rtwPaul

Ixcateopan de Cuauhtémoc for Cuauhtémoc’s birthday celebrations…and just a few pyramids…

Left my room with a view returned to Ixcateopan de Cuauhtémoc for Cuauhtémoc’s birthday celebrations, the town was slowly filling with 5000 Aztecs from all over the American Continent.

@SkizzMan brought me down my new 70-200-2.8 lens from the US and I was really looking forward to getting some great shots with it. Sadly unknown to me it was internally broken, lens had shifted and shots were fractionally out of focus and I didn’t notice until the end of the day as I was shooting constantly for hours but from around 1000+ shots only a dozen were close to average in my eyes…seriously pissed as these were for possibly another article for Egle for the BBC.

I’ll share a few of what i have but what I thought was going to be the best ended up on the cutting room floor, shame because i had some great angles/ faces/ scenes – take that into account…not the quality I wanted or like to share, I’ll let the pictures do the talking

The (former) church doors were pen and celebration dances would be happening all day long

We were looking at maps and realizing we are moving a LOT slower than we thought, I’d been looking at @LoneStar report and since September he’s down to Ushuaia and now heading back north, but for us as the crow flies due south since the same date we’ve only gone 1353 miles south and more amazingly since December 22nd only 132 miles!!!

Over the last few weeks, I’ll give you an idea why, we went from Morelia to Taxco, to CDMX, to Taxco, to CDMX to Taxco and now are here for another week, I think we like this place and @Taxco Guru is a great host, next time you are here, send him a PM and see if he has space for you (discounted Airbnb for riders)

So maybe I should change the title to “Lesuirely riding RTW….” but we will we add some significant miles in the next few weeks and a border crossing as we’ve decided to go to Semana Santa in Antigua, Guatemala starting March 25th.

…but in the meantime, what have we seen?

More Mexico of course, its a lot more wealthy than most think, actually 15th in the world for GDP but walking around you realize that there is such a massive gap between 1st and 15th and it shows in the little things the most.

Walking around a market in Mexico City there are the normal souvenirs you expect to see

all the above is local artwork, the painstaking hours to produce is amazing, the first three are hand painted, of course, the last one is all hand laid individual beads. Imagine the hours, days or even weeks that goes into that and how cheap items are sold…the mind boggles, Mexico is a country that deserves time to be spent here and to be immersed. The people are amazing, sadly corrupted by legal and illegal gangsters but the country is changing a lot, so if you can come and see it before it changes too much, you’ll be glad you did

…but of course, there are still things that make the mind boggle how you ever get connected for us to report back what we see…

Mexico City, formally know as DF, but now known as just CDMX is a big city 20-25 million people in a space that realistically should only hold 10-20% of that number, it is known on this forum as a black hole that adventure riders get swallowed up by, so surprisingly few actually visit!

Its just a big city people, I use Open Source maps and every single street was on them, its easy to find your way around, its just busy with loads of traffic, but you can lane split…don’t miss it even if you just come for 1 or 2 days to see how absolute chaos works on a daily basis, its actually fun.

We wandered the city and like most other areas, we don’t have space for souvenirs sadly, so pictures are our memories and people watching is our pastime

The heart of the City, they have just introduced double-decker buses and had them on show explaining to people that there was an upstairs, and it was free, go have a look…

difficult to tell from the above shot but the church is leaning down a lot to the left, inside they make it really easy to understand how much, there is this massive plumb bob showing the movement over the years and while we were in there, there was a very minor earthquake happening, maybe only 1. something but the plumb bob started to swing slightly.

The street directly behind the church shows it in more of a dramatic fashion if you follow the line of the windows, roofs, and balconies

The Aztecs from Ixcateopan had ventured north after the festival and I had a chance of redeeming myself slightly grabbing some dancing shots and close-ups, sadly the backdrop wasn’t as good

Then right there in one of the most expensive places in Mexico, what we talked about a few posts back for those of you who didn’t read the article, this is a guy from a first world country, a ‘begpacker’ doing his thing, the first line reads –

“traveling without money……!”

Local people looking at him with disdain, as they are struggling themselves but instead of begging they are making things, selling things, offering assistance, looking for jobs, offering tours…but him, no, just give me money! He was the only person I saw begging with a sign my whole time in CDMX

About 30 miles northeast of CDMX is Teotihuacán formerly the largest city in Mexico, (which of course is now CDMX), in the 1600’s it was bigger than London during the times of Henry the 8th, only Paris, Venice and Constantinople (now Istambul) were bigger

This is where the Pyramids of the Moon and Sun are and this means time for some exercise, most of the steps are double the height of normal steps, and its over 7000′ and its over 90 degrees, so getting out of breath is going to happen before the top

This is the Pyramid of the Sun

From the top

This is the Pyramid of the Moon

The view from the Pyramid of the Moon down the Avenue of the Dead

Then its back to Taxco, where there is always something going on…

http://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/PRtVDQj?width=640&height=360

One horsepower, Mark Wahlberg and dinner with Fidel Castro

Riding has been a little sparse lately, maybe a 30 mile a day average over the last few weeks, but why rush!

That little blip to the east between Hidalgo and Zitacuaro was a side trip to Angangeo to find butterflies. We found a nice little place to stay on google maps with a recommendation from @michnus so it either had to be good or have a beer close by…it was both!

We were there late in the day but we still headed up to the Mariposa Biosphere, arriving at 3.45pm a local told us it’s around a one hour walk to the top, he advised a horse for the uphill climb.

We both are used the power of the mighty DR650 and also one horsepower, so time to saddle up.

