Home Page
|
BMW MOA #12
BMW RA #287 |
|
| STORIES | ||
| Back to Stories Menu | ||
|
Another great journey, or
"Every trip to Mexico is an Adventure" A Ride Report by Ben Muller Notes on latest(11-15-00 to 11-22-00) Mexico journey by motorcycle with Houston BMW Motorcycle Club members Bill Corrow and Alen Arnold and his wife Pat. Bill's wife, Nancy, flew to Leon-Silao where she joined our group. 
First off, Alen's bike quit on him (not a BMW) near San Antonio and he rode two-up on his wife's bike the rest of the trip. He's a big man and can sure handle and ride a bike well. That delayed us 6-7 hours so we spent the night in Laredo instead of Monterey or beyond. We decided to use the fairly new border crossing 25 miles west of Laredo because of no congestion, no lines, and no traffic even though 2000 big trucks cross the same bridge daily at another toll gate. The crossing is named "Colombia". All fine, we got there early (before 8 AM) and found out they open at 9 AM. Then we almost didn't make it for several reasons. Bill was on a new bike and the custom official's computer showed him owning another one. So they assumed he must have sold his old bike in Mexico even though Bill had a document showing he had exited Mexico with his old bike. What they wanted was copy of the bill of sale for his bike. Who would have thought? We finally got out, headed south, got on the toll road(150 pesos is $16.00) and stopped half to Monterey at El Rancho, a government operated restaurant and gas station, Pemex. Good food, fresh made tortillas, and always a combo of some sort making music. Then to San Luis Potosi, about 500 miles from the border. Found what looked liked a brand new motel, "Dos Mil", no office, just a young guy standing there saying 230 pesos a room. The rooms were perfect with a tiled floor garage with power garage door. We realized what it was when the TV only had adult movies, no CNN! "Short Time" motel, they called it. Next morning it's off to Silao over a beautiful, curving, sweeping high mountain road with glassy smooth pavement. The airport is very new and modern with many flights arriving daily. I asked at Continental's counter what the round trip fare to Houston was, and he said US$1150.00 for coach. I asked twice! We then rode to Guanajuato with Nancy. 
You enter Guanajuato (elev 6500ft). Through a automobile tunnel (called the "Calle Subterranea") and it goes all the way through the town of 120,000 habitantes. It's carved out of stone with roads to the surface every block or so that lead up above and there are signs at every exit telling you what buildings and streets are above. It is a one way tunnel with cars parked on one side the full length. To go the in opposite direction you have to go above ground. Someone told me that there 12 kilometers of tunnels and only two parking garages in town. We got rooms for the night at the Hotel Luna. It's good that Pat got us reservations as all the hotels were full. The hotel was facing the main Plaza and our rooms were overlooking the Plaza with railed balconies. It's a party town and there was quite a din until 4 AM, they tell me. We parked our bikes in a parking garage, three bikes in one space, 120 pesos each, or 13 dollars a night! 
We hired a guide with a Suburban, visited a co-op silver mine where the miners shared in the profits and made about 50 dollars a week. They hired no new miners, you had to be born of a father who worked there. There were about 35 miners, working 1500 feet down, two shifts a day. This is a great job for the young miners. 
Rode up to a great statue above the town and took pictures saw some beautiful gardens, just like any tourist would. Next to San Miguel de Allende, our main destination, with maybe 75,000 inhabitants. We had reservations there at Hotel Mirasol, a small very nice hotel. My half of the suite was 60 dollars for two nights and my room was on the third floor with a nice large patio with table and chairs overlooking the city and the other half of the suite was on the second floor! 
Bill, Alan, Pat, Nancy at the MiraSol Hotel in San Miguel There are thousands of expatriates living in San Miguel and there is an art institute, galleries, art schools, lots of nice restaurants etc. Even so we thought Guanajuato was better. Oh I forgot to mention, if you ride a motorcycle you won't like riding in those two towns. All the streets are cobblestone or rough stone, slick, slick, slick. 
We left San Miguel de Allende and rode back to Silao to put Nancy Corrow on the plane for Houston. Then it was to Tula, a small village on the way to Ciudad Victoria. Spent the night in Tula, 16 dollars a night for room. No place to park but on the street so we went right on in to the hotel and parked on the tile floor. The oatmeal with cinnamon for breakfast was very good though. Alen, leading the night before had dodged many black cows in the black, black night. The next day was the highlight or low point of the trip for me. The road went over a mountain range that I had been over twice before under different conditions. I was so fascinated with the number of curves on the first time I rode it, that on this second time I counted them all-- 187! The maximum speed for most of them is 30 MPH. But things had changed since my first trip, and it was cold and overcast. As we climbed, it began to drizzle rain. Road slick, wind blowing and then we were in the clouds! Twenty feet visibility. Man, what am I doing here? No wind to blow the rain off my visor, I'm only going 20 MPH max and I can only see 20 feet in front of me and if it hadn't been for the yellow stripe running down the middle of the road, I don't see how I could have made it. I couldn't see it clearly, but on almost every curve there is no guard rail and a drop off straight down, down. Just before going over the mountain we crossed the "Tropic of Cancer". There on the side of the road, on a concrete pedestal, is an eight foot diameter orange globe with a dividing line where the Tropic of Cancer runs. We hurry on toward the border because we are anxious to get back to the good old USA and find out who our new President might be. Hah! Stopped at El Rancho again for a good meal, and re-crossed the border at "Colombia" and spent the night at the La Quinta Inn in Laredo. We must have spent 70 or 80 dollars on tolls and it is worth it, smooth roads and no traffic or big trucks. Gasoline is over two dollars a gallon, 5.20 or 5.80 pesos per liter depending on the grade. Our mileage was over 2600 miles round trip. See you on the road someday. Email me! --Ben |
||
| Back to Stories Menu | ||
|
Copyright © 2005-2008 BMW Club of Houston, Ltd. and respective authors and contributors. All rights reserved. This material is for personal use only. Republication and redissemination, including posting to news groups, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of the BMW Club of Houston, Ltd.
Disclaimer: The BMW Club of Houston links to external Web sites and eMail addresses that help us perform our mission-"The BMW Club of Houston connects the BMW motorcycle community in the Greater Houston area and around the state." Links to external Web sites and eMail addresses do not imply any official endorsement of the opinions or ideas or activities expressed therein, nor guarantee the validity of the information provided. Links to external Web sites and eMail addresses are in no way an endorsement of any vendor’s products or services. Web site created and maintained by FYI-Media, 713.892.8394 |
||