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Dirty daydreamer
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate NY
Oddometer: 718
2 months in Mexico solo on a KLR...
Mexico 2007 trip report
Yes, it's ANOTHER KLR-goes-to-Mexico thread. When I initially got the itch to do this, it was sparked by Gaspipe's awesome Copper Canyon threads (Road Less Travelled I,II,III and the No Te Ahuitas trip). Living in NYC without a car/truck/trailer though means I have a LOT of USA to traverse before I get to Mexico. I was thinking of a blast down, ride Copper Canyon for a week, ride back trip… but that's nuts. If I'm going to ride 2000+ highway miles, why only ride in Mexico for a week? So I kept saving and saving and this was the result. I bolted up boxes to the bike and brought the tent, sleeping pad, bag, plus all the clothing required to ride to/from a New York winter, all my clothes, tubes, pumps, and tools. The trunk is new and empty—the idea was to have an empty trunk to lock my jacket/pants in at stops so I could walk around like a normal human being… and strapped on back is a pair of fresh Mefo Explorers to mount in Presidio. The bike was wearing used Kenda K270s when I left home, I was figuring they'd be used up by the border. Here's the beast, loaded up the night before leaving:
Without further delay, the trip:
I always skip home-to-the-border pics on these reports so I won't bore you too much. You don't care about interstate and neither do I.
I left Brooklyn on January 3rd 2006 before dawn. It was cold, but not as cold as it could be, and the roads were dry because we'd been having an unseasonably warm December. I bundled up to maximum—wool socks, thermals under riding pants, widder vest over synthetic t-shirt, followed by thermal top and thin fleece, plus fleece neck warmer and head sock thing. It was still January before dawn.
Rode of the city through the Holland Tunnel, picked up I78 to I81. In Virginia in early afternoon I stopped for gas and a coffee and picked up a nail. Woohoo, day 1 and I've got a flat.
…and the nail:
I hate changing tires, but I got it patched and on the way. I think it took me something like 2 hours, including time to go inside the gas station and warm up. If you're going to get a flat in the cold, at least it can be next to a gas station on a sunny day. I rode all the rest of the day and into the night, trying to make up my time. Finally I stopped just shy of Knoxville, freezing cold, and found a crappy hotel for $40. It was the only time in the US I've had the hotel staff encourage me to park in my room—doesn't cast the other guests in a good light. I was going to lock it up outside because I didn't think it'd fit through the door with the boxes, but with a little throttle it squeezed through:
Next day I got up early to greet cold rain. Got dressed and on the road, rode I81 to I40 west, it got up into the low 40s eventually. In late afternoon the rain finally let off. The front wheel was making a weird tweet tweet tweet that was driving me nuts. I stopped and pulled it off in the bay of a carwash place, fearing a bearing problem, but all felt fine… but the tweet continued. I ended up at a hotel in Hope, AK where the cord from the phone was chewed through by something or other. Did about 700 miles that day and wanted a beer, but I found out the hard way it was a dry town. When I got to the hotel I pulled the wheel off again and checked everything—speedo turns fine, bearings feel fine, all spacers accounted for.
Day 3 up early again, riding out into nasty cold rain. I40 to I30 to I20, working my way across the great state of Texas. Right around Dallas I all of a sudden rode out of the nasty blowing rain and into glorious sunshine, and the temperature soared. I went from cold and wet to warm and dry in 10 miles, even taking the liner out of the jacket. The tweet from the front wheel is back with a vengeance. I stop three times to try to troubleshoot it—I've actually got a set of front bearings with me because I've never changed them (and have burned up the rears twice) but the bearings feel perfect. The third time I stop, the speedo worm gear is jammed forward in it's housing, grinding against the housing. There's no understandable reason this could happen. I wipe out some flakes of metal and stuff it back in, sick of wasting time but also not wanting to have an issue on the other side of the border.
Here's the bike parked on the side of the road at a rest stop in Texas near dusk:
Some time after dark, just west of Midland, Texas, the speedo bit the dust… just slowly eased down from 75 to dead over the course of a mile or so. I pull off at a gas station and pull the drive apart. The little worm gear has again wedged itself against the housing, jamming, causing the bevel gear to strip the hell out of it. Great. I put this speedo drive in (from a parts bike) not even 4k miles ago after the original one lunched itself. I clean all the bits up, put the gears in my bag and bundle it back up. It looks like Midland is the biggest town I'll pass through before the border so I decide to stay there in hopes of finding a Kawi dealer to sell me a speedo drive… I don't want to be in Mexico with no means of measuring my mileage.
