I arrived last night to find quite the night scene. Isn't this supposed to be a sleepy little logging town? But let me back track a little ...
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| This is pavement? |
The maps and gps files I got from Mark are great but, remember, this is Mexico. What is on the map or on the screen does not necessarily have anything to do with what's on the ground. I was taking a road to cross to Rt 16 which was shown on the map as paved. It as was, as far as this village halfway, and then it just stopped. I rode through the village looking for the road on the other side but nothing. A dirt road to the right where the original road stopped seemed to match a faint trail on the gps. Since it was a long way to backtrack I decided to give it a try.
I'm thinking that some politician promised a road to the villagers but never promised that it would connect on both sides.
So I'm going down the road doing OK. Class 2 & 3 and the AT is handling it well. I´m taking photos here and there and having a good time. Then the bike just quit!
20 miles forward or back and no transportation. I tried the starter a couple of times and then quit because I didn´t want to add a dead battery to my problems. I got off and took off my gear. I needed to relax and think clearly.
The AT has a big tank that hangs down on either side of the engine. My thought (hope?) was that the bike needed to cool off. I had been going slowly over rough terrain and then letting it idle while I took pictures. I decided that nothing was to be lost by taking a 30 minute break.
Then a family appeared. They were just out for a walk from who knows where. So they talked to me in Spanish and didn't understand a word I said in English. The older women seemed to think that if she spoke louder and more forcefully I would somehow get what she was saying.
Afet waiting 30 minutes I got my gear on and gave it a try. After a couple of false starts it caught and ran steadily. RELIEF!! Luckily, it seems that I was victim of good old fashioned vapor lock. The fuel in the carburetors had vaporized. Colling off was just what it needed. Needless to say I did not stop again until I got to Route 16. No problems since so I think I'm OK.
Route 16 is a major route across Mexico. I had invisioned a 4 lane freeway. What I got was 2 lanes of gorgeous beauty through the Sierra Madre but with a surface with more potholes than a Brooklyn neighborhood. I would upload pictures but they are too painful at this internet cafe.
I'll leave you with the Cascada de Bassaseachi. I made a wrong turn and ended up here. It appears to be bigger than any in Yosemite and I can't even imagine how big it would be in April or May. The rocks at the top looked like they were flooded in the spring which would mean about 10 times the volume of water.
So tomorrow I go down into the canyons. After a day or two there I'll turn north and begin the journey homeward.
Make my day, tell a friend about this blog!
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