A Letter Home from Mexico
Papa Bear,
Sorry I have not phoned recently. All is going well. Tough going, but well. I find myself now in El Rosario, four days south of Tijuana. The beautiful ride through California spoiled me just a little, but I am digging the challenges of riding through Old Mexico on a bicycle. Erica lasted for a week - through Los Angeles down the line to Ensenada - with us on the road before it got the best of her. She mailed the bike back to her friend in LA and took a bus to the mainland. We were kind of bummed when she left our merry band, but all things for a reason, as they like to say.
The last three days have been quite tough. Matt and Karl both have pretty serious cases Morocco Belly and bathroom stops are frequent as a result. In order to reach Mexico City by December 20th we must average 110km per day - excluding the day we will lose due to the ferry ride from La Paz to Mazatlan. This translates to somewhere in the neighborhood of seventy to eighty miles per day if we want to stay ahead of curve, as to spend some time on the beach in Puerto Vallerta.
Karl blew 4 flats since crossing the Mexico line, but somehow the fates have been good to me and I have only had to replace one shot set of pedals with crunchy bearings that were making a loud and ominous "crunkah" sound with every dust-clod revolution - where are the good folks from Timken when you need them? We have been traveling on Mex 1 south, or la carretera, as the highway is known here in Baja California - "Grande Para Ti" as the government billboards proclaim. The highway is dangerous at times - with long stretches of barren windswept mesa interspersed with heavy traffic, thick dust and smoke hanging in the air, deep unmarked sewer grates and potholes, and all-terrain vehicles of all types. There are quite a few semis traveling with us and there is no shoulder to speak of, yet the drivers in Mexico treat bikers with a type of respect and caution unheard of amongst the gringos locos in California.
It is mad down here, but beautiful all the same. Beautiful in its madness. I am enjoying every moment of the ride and looking forward to returning to Queretaro to visit la senora Margarita who was my adoptive mother in Mexico and taught me much during my last visit. Tell everybody I am doing well and miss them heaps. Looking forward to seeing you para la navidad ....dad. Sorry that was predictable. Missing you much. Love, Aaron.
Sorry I have not phoned recently. All is going well. Tough going, but well. I find myself now in El Rosario, four days south of Tijuana. The beautiful ride through California spoiled me just a little, but I am digging the challenges of riding through Old Mexico on a bicycle. Erica lasted for a week - through Los Angeles down the line to Ensenada - with us on the road before it got the best of her. She mailed the bike back to her friend in LA and took a bus to the mainland. We were kind of bummed when she left our merry band, but all things for a reason, as they like to say.
The last three days have been quite tough. Matt and Karl both have pretty serious cases Morocco Belly and bathroom stops are frequent as a result. In order to reach Mexico City by December 20th we must average 110km per day - excluding the day we will lose due to the ferry ride from La Paz to Mazatlan. This translates to somewhere in the neighborhood of seventy to eighty miles per day if we want to stay ahead of curve, as to spend some time on the beach in Puerto Vallerta.
Karl blew 4 flats since crossing the Mexico line, but somehow the fates have been good to me and I have only had to replace one shot set of pedals with crunchy bearings that were making a loud and ominous "crunkah" sound with every dust-clod revolution - where are the good folks from Timken when you need them? We have been traveling on Mex 1 south, or la carretera, as the highway is known here in Baja California - "Grande Para Ti" as the government billboards proclaim. The highway is dangerous at times - with long stretches of barren windswept mesa interspersed with heavy traffic, thick dust and smoke hanging in the air, deep unmarked sewer grates and potholes, and all-terrain vehicles of all types. There are quite a few semis traveling with us and there is no shoulder to speak of, yet the drivers in Mexico treat bikers with a type of respect and caution unheard of amongst the gringos locos in California.
It is mad down here, but beautiful all the same. Beautiful in its madness. I am enjoying every moment of the ride and looking forward to returning to Queretaro to visit la senora Margarita who was my adoptive mother in Mexico and taught me much during my last visit. Tell everybody I am doing well and miss them heaps. Looking forward to seeing you para la navidad ....dad. Sorry that was predictable. Missing you much. Love, Aaron.
posted by Yonder Vittles at 12:14 PM
2 Comments:
Aaron, Matt and Karl!!
I know this letter isn't necessarily for me (its for yr dad) but oh how it moved me to read it. I miss you guys so much!! I am back in the NYC (Aaron I have found a few companies that will prolly be looking for ppl come dec/jan), it's been great to be back, but i definetly miss mexico a ton. i have been riding my bike all around the city, it is deceptively easy now, and i dont even blink when passing big trucks...they're going to slowly!! my bike feels light and agile, touring has given me a new appreciation. I think about you guys alot and im so happy you've made a posting cuz I wanna know how it's going in the desert. Sorry about the morocco belly- it was only a matter of time. I'm glad I stopped when I did considering what you said about the continuation of Highway 1 and all. I am amazed and so proud of myself that I did that week. I am reading literature given to me by the group that I'm riding cross-country with this summer and they're all on about making a "training regimen" through the winter and spring because "you have to be prepared" way way in advance. Bullshit!! haha i know the truth. Puerto vallarta will be beautiful and a really nice contrast to the desert. Hey, how's you guys' Spanish?
Ensenada was fun after you left, I stayed for a little while and figured I didn;t have the means to get all the way to Oaxaca (literally the other end of the country) so I eventually bussed it back to LA just in time to spend Thanksgiving with Christine, who of course rocked and cooked the whole dinner wearing a polka-dotted apron. Surprised? I'm back to my "normal life" i suppose, which seems infinetly sweeter to me for some reason...i feel like I've been let in on some kind of secret, but even I can;t really verbalize what it is. I guess that's why it's a secret) Safe and happy travels and I can't wait to hear from you guys!!
Much love,
Erica
Erica,
Glad to hear that you were able to spend Thanksgiving with Christine in LA. It has been a rough road for the Banditos - as we are now being called by the other touring cyclists in Baja - of late. We crossed the Vizcaino Desert in a windstorm with 25 mph sidewinds and gusts that would blow you off of the road with the slightest lapse in concentration. Made it into Santa Rosalia yesterday and Karl became deathly ill yet again. I shortly followed suit and there was not enough room in the bathroom for both of us to expell all of the necessary bodily fluids. Matt's maternal, or paternal, instincts kicked in and is nursing us back to health. We are taking a day off here in town to rest and regain our strength. The coast is beautiful, and despite the minor setbacks we are still having a ball out here on the road. We seriously miss having you around and wish you were here to share in the infinite joy/misery of our journey. Looking forward to coming to the city and trading all types of mad tales with ya. Ciao, Aaron.
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