Day 6 - Putting an exclamation point on it
So far on this ride of discovery the roads and adventure had been everything I hoped they would be. If that was all, if we didn't discover any other great roads as we slowly worked our way back to Texas I would have been completely happy with the way things had gone. But luckily Mexico wasn't done with us and had one last bit of great riding in store for us today.
JT and I had been discussing our planned route for the day with the owner of La Posada. There was a major river in our way and the owner believed the road did not actually cross it. If he was correct, it meant a very long, time-eating backtrack.
Further, I had been studying the terrain northwest of Jalpan and lusting over the density of the dirt roads in that area. We had not included that area in our original plan because it was pretty far out of the way. But since our plans had changed so dramatically, it was now very feasible to ride that area. JT and I discussed it and decided to go for it. Sweet!
Breakfast today was courtesy of the hotel restaurant and consisted of the standard staples of eggs and beans.
We hadd riddend the section of Hwy 120 west to Jalpan earlier in the trip but once past Jalpan it was all new to us. And as good as Hwy 120 is to Jalpan it, unbelievably, is even better west of Jalpan. What a fantastic section of pavement! Highly recommended.
In addition to being exhilaratingly twisty, the road also climbs to serious altitude. I kept checking my GPS and the highest I saw was 8300 feet. At about 6500 in height we reached the clouds and spent an hour or so riding in the fog.
Passing through the beautiful town of Pinal de Amoles we had to stop and take a picture. And add an insulating layer. Pinal de Amoles is about 7000 feet and was about 55 degrees or so when we arrived.
West of Pinal the road started to drop in elevation. A few miles outside of town we dropped below the cloud ceiling, meaning better visibility and a dry road.
In the town of Camargo we turned north to explore the dirt roads that had lured us here. And they didn't disappoint. For the next several hours we were treated to superb riding and beautiful panoramic landscapes.
This picture of Stingray Scott pretty much sums up our emotional reaction to today's riding.
We passed through a few little villages as we rode. This one welcomed all who travelled this way.
This section of road appears to be abandoned. It leads into a small village so there must be another, newer road that the locals are now using to get into town. In any case, this section was particularly fun.
Here is what that abandoned section of road looks like from a distance. I took this picture as we climbed out of the valley where the town is located.
The views continued to impress.
Time for a break. I believe this was the village of Alpujarras.
We rode another hour and a half or so of dirt and then arrived at Hwy 69. That was the last dirt I rode on this trip. We were headed for the town of Tamasopo and even though the map showed some dirt roads between here and there, they all turned out to be paved. Fun riding, but not to the same level as we had enjoyed earlier. But at least there were cows on the road.
The Hollywood of Mexico.
Okay, not really. But the sign is nice.
Our hotel accommodations in Tamasopo.
What did we do when we found a rare wi-fi hot spot? Catch up on email, text messages, and other such things.
Hey, look at that! A sighting as rare as a clear photo of Bigfoot. Yep, that's Milton, finally rejoining the group. His bike fixed and his elbow working.