I have been slow to update my blog the last couple weeks as Mark and I finished up Spanish courses and struggled to get back in the groove of bike touring. Here are links to our photo album and Marks Strava if you’d like to follow along in between posts!
Mark’s Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/markandnic
Google Photo Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8sK1ryrupSjneZ9BA
After finishing our last day of Spanish classes, Mark and I packed up and rode away from Mazatlan and the coast on Tuesday. We were happy to be back on the bike after basically two weeks off (except a few days of riding here and there).
We rode through the southern end of Sinaloa into the state of Nayarit, where after a long hot and humid day we rolled into a tiny farming town, La Guásima, to get water and ask about a place to camp. We were greeted warmly by the presidents of the town, who bout our dinner and let us sleep in the courtyard of the community center. The next morning, a family who we had met the night before made breakfast for us, and after some fun conversation we were on our way.
We had been in touch with someone on Warm Showers in Tepic, and arrived at their house at the end of a long sweaty day. The heat and humidity in this area along with several long climbs had us worn out and Mark nearing a salt deficiency (he sweats three times as much as a normal human). We were grateful to clean up, cool off and enjoy the company of local cycling enthusiasts.
Before leaving Tepic, we spent some time at a local bike shop where mark replaced a broken spoke and we got to practice our Spanish bike vocabulary. Right now our Spanish vocabulary is really only developing in those topics specifically related to our trip.
Finally away from the coast and riding at a much higher elevation, we are very happy to be inland in Mexico. The climate is drier and cooler, and the mountain riding and views had been a lot more exciting for us than the coast.
Every time we ride through an even moderately big city, we are a little bit stressed out, but we are getting a little bit better at navigating them when we have to, and riding around them when we don’t. Often, however, landing in a city in the evening is stressful for us, and we’ve had several fraught moments trying to decide what to eat and where to sleep while navigating a city at the end of the day.
In Ocotlán, Jalisco (what we consider a big city with a population of ~150,000) we tried three different bike shops before finding a cassette that works for us, and despite the city riding enjoyed our experience there overall.
We’ve had some pretty nice campsites in agave fields, an incredibly restful night in the backyard of a rural abarrote (small grocery store) in someone’s house, and have enjoyed the luxury of several clean and simple hotels that cost less than $20/night.
While we often feel slow on the bike, it feels like we’ve moved through Mexico quickly. Passing through 7 different states in Mexico already!
We’re looking forward to lots more mountain roads and a few more Warm Showers hosts in the upcoming days!
-Nic and Mark