Frog on the Road: December 2008

Guanajuato
Coming to you live from the city of Guanajuato now, been here since Sunday, near San Miguel de Allende northwest of Mexico City...a very interesting city with a "european" feel, built on top of a maze of tunnel road systems...very cool...my body is enjoying the rest and time to heal...may take a Spanish course here but feeling really lazy...and have been way behind with an update so here goes...

Way back in La Paz

Ended up staying in LaPaz for five days..was on my way to by a ticket for the 18 hour ferry to Mazatlan when Bill and Sue from the UK and Miguel from Portland pulled to the hotel on road bikes...Bill and Sue were intending to take the ferry next day to Topolabambo and then drive down to Mazatlan. I decided to stay over and go with them...they were on kinda "tight" schedule meeting a boat in Rio de Janeiro to go to South Africa in 7 weeks....not sure how they could make it in that time frame but hey, what do I know?...I have seen a few rode bikes doing this journey now and realized that I didn't need the kind of bike I have for this, assuming I stay more on the pavement...maybe I will...we shall seeeeeeeeee...won't we?

As we were about to leave for the ferry the next day, Jason from San Fransico riding an old R100GS, walked in the hotel and asked who owned the bimmer outside...he joned us and we all left together for the 6 hour ferry to Topo and spent the night in Los Mochis (a stinky little city).

Next day we bid farewell to Bill and Sue as they headed south for Mazatlan (hope they make it)...Jason was doing some gentle persuation to convince me to come with him to Copper Canyon...I wasn't so sure... I had already put it out of the equation, partly cause it was back North and gonna be cold, but also I had a rough go on the Baja and was looking forward to some easy riding... eventually we headed north out of town (towards Copper Canyon) and stopped for gas and and oil change for Jason...my intuition was telling me to head south and I just couldn't ignore it...Jason decided to let go of CC and we both headed south towards Mazatlan as well. An hour down the road I realized that I left my backpack in the hotel. It was getting late so we turned around and headed back to Los Mochis for another night (ugh!) and a few cerveza's...turned out to be an important event as it meant another opportunity to "consider" going to Copper Canyon...

Next day, after more mental masturbation, I decided to go with Jason to Copper Canyon...of course there are no wrong choices, just more experiences, however, now looking back I wonder whether I was going against my own intuition to keep heading south.

The pavimento ended after Choix so I figured I better look around for some padding for my butt...the saddles looked pretty inviting. An old mission on the Rio El Fuerto

...very soon after leaving Choix we ran into these caballeros having a few tailgate cervazas' and asked for some directions on where we might camp.

Tino just jumped on the back of Jason's bike and said we would stay with him and his family, so away we went without thinking too much about it...

was a really great start to our "authentic" Mexican experience getting invited into their home and offered such open and friendly hospitality.

We were fed well with Grandma making fresh tortillas over the fire every meal. The sinora was really amazing and she wouldn't let us leave without first offering us a blessing for our safety.

We left Tinos and headed towards Copper Canyon taking the road thru an active gold mine. We waited at the gate for an escort thru the the minesite...that gate turned out to be a portal into the next part of the adventure and a real different world. The guards told us that 11 bodies were found that morning near there and we soon realized we were heading into dangerous country that was home to drug cartels, violence and the source of much of the drugs running into the U.S. The road to the mine was great but after that we hit what would turn out for me to be "Road from Hell #2"

We camped in an apparently nice spot by the river that night. Soon after setting up camp and having a swim, things got "interesting" as we were joined on the river by five "dudes" who stopped for a swim and cerveza...they offered us a beer and we graciously accepted as it was hard to ignore that they all had "pistolas" stuffed in their jeans...they pulled out a big bud and commenced to get high...it was good that Jason was fluent in Spanish as they warmed up to us quickly as we nervously laughed and joked with them...that evening we "slept peacefully" to the gentle sounds of the nearby river and a melody of semi-automatic gunfire in the surrounding mountains...sorry photos were not appropriate.

Next morning leaving the river required passing thru 20 meters of deep sand where I had the first two of five crashes of the day. Actually they were what is called a "getoff", a slow speed wipe-out where the bike goes down and one "getsoff" , hopefully not doing any damage or getting hurt.

Very soon we hit the first of six river crossings, most luckily no deeper than my knees. On the first crossing, in the lead and not having any experience, I just plowed into it hoping to muddle my way across. Haha...not so lucky...

half way thru I hit a big boulder and went down wildy, submerging myself in the river with the bike on its side in two feet of water, still running, and my right leg trapped underneath the pannier...my 3rd crash in the as yet still early day...there I was, stuck in flowing water, kinda freaky for sure, as I waited for help from Jason to get the bike off me...he wiped out walking towards me and got soaked as well (he wasn't happy as one is supposed to stop before entering the river to check it out and chart a course)...ooops I'll know better next time.

