Farewell to Mexico and unto Texas and rain

Wow! A lot has passed since my last update.
My last few days in Mexico were full of thoughts of chocolate chip cookies and eager to communicate with people in English. While I was in somewhat of a rush for the border I was also very sad to be leaving Mexico. It has been so wonderful here. My last two nights were spent in hotel rooms to help ease the transition. Two days before leaving Mexico I was riding thru a town looking for the centro district and while I was looking both ways, hit a huge pothole right in front of me. Now my front rack was broken and mangled. Using brute force I bent it into usable condition. Unfortunately my front wheel got knocked out of true, badly. Enough bad luck in this town I dragged my tired overheated body to the next town twenty miles further. The proprietor of the hotel wanted too much money and I was getting a somewhat bad vibe from the man who may of been trying to help me. So I left town. I finally arrived in the next town, thus combining two days riding into one, and just as it was getting dark found a reasonable hotel. I showered and went out to dinner, with two margaritas. Although I was exhausted from riding over 100 miles I washed my laundry in the sink and fixed my wheel.

The next morning I organized my gear, washed my bike, and rode out of town under threatening skies. Yet as I entered Piedras Negras the sun came out and I decided to stop for lunch. I ordered two enchiladas and three gorditas. The gorditas were amazing! I ordered three more. This is a very nice looking border town. Very full I checked in with immigration, paid the bridge toll, and went across the Rio Grande early afternoon.

Customs was not much of a delay and I quickly found the Eagle Pass visitors center. Then it was onto the post office, huge grocery store, and the library. I was planning to spend the night in a hotel and adjust to the change of cultures, but ended up riding out of town to spend the night in the desert. So about Texas. The chip seal road surface in many locations has left my mind and posterior wishing for Mexican roads. And everything is so expensive once again. Basically until I got to Boerne, Texas I was truly wishing to be back in Mexico. My mind and body was exhausted. Luckily I found a great bicycle shop, The Bicycle Shack, which just happened to have the front rack I needed. Tic and Brian were awesome and got my bike in order. Things progressed to drinking awesome brews at the Dodging Duck Brewhaus with more new friends, then a great bbq, more beer, and a place to stay for the night. Thanks so much to they guys and gals in Boerne. The next day I set out for Luckenbach, Texas a "town" made famous by Waylon and Willie's "Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas...). Then I headed to the Lydon B. Johnson ranch. Touring the ranch was really interesting, but the wind and the road was miserable.

The following day I reached Lockhart at dark and this historic town looked so cool I stayed the night in the nearby campground. The next morning I toured the town, got an awesome and much needed haircut in a barbershop that has been operating in the same locale for over a hundred years, and had some good bbq in the bbq capital of Texas. The next day I left the physically trying Texas Hill Country. And then the clouds and rain started. It's been either clouding or raining for 4 or 5 days! I got marooned by a big thunderstorm outside of Brenham. Fortunately my Dad was able to hook me up with a wonderful free pizza from Dominos Pizza (owned by the friendly Zangs) and this helped me make it thru the weather. The next day I also found some incredible apple pie and a great chocolate chip cookie in a gas station. And the clouds and rain continued the next day during my visit to Washington, the birthplace of Texas, where their Declaration of Independence was signed. Camped among the towering pines of Sam Houston National Forest and had my first campfire in a while. Saw the sun at dusk and then the next day got rain and hail. My gear is soggy from the rain and humidity. My spirits are a bit tried, but sun is finally in the forecast for tomorrow.

Sun, Sun, PLEASE PLEASE come out and play. I shall be in Louisiana in the next few days, hopefully with sunny skies

A HUGE thanks to all the folks in Mexico for such a wonderful experience. I will be back; and know more Spanish.

I love Mexico!!

