivated to give them a free endorsement.

 

[tricepilot]

Seen on the streets of Zimapan

That's our dinner host Richie in the very back left, along on a walking tour of the town with members of The Wild Bunch

 

[tricepilot]

Somehow I was able to run into Winston Churchill in Zimapan of all places

 

[tricepilot]

Everybody knows there's livestock and all the roads everywhere in Mexico, day or night. This is one of the big reasons not to ride at night on any road in Mexico if you can help it. I always remember Ozymandias - Clayton - in my mnd when I come around the corner and see animals.

 

[tricepilot]

Buying barrel gas in Baja might be a thing many have done, but you can do it on the mainland also. I used to say there is a Pemex everwhere on the mainland but not anymore after this trip.

And here's a fun Pemex fact: in a few years they might not be the only game in town anymore. The government is moving forward with a plan to permit competitors. Among them: OXXO convenience stores may be getting pumps.

 

[tricepilot]

This is what we were looking for, and we found it

Snaking dirt roads into the mist and through the mountains and valleys

There was a lot of "yeee haaa!!!" yelled into the radios I talked about earlier

 

[SilverBullet]

...Note: some mild NSFW photos in that link, but just making that statement will get a lot of this crowd to click on the link. Just like when my man Scott authored this ride report:

The Mexican Titty Bar Tour

And there wasn't anything related to the title in the whole ride report, but the title got him nearly a billion hits...

Make that a billion and 1 hits. Once I saw the link I immediately clicked on it. Quickly scanned 10 pages for photos before giving up on seeing any nipples, then back to your post and I read your sentence after the link. Lol Dude you are so right.

_

 

[Trail Boss]

Day 4 - It keeps getting better

Once our gear was safely stowed away in our rooms and the bikes secure in the hotel, it was time to find some food. Luckily we ran into a young business man, Richie Palacious, who not only spoke very good English but also knew the lay of the land very well. He directed us to a small restaurant on the plaza that turned out to be the best meal of the entire trip. The guy that runs the place is a heck of a chef.

Fish, beef, bacon wrapped shrip, chicken...Mmmm...

The food was so good we asked the owner if he would open up early the next day so we could eat breakfast there. He graciously agreed.

It took awhile for the food to be cooked so we just hung out at the table, drinking a few cold beverages and enjoying ourselves.

Chuck decided to practice his cowboy skills.

In the midst of all this two young ladies walking by spotted Richie and came over to give him a kiss. A short conversation ensued and Richie invited them to sit down for a few minutes.

Our after-dinner activities consisted of taking in the sights and snapping a few pics.

 

[SilverBullet]

Re: Day 4 - It keeps getting better

...
In the midst of all this two young ladies walking by spotted Richie and came over to give him a kiss. A short conversation ensued and Richie invited them to sit down for a few minutes.

Far and away the biggest smile yet for JT in this ride report. Lol

_

 

[Trail Boss]

Day 5 - the best road yet

We were as far south as we would go on this trip. Starting today we would be riding north back toward Texas. But that didn't mean the fun riding was over; there were new roads to explore on the way.

Our day 5 plan was to explore some dirt roads around the town of Pacula. From there we would retrace our path to Agua Zarca so we could explore the terrain west of there.

Once our gourmet breakfast was complete, we loaded the bikes and headed out. Our first stop of the day was for fuel at a local vendor on Hwy 85.

Refueling bikes from a 55 gallon drum is a slow process. If you can find a Pemex, I recommend doing so - it's considerably faster.

A few miles outside of Zimapan we turned north toward Pacula. The map showed the road to be dirt, but the map is wrong;; the road is now paved. It's not a bad road - it's twisty and fun - but I was hoping for more dirt. Oh well.

In Pacula we turned east to ride to Jacala and back to Hwy 85. This road was dirt. Yay! Much more to my liking.