The guys that own the horses go with you and walk the horse and control it by its tail, they told us they go up around 10-15 times per day at the horses walking and trotting pace starting at 9500 feet and riding to around 12,000…no beer bellies on these guys

We get off thinking we are near the top…we’re not! We are only halfway, the horses can’t go any further in case they upset the butterfly colony, so now we have to walk…doh!

The crucial snippet of information that we didn’t hear from anyone was – if its cloudy (it was) there will only be a few butterflies, if it’s sunny there are the potential of millions in the area, I guess you can only get a few in one shot, is what I was telling my self

The walk down was easier of course but after almost an hour we see the tiny town in the distance…keep going

As virtually all the tourists, Mexicans on the weekends and Europans and Japanese during the week (no mention of Americans) are back in their hotels the horses and their owners come down after a long day in the mountain and bring their horses while they eat at the restaurants.

We eventually get back to our hotel in the dark

A small side trip to Ixcateopan de Cuauhtémoc with @Taxco Guru as we have the offer of a private viewing of the remains of the Last Emporer of Mexico

‘Rey’ as he’s known to his buddies died in 1525, his remains were unknown until 1949 when they were discovered under the church altar! It’s a long story that you can read the synopsis on Wiki here if it seems interesting I’m sure you’ll investigate more, this is a good article with a LOT of detail

The short version…Let’s just say the Spanish had a lot to do with his demise!

We are walked to the ‘old Church’ by the town historian for our viewing

The church of Santa María de la Asunción, patron saint of Ixcateopan as it was formally known, construction was started in 1529…not long after Cuauhtémoc was hung by the neck by Cortéz, is now the resting place and “tomb of the last Aztec Emperor” and known as the “cradle of indigenousness”.

Ixcateopan is a tiny little Puebla 35km west of Taxco that has one road in and out and is quite the ride to get there, you might scoff at google maps estimate of 75 minutes to get there from the Zocalo in Taxco, but they are almost exact. The town almost became deserted a few years back from narco/ cartel problems…but the locals pushed them out.

Today is a very peaceful place beside the above it has one other unique feature, the streets are paved with white marble, don’t ride herein the rain!

As we approach the church you get a feeling that you are being watched…and there is no one around, on the roof of the church there is a tiny cross above the door and I see this, coincidence, maybe? For those who want to know its a Cardenalito, they are reasonably common in Mexico, but its habitat is an area with a lot of water…no water near here!

The main door of the ‘tomb’ is firmly closed

we head to the side door and are let inside…

One harsh modern spiral fluorescent is the only modern light, the remaining light comes from sun creeping in from little cracks and windows illuminating so I use a flash to be able to see the detail.

Cuauhtémocs remains have been in this very close vicinity for the last 489 years since he was hung by the neck until dead by Cortéz.

Of course it is debated by many if the bones are actually his, that will never be truly answered, but in one week from when we first go there, Aztecs from all over North, Central, and South America will converge on this place and this former church will squeeze in around 5000 believers that in their hearts know it is Cuauhtémoc

We speak to the historian for a while, Egle is prepping to write an article about this in the near future…I wander off and take photos.

Sadly she won’t be around for the festival as she has to return to Lithuania after this for a book signing tour, 3 TV, 4 radio appearances and over a dozen interviews are planned for her the moment she steps off the plane…i’ll come back and capture what I can for her.

At the far end of town is the remains of a small pyramid/ temple, sadly there is no money to excavate and see if any more mysteries can be unearthed

It was hot so we stop in a small tienda for a drink, just a doorway and are given the best sales pitch ever. We are with @Taxco Guru and the store owner asks us if we like Mezcal? Sure!

He smiles…

Over the next hour and a half, he produces around a dozen different flavors, some with and some without worms, he pours us small sample shots to gauge our reaction.

this is his happy face…we buy 3 liters at $5.32/ 100 pesos a liter for Egle to take as gifts for friends back home

We need food to soak up the Mezcal and find a place, more wandering and guess what – over some food, we decided we hadn’t bought enough! We walk up and down the street but can’t find his doorway, but are directed to another ‘maker’

Mark Wahlberg has a lot to answer for…this guys blend was nowhere near as good

return for one more night in bustling Taxco

then off to CDMX (Mexico City) and to finally meet the legend @garrydymond, Garry has invited me so many times since 2011 and each time I’ve found a way around CDMX, not this time.

We arrange a meeting spot outside the city so he can ‘ride us in’…we feel like we are pulling into a GP race

That night @SkizzMan rolls in from Texas to hang out for a few days

the following morning Egle heads off to Lithuania for a book signing tour which ends up being three tv appearances/ interviews, one was 45 minutes, 4 radio interviews and around a dozen magazine and paper interviews and features all about that book you wouldn’t understand ’cause it’s in Lithuanian…but that going to change real soon, stay tuned.

The following night JD and I stay in CDMX, we are told we must come to dinner with Garry and meet a guy who might look very familiar…80’s era Fidel anyone?

over the last few weeks, we didn’t move too much so we spent a good deal of time people watching and meeting characters in various little towns…these are a few of them

note the cap?

video games…what are video games?

in the market is where we’ve met the most amazing friendly characters

His sister was being mean to him, instead of acting like a little-spoiled brat he just calmly looked away…very mature

a local flying rat, but a pretty one

the guy on the other end of this stare left in a hurry

most travelers can relate…

Basket?
No thanks, we are on a motorcycle!
Ok, my friend has smaller baskets?

she holds the secret to the finger traps

I’ve only ever seen a few ballons sold over the years so I know at the end of the day they have to take the balloons somewhere…this is how!

door to door bread sales

From dirt roads to whitewashed Taxco

From the dirt to the whitewashed historic town of Taxco, to see a friend, also an inmate @Taxco Guru – Gustavo

Gus is a silver jeweler by trade but always has some free time when I come to town, usually not too much riding but lots of fun, and Taxco is a photographers paradise

He does some amazing one-off work and is one of the few jewelers in the world using meteorite in his creations

If you want something just from this planet he’s got you covered there too

If you have never been to Taxco it has a beautiful little square by the Church of Santa Prisca, regardless of where you are good or bad areas the Church dominates the town and if you look at the history about Taxco, the town was built around it.

