Trans Americas 2009 - The Blog

Funnily enough, the Tequila did not give me a hangover in the traditional sense, although it did leave me feeling slightly tired... eating late at night once again means I'm not hungry in the morning and with a small dose of “Montezuma's Revenge” breakfast is just a bowl of cereal and an Immodium tablet... great, with 400+ miles to ride...

Once the bikes were loaded, Nick and I set off together again, with me leading, out of the hotel and immediately into the hills on relatively smooth tarmac, only to have the rhythm broken by a set of roadworks, the diversion taking us once more onto a wet dirt road. But after Copper Canyon, this was nothing, and we were soon back on the tarmac. Then we met most of the rest of the group that had set out before us (they weren't delayed trying to get going with veins full of last night's Tequila). They flagged us down, so we stopped to discover that Danielle had had an encounter with the local wildlife, a cow running out in front of her. Unable to avoid hitting it she had, but fortunately not too hard, suffering a sprained wrist and the bike cosmetic damage. She'd ridden on a mile or so afterwards before the wrist had become painful and she'd not been able to operate throttle and brake properly. As a result, she was sat by the roadside being comforted by the group whilst waiting for Jeff and the van... When Kevin and Julia arrived they looked ashen-faced until they realised no real harm was done, and then they took over and off we went again, our eyes now scanning the bushes at the side of the road for suicidal cows...

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, the road changing from mountainside twisties to long, dull straights as we got further into central Mexico, heading almost south-east towards Zacatecas. We stopped after 2 hours to stretch and drink some water, pulling into what once must have been a welcome coffee stop but was now just derelict buildings, like so many we saw by the roadside...





Then it was back on the bikes and along the road, by now almost arrow straight with a few undulations, running through fields of green scrublike plants – it's amazing just how green Mexico is... With little to occupy our attention, we were glad when we passed through the little small villages en-route, pace dropping to a crawl as we bounced over the topes on entering, then scanning for hazards and running dogs (sadly, didn't get any runners today, they're quite good fun as you ride trying to keep them chasing you for as long as possible). After 150 miles we arrived at Rodeo, and the first fuel stop, brimming our tanks and taking the opportunity for another stretch, a cold drink and some van-snacks before once again heading off. A couple of hours later we stopped again, this time for more drinks, having finally broken the back of the journey with just less than 200 miles still to go. Time was ticking by, our average speed reduced to below 50mph despite the long straights, probably the result of crawling through the villages. We stopped again a little while later for lunch, a great big steak for just 160 pesos, including a bottle of water. The next section was less populated and busier, with trucks heading both ways, but the road was plenty wide enough for the overtakes (ours and the trucks and pick-ups overtaking each other using both sides of the road). I picked up the pace, determined to get close to Zacatcas before the next stop, so we hammered along at a steady 80-ish, my ride made slightly less boring by having my MP3 player on now I felt my concentration levels were high enough to cope.

About 50 miles from our destination we stopped again, pulling into a lay-by at the side of the road for a final stretch and to get the circulation going. No sooner had we stopped than a green pick-up pulled into the lay-by in front of us, belching blue smoke, and a large Mexican guy got out. At first I thought we had perhaps upset him by our speed, but he was smiling and showing the thumbs-up sign, checking we were ok before engaging us in conversation. Well, I say conversation, but it was him prattling on in Spanish and us replying in English, none of us sure what we were talking about. He asked us where we were from (got that bit) and where we were going, then told us there was a festival of some sort (didn't get that) on in Zacatecas. He seemed impressed when Nick pointed to the Alaska sticker on my bike, and even more so when told we were going to Argentina... wishing us luck (in English), he carried on his way, and then so did we. Seems our “minor celebrity status” isn't quite over just yet...

Approaching Zacatecas the sky turned a nasty shade of black, and fearing the worst we pulled over to don waterproof jackets, and whilst doing so the main group came hurtling by. Setting off after them we followed the complex route notes in the rain, trying to see where we were going, read road-signs and check the notes, whilst at the same time trying to keep a watchful eye on the driving standards around us. Into town we reached a steep down-hill section of cobbled street, the cobbles large and wet and very slippery. Then we joined the long queue of traffic working its way into the historic part of the city, inch by inch getting closer to the cathedral and the hotel opposite, thankful that at least the rain had stopped for a while. As we pulled into the road leading past the cathedral, there were police everywhere, a huge stage and grandstand next to the cathedral and opposite the hotel... pulling into the underground car-park (really slippery floor!) we finally arrived, parking the bikes up in one corner with all the others, some 10 hours after setting off...

Still feeling very tired from the night before, and full from the steak dinner earlier, I opted for a walk round and skipped dinner. The town was full of people, the band playing somewhere in the midst of the stage and crowds packed into the grandstand, but tired, I didn't stop too long to see what was going on, preferring to return to the hotel and get an early night...