My Gosh! So it´s the good, the bad, and the ugly. So beginning with my departure from Mazatlan ... kind of confusing. Fortunately I´m a guy who´s not afraid to ask for directions. But gosh dern, I don´t speak much Spanish. Well it seemed that the man said that this was the way. Yep, I´m on the right road. Along the way to Villa Union there´s goats, a donkey, and a roster along side the road, all alive (I wish the rooster was dead- contrary to myth rooster call at all times of night and day- it´s truely mading. Villa Union is a nice town, beautiful plaza and church. I ate some food from a street stand, I don´t know what it is, except that it´s some sort of taco and it tastes great! That afternoon I begin heading towards Durango. Stop by a few beautiful small towns, talk with the local policia. Eat more food. Witness a 4 wheeler plunge off the cobblestone road, guy was okay. Construction worker gives me a cervasa. Good.

Day 2 from Mazatlan: Continue to climb into the mountains from the sea. Many open views and small towns seem to cling to the mountainside. Stop at a panadaria (bakery) and get some sweets. My legs are tired from climbing. Pass North of the Tropic of Cancer. I have some gorditas (kind of like small pitas with stuff inside). Deside not to attempt the feared Espinazo del Diablo in the fading light. Find the only camp spot off the road. It´s not great. Good.

Day 3: Continue climbing. Espinazo del Diablo no longer has 1,000 foot drops on each side. Exposed like the rest of the road. Oh my gosh!! Two and a half days of climbing. The pine trees are a welcome sight after the desert. Where my jacket for the first time in weeks. Reach what may be the summit, at least the sign said something, I have no idea what. The small outpost kind of reminds me of Leadville, Colorado. I miss that place. I begin going down a bit more frequently. My altimeter tops at 9, 223 feet. Coming from sea level that´s a brute of a climb. Hardest ever in fact. I´m tired and feeling the effects. Bad. I decend to near El Salto. Two guys in a pickup stop by the road and ask about my trip, one in English. A few minutes later I´m eating an excellent lunch (my second one). The place is like a resort camp, fishery, etc. I´m able to spend the night in a cabin, compliments of my new amigo Yoshijiro (Mexican with a Japenese name). That afternoon he, Hector, Edgar, and I cruze in the pickup to the local tunnel and rock formations. Haven´t gone this fast in weeks!! That night I call my Mom for the first time in 2 months (cheap phone service), meet an extended Mexican family, and eat an awesome meal. Spending time in their house talking with them thru Yoshijiro was one of the best hightlights of the trip. They are such a welcoming and friendly family. They offer to let me stay for as long as I like, yet I crave the chocolate chip cookies of America. I hope to visit them when I speak much better Spanish. They are so wonderful, like so many Mexicans I have met along the way. Muy bien.

Day 4: The morning is near freezing. I haven´t been this cold in months! Riding of El Salto there is construction. I´m covered in dust and dirt after a quarter mile of riding off pavement. So much for the nice shower. Bad. Ride to Durango. Spend the afternoon driving around Durango with Yoshijiro and his friend Alex. Even see a bicycle track. Stay the next day at his house eating, reading, resting, and watching tv. Good.

Day 6: Ride almost a hundred miles after good food and rest, plus the road is largely flat. That afternoon a dust storm sweeps thru. I decide to tempt fate and ride out of town. A weird sound appears. My front rack is broken. I ride into the headwind back to town. Of course the bicycle shop doesn´t have the rack I need. It´s a nightmare, I need help, and I don´t know how to communicate. Ugly. Finally a welder is located and he fixes the rack for about 4 dollars. Ride out of town and make awesome time with an incredible tailwind. Find a place to spend the night. Good.

Day 7: The next morning it´s raining. Less than an hour later my rack breaks again. I´m cold, wet, and broken. Ugly. I jimmyrig the rack with my spare wheel spokes. I add additional duck tape throughout the day. The rain stops and I once again make good time. I make my way thru the big city of Torreon with the help of a local cab driver. I ride about a hundred miles that day and spend the night in the nice town of San Pedr0. I splurge on a hotel room for 200 pecos (about 13 dollars). I shop, eat, shower and watch tv. Bad and Good.