To get to the Zocolo from Gus’ place it’s really well marked, the Taxco downhill went from where he lives down to the Zocolo via some very steep stairs

If you think that doesn’t look steep then how about riding it on a mountain bike….watch this, hold tight, full volume and big screen for full effect, if you haven’t ever seen this don’t watch it on your phone, you WILL NOT get the full effect

Safely down in the square, we just try and blend in (joke) and watch the world go by

I’ve never been in a BMW dealership, do they really sell these…look closely?

A few days later a band is practicing in the daylight preparing for the night times activities

The sun drops and we head down again

Stills really don’t do the festivities and craziness justice

Just in case you think there are no motorcycles in this post; how about a video of a little dirt riding prior to arrival and then what happened that night in Taxco

Dusty trails, flat tires, tequila, sombreros and sad clowns

As we leave Guanajuato I feel a quote from ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote is quite apt to get us moving again, and for those who have followed me for a long time might feel this could have been written about me, about my past and now the present – “Truly I was born to be an example of misfortune, and a target at which the arrows of adversary are aimed.”

We doubled back towards San Miguel de Allende and looked again for anything but pavement, we found a short stretch and made dust fly

crisscrossing dirt roads and broken pavement, meeting lime pickers, and agave farmers, if you think about this reading this in the comfort of your home. Think about how long it takes to fill the bed of a Ford Ranger with limes no bigger than a golf ball or hand plant a field full of agave plants…we are lucky to be born where we were born and not to have to see this first hand as a worker for the remainder of our lives…travel makes you think and be grateful.

Good night, and thank you for your support and continued backing and following of my ramblings…

my co-adventurer…yesterday

If you talk to any Mexican they will tell you mariachi music is in their blood, Jose Alfredo Jimenez, the king “El Rey” was the Mexican Elvis, penning over 1000 songs in his short career – he died when he was 47.

There is a mausoleum in his memory just on the outskirts of Delores Hidalgo on the 110/51 between GTO and SMA. If you want to pay your respects or see the biggest sombrero in the world then come stand in line with hundreds of others as his music play gently in the background.

back in SMA hanging with Vinnie and the guys from MotoClassico for a few days. The town comes alive on the weekends, musicians come to the centro to play

Couples become kids again… it’s a happy town

MC arranged a ride out to two towns I’d never heard of, Xichú which barely shows on Google maps and not at all on my OSM maps besides a dot, and the return via Mineral de Pozos

Riding out of SMA the blue sky looked great until we could see what looked like smoke ahead, nope, fog! Incredibly thick freezing fog, so much so the group, 6 of us got separated as we couldn’t see more than 20 feet in some areas. Stopping at an intersection with Vinnie, deciding if we should continue or not and if the others had the same thought at the intersection we were at…one of the group comes up from behind us, and we were at the back!

If any of you have been thru SMA and met with the moto classico guys you’ll know Art. Well, he had just finished a two-year restoration of this two year only Yamaha, and as he pulled up his muffler nearly fell off, he had no tools so Vinnie and I helped him out.

We continued to Xichú, the road is a mass of tight bends, all paved to a tiny little town that is very remote but well worth a visit I forgot a decent camera so this is as good as it gets!

Sadly obviously the same story for Mineral de Pozos. Pozos at one time (long ago) was thought to be good competition for SMA and would possibly develop, have a ride around the tiny cobbled streets makes you understand why people would think that and why some companies invested heavily. To me, it felt like a ‘flatter’ Real de Catorce

Our slow move south continued via Santiago de Querétaro

No idea!

and onto Morelia, because its a big city don’t let that put you off, once you get to know if it feels like a friendly village

We booked an Airbnb, walking distance from the center and decided to stay a week, maybe make a few ride outs. The heart of Mexico is so good it just makes you want to slow down.

Here’s my Mexico tip – the average Mexican works 5 1/2 or 6 days a week, sometimes 7 days a week. If they do have a day off its Sunday, you do the same wherever you are and join in, you will not regret it.

It is a family day, the centro/ zocalo comes alive and this is when you really get to see how much family means, sit down, blend in and people watch

This has to be one of my favorites this year so far…

saddest clowns I’ve ever seen

Sundays are all about the kids and entertainment…don’t miss out by riding your bike!

Those ears are made for listening!

What does all this sound like and why is everyone so enthralled…this – turn the sound up, but advanced warning ****this will make your feet hurt!

Click to watch a great video

http://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/5QQJgcV?width=640&height=360

Back in 2011, I was riding with Nick Sanders when he was prepping for his ludicrous Prudhoe/ Ushuaia/ Prudhoe record run. While riding on route 200 on the Pacific coast heading north from Lazaro Cardenas to Manzanillo I was chased by the cartels for around 40 miles but luckily outran them, Nicks chase truck driver Jim who was around an hour or so behind us was kidnapped. He escaped with his life luckily after a few days, Nick being Nick tried to make this a positive thing and use it as a promotional tool…ever the showman, even if he has to bend the truth.

The reason I tell you that is I am now obviously wary of that section of the west coast for personal reasons! Looking east Veracruz state has a few areas that are labeled Red Triangle areas, or danger areas…so we are avoiding some of the east coast as well!!!

If you look at a map, you’ll understand where we are.

