Cuatro Viejos and Hooliah too...

[miltonotto]

Pieda Parada. Looking back on the road we came in on with Allende beyond, lost in the coastal haze.

Trinidad comes with some very special recommendations.
Not only is it Capital of the Universe, it is land blessed by God. And if you still didn’t get the drift, they mentioned the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to boot.
I’m sorry we didn’t spend more time there, but as it turned out, we barely had enough time to find room & board that evening anyway.

Potrero Redondo.
Ahh. RG is using some poetic license, I think, but his copy still reads good. I’m not sure Narcizo is the alcalde (mayor) of PR. But he could be. He is one of the movers of the town and connected with Adventurs and I’ve hung with him before, shared bread and taken photos of his family. Potrero Redondo had recently acquired electricity in the last 2 months, an event that the community is very proud of but sure to change the character of this wonderfully inaccessible spot.

There was talk at the Cola de Caballo highway of hookin’ if for Galeana via the slab route, Cercado, Montemorelos, Linares, 2-3 hours I figured in my head. Tracker John was worried we wouldn’t find a room if we continued on with the original plans.

Oh, we’ll find a room, John. Don’t worry. We’ll find a room. We’ll find something in Cienega.
Well, we fell into a cabana suited to everyone's liking easy enough. Thanks to a chance encounter with Fito. Finding food presented more of a problem. (Not me, I still carried leftover chicken from 2 nights ago.)

We scoured the town top to bottom searching for food and settled on elotes. Well, it was elotes or crackers.
Scott's photo.
If you don't jump in here Stingray, I'm gonna use all your photos.

 

[miltonotto]

El Dia Dos
a cabana for the night.

Lodging for our 2nd night on the trail

After din-din we settled into a get-to-know-ya session gathered around the kitchen table with a bottle of Tracker John's te-kill-ya.
Faulty gas heater in the kitchen was remedied by turning on the stove's burners. American uptightness was quickly evaporating.

I woke in the middle of the night, my whole body hurting. Ayyyyiiii, locate the ibuprophen, heck, give me a hydrocodone.
Although I was not in the same room, Tracker J's snoring was threating the rest of my evening so I applied ear plugs. When I awoke, the whole cabana of three grown men had all gotten up, dressed, and gone out looking for food. I'm sure they each used the bathroom next to my bed, I'm sure they must've talked among themselves. I had been oblivious to the whole thing, thanks to the mighty ear plugs.

Does this man look like a grandpa ??
Stingray Scott's photo

 

[slowoldguy]

Very nice, fellas. We are heading down in a couple weeks (we hope) to ride the Huasteca region. First trip across in over 3 years. So excited. I'm pre-packing now. lol

 

[miltonotto]

No 'Like' button here ?

 

[miltonotto]

Texts home after the brutal hwy ride to Cadereyta:

Survived the 1st day in Mexico.

Is it cold?​

It was pretty cold out on the hwy. Had to stop and layer up. Felt much better standing still.
In other words it was freezing
Actually it would be called brutal

 

[miltonotto]

We pulled into this utterly remote mountain pueblo and one of the 25 families there go berserk because Meeltone is back.
This is their backyard. Heck, I’d be willing to hang out clothes with a view like that.

Portrero Redondo
Nice shot
And let the myth making begin

 

[Mossrider]

And Then?.....And Then?.....

 

[Mossrider]

Este..... Que paso con la manana e los otro hombre's?.....Por Favor!

 

[Hellwig]

sweet!

 

[_RG_]

El Dia Tres ( the third day )

ANACDOTAL BACKGROUND: Cabrito tequila is not only smooth and flavorful but remarkably well behaved, too.

We’d rode into "town" kinda late the night before and by then those chilaquiles in Santiago were way past gone. Hungry and tired, we walked and rode the entire length of Cienega (maybe a block or so) looking for sustenance.


MORE ANACDOTAL BACKGROUND: Elotes, cold beer and fresh empanadas make a pretty darn good meal. Sometimes life just forces us to grow.


It was chilly and all the local folks were out starting up little fires to stay warm. Pretty neat to see, hear and smell. Folks gathering round together sharing or maybe just one old vaquero off by himself next to a little warming fire quietly watching the stars. This seemed like a ritual that goes back a ways.

Next morning was clear and cool. We had some time to check out Cienega in the light of day. *Folks in the areas we rode are in no hurry to start their day too early. Not really such a bad thing…just takes a little getting used to.

View from the front porch.

Walking down a side street I notice two older ladies chatting across the street from each other. Looked like this was a daily morning pleasure for them. One had some beautiful roses growing on the porch she was sweeping. I interrupted them to say good morning and compliment her flowers. Her face lit up into a much younger smile. Horticulture, like music, knows no borders or language.

They’re mighty rough on ole Heyzuse around here.

The little church of Cienega.

This over-flow seating should help motivate folks to show up in time to get a good seat.

True to KLR tradition, I had lost both nuts holding the header in place and ran yesterday afternoon with a loud bike that popped on deceleration. Luck was shining and I happened to have two more 8mm nuts in the spare stuff. A quick snuggy or two later and we’re ready to roll.

We beat it on down to San Juan Bautista and then headed for Leguna de Sanches for (*breakfast?).

* Meals are mentioned in the order they occurred - which most likely bears absolutely no relevance to a particular nor traditional time of day.

Leguna sounds like a name suggesting water nearby. And it was not so long ago. The locals say this was a pretty good sized lake. There are picts of it all over the place. Now, it’s a corn field. They say there was an earthquake one day and all the water went away…and hasn’t come back.

This is the famous restaurante there.

