Colorado via Mexico or...

[AusFletch]

...how I am going to spend my summer vacation.

I am loaded up and ready to head out at the butt crack of dawn tomorrow morning. I am spending two weeks on my new R12GSA in Guanajuato, Mexico:

before heading to SW Colorado on my DR650 for a week:

Let's see, three weeks away from work with my beautiful bride and both my motorocycles in Mexico and Colorado. Nope. It does NOT suck to be me.

I will try to post some pics occasionally of my trips but can't promise I won't be too busy doing absolutely nothing to actually do so...

Cheers and hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th. I'll be back in August.

-FLETCH

 

[kiko]

Be sure to visit the momias in Guanajuato. Nice road from Dolores Hidalgo thru Santa Rosa de Lima to Guanajuato. Que te vaya bien.

 

[bogriffinrides]

Looking forward to the pictures and report.

 

[Tracker]

<green with envy>
wishing you an awesome time with your bride and bikes. Great places.

Missing Engineer's and Cinnamon Pass
Hindsdale County--highest average elevation of any county in the lower 48

 

[bullfrog]

 

[AusFletch]

Looking forward to the pictures and report.

Not many pictures. We got caught it a downpour on day 1 and I forgot to move my camera INSIDE my waterproof jacket liner. It does not work. At all. Not missing much, though, since we have been holed up in Guanajuato drinking tequila and watching it rain.

Did y'all know July was rainy season down here? Seems it is. Go figure...

 

[scar04]

Not many pictures. We got caught it a downpour on day 1 and I forgot to move my camera INSIDE my waterproof jacket liner. It does not work. At all. Not missing much, though, since we have been holed up in Guanajuato drinking tequila and watching it rain.

Did y'all know July was rainy season down here? Seems it is. Go figure...

New Mexico is worse in August. A seventy pound pack gains a ton of weight when waterlogged going up mountains.

Of course right now, I am loving the rain, as the grass is slowly coming back from the state of greyness it was in at the ranch, and it hasnt been over 90 in a week.

 

[AusFletch]

I was wishing I had the older, smaller GS a few times while negotiating rush hour traffic on slimy cobblestone in the rain in Saltillo.

Paige and I rode about 3 hours in a downpour and arrived in Saltillo in a monsoon. I was negotiating rush hour traffic approaching a busy intersection when I checked my mirrors to see a delivery truck bearing down on me. Fast.

I popped the clutch to gain some distance on him but then, perhaps unsurprisingly, I found myself in the middle of a lane of unyielding cross traffic. I grabbed a ton of brake, stopped on a dime then.....lost my footing on the slippery and uneven road. Down we went.

Paige executed a brilliant barrel roll and came up helping me heft the bike. A pizza delivery driver on a little honda 125cc stopped and helped, too. We were up and rolling again in about 3 seconds.

No harm, no foul but I don't think it would have happened on the 1150.

 

[bogriffinrides]

Keep it upright, we need more reports. I'm sure sorry to hear about the camera.

 

[bullfrog]

I Down we went.

glad you are ok...

what route are you taking to get to CO on the 650??? if you are not trailering it, i might be able to ride a stretch with you...

 

[AusFletch]

glad you are ok...

what route are you taking to get to CO on the 650??? if you are not trailering it, i might be able to ride a stretch with you...

Thanks, It was not as dramatic as I will make it sound by the 5th version.

We are gonna trailer it but I will probably unload it in Las Vegas or Taos and ride in the rest of the way...

 

[AusFletch]

Pictures are (finallly) loaded...

Here is what I see when I look behind me on the motorcycle....

More pics coming....






.

 

[AusFletch]

Like I may have mentioned....I left my camera in my OUTSIDE pocket during a torrential downpour that started about halfway to Saltillo. Consequently, the first week or so of this last trip are not documented with pictures.

We finally made it to SMA to buy a camera which, of course, I dropped on the concrete two weeks later in Colorado and destroyed so the END of the trip is also largely undocumented.

Since there are so few photos I will not belabor them with too much verbosity and let them speak for themselves.....



It took two hours to actually BUY the camera once we found one at the Office Depot in SMA....here we are leaving and ready to produce evidence of the trip!

First attempt to use the new camera outside SMA

Pets or lunch outside SMA???

Paige immediately after the 2nd of 3 spills in Mexico on the new R12GSA (did I mention it is a very tall bike???). She was a trouper each time....she just rolled and came up hefting without a complaint. This particular fiasco was 100% user error as I attempted a slow speed, tight u-turn on a dirt road with a mound of dirt at the shoulder as I was trying to get out of the way of a boy on a bicycle leading a horse on a tether.

Paige letting us into the garage on our rental in Guanajuato....it was a 2-person job with the blind curve, speeding drivers and steep entry....(BTW, that's Paige in the background in the hi-viz not in the foreground in the red with the perplexed look....)