 

[miltonotto]

Wednesday, May 27, 2015
10:25 AM
Text messages to Richard

So I got the *** started, then killed it in the mechanic’s driveway. And couldn’t restart. The battery I was jumping off of got low. So I’ll look for a way to replace the mechanic’s battery, maybe. Or find some jumper cables or talk to Juan the taxista.​

12:40 PM

Hydrolocked AGAIN! 3rd time. Even w hemostats in place. Found a motorcycle mechanic. Battery dead. Getting towed to moto mechanic’s.

Disassembling the carb.

Got carb back on. Bike ran great. We let it rest and tried to start. Same problem. Flooded.​

3:35 PM

Mechanic says petcock is bad. Yes. I think we knew that. He plugged the vacuum line. Still flooding after shut down.

Mechanic is resistant to the use of the hemostats.​

Rich: We are in La Lagunita. Getting rooms at the Posada Inn.

 

[miltonotto]

Day5
We were making progress. At least now we could get the bike started and it sounded good running. The problem was the engine was flooding to the point where restart was prohibited.
Victor removed the carb again, disassembled it, re-assembled it, re-installed it on the bike, re-mounted the fuel tank. Fired up the motor. Sounded great. But re-flooded as soon as we cut the engine and let it sit a few minutes. And wouldn’t start.
Victor removed and replaced once more. Same results. And again.
I went to lunch down the street.

Exploring around his yard I found a whole car port full of bikes and scooters.

So Victor was a real motorcycle mechanic. Why had it taken me so long to find him?

Protective guard dog on a break

 

[tricepilot]

Hi! I'm Andrew Zimmern! I eat all kinds of weird food around the world!

And I'm into smut! Corn smut that is!

But I'm not going to do the show today....I'm going to let Tricepilot tell you about....

Huitlacoche

Here it is in a market in Zimapan:

It's a fungus that grows on corn. If we saw that in the U.S.A., it would get thrown out. In Mexico, it's a delicacy. Put it in your quesadilla!

James Beard loved this stuff. You can think of it in the same category of cuisine as truffles, for which foodies pay big $$$

It can go in omelettes and all sorts of other dishes

Here is my favorite video on this very common food in Mexico:

LINK

All the videos those guys do are hilarious!

 

[miltonotto]

Finally, after 6 removals and reinstalls of the carb, the bike was no longer flooding when we cut the motor.
What did you do, I asked? What was the secret?
Just a little piece of trash (basurita) was all Victor would allow.

Almost immediately, I believe it was 4pm by now, Richard calls.
“Come meet us in Lagunita,” he says. I’ll have a room for you
I’m on it! Lagunita is 2 hrs away. On pavement.

One parting shot of my savior, Victor and his son.

How much do I owe you?
300 pesos. ($21)
I gave him 400.

Back to the hotel to put my things together. Settle my bill.
Back to the auto mechanic’s yard to modify my hard splint with a power hand saw I’d noticed lying about.
So that I could wear my jacket over it.
Pack the bike. Put the splint on.
Good bye, everyone. Goodby Aquismon.
I head out. Finally on the road again.

And it begins to rain.
Now I’ve got to tell you I had lost all of my confidence in riding on the hwy by this time.
Much less riding in the rain.
The rain came down harder. I found shelter and waited it out. Precious time ticking away.
It let up and I was on the road again. Deathly afraid I would have another spill.

Smooth sailing to the “Y” where Hwy120 (to Xilitla & Jalpan) splits off of Pan American 85 (to Tamachuncharle and Zimapan).
From here 120 makes a precipitous climb into the mountains.
It begins to sprinkle again. By Xilitla its dark and really coming down.
It’s always raining in Xilitla, I’m thinking. The rain just gets worse.
Now I am in a torrential downpour of epic proportions.

Jiminy Christmas. I pull off the road. This is not going to work.
Its raining cats & dogs. I dismount to get my bearings.
Across the hwy I see a little white haired gentleman in a doorway, silhouetted against a warm interior light.
He’s looking at me.
I casually cross the street in the relentless rain. Peek over his shoulder.
“Is this a hotel,” I ask?
Yes, why don’t you put your motorcycle in the garage so it won’t mojarse.

I had just lucked into the Hostal del Café.

Alejandro in his wonderful library. I've always wanted a room like this.

