This is my first TWTEX post recapping my first Mextrek, so please excuse any posting errors. I found Mextrek much the way many do, via TWTEX, and I found TWTEX after a friend loaned me a copy of Richard Gibbens' Hill Country Guide. He gave me that guide after I had already done the Jones River crossing (with mild to moderate success), and had I read the account of the treacherous crossing prior, I probably would have avoided it. Still, that experience told me I needed to research rides better ahead of time, and best to explore with a group. Well, I've found my people and resources now, so good luck getting rid of me amigos.
Day 0 After a restless night, and 3-4 hours sleep, I ride from Austin to McAllen and spend the day visiting with a buddy there who I stayed with after meeting the group at dinner. We got the low down on rules and expectations, and Peter and Justine did their best to erase any ease and calm I might have arrived with. I wasn't naive as to what we were going into, but ****, I knew another restless night's sleep awaited me. I have backcountry hiking, backpacking, and mountain climbing experience and feel comfortable fending against nature and solitude, but Mexico presented an entirely new challenge. I was glad to be heading into it with this group, and I decided then that I would be riding with "Day 1" mentality for the entirety of my first Mextrek. IYKYN.
No motos or scenery in this pic, just a cute 3 yr old in traditional Dutch clogs. Ironically, I feel like I'm wearing wooden clogs with any type of riding boots on my V-Strom even with the clutch lever full adjusted. Probably an upgrade coming there in due time.
Day 1: I promise more photos and less words coming in the rest of this post. Actually, hope you like food pics because my GoPro was not working, and I'm slow, so I didn't have a ton of time to stop and take pics until we stopped to eat. I had to convince my wife back home on the second day that I was there to ride and not just soak up the guisada. Thankfully, Mark and others have better ride photos to share.
Meet up at the Texas Inn at 7am and hang around while the group organizes in the parking lot. Great time to check out other bikes, and figure out some small groups of like-minded riders. We get rolling and groups converge at the Anzalduas crossing just 10 minutes from the hotel. We got first hand experience in how nuanced border crossings can be, starting with crossing this room 4-5X going from desk to desk for document inspections, stamps, copies, payment, etc. It was pretty much exactly as described at our kick-off, but we encountered a little friction from one attendant in particular who took issue with one of the vehicles already approved to cross and decided to take her frustration out on Garon and Wendy who had almost done everything correctly.
Thankfully, we eventually all cross together after about an hour at the station.
The ride from the border was pretty uneventful. Just get outta dodge asap was the plan. We stopped at a gas station after about 70 miles, which apparently is on the left side of the road. I got my first off-roading of the trip cutting across the median to backtrack to it. However, once you get off the toll road and the second highway, the ride gets very interesting and scenic. I loved riding by all the ranchitos, road side grills, and oh ****, there's one of those topes they told me about. Cuidado ya'll, ok I get it now. First shot of scenery is the obligatory stop at the bat cave.
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Onwards towards Santiago with the slow group. We arrived at the wonderful Posada de Colores we had all to ourselves. It's a popular spot though, and attractive to visitors, so expect people to come in looking for a room from time to time. I practiced my Spanish and gave a couple tours, and pointed people to the web site for future accommodations. You can literally book a bunk bed for $25 a night on their site. This place is a gem. Located on a secondary square a block or two away from the main square, it's the perfect location.
The courtyard between the main bunkhouse and the casitas is where we would congregate in the mornings and evenings, and Mark swears he wasnt working on his laptop. I made sure he was just dumping videos and photos from his drone and gopro prepping for his next adventure.
Roof top patio outside the bunkhouse with a full bath and shower. May or may not have drip dried out there a few times enjoying the smells and sounds of the neighborhood.
Out to lunch, and I ain't scared to jump right into some barbacoa and chicharone tacos. Though I could have also gone for the enchiladas or tacos a the spot the larger group went just as well.
I think Loupe won lunch, first checkpoint achieved.
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We set off on our skills test ride with the faster dirt bikes ahead of the adventure bikes but we ended up crossing paths a few times, mostly due to my chain slipping off and slowing my group down - even more. But nobody seemed phases by the mishap and soon enough we were rolling again.
A stop at the Tiki Loco complete with open air seating, liquados, and shrimp cocktails awaited our return.
That night the group decided on the Italian restaurant on the main square. I was hesitant, **** bent on challenging the integrity of my intestines, but I went along and had an awesome pizza.
I wont post too many faces of other riders, but Sid's face was literally everywhere that week, so I know he won't mind.
Best virgin strawberry marg ever. Thanks for the recommendation JB!
It was a quiet but lively Wednesday evening on the main square. After dinner, I made some new friends, Pancho, Chapito 701, and we got patched into Los Monumentales de Monterrey. Nicest bikers you'll ever meet and my first experience with Mexicans whose English is better than mine. **** those South Texas schools, but my Spanish is the above gringo average.
Day 2: After days of packing, two days of riding, and a few restless nights, I was looking for a siesta. Most riders took of for the day and after breakfast, where Peter introduced me to the art and beauty of hot cakes (I'll never look at a pancake the same way again), I had 3 hour nap in the bunkhouse. Afterwards, I jumped in Kanye with Peter, Sid, and Everett and we headed down to the rally kick off at the carting track. I can sweat in an igloo, but Peter has a perfectly designed A/C system in our chase vehicle.
We met Joaquin Lam, who runs ADV MX and was the most excellent and gracious host of the rally.
The chiefs discussed logistics, or perhaps were just looking at pics of hotcakes.
The four of us headed back to Tiki Loco since we were right there, and visited the nearby Pueblo with several shops selling beautiful wood and woodwork at prices that made me consider how many slabs, tables, and charcuterie boards I could load in by VW Bus on my next trek south. My wife joked that we could open El West Elm in Austin with that inventory, which I'm surprised has not been done by somebody already.
Back at the rally, we enjoyed the entertainment, visited the vendors, and lusted over bikes on bikes on bikes.
Once the other amigos showed up, we gave the carts a go. I oped out of the barefoot experience and was able to get on an elevated stand in the infield for pics and videos. Unfortunately, the aforementioned GoPro, aka GoPoop, I gave Everertt only got :25 of footage, but I got some decent footage (still figuring out how to load videos).
That night, the group dined at the steakhouse, but I slipped out and grabbed some tacos on the square.
Once the rest of the amigos returned from dinner, there was some mmhhmm'n around Clayton's bike which didn't run for the rest of the trip. Not for a lack of trying though, and we even got a visit from a mobile moto mechanic who gave the final diagnosis of a broken timing chain.
To be continued... Apparently I've reached an attachment limit, am I doing this right?