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Published: January 13th 2008
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Palm Springs Desert
We were shaking sand out of our helmets for days after this windy camp spot When we last heard from fearless superheros “Biker Nikki” and “Super Simon” they were in Azusa, California braving the holiday season,..and visiting grandma.
Defeated by the bitter cold of southern California they had no choice but to fly their two wheeled rocket ships…South-of-the-Boarder!!!
…VROOM!
…ZOOM!!
…KAZOOM!!!
Ten Million speed bumps later we have arrived in Las Choapas, Mexico.
It was a wonderful journey. A cold trip through the dessert of the southwest U.S.. Ice on the tent in the morning a couple times. Stopped at the ultimate motorcycle salvage yard in Phoenix and picked up some much needed parts. One of which a luggage rack for Nikkis bike to be welded on later.
Crossed the Mexican boarder smoothly but not without a couple hours standing in line and a small stack of forms to fill out..and a fee or two. The same day we crossed, drove to Guymas which is in the state of Sonora. Guymas is where our road hit the coast of the Gulf of California. Temperatures were in the 70’s, didn’t have to wear long-johns anymore. Stayed on toll roads most of the way down to Mazatlan. The
Vuluptous sand sculpture
These type of sculptures always impress me. toll roads down here are of good quality and slightly less chaotic than the free roads (though the 4 and 5 dollar tolls add up).
Camped out in the desert countryside of Sinaloa for the eve of the new year. We weren’t far enough away from town that we couldn’t hear thunderous fireworks at midnight though.
Found a cheap room in Mazatlan. Revisited Ramones motorcycle shop, (though it was a different Ramone from last time we were here), to get the rack Nikki’d been carrying welded to her bike (see photo). Met a Danish motorcyclist on a BMW, Jasper. He seemed to be whirling in culture shock, mostly over the Mexican “style” of driving. Jasper continued on south, we opted for the eastern route through the mountains and onto the high plains of Zacatecas (got some more use out of those long-johns). Another reason we chose the eastern route was the name of the road,..(drum roll)… “The Devils Backbone!!!”. This title refers to a ridge that connects two mountain ranges. A fabulous road, legendary among Mexican motorcyclists. Nikki got full exposure to the motorcycle/tight curve phenomenon. Here’s an excerpt of a conversation we had:
Simon: “How’s it going?”
Nice Rack
There I said it. Best ten dollar luggage rack installation ever. Nikki: “I’m having lots of fun when I’m not scaring myself half to death.”
..rest assured, Nikki handeled her bike and the curves nicely.
Durango, Zacatecas(silver mining town and home town of Pancho Villa), and then San Luis Potosi,…and then a broken clutch cable on my rocket ship. Rocket ship repair shops are all closed on Sunday so we stayed in town for the night. Met some cool folks at a grocery store, they insisted we stay at a friends house. They all came over after work and we had a couple beers together. Brenda made us a traditional Mexican breakfast, minus the meat, plus a tall glass of coca-cola.
Monday morning, clutch cable fixed continued on to the southeast. Vast countryside resembling New Mexico. Lots of Dr. Seuss type cactus everywhere.
Touched the eastern gulf coast of Mexico near Tampico where we took a turn to the south. Some toll roads and some free roads.
We stopped in to the friendly and familiar town of Alvarado. Met some motorcycle dudes there and joined them with their nightly ritual of hanging out on the street corner, talking about motorcycles and cerveza. One of the guys
Mazatlan Sunset
Always some folks take a little time to walk on the beach at sunset here even if it's an excessivly buzzing(and honking) city. had the same bike as Nikki. While we were standing there we watched one of the transformers on a power line spark and buzz. After 10 seconds of this, sparks showering down to the street the transformer exploded and half the town lost power. Under the cover of darkness people took to the streets and started acting crazy…mostly teens on scooters..actually.
A days ride from Alvarado to Coatzacoalcos(a giant industrial city surrounded by oil refineries and a peculiar smell). Then onto a smaller road which led us here to Las Choapas.
Been meeting other folks here in town headed to the gathering. Also gathering supplies for the next installment of Popcorner.
All is well, thank you for keeping us in your thoughts.
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mom/shannon jewel
non-member comment
Made me smile to see your photo of a 'south of the border mom' who likes to make sweets for her guests. Love you two.