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Mextrek #8 Ride Report - The Rematch - Oct 2018

An easy creek crossing in Real de Catorce takes it's toll on a few riders...



[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSf9WP4L3lI"]Dropping like flies... - YouTube[/ame]
 
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
As you can see from the pics it was another great adventure in Mexico!

This MexTrek was complete w/ stellar leadership (thanks Peter). lots of good folks, some slippery *** mud, rocky off-route exploring, a serious hurricane threat, mucho flats, a broken sub-frame (Adam's KTM 950; quickly fixed by a local welder), lots of falls (both off & on pavement), a few injuries (all fairly minor), some good meals, some great meals (in Real de Catorce) a bunch of late night drinks, a bit of Montezuma's revenge (several folks), a cool Hostel in Monterry, a shakedown by the Monterry Police (Adam & my open containers), etc. etc.

This was my 1st trip in Mexico on my 500 EXC-F... not great on the slab, but what a blast off-road.

I elected not to check my bike out at the border.... so anyone that wants to do a small group trip to Copper Canyon or elsewhere between now and end of March... hit me up (Curtis; 713-540-0325; curtis.jones.global@gmail.com).
 
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Stellar pictures Curtis. You have the eye. Mind if I use some for twtex marketing?

I got back to Phoenix last night. A day or two and I'll post pictures and a ride recap. Had an excellent time with good friends, again.
 
Peter those pics are a shared effort... some by me, some by others using my phone and a few I snagged from others - regardless the pics are "ours" not "mine" so use 'em as you see fit.
 
Although I tried, I didn't manage to snap a pic of Thomas w/ a hair out of place. How the **** does he do it... pretty impressive from the "Pella Loco" perspective!
 
Baja Bound - if I told you what Peter was riding you wouldn't believe me... so I'll leave that to him, but it had a full road fairing, bar risers, new TKC 80s and he could ride it off-road in a seating position faster than than ~90% of the folks on proper DS / dirt bikes.
 
Holy bike choice Batman! Peter can ride the wheels off of anything.

I rode the MexTrek#6 with him and couldn't keep up with his CRF230. It was a good lesson in 'It's not the bike... it's the rider'. :rider:
 
So, who came along for the ride? My story to follow...

Peter (me)

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Steve: (Fang)

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[ame="https://youtu.be/a00xAvMs7jA"]Steve in GTO - YouTube[/ame]​

Thomas: (ThomasM)

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Mark: (subcomm)

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Sean (Kodiyak):

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Paul (Doubledoc):
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Justine (Falkryte):

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Ken (tgtumbleweed):

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On left

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Brandon (Brandon):

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Shai (Shailurie) Orange Shirt:

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David Dmbump (on left)

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Jim (RacerX)

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Kristopher

Need pics

Gabriel

Need pics

Nick

Need pics

Reagan BrotherWolf (With beer)

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Curtis RockyRacoon (Pelo Loco on left:

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Karl Karlito:

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John (MENTAL)

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Dao (Doa) on left:

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John Joyce:

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Jeff Cole on right:

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Bill (Bill F):

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Charles:

Need pics...


Jared (Jared):

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Jeff JP (61 rover): (White shirt)

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Adam (AmamM):

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ANDRE (Shovel) In vest

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Luis: (no helmet)

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Justin (Jburk):

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On right:

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Don & Desiree:

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Jerry Matson: On right:

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Tim (on left):

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On right:

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After Party 2.0 Crew:

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Day 0 - 1: My crunch week started 14 days before Mextrek when I signed up for a residential tile job that required 12 hour days for me and my recently formed crew. Finishing at midnight on Wednesday before Mextek meant one day to prep and 24 hours to drive to McAllen. Bike prep was seemingly uneventful consisting of suspension, footpeg, saddlebag, tires, bars, triple clamp, exhaust, etc...to get my 500 dirt ready. A quick romp thru the trails across the street confirmed the bike could indeed ride in the dirt, handle a small jump, and repeatedly bottom out the front suspension without blowing fork seals. Like a the oddball, not normal, rider I am I opted for highway comfort, long legs, and strange looks. hence the CBR500R turned ADV bike. This was my roadrace 500, a 44 hp twin with light mods to compete in CMRA endurance racing. If you've ridden with my son Sid you know he is kinda quick in the dirt. He's double quick on the racetrack, a licensed expert roadracer. Here is the CBR500R in a previous life. "Brawp Racing"

[ame="https://youtu.be/4eQj14AjEBQ"]Sid Shaddock on the BRAWP Racing CBR500R, 2nd 20 minutes - YouTube[/ame]

And here is the after...my new Mextrek sled of choice.

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Well, as things often do I wasn't safe enough in my previous endevours and found myself injured when just about to head out of Phoenix, AZ toward Mextrek. Not a finger cut, sprained elbow, or sensitive tooth this year. Nope, just a metal shard in my left iris.

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So, 1200 miles solo in a 4 cylinder truck, a last minute "surgery" in Boerne to remove the rusted embedded object, a last minute property closing Capital Title of Texas in San Antonio (shameless plug for a Shaddock Company if you need title services in Texas), and I arrived in Mission at 7:01 PM just in time for Mambonifica!!

A few ritas and copious fried rice portions later, a trip to Kinkos to finalize closing documents, a eye scrip retrieval at Walmart, then we soaked up good times with friends in the hot tub till the wee hours. As great as Mexico is, it is the re-visited close friendships that make these trips special for me. Living away from Texas for the past 3 years means I rarely see my moto family. Twice a year isn't nearly enough.

Our good donkey punching buddy Sean isn't afraid to corner a guy and tell him how it is. He's gotta be right in your face to be sure you will eventually agree, with basically anything, to escape the bear hug. Friends of Sean will agree, its the best of times and the worst of times.

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Off to bed at 2 AM, ready for another full day Saturday. The day's events meant many riders didn't get permits in order, so tomorrow is sure to be a cluster from go.
 
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Day 2: Saturday A.M.

breakfast at the overwhelmed Clarion then gas up and permits at the office. Groups of 6 or 8 rolled towards Montemorelos and Miguel's for lunch. We had a minor mishap when JP's KTM catastrophically blew a rear bearing. 50 miles from the border, 120 from Galeana. What to do? Luis and JP limped along at 20 MPH while Jae and I went farm to farm looking for a truck. We found one farm, with the one guy, with the old truck, and a buddy who fixed bearings. Loaded up an unoptimistic JP into an old propane fueled truck that looked like it hadn't moved in half a decade. 10 PSI tires? No problem.

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Some good natured ribbing about Keeping Two Mechanics (KTM's)

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Shortly after loading up JP we had an electrical snafu on my bike. The 5 minutes I test rode it in Phoenix were sans side panels. Apparently I kicked loose the charging plug from the voltage regulator. Dead battery as I was highway riding. 5 minute diagnosis, cold regulator, plug reseated, a quick bump start, and we were on our way. Whew!!!!

Off to Mike's for lunch on the square. His wife helps out on Saturdays. Mike and wife, proud owners of La Fonda Miguel, Montemorelos.

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As we were late to lunch we saw most everyone else head off. 30 minutes later....good news...the KTM bearing is common, automotive, installed, ready to roll in 30 minutes at the only bearing shop in the region. Luis and JP appeared just in time for leftovers. Woo hoo!!! But, weather was becoming a factor. We lost JP within 10 blocks of lunch. To be fair, we were lanesplitting midday traffic. one driver must have had enough and as JP was bringing up the rear decided to scoot in his path, just enough, for JP to glance the curb and topple over. 30 minutes later we were regathered, gassed, and heading into the mountains.

leading up to the trip we were keen on watching the rain and weather. Luckily Jim Bender was 4 days ahead and giving us reports that showed stellar off road conditions and reasonable temps in Galeana. Against scathing online reports of 80 or 90% chances with thunderstorms daily for the first half of our trip.

John P rode in from California through 40 degrees and flooding. He was definitely hoping for a change in the weather.

[ame="https://youtu.be/0wNMqv4ajdo"]Mextrek #8 John driving from LA in rain - YouTube[/ame]

Then a hurricane came into play, sure to swipe over us with even more of the same and worse. Saturday was just the first of it...

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Visors up, 20 MPH, hard to focus...

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And to put a damper on our photo, someone spraypainted and toppled our photo rock. No bueno mexico!!

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Going was foggy, slow, with no sign of blue skies or dry conditions. We were running late, going slow, worried about dirt conditions.

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but my gosh was it beautiful!

[ame="https://youtu.be/4dXPAWUojxk"]Mextrek #8 Beautiful Clouds near Rayones - YouTube[/ame]

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And the little 500 was loving the mixed gnarly concrete. TKC80's slippery as advertised on the slick asphalt.

