Mexico Feburary 2006

[coldcanadian]

A combination of too much overtime at work and an understanding wife allowed my 2003 Tiger and I, in February of 06, to take a 5 week trip through Mexico with a buddy and his 650 V-Strom. 8400KM of some of the twistiest pavement, dusty single lane dirt, river bed detours and great people made this trip more amazing then I had expected. I have done multiple mountain bike trips in the Puerto Vallarta and Cancun areas and thought I had a handle on Mexico as a whole,.... I was  wrong. The parts of the country that have seen little or no tourist activities are truely amazing. The people for the most part were very accommodating and really interested to here about our  trip through their country. It's true the trafic in the larger cities will keep you on the edge, but even it becomes second nature when you realize that their not out to 'GET THE TOURIST', ...they just drive goofy! Signal lights are for show, or saying hi to a buddy on the sidewalk, but not for turning. The accellorator and brakes are for turning! The highways can go from brand new pavement to old gravel or a detour down a river bed with little notice. If you make the trip and aren't in a hurry use the 'LIBRA' ( free ) highways as much as possible. These are free obviously and will save your budget but they also go through all the small towns and some really great riding areas. The Cuota ( toll ) highways tend to bypass most of the small towns and twisty road to accomodate the commercial traffic and they will cost you from 120 pesos ($1.20 ish Canadian) to over $20 Canadian ( the highest we encountered, there are probably higher  ones out there). There are many millitary inspection points where you will be asked to  open your bags but they are just doing a job and not out to get you unless you are in posetion of illigal drugs or fire arms. I found the best approach for these stops was to turn off the engine and coast to a stop, this seemed to disarm them ( figuatively speaking ) and they were much less abrupt and intimidating. Keep your witts about you and try your spanish ( or lack there of ) on the locals and they will go out of their way to help out or get you to where you need to be. I hope that these pictures will give some of you the itch to do a similar trip in Mexico ( again...if you've already done it ).  [http://coldcanadian.smugmug.com/gallery/1255778/1/56069220][http://coldcanadian.smugmug.com/gallery/1255778/1/55966672][http://coldcanadian.smugmug.com/gallery/1255782/1/55969768][http://coldcanadian.smugmug.com/gallery/1255782/2/58755071][http://coldcanadian.smugmug.com/gallery/1255788/1/58755189][/img]

[wonko the sane]

coldcanadian:



Way to go! :smt041

[JOHNNY G]

What a great adventure. I'm considering a trip though Mexico alone. I'm nervous about personal security. What do you think about being solo? I have a time share condo in Cozumel. I want to take a week to get there, hang on the beach, then a week back to Colorado. It is making me crazy thinking about it.  :idea:

[coldcanadian]

JohnnyG



It was a great trip. As for a solo trip, that depends alot on you and how comfortable you are in any given situation. Do you speak any spanish? This alone would be of great value. I think alot of the trepidition people feel when in different counties comes from not being able to understand the locals.

 Adjust your time table for Mexican roads. In the states you can push a 6 or 7 hundred mile day if you have to, while in Mexico the routes you may have to take to avoid some congested areas may take somewhat longer them you would expect. We road from Villahermosa to Naco near Bisbee Arizona in a little over 4 days, about 3000km ( 2000 miles ). Aboput a day longer then it would take back home. Take a look at the link below. It's not the same trip, but it is into Mexico and there are alot of good comments from other people who have been there.

 When you do the, expect nothing and enjoy everything. Be flexible with your schedule.



Have fun



http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125287

[smoove b]

I have ridden/ driven through Mexico 4 times now each trip about 8 weeks long.



The last 2 times were on Motorccyle (transalp).  I mostly go alone, but invariably meet other riders and spend varying amounts of time with them depending on their route.



I almost never worry about safety from "Bad guys" although the road dangers are ever present, with the poor roads, wandering livestock, and overladen trucks with no lights  , Just the usual developing country adventure stuff.



I do speak spanish and have crossed into Guatemala for a few weeks, but really the best advice is to have enough time to do it right.  To set a distance goal for each day is deciding your trip from your kitchen table, contrary to the spirit of travel.



Meanwhile take a spanish class, it adds to the enjoyment, and I think It shows a bit of respect for others and thier culture.   And in almost a yrs worth of wandering, I still have so many places to see , its a huge sountry with wonderfully helpful people.



I can recommend so many places.



Enjoy,   Juan De Milwaukee

[gatling]

I've traveled in Mexico quite a bit, with a lot of it on motorcycles.  It's great.  Never had any security problems.  Lots of pics and trip reports on my website...go to the travel section and check out the Mexico pages.

[gatling]

I checked out your photos...they are great.  You have a good eye for composition...my compliments!



JB