Day 8: Ride thru the desert with a horse that has no name :0 (at least for a few hundred yards). Get water and a burrito from the only place along the ruta. They give me a free 40th anniversary t-shirt from the restaurant. Mexican-American stops and asks me¨"what´s up?" I haven´t heard the expression in a while I don´t know how to answer it. Find a nice place off the ruta to camp. Low mountains surrounding the dessert are incredible beautiful. PB and J for Dinner (I´m to lazy and tired to cook).

Half of Day 9: Reach the beautiful town of Cuantrociengas. Eat some great chicken. Should reach Eagle Pass, Texas in about 4 days. Still craving a chocolate chip cookie.

I LOVE Mexico!!!

Adios Baja... hola mainland Mexico

Cheers and Beers from Mazatlan! Gosh! so much has transpired since my last posting. If I were to attempt to relate to you everything that has happened in the past few weeks ya´ll would easily be reading for the next half hour. Due to the fact that this blog ain´t yet on the ´Top 10 List´ I am not willing to risk losing the few readers I have due to boredom.

Muluge, Loreto, La Paz, Los Cabos, Mazatlan... the names, dates and events all seem to run together in a confused jumbled of cycling madness. I had my first tamales in Mulege and now I´m hooked. Along the Bay of Conception my legs grew tired from the rolling terrain and my eyes from gazing at the incredible beauty. In Loreto I experienced my first contact with large numbers of tourists. Fortunately if also served as a meeting place for half a dozen cyclists headed South. A few days later we met up again with Nico, a Belgium cyclist coming South from Alaska. In La Paz I wondard the streets bustling with people. That night we all were shown around town by Nico´s couch surfing host Laura. It was her doing that led us all to our first Mexican bar scene. 50 pecos (about $3 U.S.) cover charge and we had all the drinks free for an hour. The blaring music was a mix of popular Mexican and American music. Except for the fact that we had the lightest complexion in the joint the scene was much like any college bar in the U.S. The next day was spent relaxing and running various errands. That night Laura and her niece took us out to the mall and bowling. It was really great to have a local show us around and answer a multitude of questions that needed answering.

The following day we (including Nico) draged our now lazy bodies out of La Paz and headed for Cabo. The scenery was great and the terrain was tough. Los Cabos was a mash of humanity...especially overweight American tourists. This is not the Mexico we have come to enjoy and we eventually found a quiet public beach. We spent the afternoon hours swimming at the southern tip of Baja and talking with two very nice tour operators who were happy to share the shade of their tent with us. Later that afternoon we cycled North. We found a secluded beach a half mile off the road. The waves were really pounding the surf and we carefully enjoyed our last frolic in the waves of the Pacific after two months of companionship. Another companionship is also ending. My brothers (and Nico) have decided to headed North to Arizona. Meanwhile after much thought I´ve decided to head NW from Mazatlan.

Two days later we were back in La Paz. Due to the ferry schedule I was forced to leave that same night. So the next few hours I rushed around buying a radio, Bimbo jersey, and groceries. Passage for me and my bike was about $90 US. Getting on the ferry was a bit nerve racking, but I made it. I even made some very basic conversation with a local truck driver. The ride was nice and they even showed some movies. After 18 hours on the ferry we docked in Mazatlan. I was worried about finding a cheap hotel in a foreign city, but it took me only half an hour. It was only 200 pecos (exchange rate is about 14:1). I began exploring the town without a map and managed not to get lost. Today I took an early morning ride along the coast and then explored some of the sights of Mazatlan.

So tomorrow I leave the Pacific and begin my journey towards East Texas. My route will be Mazatlan-Durango-Torren-Saltitto-Monterrey-Texas. You´ll have to keep reading to see how it goes.

P.S. I´m still having problems with uploading photos. Here is a link to some of my photos. Some are new and some are old. Uploading photos is a pain so it´s still disorganized, but it´s something.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=278509878/a=108375668_108375668/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish