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Tejas 1300...Well, sort of...

Joined
Jan 10, 2016
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Location
“Puerto No One Knows”
First Name
David
Day 1(Sunrise Beach - Acuña) - After a long time off the bikes, Becky and I headed south Christmas morning. It was a messy ride from our place in Llano county south through Fredericksburg, Kerville, Rocksprings and ultimately ending the day in Acuña. Both of us having ridden the Day 1 of the Tejas 1300 route several times previously, we decided to just cruise down on the highways. There was very little traffic on the roads and other than bucking a strong south wind and some drizzle, it was nice. The bikes ran good. We gathered our paperwork at the Banjercito, ate some bistec tacos then found a decent hotel.

Day 2 (Acuña - San Miguel) - This is when the fun started. We woke up to rain. Oh well, what the heck. We headed out to find the road to Santa Eulalia and there was water and mud standing everywhere on the city streets. After creeping through the lights and traffic, driving through mega pools of water, detours because of road closures, we eventually found the road out of town. Once we hit dirt west of Santa Eulalia, it started to get interesting. Typical rough, rocky, 2 track with occasional mud holes. It got real interesting after we descended out of the first set of hills and entered the flat dirt country east of the mountains. Mucho rain in previous months totally washed out the road and trucks made some of the deepest ruts I have seen. You could see where vehicles had spun out, fish tailed and ultimately got stuck in many places. We ended the day in San Miguel (Trail Boss alternate route 2), bypassing Boqillas. Total miles was 204 with about 140 being dirt/gravel/sand/mud. We had no trouble getting a bed, food and fuel in San Miguel.

Day 3 (San Miguel - Terlingua) - The church keeper in San Miguel told us that if you can make it past such and such place (I don't remember the name), you will be okay. What the heck I thought. What we soon learned is that the rains and floods that swept through the area a while back literally destroyed the roads and bridges. We were told San Miguel was unable to receive food/groceries for several weeks due to this. What little remains of the road, is long, deep ruts. I would say these things were class 3 in some places. This is a really nice section of the route and once they get the roads maintained, you will be able to make better time. we were averaging 10-20 mph max. We got to Terlingua at dark and chose to tent camp at one of the many tent cities we observed. Very cold night. I believe we ended the day with about 210 miles and about half of them being dirt/gravel. Very good day.

Day 4-5 (Terlingua-Sanderson-Sunrise Beach) - We ended up just hitting the pavement in the National Park (I have ridden the Tejas 1300 Day 4 track previously), checked out Marathon, and then cruised down to Sanderson and stayed at the Desert Motel. Temps were in the mid 30s on Day 4 and 5 so it made for cold rides. That said, we took pavement to expedite things.

To conclude, we really enjoyed the routes we took. Even the pavement & highway sections were nice mainly due to the basically absent traffic. We stayed close to Trail Boss’s Tejas 1300 most of the time, but as said above, didn't ride a few of the sections. The only section I have not done previously and hope to be back for, is the section around Pandale. I have hunted the Pandale and Juno area in the past, but have not been over those roads on dual sports. Unlike a lot of other parts of Mexico, we saw lots of wildlife on the Mexico sections. Deer, turkey, hogs, etc. We also saw nice mule deer, one 6x6 in BBNP and on HWY 349.

Lastly, unfortunately, we are not good picture takers. It was cold most of the time and you all know how hard it is to stop, take everything off, take pictures, then get going again.

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Great ride David and Becky! Any pics of the 4 star rooms in San Miguel?
 
Thanks Sander, Mark, Gina and JT.

JT - regarding the room in San Miguel, no pictures, lol. The restaurant couple arranged for it. Said it was a relative’s house’s vacant room. There was no working lights in that particular house. We had to use flashlights. It was just a basic full size bed with blankets. It was comfortable. We were told there is another option in town but it already had guests. Normal rate is 100 pesos ($5) per person, per night. They did not charge us, but we paid them anyway. Interestingly, San Miguel is only powered by some solar panels and a battery. If it’s cloudy for a few days, no lights. A few have generators, but they are not economically feasible due to the cost of gas, etc.

