Saving the best(?) for last

Subtitle: Twisting the days away

We left Durango heading north with a good feeling of conquering one of the longest twistiest most dangerous and highly rated motorcycle roads in the world. It’s hard to ride a motorcycle and not think of all the great roads we’ve been on and how they compare. Deals Gap, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Cascade Highway, Beartooth Pass in Montana and Spearfish Canyon near Sturgis, SD  are some of the more famous roads we’ve traveled. We were content that the best was behind us and the next two days would be a relatively uneventful ride back to the border. Nothing could be more untrue. Continue reading

Espinazo del diablo

Our stay in Zacatecas was too short. Someday it would be fun to return and explore the city and surrounding areas. We were starting to get down to our last days available in Mexico and I was determined to check out one of the best motorcycle roads in the Americas, Espinazo del diablo or in English, the devil’s spine. I’ve heard about this road from many people over the years and always wanted to check it out. Continue reading

The People We Meet

You may remember when we were stuck in the city of Patzcuaro waiting for the rain to reside that I mentioned we meet a couple from California. We were sitting at a sidewalk cafe and they were walking by. We exchanged a few words and didn’t think much of it. A few days later Deby and I were at an out of the way restaurant in Guanajuato when the same couple sat at the table next to us. Amazed at seeing each other again we talked and found out we were staying in the same hotel,…. small world. Continue reading

Fixed moto, sunshine and Deby’s Birthday

So what’s so bad about being forced to hang out for a few days and read books? The hotel had a covered walkway to the restaurant that had great food and beer so we made the best of it. By Sunday we were a little stir crazy so we braved the elements and rode the collectivo (small city bus) into El Centro for  a day of walking in the rain. Patzcauro is not really a tourist destination and was mostly filled with locals. We did talk briefly to a couple from California.

We came across a market covered in tarps.

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San Miguel de Allende

Deby and I were checking in at the front desk of the Best Western in El Centro, Las Mochas, once again, two dirty, tired, ratty looking bikers in a more upscale hotel lobby. The 20 something receptionist was very friendly and in reasonable English asked  us where we were from. When I said Seattle she turned beat red and turned to the young man next to her and asked him something in Spanish. He looked at her and then us and said in halting English “Fifty Shades of Grey”. She turned to us, still red in the face and said “….yes I know Seattle, famous movie….”. Continue reading

Blasting through Mexico

It goes against my better judgement when travelling to actually have hotel reservations, but on the advice of friends, Deby and I reserved a vacation rental in San Miguel de Allende which included prepaying. The problem with that was having to estimate which day we would arrive which is very difficult when travelling on motorcycles, especially in Mexico. Anything can, and will go wrong. In our case it was the weather causing us to loose a day in Tucson. Now we are battling time to get the 1000 or so miles to San Miguel. Continue reading