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- Joined
- Jan 1, 2005
- Messages
- 4,465
- Reaction score
- 1,228
- Location
- Buda, TX
- First Name
- Rich
- Last Name
- Gibbens
After our break in Juamave, we were ready for some dirt. The first section consisted of a fairly straight rock road traversing open desert.
However, within a few miles we entered a most beautiful valley and the road turned to more dirt than rock and began to twist and undulate.
This is a fairly remote path. There are no towns on the route, just a few small collections of houses with enough population to warrant a place name. Most don't have any services beyond a small community store or maybe a guy selling gasoline out of a 55 gallon drum.
During last year’s recon I kept noticing a particular species of beautiful purple trees or bushes (I’m not sure if it was a tree or a bush). Not having ever seen such a plant, I had to get a photo.
Well, this year’s standout were purple trees. I saw lots of them all over the area, even though I don’t recall seeing any of them last year. Or ever. Obviously, a photo was called for.
As we rode south the valley narrowed and got more beautiful, with mist everywhere.
Unfortunately, as we rode south the road transitioned from dry dirt to slick mud. It had obviously rained prior to our arrival, turning the road into a slick mess.
One unexpected advantage of being the last to leave McAllen was that at least we missed the rain. One of the groups in front of us had not been so lucky. But, we still had to deal with the mud. Our tires soon became slicks and traction evaporated. Stuntman and I skated along in first gear, trying desperately not to fall. My gorilla grip on the handlebars didn’t help and I had to keep reminding myself to relax my grip. When this road is dry it’s a fun class 1. Wet, it was a slick class 3.
My original goal was to reach Tula before dark. However, the mud was really slowing our pace and I began to wonder if we would even reach pavement prior to dark. Luckily, after a few miles of mud the road began to turn back into rock, and it got drier, making riding easier and faster. The views were still nice except now I could dare take an occasional glance around without worrying that I would immediately crash.
Finally, an hour before dark we reached pavement and discovered a group of riders working on a flat tire. They told us stories of being rained on, trying to negotiate slick mud on large adventure machines, lots of dropped bikes, and low fenders clogged with mud that prevented tires from turning. I was happy to have missed the rain and to be riding a relatively lightweight adventure bike with proper dirt bike high fenders.
With the flat repair well underway and no help needed from us, Stuntman and I continued on to Tula, arriving a few minutes before the last light of day vanished from the sky. The group behind us was again unlucky. They ended up getting rained on while riding in the dark and fog into Tula.
All of the riders managed to crowd into the Hotel Mollineda in Tula, which also had a small compound directly across from the hotel for secure bike parking.
It took Jeff and I eleven hours to cover the 345 miles to Tula. Minus the mud I think we could have completed it in less than 10 hours.
However, within a few miles we entered a most beautiful valley and the road turned to more dirt than rock and began to twist and undulate.
This is a fairly remote path. There are no towns on the route, just a few small collections of houses with enough population to warrant a place name. Most don't have any services beyond a small community store or maybe a guy selling gasoline out of a 55 gallon drum.
During last year’s recon I kept noticing a particular species of beautiful purple trees or bushes (I’m not sure if it was a tree or a bush). Not having ever seen such a plant, I had to get a photo.
Well, this year’s standout were purple trees. I saw lots of them all over the area, even though I don’t recall seeing any of them last year. Or ever. Obviously, a photo was called for.
As we rode south the valley narrowed and got more beautiful, with mist everywhere.
Unfortunately, as we rode south the road transitioned from dry dirt to slick mud. It had obviously rained prior to our arrival, turning the road into a slick mess.
One unexpected advantage of being the last to leave McAllen was that at least we missed the rain. One of the groups in front of us had not been so lucky. But, we still had to deal with the mud. Our tires soon became slicks and traction evaporated. Stuntman and I skated along in first gear, trying desperately not to fall. My gorilla grip on the handlebars didn’t help and I had to keep reminding myself to relax my grip. When this road is dry it’s a fun class 1. Wet, it was a slick class 3.
My original goal was to reach Tula before dark. However, the mud was really slowing our pace and I began to wonder if we would even reach pavement prior to dark. Luckily, after a few miles of mud the road began to turn back into rock, and it got drier, making riding easier and faster. The views were still nice except now I could dare take an occasional glance around without worrying that I would immediately crash.
Finally, an hour before dark we reached pavement and discovered a group of riders working on a flat tire. They told us stories of being rained on, trying to negotiate slick mud on large adventure machines, lots of dropped bikes, and low fenders clogged with mud that prevented tires from turning. I was happy to have missed the rain and to be riding a relatively lightweight adventure bike with proper dirt bike high fenders.
With the flat repair well underway and no help needed from us, Stuntman and I continued on to Tula, arriving a few minutes before the last light of day vanished from the sky. The group behind us was again unlucky. They ended up getting rained on while riding in the dark and fog into Tula.
All of the riders managed to crowd into the Hotel Mollineda in Tula, which also had a small compound directly across from the hotel for secure bike parking.
It took Jeff and I eleven hours to cover the 345 miles to Tula. Minus the mud I think we could have completed it in less than 10 hours.
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