This leads me to where we are, Morelia and the heart of Mexico, there is some great riding here, amazing towns and cities like Zacatecasacus, San Miguel, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Morelia, Patzcuaro, Puebla, Taxco…just to name a few of the more familiar ones.

A few days back we were looking at maps for a route from Morelia to Patzcuaro, two towns that are not high on the tourist list of places to go to…but should be added. Morelia is a big city but the center is amazing, (see previous post) and Patzcuaro is a small town with a great market and a lot of history.

Finding offroad tracks is never easy in countries that have virtually all the land privately owned, but Mexicans being Mexicans they want you to explore and enjoy where its safe to do so.

There is a GPX attached for download if you come this way, this is a great day ride of around 132km, it has around 30% dirt, but easy stuff, there are plenty of tougher trails if you want to go look for them on the outbound section

So we headed out from Morelia and quickly got off the #15 main road and onto back roads, heading thru little villages like Cuto de la Esperanza and Tzintzimacato Grande and Tzintzimacato Chico, there was a little dirt prior to this but its here where some dirt started and the fun too.

If you want to see authentic rural Mexico and meet amazingly friendly locals, this is a good place to start if you hadn’t found them already.

We were off and on various grades of dirt and having fun with no luggage for the first time since Colorado

Planning to go deeper into the hills after talking with the locals and them telling us it is a lot of private lands here but we were welcome to ride ANYWHERE we wanted, just to leave the gates as we find them. Cool…

Guess I was having a little too much fun and then this happened…

A flat in the middle of nowhere on a tire that could be an issue to get off! In case you didn’t read the post about a tire reviews its here from a few pages back, right now we have MotoZ Tractionator GPS tires on both bikes front and rear.

I keep tools and a spare on the bike for just this reason, riding with no luggage so we won’t get stranded, a spare rear tube on my fender bag and a front on Egle’s bike. I included writing about this puncture because I was amazed/ happy how easy this tire was to work with when I was expecting major issues. It dismounted easily, remounted just as easy and to my surprise I had zero issues getting it to bead

Our plan for the day was some dirt, ride thru a few small villages and stop in the HUGE market in Patzcuaro to grab food to take back for dinner. Besides the puncture, it was all good, we were a little behind but no big deal (we had a late start).

Then I look up…

This local rancher who was walking back from the village with firewood stopped to check if we were ok? We chatted for about 30-45 minutes as I slowly packed my tools away, we talked about horses, life, and safety. He assured us again that this was a safe area and we were welcome to explore it all. He then told us about how he hosted students from the Netherlands on regular occasions in his ranch as he pointed a few hundred meters into the distance to a building that we hadn’t realized was even there.

Sadly don’t remember his name, and this shot is a little fuzzy but worth sharing

As we pulled off in an opposite direction, tire full of air

Not too much later we run into another friendly rancher and stop for a chat again and once again such a nice guy, reinforcing the safety of where we were. He had an interesting story…he was a US citizen and because of the heat of the Mexican summers in this area he spent them in Pennsylvania helping the local farmers in that state tend to their crops…but his heart was right here, “this is home”, he told us!

our day now significantly shorter we rode towards Tzintzuntzan a small town on Lake Patzcuaro, where we would have ridden around if we still had time, but for us, it was where we need to make a left to Patzcuaro. What we didn’t know was there is a market here and if you ride the direction we did you have to ride right thru the market, that went on for literally 3km. We were so taken back from all the sights, smells and sounds we forgot to take photos…sorry. Actually, a video would have been even better.

By the time we hit Patzcuaro it was too late for the market so we grabbed a Pollo Asado and watched the world go by instead.

Don’t miss this area of Mexico, it would be a great loss if you did to meet some amazingly friendly people that break the stereotype that the western media has put on them.

Don Quixote, Mummies, a lot of hill climbing and some single track

…and back to the heart of Mexico, we’ve ridden a loop from San Miguel de Allende to Guanajuato and back via a few other little towns in the area, the distances involved aren’t anything great so we looked for some single track and actually found some

The problem with trying to ride on what appears to be a good little track usually ends up at someones front door, a barn or a dead end where there used to be something, as most of Mexico’s land is privately owned in one way or another doing more than a few miles can be a challenge, albeit a short one, especially in Central Mexico

We rolled into Guanajuato or as it used to be called “The Most Noble and Loyal City of Santa Fe de Minas de Guanajuato”, we found a hotel up on the hillside with a great view

A walk of about 1km took us to the Pipila and from there the view is a lot better, I’ve left this next shot in a bigger format so you can click it and expand it to see detail

From above it all looks very confusing and a jumbled mess, but once you get down there its very easy to find your way around, easier for me I’ve been here more than a few times. GTA in its heyday had a larger population than New York City or Boston, obviously, that was a long time ago! From the resources found in the ground, silver, and gold, the Spanish came and took a large amount to develop Spain but also invested a lot in GTA as well, so it has a Spanish feel in certain areas and other areas distinctly Mexican.

This could be the Spanish Steps leading to the Trevi Fountain but of course, they’re not these steps lead to the General auditorium of the University of Guanajuato

Again the feel of Granada or Barcelona on some streets

One place I had never been to is the Mummy Museum, of all the strange places I’d been over the years I would put Kutna Hora at the top of the list, but not anymore it now takes a distant second.

This was Kutna Hora, just outside Prague in the Czech Republic back in 2016, you’ll have to go back thru this RR and search if you want more photos…

Kutna Hora just seemed quirky, almost comical the way the bones had been laid out in some areas, don’t get me wrong it was very weird as well, but…

…the Guanajuato Mummy Museum is just creepy, they have around 50 mummies on display and it’s not like Egyptian Mummys who after death were wrapped, this apparently were occasionally buried alive people as you can see by the look of the mouths open screaming. They weren’t, for the most part, wrapped just buried in their normal clothes, but the minerals in the areas around GTA created the mummification process to happen.

