One last story I totally forgot to post. Shows the stark contrast from Mexico to Texas, in terms of regulation, norms, and love of laughter.
If anyone has pics or video, I'd love to see it.
Riding on a particularly hairy uphill switchback, heading up the back of the pack, at 5/6ths of race speeds. Tight lefts and rights with zero visibility. I come around a tight steep uphill right hander and encounter a huge pickup truck, maybe a small dump truck facing downhill in the opposite "lane", aka, he left 6 feet on the uphill side. Sliding to a stop to the full volume yelling of 10 construction workers I realize I messed up. Expecting to be chastised for riding so fast, ignoring the huge truck, and maybe being asked to explain the sins of the 8 bikes ahead of me that had obviously not stopped, I didn't know exactly what to do. But in 1/2 a second I realized they weren't yelling for me to stop, they were yelling at me to be contestant #9 to try to conquer "the construction zone de red bull". They had recently set up forms on both sides of the road, about 15 feet apart. They had filled the road with 10,000 human head sized rocks. It appeared the concrete was about ready to pour. They were lining each side of the construction zone with bandana's in hand, waving frantically yelling "Andele, Arriba!". So without further hesitation I gunned it in first, wheelied up into the rock bed, and continued up the steep loose rocky roadway of bowling ball rocks. Up ahead I saw 2 or 3 bikes that hadn't cleared the whole obstacle of rocks, then a pinch point with gravel, a hop down into sand, and a squeeze beside the pickup at the top. I made it all the way to the pickup, almost sideswiping a bike or two, until I had to stop as Dale was sandwiched on the 950 and we had no where to go. We all got good hearty yells, laughter, and a round of applause. I just wish I had go pro footage. It was hilarious. Everyone agreed it looked like a poor mans version of the video we'd all seen on the net. Good stuff, ol' Mexico.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEECE2PRTnI"]Red Bull Romaniacs Prologue with Jonny Walker - YouTube[/ame]