Holed up in Xilitla. This will do for the night

 

[tricepilot]

We threaded back for lunch through Agua Zarca and found Maria again at her aunt's tiendita, and she introduced us to her friend (prima?) Maggie, and we all went to a true out of the way place for lunch.

Maggie (R) and Maria (L):

Maggie had quite the tat collection. She's from Miami too, with family in Agua Zarca. Both the girls spoke perfect Spanish since that was their first language. We thought it odd to find them in Agua Zarca and they felt the same way about us...."We NEVER see any gringos here!" they said.

La Dueña of the place I believe has never had a gringo in her place much less a bunch of them. We chatted up Maria and Maggie, or let's say Maggie chatted all of us up, and we relaxed while lunch was prepared. Trail Boss took the time to show our chef some photos on his camera.

Each of us got the same plate and stacks of steaming corn tortillas were set amongst us. The feast was excellent and filling. Everybody drinks Coke in Mexico and it's the good Coke since it's made with cane sugar and not corn syrup.

Trail Boss just had that satisfied look on his face. Back home, all of us Grumpy Old Men would be taking naps, but after this meal, it was time to hit the road again.

[/QUOTE]

 

[tricepilot]

The 7th of June was a big election day in Mexico, and everywhere there were campagin banners and all sorts of vehicles decorated for this candidate and that candidate.

Here's your party primer for two of the big parties in Mexico, PRI and PAN

PRI is Partido Revolucionario Institucional/Institutional Revolutionary Party

PAN is Partido de Acción Nacional/National Action Party

Is this like the Democrats and the Republicans? Let's take a look...

First, a disclaimer. Take a look at Juliana Hernández in the photo above. I'm voting for her whether or not she's qualified as a politician or for whatever post she's seeking. I've got like 20 banners with her on it that I stole off of buildings down there. So, I'm voting Juliana, not PAN. There, glad I got that clear.

Mexico's current President, Enrique Peña Nieto, is a member of the PRI. Recent Mexican Presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón were members of the PAN.

Note: the below is from Daniel Hernandez, contributor to the Los Angeles Times

A Primer on the PRI

There is easily no more loaded term in Mexican politics than the three letters that make up the acronym of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, the PRI. And perhaps no greater oxymoron, some might quip.

It emerged as a consolidating force after the tumult of the Mexican Revolution. Over time, the PRI practically invented brand-name politics. Its name, ideology and even brand colors (same as the national flag) are directly linked to the very concept of the Mexican republic. For many years, the party was the country, and the country was the party.

The PRI developed a patronage system that virtually ensured electoral victory year after year. It soon became synonymous with corruption, disastrous financial mismanagement and violent repression of dissent, as typified by the Tlatelolco massacre of 1968.

In the 1988 presidential election, the PRI was accused of electoral fraud that some claim robbed the outcome from dissident candidate Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, son of a revered former president, when PRI-controlled election authorities announced the vote-counting system "went silent."

When the system returned, the PRI's candidate, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, was declared the winner. Salinas went on to lead Mexico through the worst of the PRI's decadence, and by 2000, exasperated Mexicans finally booted their longtime political overlords from power with the election of Vicente Fox of the PAN.

Ever since, the PRI has been mounting its comeback, leading the pack by substantial margins in current polls. Claiming it is a "new" PRI, the party has yet to state in a clear fashion that it would govern much differently than before.

Campaign color: Red

A Primer on the PAN

National Action is the party that unites Catholics and capitalists in Mexico. It is free-market, conservative on social issues and friendly to foreign interests. It casts itself as efficient and effective, but it now faces the same kinds of accusations of corruption and waste as the PRI did in its heyday.

The PAN's roots are also found in the post-Revolutionary period, after the Cristero War, a bloody conflict in which Roman Catholics were persecuted in a wave of anti-clerical sentiments and laws. Counter-revolutionary leaders seeking religious freedom organized themselves in 1939 into a political group, which included some factions that were sympathetic to European fascism (link in Spanish).

To this day, the PAN remains the political home for Mexico's devout Catholics.

For decades, PAN survived as the minor opposition to the PRI behemoth, but by the 1980s, growing disillusionment with the PRI made the PAN an attractive alternative.