The view from our balcony

We could watch baseball games from our balcony....

...or kids and dogs.

...or just drink Indio beer and Cokes or have coffee and relax

Some more pics of our rental

More later....

 

[Texason]

Those accomodations look beautiful! If you don't mind me asking, how much does a place like that cost to rent down there?

 

[AusFletch]

Those accomodations look beautiful! If you don't mind me asking, how much does a place like that cost to rent down there?

Thanks. We really enjoyed it. The cost and the way we found it were a bit unusual. We 'sublet' it from a fantastic couple from Wisconsin who are leasing it for a full year but were going home for ths summer. They are paying $1000 US per month.

We searched and searched for a place to rent in G'to that was big enough for some guests. 2+ bed/bath places are hard to find and we let a couple slip through our fingers while we firmed up travel dates. I eventually found this one on Craigslist and paid them $800 for 2+ weeks although I probably could have got it for $1k for a whole month.

That's a little high for G'to town but it was 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, huge kitchen, 5 space garage, multiple patios, great views and a super location on the Panoramica just above Embajadoras. You can find plenty of nice 1 bed/1 bath or 2 bed/1 bath right in town for $200 per week - especially if you know someone in town who can look for flyers and postings and such. It is a university town.

Here are some more pics of the place....

The patio faced due east so we could watch the sun rise over the mountains while we ate breakfast every morning (for about 3 hours). It was one of our favorite things to do....

....other than Happy Hour on the same patio. This is us enjoying Palomas one afternoon!!!

If you are ever interested in renting a place down there let me know....I made some great contacts during my search for a place this summer.

 

[AusFletch]

More pictures! Now with fewer words!



Road food for the Mexican motorcycle traveler: Bimbo donuts and drinkable yogurt!

Best meal of the trip in either country!

Of course we had pie while enjoying the patio...

I love the Mexican "Roof Dogs".

And the terrestial ones, too....

Second best meal of the trip. Flaming cheese! Mmmm...

Happy travelers.

Paige locked herself out of the house on the roof....looks like she is in jail!

Here's how you get your pizza in Guanajuato

335 steps up from El Centro to our house....at 7500 feet elevation. It's fine when you're sober. Or maybe it's when you're drunk.

The callejon UP from our house

The Panoramica around the corner from our house...

My favorite view of the city (that is, any view she stands in front of....)

We had company from Austin....and they brought a convertible!

My favorite view of Monterrey!

Next installment: COLORADO! ! !

 

[ssardone]

Fred,
It was great meeting you in Lake City. I was on the ktm's with my son. We looked for you after we cleaned up but missed you. We had 3 or 4 more great days of riding but in Utah the oil drain plug stripped on the 520 and I wasn't sure if all the metal chunks in the oil were jsut threads or something else so we came home. Hopefully we'll cross paths again.

Steve

 

[AusFletch]

Fred,
It was great meeting you in Lake City. I was on the ktm's with my son. We looked for you after we cleaned up but missed you. We had 3 or 4 more great days of riding but in Utah the oil drain plug stripped on the 520 and I wasn't sure if all the metal chunks in the oil were jsut threads or something else so we came home. Hopefully we'll cross paths again.

Steve

Steve, I am sorry to hear about your mechanical issues. it was really great to meet you, too. I stopped in the bar to look for y'all after I went to the grocery store but you were probably still taking a long, well-deserved shower. I will have to buy you that beer next time we cross paths. I look forward to reading a report of YOUR trip (hint, hint). -Fred

 

[AusFletch]

My favorite view of Monterrey!

AusWife insists I make it clear that this is HER in the photo.

 

[Chango]

She must like Barrio Antiguo near the river ( walking towards El Rey de Cabrito).

AusWife insists I make it clear that this is HER in the photo.

 

[AusFletch]

She must like Barrio Antiguo near the river ( walking towards El Rey de Cabrito).

You hit it on the head. She is walking down the western edge of Barrio Antiguo towards the river bed. "El Rey del Cabrito" is just around the corner to the left in the picture....

 

[TexasShadow]

That is one of the most beautiful, maybe THE most beautiful photo I've ever seen with a bike in it.
Absolutely Awesome

 

[Viejo]

Hey Fred!
Glad you and Page had a wonderful time. I sure miss Guanajuato. You guys picked a great place to spend you time. Are you going to Copper Canyon this fall? Denise has given me the ok if you do. If you still have that Indio I'm ready to enjoy one of my favorite beers. Tell ya what. I will give you my 1150GS same color as your old one. All you have to do is give me that very very tall, top heavy 1200 GS. Glad your back safe and sound. See ya soon.

 

[bullfrog]

 

[Chango]