In Midland there's a WalMart, so I buy a bicycle odometer as a backup plan, and find the cheapest hotel: $40!!! It's the worst hotel I've ever stayed in, EVER, ANYWHERE. The toilet flushes once then stops—it won't refill—and there's a chunk of moldy pizza in the in-room microwave. I try to mount the bicycle odometer but can't get the magnet close enough to trigger the thing. The TV's broken, so I put the sleeping bag on top of the bed and try to go to sleep, ignoring some strung out girl screaming outside in the parking lot.
Next morning I find my way to Midland Powersports where, after much begging, they agree to pull the speedo drive off one of their show room KLRs! It's cold as hell (in the 20s in Midland, while my girlfriend tells me it's freakishly in the 60s up in NY) so the service manager figures they won't sell both bikes today. They insist that they do half the labor (I get to pull mine and install theirs, but they understandably won't let me wrench their bike). For $87 (!) I'm back in business and on the road by 10am. I'd much rather buy a trailtech computer, but this is available.
Next day continue on I20, then drop down US67 towards Presidio. Alpine, TX has a nice brewery/restaurant in case anyone's passing through. I meet a few folks who tell me Creel was buried in snow 10 days ago when they were there—like 2 feet, train stopped running, buried. Woohoo. Here's my first view of Mexico—the sierras on the horizon approaching Presidio:
In Presidio I check into the 3 Palms, per the recommendation of others here. It's a bit pricey for me, but I figure it's my last night in the states, and after the shit hole in Midland I deserve it. Then I go cross the border, do my import paperwork, and come back to the 3 Palms to change the oil and swap tires. There's a used oil recycling drop off in Presidio so it's easy to get rid of the old stuff. I swap the rear, but my front K270 just isn't worth changing. It's got 4700 miles on it and has as much tooth left as the brand new Mefo—plus the K270 isn't too bad offroad, while the Mefos are untested to me.
On the left, K270 with 4700 miles. On the right, a brand new Mefo explorer, which costs 3 times as much. Hmmmm….
I just can't justify throwing out the perfectly good, tried and true, K270. So I strap the front Mefo awkwardly over the empty trunk and go for a lousy dinner in "downtown" Presidio.
Next morning I cross over, easy peasy (after riding off with one of my padlocks sitting on top of the trunk=lost) . The road on the other side of Ojinaga is a blast, then it drops down to a high desert blast towards Chihuahua. The goal is to blast to Copper Canyon today, where the trip "really" starts. Unfortunately, I make the stupid mistake of riding into the center of Chihuahua—ignorantly thought that if there's signs for Centro there'd be signs back out to the "belt". Instead I waste a huge amount of time getting lost. So much for sightseeing. I make it to Guerrerro, having passed La Junta without realizing it was there in the dark—breaking rule #1 on day #1—and find a nice clean room at the Hotel del Centro for $10. It's COLD.
In the morning it's even colder:
I blast along, headed to Basaseachic Falls, the 2nd tallest falls in the country.
On the road to the falls it's beautiful, especially once it starts to rise up into the hills. There's snow in the woods and it's cold, but the sun is shining at least. Keep the vest on low and the grips on high and I'm toasty. The road is getting twisty and the pavement is decent, I'm having a ball.
…the road continues up and up into the hills, and there's some ice on the road here and there. Then I come around a corner into this… and that's SOLID ICE on the road, a huge sheet of it. It started back around the corner and kept up for a few hundred feet.
I didn't drop the bike there, but later on the road descends and there's a lot less ice. I thought I was out of it and wicked up the speed, then came around a corner into one more ice patch. I pulled her upright and jumped on the brakes and almost had it stopped when I hit the ice, but my balance was off and fell. Not hard or fast, just enough to be a pain in the ass. Nothing bent or damaged, and no photo, sorry.
I think there's a way to ride to a viewpoint of the falls, but I wanted to do the hike down into the canyon to see it. Here's me about halfway down. If you decide to do the hike, walk all the way to the bottom, it's worth it. I didn't take any photos because there was a lot of spray in the air, but you can climb right up to the pools at the bottom of the falls. It's a lot hotter at the bottom of the canyon and the spray is really refreshing.