They serve up a dish that's sort of beef jerky in eggs. Meeltone knows the name of it but it’s surely an acquired taste. Takes a while to chew trough a plate of it and has to be a real boon for business with the local dentists. Hey…wait a minute…

This was posted on a wall in the restaurant. Seems the university has an Extension Service here too and they’re trying to teach the locals about horticulture and get an apple growing industry going.

We met a group of 4-wheeler folks there at lunch who were really into some local apple wine the restaurant has. They brought over a bottle and shared with us. It was yummy. More great folks who we later raced with going up the Mesa de Oso.


This little church sets across from the restaurant. Pretty cool masonry eh?

Next, Climbing the Mesa de Oso (mountain of the bear).

 

[frijole_tex]

Great ride report. Glad to hear a few still have the cajones to make the crossing. Looks epic. Got to ride in the Monterrey area about 10 years and it was incredible....complete with the passport and papers drama, what passport and papers?

El Jefe: Dinero?

Me: Si.

Vamanos.

 

[Mossrider]

I just had a vision of Cuatro Viejos (four old geezers) running from a BIG BEAR at Mesa de Osa.....Did you know bears can run 45 - 50 MPH... What a great report!...Incredible Picture's...Awesome!

 

[miltonotto]

Dia Tres.
Cienega, Canon San Isidro, Laguna de Sanchez, Mesa del Oso, Lagunillas, Casillas, Rayones and Galeana.


El Mirador Restaurant in Laguna de Sanchez.
These quadramoto ATV guys were pretty savvy and spoke better English than we spoke Spanish.

Machacado,
the regional dish I had respectfully declined the first 6 times it was offered, finally caught up with me in Laguna de Sanchez. Basically scrambled eggs mixed with dried beef. I’ve never been a big fan but it’s ubiquitous in this area.
Oh…, Stingray Scott’s pic. (Where you at Scott?)

The view from Hondable Pass looking towards Mesa del Oso.
Ho hum. Another day of riding.
The two fangs are called comilas. La Cebolla is the little tan clearing in the saddle between two peaks. It sits above La Trinidad and Portrero Redondo, places we'd visited the day before.

 

[JT]

I'll add in a few pics that I think should be included,

The restaurant/hotel Las Palomas in Santiago deserves another look,

On the road to La Trinidad,

These switchbacks used to be badly rutted, now they're concrete,

Those are the same switchbacks on the peak in the distance,

more to come,

 

[Mudclod]

Super awesome photo above there!

 

[Mossrider]

Mas!.....Mas!..........Como Doctor Meeeltone Otto e senor R.G.

 

[Mossrider]

Senor "A Grande" , que es nueva con tu KTM?

 

[Mossrider]

J.T. Your XR was loaded for Bear!.....no pun intended. What a great ride!

 

[JT]

Steve, you're in on the next run, no excuses.

 

[Mossrider]

YES! Im brushing up on my spanish.....Can you tell?

 

[JT]

I'll try to catch up.
La Trinidad, definitely more of God's Country.

And more of Potrero Redondo, 'Cizo's little bit of Heaven,

Cizo's newest family member.

I got a kick out of this road sign leaving Potrero Redondo,

More to come!

 

[JT]

Morning day three, Cienega de Sanchez looking for coffee,

Milton couldn't find his wallet, he last saw it when he got on his bike leaving the "elotes stand" after dinner last night. We rode up and down Main Street looking for it and when we got back to the cabin he found it in his backpack.

Leaving Cienega, heading for Laguna de Sanchez,

On the road again,
Somehow none of us got a picture of Canon San Isidro,
Here's a pic from Google, I guess we were too busy looking,

The restaurant in Laguna de Sanchez

Onward! To Galeana!

 

[miltonotto]

The community of Cienega.

The view from Hondable Pass looking towards Mesa del Oso.
The two fangs are called comilas. La Cebolla is the little tan clearing in the saddle between two peaks. It sits above La Trinidad and Portrero Redondo, places we'd visited the day before.

Lagunillas Pass.
The back of RG’s helmet proclaims, Pavement Sucks.

Casillas valley.

New pavement on the road connecting Rayones with Saltillo. I approve of this pavement.
In another hour and a half we'll be in Galeana.

 

[miltonotto]

Onward! To Galeana!

I believe this is the original Mesa del Oso. The Mesa del Oso before there were the cabanas. (I won't go as far as to call it a resort.)

 

[miltonotto]

I took a room in Galeana’s Hotel Jardin while the rest of my cohorts settled in the Magdalena next door. The Jardin has had stinky bathrooms for years. I've been staying there since long before the Magdelana showed up. So although the Magdelana is newer, I always opt for the Jardin because.... well call it loyalty. The same guys are always working there and they remember me. Besides I like the balcony rooms. They were refurbishing 3 of the balcony rooms with new baths. I think I got one because there was a mirror missing in the bath, and the tile was all fresh and pretty. Sadly, it is still cramped and every now and then I thought I got a wiff of sewer. But I was never really sure.

It was a pretty rough night for me. At dinner I realized I hadn’t had a bowel movement in three days. Dang, how can I keep eating? Where does it go?

My left hand tended to go numb at night, kinda like a temporary carpal tunnel syndrome. I had long since quit wearing my watch, as it exacerbated the swelling in my wrist. With the numbness were needles of pain. My back was stiff, and my ribs hurt, especially if I needed to cough or raise up out of bed. I felt a complete mess at night and used hydrocodone to sleep. But somehow each morning after a hit of Ibuprophen, everything would loosen up and by the time we needed to ride, I was good to go once again.

By now we were beginning to discuss where would we spend New Year's Eve. Here in Galeana or Real de Catorace ?

Hummm…. Headlines in Monterrey’s El Norte proclaim, Highway extortion returns, after nearly a year of relative calm