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We were in dead last, tired, foggy, and the raods were slicker and slicker. I stopped to take a video of the last of the "Slow Group" dropping down into Rayones. Keen eyes will see 3 go in, 2 come out.

https://youtu.be/3tSJXx-JtC8

Unufortunately JP's newly repaired bike decided 3rd time was the charm and gave up it's grip of reality (and asphalt) and spit JP squarely on his shoulder. Pain, pain, and more pain ensued. To his credit, with a pain level of 8 or 9, JP continued on to Galeana like the bad to the bone trooper he is. 15 MPH and a 30 minute after sunset arrival and we were feeling very accomplished for a 4 time mishap crew (5 if you count a rider out of gas). Hello Galeana!!

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Dinner and copious drinks at The General de Casonas and I slept like a big snoring baby bear.
 
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Day 3: Sunday.

We got up early (9AM), had an early breakfast (10 AM) and decided to do an easy dirt day to Buena Vista via Camarones. Easy, peasy. Our little group of skilled riders included 3 honda 500 riders. Me on the R and Justin and John Joyce on CB500X. They are basically the same bike, just different bodywork and controls. We were heading south on the amazingly smooth concrete road to Iturbide... and at the exact 1:09 in this 2017 video...

[ame="https://youtu.be/Ab_L8h8n6vg"]Mextrek 2017 Iturbide Canyon Rd - YouTube[/ame]

Steve's front tire went catastrophically flat. He nearly lowsided, recovered, and braked...directly into the wall on the right side. Bruised bike and banged up Steve were ported tot he other side, tibue installed over Tubliss system, bike all good, ride continued after a 1 hr delay.

We continued south, the 3 500's having a little racing fun on the concrete from Iturbide towards Camarones. once on dirt we linked up with Adam and Curtis who were flying at a 90 race pace. After getting my head straight and backing way off Steve and I continued into the lead. A few badly placed bumps and a bit of extra corner speed took me up onto a downhill left berm, then into a bike stopping human sized rock. I flew up and left into the trail. Steve did everything in his power but still managed to whack a mole me into next week with his saddlebag and rear tire. OUUUUUCCCCHHH, YOU HIT ME I SCREAMED!!!!

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My subframe was tweaked, plastics beat, but everything else functional. As I always say, "Never take anything to Mexico that you aren't perfectly okay with throwing off a cliff!". Same goes for my trusty 500. A sacrifice to the gods of motorcycling for allowing me to experience Mexico on 2 wheels.

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I rode thru the ouch to Camarones only to realize after snacks my visor came off in the crash. Steve retrieved it and we headed eastward where we followed Curtis' tracks. We came head to head with Sean, John, and a few other guys. They took the easy way home thru Iturbide. Sean, Steve, John Joyce, and I decided to adventure west, in the rain, to wards the eastern track. A fast pace and lack of wrong turns would mean no issues and a pre sunset return to Galeana. After all, we chased Laura on her Triumph 800 up the same road in 2017 and we knew it could be done. Especially on all smaller bikes. but what we didn't anticipate was mud. Pure sticky wheel clogging nasty thick adobe brick making Pre-Columbian muckety muck.

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We spent 1 hr going 20 feet. Then taking off low front fenders. Clearing rotors. Laughing, falling, breaking off mirror and blinkers. More laughing. More synchronized crashing.... We turned tail and rode home after dark. What a day!!!
 
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We ausually agree that mud takes away from the joy of riding our motorcicles. But it makes us appreciate how a good day in the saddle is just that... a good day. Here is Fang caught in the act of an impromptu performance. He didn't skip a beat when he saw me filming!!!!

[ame="https://youtu.be/leE8N1QabZ0"]Mextrek #8 All I wanna do is ride my motorcicle - YouTube[/ame]
 
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We ausually agree that mud takes away from the joy of riding our motorcicles. But it makes us appreciate how a good day in the saddle is just that... a good day. Here is Fang caught in the act of an impromptu performance. He didn't skip a beat when he saw me filming!!!!

Mextrek #8 All I wanna do is ride my motorcicle - YouTube

This is what it is all about! Reminds me of the two life lessons my late aunt taught me: 1) Don't sweat the small stuff 2) It's all small stuff.
 
Sticky mud south of iturbide means look for the grassy trail as much as possible, while avoiding the thorns, thorns vs sticky red mud, ummm...hope you got ride on in your tires
 
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Really liked the photos putting a face to the name. Great job! And thanks for all you do to organize rides Peter.
 
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