Drunk Uncle: we went through San Miguel on the Wednesday after Christmas. We were told there are at least 3 vendors that sell gasolina there. We procured ours from the restaurant since we ate breakfast there Thursday morning.
 
Awesome. I may not pack my tent when I do this. Is this only restaurant in town and is my lack of Spanish a big problem?
 
A few more thoughts. Some of the upaved road sections were gnarly rough. I recommmend anyone attempting to do this ride be ready for tire damage and probable flats. All of the ride is through thorn country. Brush has grown out and overhangs the roads in a lot of places. Some detours around impassable washed out sections had unavoidable thorns everywhere. Even the best unpaved sections were rough. Between Morelos and El Melon, the caliche road was nice and wide, but the polished rocks that protruded the surface made for some serious vibrations. Becky’s bike vibrated the rear tail light assembly off twice. Make sure everything that could potentially come off is secure. Auto tire carcasses were everywhere on that section. We stopped to assist a pickup on the road that had ruined a tire.

I’m by no means saying the roads are too rough or gnarly. We like them that way, and rate this ride “way up there” on our favorites list. We will do it again some day and perhaps check out the La Linda area if we can figure fuel logistics out.

Lastly, to be in full disclosure, even though I have spent some time in that general area, we likely would not have done this route without the work of the veterans who proved it out over the years. Trail Boss did an excellent job (as usual) proving, documenting and making available the tracks for the Mexico sections and Tejas 1300. The ride report from Milton and JT from a few years ago is one of my all time favorites to read. As such, here is a special thanks to all of you who put work into creating this particular adventure ride.
 
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Please post up when you do this again. I really want to do this ride. I will be on the bike to the immediate left of this post. But with a couple modifications such as freshly rebuilt GSA shocks for a bit more ground clearance.
 
Please post up when you do this again. I really want to do this ride. I will be on the bike to the immediate left of this post. But with a couple modifications such as freshly rebuilt GSA shocks for a bit more ground clearance.
And tubeless tires?
 
I've been thinking on this Mex. dip prior to Ride around the Bend if interested in a riding partner.
 
In April 2004 I road this same route, but in reverse order. Had a couple of friends with me and we were all riding KLRs. Spent a night in San Miguel at the Casa Mision, which was arranged by Father Johnnie (the Priest and only person we could find that spoke English). He also arrange for dinner and breakfast at Senior Pena's casa. There was no restaurant in San Miguel at this time.





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In April 2004 I road this same route, but in reverse order. Had a couple of friends with me and we were all riding KLRs. Spent a night in San Miguel at the Casa Mision, which was arranged by Father Johnnie (the Priest and only person we could find that spoke English). He also arrange for dinner and breakfast at Senior Pena's casa. There was no restaurant in San Miguel at this time.





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Father Johnnie, said to be born in Falfurias TX, is still there. Restaurant is to left of church. It’s a combo restaurant/casa. The owner is also the head candelilla wholesaler in area... really nice person.
 
Random question..... do you think this route could be done in a 4wd tacoma that is set up as a overlanding truck? I'm sure the truck is capable but the fuel is what concerns me.
 
I have done all of the sections on a dual sport bike and yes you would be able to do it in your truck. Only areas where fuel may be in issue is in Mexico. Being jerry cans as a back up.
 
I have done all of the sections on a dual sport bike and yes you would be able to do it in your truck. Only areas where fuel may be in issue is in Mexico. Being jerry cans as a back up.
My concern was not being able to totally fill up and fill up Jerry's if needed. Also would have 2 trucks. Probably not worth the chance....
 
I have done all of the sections on a dual sport bike and yes you would be able to do it in your truck. Only areas where fuel may be in issue is in Mexico. Being jerry cans as a back up.
Did all the fuel/ food stops in Mexico take American currency? I have never drove in Mexico so this will be a new experience.
 
That’s a nice truck.

BF and I once did a trip to Mex in his 20 year old ranger. No one gave it a second glance. Your Taco might garner some unwanted attention, amigo. Jus something to consider
 
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