The other thing that a lot of people would find strange is there are a lot of kids in the exhibit, but when you think that the Mexican culture has a lot of respect for their dead it kind of makes sense that it’s not a shocking place for kids to visit.

and this is what I meant about died screaming…

The walk to the Museum is uphill all the way and a little out of town, at night when you get back to the hotel you feel like you’ve done a few hours on a stair climber

Not only is it the city of Mummies, Silver and Gold its also a city of love, there’s a kissing step that if you find it will keep you and your loved one together for another 7 years, so of course that is played on as well in various forms.

on the main street running thru town there is this church

The Parroquia de Basílica Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato and it has something very unique inside but as the church was busy no chance of a photo, it gives you a reason to visit –

Our Lady of Guanajuato is the oldest sculpture of the Virgin coming to America, carved in Andalusia by an anonymous artist. Its history goes back to the conquest of Spain by the Arabs, to the year 714, when they took Granada and the Grenadian Catholics, fearful that the invaders did something to their Virgin, they hid it in a humid underground cave, where it remained hidden for eight centuries, even after the fall of Granada at the hands of the Catholic Monarchs .

It was rediscovered in the mid-sixteenth century and given to Emperor Charles I, but as he abdicated, it was his son Philip II who gave it away in 1557, as a sign of gratitude to the mining town, due to the riches it sent to Spain

Wrap your head around that, that sculpture was completed 1062 years before America got independence!

Walk to the right of the church and down that side street and you’ll find a little Museum, if you are a reader and Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, thats one of the most famous and widely read literary works, then you’d be in good company because there are more related artifacts in this Museum than anywhere else. Lots of amazing art from all over the world of how different artists interpreted the story and then portrayed it.

This was my favorite of Don Quixote and his trusty sidekick Sancho Panza always in the shadows

It was nice walking around, a few days after a holiday, really quiet, no tourists to be seen until we spotted one!

So as I said not much riding, actually just look 176km in the last 22 days, there is just too much to see in this area and no point rushing thru, we’ll get back to doing a few miles next week, hopefully.

Adventure tires – ‘my personal experiences’

I went back to riding adventurously in 2011. Since then I’ve ridden around 250,000 miles/ 400,000km on a few different bikes from 250’s to 1200’s, on all sorts of terrains all over the world, tried lots of brands, some I like, some I really like and some that were just so, so.

– below are my experiences.

The bikes I have ridden the various tires on are –

Yamaha xt660z
KTM 625 sxc
Honda xr650r
Yamaha wr250r
Yamaha xt1200 Super Tenere
Suzuki DR650

Firstly the xt660z –

When I bought the bike the PO had mounted Continental Trail Attack

These are an 80/20 tire at best, they feel good on pavement but off-road, they really felt like street only tires, there seemed minimal grip in any circumstances offroad, to the point of being scary. I rode these tires in Argentina (from Ushuaia), Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Mexico. For this particular ride, I was primarily on the pavement (90/10) so they were fine. I got around 8000 miles out of a set; when I changed them the front still had about 20% tread left.

Personal opinion – would not use again!

The next tire I tried on the 660 was the TKC80 40/60

These tires I used to ride Mexico, US (to Prudhoe Bay) and Canada, I now did a little more offroad, around 70/30 and these are a 40/60 tire and handled everything I threw at them, gave excellent grip in almost most scenarios, barring slick mud, which most tires fail in.

They do have a major downside…wear…the first set I used were worn out in 2500 miles, the second set (I was partially sponsored for the 2nd) was done in 3000 miles.

Personal Opinion – would not be my first choice, due to bad mileage, would not use for international riding!

Next tire up, Kenda K270 50/50

I have used these tires on the xt660z, wr250r, and dr650. First, off they are 50/50 tires and cheap in comparison to all others dual sports tires. They have a noticeable flex in the tread when you are in a bend on dry pavement. On dry graded roads, they are good and offer good grip, once it gets the slightest muddy they struggle to clear themselves and hold mud too much to be a help.

Riding the 660 I got around 12,000 miles out of a rear and 6000 miles out of the front, which cupped very quickly. This a rear with 12,000 miles after riding 90/10

The second time I used one on the 660 I only got 6000 miles from the rear and the same from the front from riding 60/40

On the wr250r I got 4000 miles from a rear riding 80-90% offroad.

On the DR650 again around 6000 miles riding around 30% offroad shown below on the right.

Personal Opinion – would buy again because of the low price, only if I knew I was riding 50/50 maximum on good dry trails, not for hardcore offroad

My KTM 625sxc

I was heading to Russia from Vegas so I knew I’d change tires before I left the US or Canada so I tried a combination that I’d heard good things about from a lot of riders. Pirelli MT21 10/90 front and MT43 rear

This combination just plain and simple works on lighter bikes, I rode with it in mud, sand, gravel, rocks, snow, and pavement. The rear clears itself of mud amazingly well and grips with everything, the front is very sure-footed. Only downfall the wear on the rear was quick, 2500 miles and it was done. Most riders I speak with don’t even get close to that number because its a trails tire. This would be a perfect combination for the TAT or any BDR’s

Personal Opinion – I would 100% buy this combination again for local rides up to a month or so

My next tire choice for the KTM was Heidenau K60 Scout

The reason I picked this 50/50 tire was that I was headed to Canada, South Korea and then Russia where I knew initially had a lot of pavement to cover before I hit the dirt. The Scout is a good tire on dry pavement and on well-graded roads, when new the rear hooks up well but once it wears about 30% then the grip reduces dramatically. The front is terrible off road giving minimal grip at best. In the rain on the pavement on a cold day, it can be treacherous due to the extremely hard compound its made from for longevity.

