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2016 MexTrek Galeana #5, Oct 19th - 23rd 2016

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To quote a friend, get a bike, a backpack, throw some crap in it, and come to Mexico with us. It is always good to bring another $500 cash with that attitude so you can get a pickup truck ride to the border in the rare case your bike fails ya.

Nothing else that costs money in life compares to the value I get from a weekend of riding in Galeana. I figure its $100 a day all in, certainly do-able for $50 a day if you are frugal.

So, ease your mind. Grab a solid bike, a backpack, and come along for the adventure.
 
Oh, midlife, just bring the trophy. The roads are great too. We get a few guys on streetbikes. This is just one of many nice paved area roads. Filmed on handed so not too fast....

https://youtu.be/c_sOLZR3sPQ

What was that noise at 2:01? Helmet whistle?

So. do the street bikes guys just go on their own once you dirt riders veer off pavement?

Road looks great. Amazing it's only an easy day's ride from here. Maybe y'all should organize a paved road only ride, too. I'd sign up for that in a heartbeat. I'm definitely not up to venturing into Mexico without expert guidance.

Not worried about bike choice come Oct. If I'm a go, bike is the easy part to figure out. You are absolutely right about that.
 
What was that noise at 2:01? Helmet whistle?

So. do the street bikes guys just go on their own once you dirt riders veer off pavement?

Road looks great. Amazing it's only an easy day's ride from here. Maybe y'all should organize a paved road only ride, too. I'd sign up for that in a heartbeat.

most larger bikes that want to do pavement, can still do some easy class 1-2 dirt roads. the rundown to jalpan in april can give u the paved only experience u hunger for, just there and back is 4 days of paved only riding.
 
Looks like a great ride! From the video some sections seem a bit rugged to enjoy on a 800GS, which is my only ride. Whaddya think?
 
Looks like a great ride! From the video some sections seem a bit rugged to enjoy on a 800GS, which is my only ride. Whaddya think?

800GS is the perfect compromise bike for Mexico. Great on the highway, perfect for the 80% of the riding which is on class 1/2 gravel roads, and nothing ever really gets too drastic that you can't just turn around from it in a pinch. I rode with my buddy Ryan, who had limited off road experience, on his GS800 in 2010 and he had a great time and the bike was never an issue (except when he forgot to disengage the ABS time after time in the dirt).

This is his video from the trip, and you can see on a couple of switchbacks he gets a little loose, but I was never really waiting for him, and always ride fairly quickly. Riding starts halfway through:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOIVHstZ2t4"]MexTrek 2010 f800gs drz400sm.mpg - YouTube[/ame]
 
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Looks like a great ride! From the video some sections seem a bit rugged to enjoy on a 800GS, which is my only ride. Whaddya think?

I think you should take Ulybrad or Bill Dragoo's dirt classes (or both) before you go and have a fantastic time in Mexico.
 
sorry, i'm gonna as some noob questions..

1) what % highway dirt is this ride
2) is there a worry of being kidnapped? lol

Best,

Eugene
 
sorry, i'm gonna as some noob questions..

1) what % highway dirt is this ride
2) is there a worry of being kidnapped? lol

Best,

Eugene

1) Bunch of riding options; curvy highway, graded roads & real dirt, Richard's guide will give more detail.

2) Yes - your heart will be kidnapped by the warmth and friendliness of the Mexican people.
 
1) what % highway dirt is this ride

My best guess is 50% highway (400 miles highway, 4 days of offroad at 100 miles / day). But the highway is all done at very low speed, like 55 MPH cruise. I led a group last year on a 65 mph CRF230F with no power in reserves, haha.

Assuming you trailer to McAllen (Mission to be exact), and ride with the big group, it is about 160 miles of concrete to the beginning of the dirt road in Rayones heading to Galeana. Along the way you'll cross the bridge at Anzualdas, stop for a snack in China, eat a nice lunch and gas up in Montemorelos, and then begin the dirt riding in Rayones to Galeana (or longer if you choose). You can map this on Google Maps, just remember the towns are in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. So google Galeana, Nuevo Leon, Mexico as an example.

Most days expect to ride 5 - 20 miles of concrete to and from the "trailheads" for the rides listed in Richard's excellent guidebook. And then between 50 and 150 miles of gravel / dirt each day. The choice is yours where and how and with whom to ride.

There are a couple of all concrete or mostly concrete rides that are fabulous and take you to obscure and neat destinations like a giant waterfall.