From Basaseachic, the plan is to ride the little road over the mountains to San Juanito. It's about 60 miles of dirt and it's 3:30 when I leave, I figure it'll be no problem to make it to Creel by dusk… if it's late when I get to Juanito I figure I can stay there. It's really pretty and rouger than I expected it to be—a good thing—and despite the huge boxes bolted to the bike I'm still able to have some fun. Then it gets snowy.
I grew up in Michigan and have done my share of riding in the snow. It can be fun. But not on a 650 with hard cases and what can (at best) be called a 70/30 street/dirt tire out back. It's still a blast though—I'm in MEXICO! Rather ride snow loaded up in Mexico then sit at home and go to work any day.
The snow comes and goes as I go up and down. It's pretty and fun riding, but the snow is really slowing me down and I'm starting to get a little nervous about making it through to Creel. Juanito will have to do.
Just as the sun was setting I came across this baby SUV with Texas plates. Mental note: Do NOT leave vehicle if you have a problem. I was really getting nervous about the light at this point, as I was something like a third of the way through and the sun was going down. And it was getting cold.
I didn't take any more pictures. The road climbed up into the mountains more and became more or less all snowy. It got dark. It got really cold. The mud went from mud to ice, making it impossible to tell what was safe to go fast on and what was risky. After a couple really close calls I decided it was stupid to take risks at night in the freezing cold alone on a snowed in mountain road… having a problem could go from a problem to a serious situation if I were off the road alone in these temperatures. I eventually caught a truck that was creeping along in 2nd gear who told me I had about 20 miles left—I have no idea how accurate that guess was, I don't remember. Even being careful I was making better time than him, but I felt good knowing that if I had a problem there was at least one vehicle behind me. I got into Juanito some time a little before 9 and got a room. Two days in Mexico, two days riding in the dark. I need to stop that. The wife of the guy running the hotel makes me an excellent dinner and we sit and chat as I warm up. Thank you, Rosetta Stone.
Next day, January 9th, I get up and buy a new padlock. Of course I can't find a nice weather sealed Masterlock, but the Mexilock will do. The ride to Creel is pretty but uneventful. I don't have much of a plan, but I know I want to try to ride the back way from Batopilas to Urique… In Creel I see a bunch of dirt bikes parked and walk up to chat. They've just returned from Batopilas; their friends split off to cross the river and come up the way I'm hoping. They tell me opinions were mixed on how crossable the river was. I eat some huevos rancheros and head for Batopilas.
…on the way I meet a couple guys on KLRs riding around Mexico, both have been down here before. One of them is changing his 7th flat in a month. Yuck. They're carrying even more stuff than me, but they tell me the rest of the pavement is as good as what I've already ridden, and recommend a place to stay down in Batopilas and another back up in Creel. No one ever told me how good that road from Creel to the dirt to Batopilas is. That's an amazing motorcycle road.
The road down to Batopilas is as fun as I'd imagined, though it's in better shape than I expected. Still plenty of fun. As you head in, it's like every turn opens up a more impressive view:
…then you get to the part where the canyon drops down below you. You can see the road unfolding at the bottom of the canyon here:
The road itself is never a difficult ride, but the penalties for overshooting a corner are a bit severe, so I find myself taking it easy. It's incredibly beautiful, these pictures can't even begin to convey it. It's really one of those places where you just stop and sit for minutes, soaking it in and being amazed. Really.
Is there anyone, EVER, who's ridden down to Batopilas without taking at least one of these baby waterfall photos? Despite the snow a couple weeks ago, it's not that wet down in the canyon. I imagine in the wet season these waterfalls are simply incredible.
…more on the road down to Batopilas…
Batopilas is a chill little place. I get a room at Monsey's for $10 with my own bathroom and hot water. The courtyard has cumquat trees that are ripe, dropping cumquats everywhere. The only downside is that there's nowhere to park the bike (they offer to let me ride through to the courtyard, but they have a sort of sitting room I'd have to ride through and am afraid I'd tear it up on the way out). I lock the bike out front and don't sweat it. I track down the local watering hole, next to the church, and meet a couple locals and a gringo expat named Joe who's married to a Tarahumaran woman who eventually comes to get him and drag him home. The locals explain to me how to get through the back way, warning that it's a long ridiculous way to go to Urique. They're of different opinions on whether or not I could make it through the river. I decide to see for myself.