The first PAN governor was elected in Baja California in 1989, reflecting its early foothold in the more industrial, more "American" north of the country. Today, PAN governs nine states (including several multi-party coalitions) and holds about a third of seats in Congress.

Campaign color: Blue

 

[Trail Boss]

Day 5 - the best road yet

You see some very interesting things when riding Mexico's back country. For example, we had been riding a dirt road for quite some time and hadn't passed any villages lately when we rounded a corner and spotted this shrine. I don't know why it was there or what its meaning is, but it was interesting and well kept.

The views on the road to Pacula were excellent.

Once we arrived in Pacula we decided we needed a short break. Within a few minutes of stopping every policeman in town had walked by to check out the moto gringos. I'm guessing we may have been the only moto tourists in Pacula in a very long time.

As I mentioned earlier, every town has a statue of somebody. Pacula was no different.

The dirt road from Pacula to Jacala was fantastic. Another wonderful find. Add this road to your list if you plan to ride this part of Mexico.

 

[Trail Boss]

In Jacala we jumped on Hwy 85 and headed back to Agua Zarca. The map showed a dirt road running west out of Agua Zarca that I really wanted to explore. On Google Earth it looked to be spectacular.

We arrived in Agua Zarca around lunch time, so we decided to grab a bite to eat. Luckily, Maria (the young lady from the previous day) was working and knew of a restaurant that she said would be good. The "restaurant" turned out to be the home of a local woman named Reece. She and her daughter invited us in, sat us at her kitchen table and then cooked up a fine meal for us. I was humbled by the hospitality and generosity of this woman and honored to be in her home.

Here is Reece in her kitchen. The doorway design is in the shape of a cross.

Reece is an excellent cook and the food was very good.

Reece is also quite a pastry chef and served us a wonderful cake as dessert.

Once lunch was finished we bid the ladies goodbye and headed west.

 

[Trail Boss]

Day 5 - the best road yet

The dirt road west out of Agua Zarca was the best dirt road of the entire trip. It was a fine class 2 but what made it so good was the views. Absolutely awe inspiring. I stopped to take a picture and Bob pulled up next to me and said something to the effect of "Wow, this is an incredible road! I can't believe we are here." It was a sentiment I fully agreed with. Unfortunately my pictures don't do it justice.

If you should find yourself riding in this part of Mexico you could skip every other road in our ride report but don't skip this one. It is truly something special.

The road took us to Tilaco, a small town that had one of the 5 missions built by Father Serra. Just like the one in Jalpan, the detail was incredible.

Here's a map of the area. I noticed it has a few roads not shown on my map. Hmmm...

The Hurricane of the Sierra

I spotted this beautiful tree in someone's backyard and had to take a picture. My wife would love to have one just like it in our yard.

 

[Trail Boss]

Day 5 - the best road yet

From Tilaco we rode north to Hwy 120 and grabbed a motel for the evening in the town of La Lagunita. I had been in contact with Milton and his bike was finally fixed. I called him and told him to ride over and join us. It was dry in La Lagunita but it was raining where Milton was and he ended up overnighting in Xilitla. We agreed that he would meet us the next afternoon in Tamasopo.

La Posada motel in La Lagunita

Dinner was at a roadside eatery.

 

[miltonotto]

Just an hour away in Xilitla, I would have to miss the boys again. I wanted to ride to Agua Zarca and that trumped everything else.
The Hostal del Cafe was a wonderful place to heal.
Morning breakfast with Alejandro and Dalila. Very civilized and real coffee.

Alejandro's father was a Spainard, I forget what part, who came to Mexico after the Spanish Civil war.
My hosts.

They both maintained that Dalila was the brains behind this magical place.
Motorcycling is hard, Dalila said. How old are you?

The TV room

One of the common areas, this sala is right outside the Library. You can see the TV room with its thatched roof beyond the open doors

The Hostal del Cafe is built on a cliff face so everything is vertical. It was 7 flights down to my room.

Everything intertwined with the gardens. Street level would be the top floor to the right here.