andyc740
0
Motohermandad weekend was upon us again. We had been to the bike rally in Tampico the past two years and wanted to make it three in a row. We had all heard the continuing scare stories coming out of Mexico, but just kept telling ourselves everything would be OK, don't worry. I had slapped a pair of fresh tires on Rocinante, packed up the paperwork on the current project at work, made hotel reservations in Tampico and stocked up on the Spanish biker bibles we typically hand out at the rallies. What a good feeling to be heading out! Things had been fairly hectic for the past month or two at work. A long weekend in Mexico sounded like a nice break.
Dale (Goldfish) and Rick were along again for the ride (just can't keep those guys away) and Bato from Kerrville was coming with us again. He had joined us for the bike rally in Monclova in November last year and was game for making the trip to Tampico. Dale, Rick and I were leaving from Corpus at 1:30 Thursday afternoon. Bato would meet us in Pharr just before crossing the border.
Rocinante all packed up, ready to go (I forgot to turn off the time/date stamp on the camera after the HoT rally):
We met up at our Stripes gas station meeting point and left just a few minutes after 1:30. The day was warm, but we pushed it all the way down to the gas station in Pharr where we were to meet Bato. Arriving about 4:30, Bato was already there to meet us. He had sold the Sportster he rode to Monclova, replacing it with a 2010 Ultra Glide with the 105 motor. I was looking at that shiny, new, black bike and thinking, "Cartel candy." We did a bike blessing for Bato and the new Harley and slapped on one of our new Spanish bike blessing stickers. CMA had started selling the Spanish stickers just a few months earlier, partly because we had asked for some. It was great having the Spanish stickers.
After gassing up, we exchanged money, then headed across the bridge to Mexico. Rick and Dale needed papers this trip (Bato had gotten his already) and Rick ran into a hiccup when he was told he hadn't turned in his previous tourist visa before it expired. They're not as picky about the vehicles, but they want those tourist permits back on time. He had to pay a $23 fine, doubling the cost of getting a 180-day visa, but then they were happy to issue him a new one.
We left the border about 5:30 heading south into Indian country. We took the new bypass around Reynosa which still isn't officially open, but has some traffic anyway. An armed guard at the closed tollbooth at the far end just waved us on through. We got through the aduana checkpoint fairly quickly, then headed south on Hwy 97. That road has about a 60-mile straight stretch. I'm not kidding. It's straight as an arrow. And flat. The scenery is mostly sorghum fields which were already being combined. Most of the little shacks along the highway looked empty this time. I was so happy to be back in Mexico again. I hadn't been across the border since my trip to Huatusco in January.
Riding in Mexico, we don't worry about riding in formation, we just string out single file and go on down the highway. Makes it easier passing or being passed. Also gives us room if we have to slow down suddenly for something.
We planned to spend the night at the Hotel Rancho Viejo, at the intersection of Hwy 97 and Hwy 101, a few miles east of San Fernando. San Fernando has seen a lot of violence over the past year and we were wondering how safe we'd be at the hotel. When we arrived about 7:00 PM, there was an armored truck belonging to the Federales parked in front of the hotel entrance and Federal Police and their vehicles all over the place. It turned out a company of about 100 of them had been staying there for several months, trying to pacify the area. So we had lots of protection.
It looked like washday at the hotel.
We did see some effects from all the violence. The string of taco stands across the highway were all closed. The Oxxo convenience store, the gas station and the restaurant were no longer 24-hour operations, instead closing down at night. We were told several ladies working at one of the taco stands had been killed by Zetas trying to extort protection money out of the owners and everybody had closed up shop and shut down. All this crime just turns into a blight on the area. Things are beginning to look like a lightly-populated version of Beirut.
We had dinner at the restaurant, got some ice cream for dessert from the Oxxo and settled in for the night.
Dale (Goldfish) and Rick were along again for the ride (just can't keep those guys away) and Bato from Kerrville was coming with us again. He had joined us for the bike rally in Monclova in November last year and was game for making the trip to Tampico. Dale, Rick and I were leaving from Corpus at 1:30 Thursday afternoon. Bato would meet us in Pharr just before crossing the border.
Rocinante all packed up, ready to go (I forgot to turn off the time/date stamp on the camera after the HoT rally):
We met up at our Stripes gas station meeting point and left just a few minutes after 1:30. The day was warm, but we pushed it all the way down to the gas station in Pharr where we were to meet Bato. Arriving about 4:30, Bato was already there to meet us. He had sold the Sportster he rode to Monclova, replacing it with a 2010 Ultra Glide with the 105 motor. I was looking at that shiny, new, black bike and thinking, "Cartel candy." We did a bike blessing for Bato and the new Harley and slapped on one of our new Spanish bike blessing stickers. CMA had started selling the Spanish stickers just a few months earlier, partly because we had asked for some. It was great having the Spanish stickers.
After gassing up, we exchanged money, then headed across the bridge to Mexico. Rick and Dale needed papers this trip (Bato had gotten his already) and Rick ran into a hiccup when he was told he hadn't turned in his previous tourist visa before it expired. They're not as picky about the vehicles, but they want those tourist permits back on time. He had to pay a $23 fine, doubling the cost of getting a 180-day visa, but then they were happy to issue him a new one.
We left the border about 5:30 heading south into Indian country. We took the new bypass around Reynosa which still isn't officially open, but has some traffic anyway. An armed guard at the closed tollbooth at the far end just waved us on through. We got through the aduana checkpoint fairly quickly, then headed south on Hwy 97. That road has about a 60-mile straight stretch. I'm not kidding. It's straight as an arrow. And flat. The scenery is mostly sorghum fields which were already being combined. Most of the little shacks along the highway looked empty this time. I was so happy to be back in Mexico again. I hadn't been across the border since my trip to Huatusco in January.
Riding in Mexico, we don't worry about riding in formation, we just string out single file and go on down the highway. Makes it easier passing or being passed. Also gives us room if we have to slow down suddenly for something.
We planned to spend the night at the Hotel Rancho Viejo, at the intersection of Hwy 97 and Hwy 101, a few miles east of San Fernando. San Fernando has seen a lot of violence over the past year and we were wondering how safe we'd be at the hotel. When we arrived about 7:00 PM, there was an armored truck belonging to the Federales parked in front of the hotel entrance and Federal Police and their vehicles all over the place. It turned out a company of about 100 of them had been staying there for several months, trying to pacify the area. So we had lots of protection.
It looked like washday at the hotel.
We did see some effects from all the violence. The string of taco stands across the highway were all closed. The Oxxo convenience store, the gas station and the restaurant were no longer 24-hour operations, instead closing down at night. We were told several ladies working at one of the taco stands had been killed by Zetas trying to extort protection money out of the owners and everybody had closed up shop and shut down. All this crime just turns into a blight on the area. Things are beginning to look like a lightly-populated version of Beirut.
We had dinner at the restaurant, got some ice cream for dessert from the Oxxo and settled in for the night.
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