This is a pic I took of the footbridge into Batopilas at night with a long exposure… I was playing with a new camera. I wish I'd shot some pics of the town, but you probably have seen it before anyway.
January 10th
Wake up early and load up, go to buy gas before heading off. I've been asking everyone who might know about the river crossing because I don't want to ride all the way out there and have to double back. I'm about to leave when I guy with a truck comes through and joins the conversation. Apparently he just crossed yesterday afternoon and explains to me that where the wheels of the truck ride, it's mid thigh (he points to me, I'm 6'4" so that's pretty damn high) but in between the wheels and off the crossing, it's like mid stomach. I consider this and wuss out, telling myself that alone on a loaded bike is the wrong time to attempt a maybe-doable crossing in Nowhere, Mexico. I'm wishing I had both a riding partner and a lot less stuff—I haven't even opened the right case (with the camping gear) except to access my tools.
Here's me across from the ruined home of Alexander Shepherd, ex-governor of Washington DC turned silver baron. This impressive place sits across the river from the town of Batopilas:
…on the way back up to Creel…
…there's the little road running along the canyon wall…
I get back up to Creel nice and early, having left Monsey's really early hoping to do the river. I check email and do that kind of thing and check into Margaritas where, for $10, I can get a dinner, a bed, and breakfast. While I'm in town I meet the other half of the group I met yesterday—the half that rode through the river. They made it with no problems and it sounds like I could have, but I guess it's better to live to fight another day. I'm a little bummed at missing out, but there's plenty of time left. At Margaritas it's a friendly environment--I'm not much for dorm accommodations (they have rooms, too, but I'm cheap) but it turns out they're so empty I get my own dorm room to myself. Not too shabby.
The next morning I wake up to that classic, wintry mix. Great. There's a gorgeous rainbow for just a moment, stretching horizon to horizon, as the wintry mix takes a brief break… then it converts to rain. I eat breakfast, chat with the two guys on loaded KLRs I met earlier, and hit the road for Urique. It's wet and foggy and my piece of shit Scorpion EXO400 helmet both fogs and LEAKS. I forgot to mention this earlier: Scorpion, if you're out there, your helmet is the single crappiest motorcycle thing I've ever bougt.
Anyway, the view at Divisadero is spectacular despite the fog:
After San Rafael the roads turns to dirt/mud. These Mefos suck in anything at all loose, I don't know what you people who rave about these tires are on about. They don't perform any worse than you might think from looking at the tread, but they're certainly not any better, either.
That K270 on the front is my saving grace—the rear is all over the map but the front stays more or less where it ought to be so as long as I correct it's fine. With the bike loaded it's hard to remember to ride it like a dirtbike—stand up, use your feet, etc—but it works alright. Sometimes the mud turns to slick as snot clay, and it's just a mess. I damn near fell here, just trying to keep from sliding sideways into this stuck truck as I rode around him:
The rain let up into a drizzle as the road dropped down into the canyon, and you get to ride along this pretty, easy road by the river for a while…
Twice I have to ride through the little river, once because they're reparing the bridge and once because the bridge just isn't there anymore… It's not deep so it's no big deal, kind of nice to spash the mud off the radiator.
On the other side of Bahuichivo the road is suddenly a modern, graded dirt road. I figure this must be due to the mining, but I didn't expect to come across it so soon… I dug this tunnel and the fact that the rain had stopped for a bit, and I took the opportunity to stretch the bike's legs a bit. After Cerocahui the road went back to how it was before—a decent but narrow dirt road.
This is the little town of Cerocahui. Somewhere in here there's the option to take the high or the low road… I don't know which one I took. Anyone able to inform me? My road had little traffic but was more or less in good shape.
…a pic looking down into the canyon. Somewhere down there is Urique.
In Urique I find my way to Entre Amigos / Cabanas Keith, where for five bucks I can throw my sleeping bag on a dorm bed (same price as camping, but it's raining). Keith's is owned by some expat who I think may be into bikes? Anyway, it's this old hacienda turned into a hostel/hotel. They have dorm beds, rooms, or a whole little house you can rent, or you can camp. There's only two other people staying there, and one of them apparently rides an 06 KLR that's parked outside, so I'm fine with it. They have a huge garden…
…that's full of greens and beans and peppers and all sorts of things, and we're encouraged to pick and eat whatever we want (there's a big kitchen). Nice. There's also lemon and grapefruit trees, which I take advantage of the next morning for my first tree-fresh grapefruit. Top notch.