Here we finished the last of six crossings, helping each other across holding each others bike at the back from falling over. The kids next to us laughed as we emptied our boots now filled to the brim

Some very beautiful scenery along this road but unfortunately, one can't enjoy it much while moving as you don't dare take your eyes of the road directly in front. Back upright yet again after crash #4 of the day...you would think I'd be getting it by now...that one hurt a bit more as it was on hard rock and slippery road surface, and starting to feel a little sore and weary now.

Its now only about noon with the day already filled with "challenge and adventure" and low and behold, I have what turns out to be my 5th and final crash of the day, this one bit more serious. I guess you could call it a bit more than a getoff. By now pretty sore and tired, I hit some loose rock and lost control. Unfortunately, I was very close to the edge and ended up rolling off the edge and down the side of the mountain with the bike rolling over and falling down on top of me as a lay 3 meters down the side of the mountain. A very vivid an frightening image remains in my memory as I lay on my back, hurt watching the bike above me come crashing down on top of me. I was pinned a bit under it when it stopped but was able to get out quickly.

I got out and up O.K. but for a while stared in disbelief at what had happened...was this really happening?, I thought to myself...there was the bike down there, we were in the middle of nowhere with no people around . Fortunately, Jason was level headed and quick into action rigging up some tie-downs and pulley's in a system and we got it uprite and part way back up on the road...fortunately a truck came by with 4 cabelleros and they helped us get it the last bit up to the road...not sure what we would have done without them showing up.

Again, back upright and ready to go?...duh I think!

I was in no shape to ride more so we found a level spot to camp for the night and would head down into Batopilas next day...shortly after setting up camp, a white pickup came up the hill with 5 guys in it...as Jason neared the passenger window to speak with them, he noticed a semi-automatic machine gun in the lap of the passenger...he let them know that we were just camping cause we had soome problems and would be gone asap...they had a VHF radio and spoke with someone then left...shortly another truck came up, this one a 3 ton with the load tarped...they just blew by us without stopping...obviously a load of drugs destined for the U.S....again leaving us feeling very nervous about where we were...we wondered if the night would be filled with the sound of gunfire again....again photos were not appropriate!

The next day we rode for a mile or so but I was pretty sore and spooked. We came upon a casa in the hills and arranged to truck my bike down into Batopilas...really glad I did as the road stayed pretty treacherous all the way.

While in Batopilas, we met up with Matt from Alaska, also on a Dakar identical to mine and Paddy Tyson from Ireland on an Italian Aprilla, who I had already been in contact with by email. Batoplias was a pretty little village, deep in Copper Canyon, with some very nice people, but it also had an edge that was palpable. A lot of blank stares and hollow eyes amongst some of the villagers made it obvious that drugs had come there in a big way and was met with a warryness when saying Hola to many of the locals.

This casa was home to some drug dude and was the site of a shootout between the secret police and the banditos...not sure who won , buts lotsa bulletholes.

I decided to truck my bike rather than ride out as I was pretty spooked from the recent crashes. The road East out of Batopilas up to the pavimento turned out to be pretty good compared to what we had already been on coming down from the West, except for a few rough spots like the road washout, this truck had to wait for the road to be cleared.

Twice we saw a bobcat hung by the neck...not sure what make of it but creepy freaky for sure.

I regretted not riding out as it was a beautiful ride with lots of dirt fun

A nite by the campfire near San Fransisco del Oro and some good grub...no gunfire that nite here but lots of roosters in the morning.

A lunch break by the river.

An earthquake maybe?...a pit stop upon reaching the pavimento again.

Here (somewhere I cant remember) high up the plateau in cattle country we were greeted by a very friendly caballero. He offered us a sample of the tasty vegetarian meal freshly prepared with all the trimmings, so to speak!...Paddy and Jason comparing legs...

The city of Durango at night, appears a few cervezas were in order. Paddy doesn't do so well with the "caliente" Mexican food so cools off his Irish red ness!

Matt having a few challenges with the sand did a few twisty's to his bags and probably some to the body as well...I made it thru that one thanks for askin!

The four Amigos and Paddy having a wee bit o' Irish showoffin'

Matt having some more fun, this time a hard crash at 30mph hitting a cattle guard with a big hole in it...Paddy surveys the crash scene with a chuckle and grin...Them thar Jesse bags are taking a beating but keep on ticking...with a bit of gentle persuasion!...glad its not me for a while!