On the return trip many choose to do concrete all the way from Galeana back to the border. This is about 201 miles back to the hotel in Mission.

But a very cool option on the way there or back is to ride north towards Monterrey and ride some exceptional dirt and concrete roads through deep canyons. A smaller group of faster / experienced / mexican savvy adventurous riders usually does this either there or back. This might bring the concrete portion to 160 plus or minus.

So minimum, you could keep concrete to 320 miles or so, and ride dirt another 4 - 600 miles. So best case 30% concrete. In any case, pure knobbies meant for hard rocky conditions will be fine. And in the case you are more street oriented in tire choice, I've done many of the roads on my 80 street /20 dirt (per the manufacturer) Shinko 705 and the rocky conditions are fine on this mainly street tire.
 
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2) is there a worry of being kidnapped? lol

There is always a worry that you could be in the wrong place at the wrong time in a developing country with a drug / gang presence. However, incidents are very very low, they have no interest in tourists or bikes, and to date the stories from all riders going to Mexico indicate the threat is lower than Detroit or Chicago for your personal safety.

Could it happen? Yes, anything can happen. They would drive you ATM to ATM and call your family trying to extort them. Then let you go. Chance of this happening, very very low.

How do we mitigate?

A. We avoid the border town, and take the Anzualdas crossing which dumps you on a super highway, on the outskirts of town.
B. We ride in areas that have a very low gang presence. No hotspots, in an area not used for drugs or smuggling. Mainly just goat herders, farmers, and other agricultural means of living.
C. We ride in groups. All or nothing, no man left behind.
D. We hand out candy to kids.
E. We smile a lot.
F. We only ride during daylight hours whenever possible.
G. We ride routes that have been scouted and ridden multiple times with GPS tracks
H. We don't believe the media hype. We use common sense.
 
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I: Be off the streets by 10pm.

As Shadman put so well, if you dig deeper into most of the stories of disaster in Mexico you'll find all kinds of *** :doh: behavior led up to the problem.

Except these Bandidos, they stole all the candy we had. We were lucky to escape with our lives!

i-RH5nxCS-L.jpg
 
Wow.. thanks for the awesome info guys. looks awesome. Seems I have plenty of time to sort out my two biggest complaints on the WRR:

1) Seat - After 5 hours at the redneck rampage, all I could think about was my sore bum despite the silly grin i had most of the morning. Considering the Corbin, Sargent, and Seat Concepts.

2) Wind - Highway miles were a whip. Examining some options.. the Lynx Rally fairing is looking great.
 
Wow.. thanks for the awesome info guys. looks awesome. Seems I have plenty of time to sort out my two biggest complaints on the WRR:
1) Seat - After 5 hours at the redneck rampage, all I could think about was my sore bum despite the silly grin i had most of the morning. Considering the Corbin, Sargent, and Seat Concepts.
2) Wind - Highway miles were a whip. Examining some options.. the Lynx Rally fairing is looking great.

I got a seat concepts on mine, works great and da wind is only a factor on the 2 hr stretch from border to mtns. and consider a cruise control option too
 
or tough it out - remember there's a guy behind you on an XR400 suffering more than you
 
Wow.. thanks for the awesome info guys. looks awesome. Seems I have plenty of time to sort out my two biggest complaints on the WRR:

1) Seat - After 5 hours at the redneck rampage, all I could think about was my sore bum despite the silly grin i had most of the morning. Considering the Corbin, Sargent, and Seat Concepts.

2) Wind - Highway miles were a whip. Examining some options.. the Lynx Rally fairing is looking great.

1. The easiest way to fix a bad seat is easy: protect your butt. A nice set of padded bicycle shorts underneath your riding pants will do wonders for your backside. And a nice set of protective riding pants will do wonders over jeans or crappy riding pants. My secret to comfort is H&M microfiber boxerbriefs, bicycle shorts, and O'neal pants ADV pants. 12 hour comfort on a 2 by 4 of a crf seat.

Related to comfort, and safety, don't burden your body with a big load. Transfer that onto fixed luggage. Nothing will wear out your backside faster than a 30 pound backpack.

2. Slow down and the wind miraculously dies down. Save weight. Save money. Stay cool in the breeze. This ride we cruise at 55 - 60 on concrete.
 
Just picked up a clean 06 dr650 with 5500 miles, wont have to drag the v strom over rocks this time.
 
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