Personal Opinion – I would 100% buy the K60 Scout again if I knew I was going to be riding only 20-30% dirt

My next tire for the KTM was the Mitas E09 20/80

This is an expensive tire in the US but in Europe, it is a bargain and wears like steel, I rode this tire across Russia, Mongolia, Kazakstan, and Kyrgyzstan in some terrible conditions and it never failed me in any terrain I tried it on.

The photo below on a Kyrgyzstan mountain pass, the tire has around 5000 miles from 80% offroad and still around 40% tread left

I have also tried the Mitas C17 front but didn’t find the grip any better but the wear was quicker.

Personal Opinion – I would 100% buy the Mitas E09 again

Next bike, Honda XR650R, what a bike, wish I’d never sold it!

On the BRP I used Dunlop 606 10/90

I used this tire about 95% offroad, it handled perfectly in every terrain

Personal Opinion – I would 100% buy the Dunlop 606 again.

Next bike WR250R

Once again the Dunlop 606 10/90, I rode the TAT and it was the perfect tire for any terrain, wear was decent, the tire is affordable so that makes it a good choice, also would be great for BDR’s

Personal Opinion – I would 100% buy the Dunlop 606 again.

Next bike Yamaha XT1200Z Super Tenere.

This bike has been ridden around 90/10, the main tire I have used has been the Heideau K60 Scout. The only downfall to this tire as mentioned earlier is if its cold and wet, it has a certain pucker factor, besides that its a great tire, long lasting for primarily road use.

Rear tire wear is good, always 11,000 miles + and around 16-20,000 miles from the front

11,806 miles

14,540 miles

Personal Opinion – I would 100% buy the Heidenau K60 Scout again.

Other tires I have used on the S10 have been a Shinko 705 front 80/20, it had good wear and grip but after about 40% wear it became noisy. It was used 100% on pavement and offered good grip.

Personal Opinion – I would buy the Shinko 705 front again only as an alternative if, the Scout it wasn’t available.

DR650

We have tried a few different option on our DR’s. First, we tried the Kenda K760 Trackmaster

This tire is amazing that it’s street legal, when you see how big the knobs are in the flesh you’ll understand.

It gives exceptional grip, we rode with these around 90% offroad, the tire is confidence inspiring in all conditions, a low price point but reasonably quick wear characteristics. Rear tires were completely worn at around 4000 miles, but good grip had ceased at around 3500 miles.

Personal Opinion – I would buy 100% the Kenda 760 Trackmaster tires, the price is right, but only for domestic riding because wear is too quick.

Mitas E07 rear

E07 on left with 6000 miles wear

The E07 is expensive in the US and cheap in Europe, at 6000 miles it still has a lot of tread left but not much grip due to the center stripe. If you ride the majority of the time on pavement then this is a good alternative to the Heidenau and a similar price point.

If you mostly ride offroad then at mid wear you will be very disappointed. In the US you can buy two Trackmasters for the same price as one E07 to do the same distance, the two Kendas will give you more grip for longer.

Personal Opinion – I would buy 100% the Mitas E07 if I was riding 80/20, if I was riding more than 50/50 I would go to the E09 for more grip for longer from the same company

Metzeler MC360 mid hard – front

We only used the front because they don’t make a 17″ rear. The 21″ front is nothing short of amazing. Great grip and extremely long life for a knobby tire

At 5000 miles

Personal Opinion – I would buy 100% the Metzeler 360 Mid-hard if I was riding 60/40 or more.

We matched the MC360 up with the Metzeler Karoo 3 on the rear. Metzeler describes it as a 70/30 and it feels great on pavement, but offroad it feels a lot more than a 30% tire. From the first day to the last this tire digs a trench and is great on hard pack and light sand.

***Tire changing in Newfoundland

At 8700 miles, from riding on pavement, dirt, gravel, sand and in the Rockies, the Karoo3 still has around 15% life left

Personal Opinion – I would buy 100% the Metzeler Karoo3 if I was riding 60/40 or more.

The new kid on the block – MotoZ Tractionator GPS – above and below

This might be a company and a tire you haven’t heard of, but you will. They are from Australia and are giving Heidenau and Mitas a run for their money.

On and off the road they just feel better than the other two…especially on the road it feels like a 100% street tire. In light dirt and graded stuff, they hook up. The biggest difference is in the wet, the Heidenau and Mitas let you know that they aren’t there for you 100%, but the MotoZ does.

These are the tires we are running right now on our two DR650’s and we have ridden on pavement, graded dirt, dirt, rocks, sand, bulldust, light snow/ ice and torrential rain and not once have I had to think about the tires…they just do what you want them to do.

To date we have 4000 miles on the set, the rear still has more tread left than a Heidenau or Mitas comes with, and the front shows virtually zero wear!

Personal Opinion – I would buy 100% the MotoZ Tractionator GPS, for long distance national or international travel where I was going to ride 50/50 or less

You only need one horsepower, for Mexico

How many horsepower do you need for Mexico, definitely not over 100, probably not over 50 and some people we spoke to told us 1 is just fine!

Over the next week or so we passed thru Zacatecas, Agua Calientes and then on to Ajijic at Lake Chapala, this was a long stop for Christmas and New years with friends and very little riding

I was told I had to be up for a ride New Years day at 9 am by @Mainecoons as he’d arranged a group of local riders to do some miles to welcome in the new year, we headed to the south of the lake and Mazamitla

Everyone is on ADVrider but I don’t remember any of the inmate names, (say hello if you recognize yourself or bike)

We had invites around central Mexico, San Miguel is always a good stop for a photo, the weather is always temperate so further south we roll to…

I have been here a number of times and taken a lot of street photography, mostly buildings, general views and the like an occasionally some people, I took a shot back in 2012, this…

I met someone a few years later who remarked on this photo and told me they were very happy to see published by National Geographic!

