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andyc740
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Finally, a ride report for our latest trip to Mexico, the 3rd annual Motohermandad 2010 motorcycle rally over Memorial Day weekend. I haven't finished the write-up, but maybe posting the start will spur me toward the finish. As usual, you can find more pictures on Picasa at: http://picasaweb.google.com/andyc740/Motohermandad2010#
The trip wasn't about Herman's moto, or Herman's dad, hermandad means brotherhood in Spanish. A big group of us went last year from Corpus Christi to the rally. It was a smaller crew this time; only Dale, Rick and I went. Sandi, Dale's wife, wanted to go in the worst way, but we talked her out of it, due to health and the political climate. It wasn't advice she accepted easily.
The entire state of Tamaulipas is under a Travel Advisory from the U.S. State Department due to the ongoing conflict between the Gulf Coast Cartel, another group called the Zetas, and government forces in the area. News reportage is spotty due to threats from the GCG and Zetas against the press. However, some research turned up several blogs that keep a running account of conditions and incidents in Northern Mexico. Two Spanish-language blogs are Blog del Narco and Reynosa Libre. An English-language blog covering the same subject is Borderland Beat. Reading these blogs is pretty sobering. There are too many people caught in the crossfire.
However, after following the blogs for a while and checking with people in Mexico, we decided to go anyway. We were warned NOT to ride at night and to stop at all checkpoints, regardless whether they are government or cartel checkpoints. So, 2:30 Thursday afternoon, May 29th, the three of us saddled up our mounts at the usual Stripes convenience store and headed out of town, forgetting to take the usual departure picture.
The route is pretty straightforward, hit Hwy 77 from Corpus Christi, cut over to Hwy 281 at Riviera, then head south for about 8 hours. Total distance to Tampico from Corpus: just under 500 miles.
It's a ride I've done several times a year for the past several years, so it's beginning to seem routine. We stopped for gas (for Rick's bike) and a drink in Falfurrias, then continued on to the border crossing at Pharr-Rio Bravo (our usual crossing point). After exchanging money, topping off the gas tanks and renewing the paperwork for Dale and I and our bikes (Rick still had current papers), we headed off into Reynosa traffic, hitting highway Hwy 97 south. When we got out of town and crossed the overpass for the new shortcut under construction to the Pharr-Rio Bravo bridge, we saw traffic using the road. The customs official at the Aduana checkpoint just down the road assured us it was open all the way to the bridge. Cool! Now we can avoid all the Reynosa traffic on the return trip.
Because we didn't want to ride after dark, we pushed on without dinner until we reached the "Y", the intersection of Hwy 97 with Hwy 180, which runs between Matamoros and Ciudad Victoria. It's pretty close to the halfway point of the ride. We didn't see the usual number of family sedans speeding down the highway. Traffic seemed to be mostly locals and truckers.
Arriving about 7:30, we found $30 rooms at the Rancho Viejo hotel and ate at a taco stand across the highway for a few dollars apiece. The ladies from the dozen or so taco stands line up along the edge of the highway yelling out their menus at anyone that looks remotely interested in eating. Some seem able to reach the same decibel levels as the jake brakes on the trucks passing through.
I like the landscaping at the hotel, the rooms are clean and the AC fairly cold.
Though it's spread-out and mostly empty, they're busy adding more rooms.
This is one of the taco stands along the highway. I took the picture on a trip south last year.
Dale checked out the pool a bit, but we sacked out fairly early, wanting to head on in the morning.
The trip wasn't about Herman's moto, or Herman's dad, hermandad means brotherhood in Spanish. A big group of us went last year from Corpus Christi to the rally. It was a smaller crew this time; only Dale, Rick and I went. Sandi, Dale's wife, wanted to go in the worst way, but we talked her out of it, due to health and the political climate. It wasn't advice she accepted easily.
The entire state of Tamaulipas is under a Travel Advisory from the U.S. State Department due to the ongoing conflict between the Gulf Coast Cartel, another group called the Zetas, and government forces in the area. News reportage is spotty due to threats from the GCG and Zetas against the press. However, some research turned up several blogs that keep a running account of conditions and incidents in Northern Mexico. Two Spanish-language blogs are Blog del Narco and Reynosa Libre. An English-language blog covering the same subject is Borderland Beat. Reading these blogs is pretty sobering. There are too many people caught in the crossfire.
However, after following the blogs for a while and checking with people in Mexico, we decided to go anyway. We were warned NOT to ride at night and to stop at all checkpoints, regardless whether they are government or cartel checkpoints. So, 2:30 Thursday afternoon, May 29th, the three of us saddled up our mounts at the usual Stripes convenience store and headed out of town, forgetting to take the usual departure picture.
The route is pretty straightforward, hit Hwy 77 from Corpus Christi, cut over to Hwy 281 at Riviera, then head south for about 8 hours. Total distance to Tampico from Corpus: just under 500 miles.
It's a ride I've done several times a year for the past several years, so it's beginning to seem routine. We stopped for gas (for Rick's bike) and a drink in Falfurrias, then continued on to the border crossing at Pharr-Rio Bravo (our usual crossing point). After exchanging money, topping off the gas tanks and renewing the paperwork for Dale and I and our bikes (Rick still had current papers), we headed off into Reynosa traffic, hitting highway Hwy 97 south. When we got out of town and crossed the overpass for the new shortcut under construction to the Pharr-Rio Bravo bridge, we saw traffic using the road. The customs official at the Aduana checkpoint just down the road assured us it was open all the way to the bridge. Cool! Now we can avoid all the Reynosa traffic on the return trip.
Because we didn't want to ride after dark, we pushed on without dinner until we reached the "Y", the intersection of Hwy 97 with Hwy 180, which runs between Matamoros and Ciudad Victoria. It's pretty close to the halfway point of the ride. We didn't see the usual number of family sedans speeding down the highway. Traffic seemed to be mostly locals and truckers.
Arriving about 7:30, we found $30 rooms at the Rancho Viejo hotel and ate at a taco stand across the highway for a few dollars apiece. The ladies from the dozen or so taco stands line up along the edge of the highway yelling out their menus at anyone that looks remotely interested in eating. Some seem able to reach the same decibel levels as the jake brakes on the trucks passing through.
I like the landscaping at the hotel, the rooms are clean and the AC fairly cold.
Though it's spread-out and mostly empty, they're busy adding more rooms.
This is one of the taco stands along the highway. I took the picture on a trip south last year.
Dale checked out the pool a bit, but we sacked out fairly early, wanting to head on in the morning.