I was surprised at that because I never heard a thing from them, but there are so many arms of NG nowadays, in various countries and IG feeds etc. who knows. The reason I’m telling you this is this time thru Egle had been requested to possibly do some video for her national newspaper and maybe the tv, so we went looking for people to talk to, video and photograph.

This is some of the people we met, saw and talked to, that live and work in central SMA area…

Gaerne saves the day!

Have you ever ridden down a road so steep it kind of feels like you are going over the bars?
Have you ever ridden down a road covered in cobbles that all seem to want to bounce your front wheel in the opposite direction you are trying not to go?
Have you ever ridden a road that there is a sheer drop off one side down to certain severe injury or death?
Have you ever ridden along and tried to slow down and your clutch cable starts to snap and the bike surges forward instead of finding neutral it just stays in gear?

As we roll out of the back side of Real de Catorce, I lead the way out of the little town onto the steep badly cobbled road that leads to the valley below.

On the steepest part of around a 200-meter stretch, I hear an almighty crash behind me, I look in my mirror and Egle is down trapped under her bike. I stop immediately kill my bike, but the road is so steep even with the bike in gear it wants to roll forward, the compression isn’t enough to hold it. I spot a rock sticking up that I push my front wheel up against and get off the bike, it stays. I try to run up the hill but altitude, slippery cobblestones and the steepness of the slope slow me to a walk.

Egle is freeing her leg from under the bike, she looks up, “it was either go over the edge or dump the bike!” She stands up, “I love these Gaerne boots, the full weight of the bike landed on my ankle and I never felt a thing”.

it looks almost flat in this shot, believe me, IT IS NOT!

We get the bike back up and find out all of those questions were answered “yes” in a nanosecond by Egle!

The clutch cable had about 3 or 4 strands left, but it had allowed it to stretch enough that the clutch couldn’t stop the transmission being engaged. She was shaken so I rode the bike down to a relatively flat spot and made an adjustment on the cable to get us to the bottom of the hill. I give her options – ride the bike, hit the kill switch if the cable snaps so instantly doubling the stopping power…or would you like me to ride it down and you ride my bike? what do you want to do?

Egle is a rider and will ride in any conditions thrown at here (read her ride report) before I can finish my sentence she is riding by me! I walk down to where my bike is and she tries to capture the steepness of the slope from where she stopped. Impossible to get that shot, the road feels like its a 45-degree angle in parts.

Its only about 20km down to the paved road, we were so happy there was no rain, as there would be no way of getting any traction on this section of cobbles.

On the flat section, we stop right after crossing the Tropic of Cancer sign and do roadside maintenance and switch out the clutch cable for the spare that I have in place next to the old one

At the next gas station, we pull in to fill up and talk boots and what would the situation have been in adventure boots, broken ankle, broken leg, bad location etc. etc. and then right there as a car pulls out of a parking spot, we find a way to lighten the mood and make some fun – some concrete cowboy boots and a photo op

Landslides, Snow, and Cheese Puffs

We asked around to see if we could go out of town heading west, the answer was a solid no, multiple bridges out and rivers at around chest height so with no alternative we headed back out the way we came in.

Coming out of Batopilas after a night of heavy rain you kind of expect new landslides, and there were a few but luckily no new big ones like we had passed on the way down. so the ride up was free and clear of new obstacles

As the Copper Canyon was mostly washed out we did a couple of solid days riding to get a little more south hoping for better weather, via Parral and then onto Parras de la Fuente.

What we found on the way was bad gas, the possibility of not making it as my bike was intermittently cutting out every 20-50 miles. Initially, I thought water in the fuel from all the heavy rain but as it wasn’t consistent it could only be dirty gas occasionally blocking the jets for a fraction of second…but enough to make you go “oh shit!” as the bike dies then kicks back in.

Finally making it and reuniting with Thomas and Sandra in Parras who had gone ahead to find the four of us a hotel with heating, what they found instead was unseasonably cold weather and all but one hotel did not have heating (or cooling) and as they are telling us this, this white stuff came from the sky…

As a rare treat, we booked into a suite, now before you go thinking we suddenly came into money, no! A single room with one heater was 800 pesos, but a suite with two bedrooms and a common living room and two wall heaters and four gas heaters was $1000 pesos.

Almost got Thoams to celebrate with some cheese puffs

The following day things were back to normal and we discovered Gus Fring might have come back to life

Once the weather had warmed up we went our separate ways again, San Luis Potosi was our destination for a few days surround by the amazing architecture from the 17th century and the occasional statues, scary and then not so much

As we cook for ourselves most meals we tend to go shopping in local markets and look for bargains and unusual food but we’re always amazed at the selection of various goods that are for sale but no one seems to be buying, at least when we’re around

Once we had our selection we headed back to our hotel and along the way went by a washing machine store, now for those of you that have read Egle’s ride report you’ll know good things happen in washing machine stores, so we thought we’d ask a question –

200cc, 4 stroke, 5 speed, kick and electric for $1125, another $80 for registration and a plate and you are free to travel Mexico or further, and as an added bonus they throw in a helmet! If you haven’t, you need to read her ride report HERE and think about what an adventure could be for a small amount of coin. (sadly Photobucket ‘stole’ the photos of the first 12 pages)

then you could just blend in with the crowd

We got a message from T & S to meet up, I had suggested Real de Catorce and they agreed so we took a few back roads, (the surreal new years eve picture) and arranged a meet at the bottom of the cobbled road leading to the town.

***note: I have a few new photo programs so will be throwing the occasional curveball in, once in a while…like now. The reason being, there are good photos and lots that hit the cutting room floor so to speak, but occasionally a really bad one, can be made a little unique if its looked at in an alternate manner – so how about a watercolor?

or a full blown tone mapped HDR while we waited for T & S

R14 never disappoints, so here are a few as we wandered

you can google translate this one…

All those hills and walking make you hungry?

We must have had the stink of good food on us ’cause every dog on a rooftop new we were coming

Leaving town we DID get to leave the alternate way, but it DIDN’T go as smooth as planned…

Money/ RTW costs 2.0, a real cost breakdown

It’s time for that money talk again and all things RTW cost-related…and to help you guys that want to get out here the real cost of world travel

Let’s call this – Money/ RTW costs 2.0

We get asked a lot how we afford this lifestyle, so, due to that question for the last two years, I have tried to keep more detailed daily records. I know from all my travels as a solo rider worldwide that I spent, average per day –

2011 $55

2012 $65

2013 $44

2014 $46

2015 $42

…but that’s about all I can tell you, hence this!

If you go back to page 81 I did a detailed breakdown of costs and this is a follow-on to that to show you it wasn’t a fluke.

A month or so ago Egle wrote an article for advpulse ‘search finances’ if you want to go find it. To do research she asked in a few various groups what they were or had budgeted for their time on the road, the question was very simple – total cost divided by the number of days on the road, that is what YOUR budget was/ is regardless of where you ride.

It caused a basic shit storm as riders argued about it all depends on where you ride, what you ride, what you eat, how long you go…adnauseam. Well, that wasn’t her question, she’s the journalist and will do the deeper involved thinking and interviewing once she had a range of people to talk to, but it was hilarious to read as each successive person tried to be better than the last.

One couple stated they’d ridden RTW for around 3 years on two bikes and only spent about $50k, impressive!

Until directly asked for details when they came up with a second figure close to $120K! Why the big difference, they hadn’t included things like shipping, visas, unique visits to places, clothes and lots of other random things…they didn’t feel these were costs of the trip so weren’t included in the budget.

This is no help to anyone because if people tried to follow the tracks they would be done in 18 months. Basically, they tried to look good to the masses but when asked their $50 +/- a day was actually more like $115 +/-, not sure what their point was, why even bother or lie to yourself, they weren’t included in the article.

The reason I bring that up is to let you know this is real costs, everything is included, bar one item. That one thing is the new(ish) bikes we switched to. I could have sold my Super Tenere and bought and set up the DR’s but instead and not been out of pocket, but, I decided to help a friend who had lost a lot of possessions due to excessive medical bills, one of which was his motorcycle, I gave him my bike for the remaining duration of our trip and ‘found money’ for the DR’s – so in my mind the bike swap is a wash!

For the riding year 2016, I stated this –

GRAND TOTAL ONE YEAR ON THE ROAD = $24,034.74 or $65.85 per day avg.

If you want to know where we rode in 2016 go back to page one, but it was 26 countries, mostly in Europe and some of them a couple of times

So what’s changed?

In 2017 we have ridden in the following countries –

Greece
Italy
Spain
Andorra (for about 10 minutes)
France
England
USA
Canada
Mexico

We have also shipped (air freight) the S10 from England to Arizona

As in 2016, I keep a track of all expenses in four simple categories for 2017 – Fuel/ Food/ Accommodation/ Miscellaneous or everything else. I guesstimated the budget for Europe to be $82 per day and North America at $75, this is for two people

yes I could be more accurate and take note of how many liters of fuel or oil we used per bike, MPG, how much for breakfast/ lunch/ dinner, haircuts, new socks etc. but for me I don’t find that information necessary, I just want a solid yearly figure and a little detail. YMMV

1.Fuel – this is just fuel nothing else at all

Fuel Cost for the year was – $3596.30 or $9.85 a day

From April onwards we were on two bikes, ironically switching from one bike to two our fuel costs decreased by $33.62 year on year

2. Food – just food nothing else, from restaurants, bars, street food or supermarket food cooking for ourselves

Food costs for the year were – $8212.49 or $22.50 per day. Our year on year food costs increased by $750.91 year on year

3. Accommodation – this is hotels, hostels, Airbnb, camping in a campground or wild camping, staying with friends or other invites from riders worldwide. (huge thanks for that all of you that we met throughout the year)

Accommodation costs for the year were – $4732.86 or $12.97 a day. Our year on year accommodation costs decreased by $88.90

4. Miscellaneous – this is everything else, oil changes, tires, new boots, ferries, shipping, air freight, mail, visas, museums etc. I just make a note daily so I can see where the money went but don’t break the details down more than that

Misc. costs for the year were – $7279.23 or $19.94 a day. Our year on year misc. costs decreased by $450.35 year on year

Our biggest expense of 2017 not surprisingly was getting the S10 back from Europe, a one time hit of $1668.65, for the bike and us to be back in the US

Overall grand total costs for the 2017 year are – $23,820.88 or $65.26 per day for two people on two bikes for most of the year –

or $3290 under the budgeted amount for the year

As you can see RTW costs have changed very little it was 59¢ a day more expensive last year and we were on the most expensive continent, Europe. Hopefully by me being transparent and telling you all this information you have a better feeling of freedom (if so inclined and able) to get out into the world and see a little more than you thought your money would stretch to.

2018 onwards will be interesting for costs/ expenses as it is probably the most traveled route/ direction – North America to South America

As an afterthought, if we had switched from one motorcycle to a van/ truck/ mini RV our costs would most likely be less than riding two motorcycles!

Shipping would have most likely even out the costs!

There would have been more sleeping in our vehicle, fuel would be around the same as it is for two bikes IF we had a fuel-efficient vehicle…makes you think?

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