They also have a home made wood burning hot water heater. Seems like a hassle to run, but it's not my job. The water is piping hot and the shower's big and clean.
I head "downtown" to find dinner at the Plaza restaurant, the only thing open. An old grandmother ushers me into the outdoor dining room—passing through the living room and the kitchen—and we have a stilted conversation around what's available to eat (menu? Ha!). I end up with aguas chiles, a sort of Mexican style gazpacho with shrimp, served in a big volcanic stone bowl. Yum. And CHEAP. On my way out, I realize this guy is running this crazy machine to make the tortillas for the restaurant!
…I thought that was really cool until a few days later I had a fresh hand made tortilla… it's kind of like having your first garden fresh tomato or cask ale, none of the machine made ones will ever be satisfying again. But at the time, that was neat.
Back at the hostel/hotel I met Kevin, the guy with the KLR. He's from California and basically decided it would be fun to buy a KLR, learn to ride it, and take the thing to Panama and back. So here he is.
This little guy was hiding above a curtain that covered the little alcove I was sleeping in. He almost fell on my head.
We decided to export him. Since Kevin had shoes on he got the honors…
The next day I spent the morning teaching Kevin about his KLR—he hadn't done any of the free mods and had therefore stalled out in some creek in Baja (who knew they had creeks?). We did his T-mod, disabled the safety switches, pulled the smog crap, relocated the fan fuse, that kind of thing. I also did some minor crap on my bike, don't remember what.
The sun came out in the afternoon (finally) and we walked into town looking for a bit…
Then we took a walk to Guadalupe, the town east (?) of Urique. We ended up in a soccer game on the rocky road with a bunch of local kids—Kevin, myself, and another American girl named Jessica versus about a dozen Tarahumaran kids. Good times, no photos, though. It started off all of us just kicking this ball around, then we found a vaguely flat spot and set up two piles of rocks for goals and had a game. It was 3-3 when we bailed, a happy tie.
"To them, the bike's garage clutter. To us, it's a Beretta, half a mil' in cash, and a forged passport hidden under the floorboards. Whether it's used or not, that choice is always there." --Dan Walsh, Bike, December 2003
ldeikis screwed with this post 03-07-2007 at 10:41 AM
Dirty daydreamer
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate NY
Oddometer: 718
Page 2
Got up early and had sautéed potatoes and greens and a coffee, then loaded up and hopped on. Twisted the choke lever and SNAP, the cable broke. Of course the cable broke—why would it break the day BEFORE I spend all morning working on the bike when I can break the day AFTER? The KLR doesn't like to start with no choke if it's cold (though it doesn't need it long) so I go through the process of digging the cable loose and cutting the sheath so I can get at the inner cable to actuate the choke.
In the meantime, Kevin tries to ride out to Naranjo to take a look (the other town down in that canyon, near Guadalupe) but discovers the hard way we screwed up something on his idiot switches. I'm 100% sure we did his bike the same as mine, but it doesn't work, so I help him trouble shoot that, too.
Finally we're both ready to roll, so we stop at the local "pemex" for a top up. The first time you buy gas out of jugs it's cool… eventually, though, it just means you're paying a premium for dirty gas that may get spilled on your tank. This was the first time for both of us, though:
Then we blast up to Mesa Arturo together (he blew off Naranjo). The road is much drier and is a real blast even with the cases. Does make me wish I were riding without them, but not so much that I don't have a damn good time. Riding uphill is so much more fun to me. I tear ahead a few times and stop to take some pics of Kevin riding past:
We'd hoped to have a lunch together in Mesa Arturo before parting ways—him for Creel, me out through Tubares—but there's no restaurant. We buy salchicho—Mexican for giant hot dog meat—and some locally made queso ranchero, which in this case turns out to be goat cheese. Along with a bag of oreos we have an excellent lunch.
…as we're sitting there, I notice my rear tire is a bit low. I've been running 25 psi front and back since entering the dirt. I usually run 15/15 in the dirt, but with so many miles to go and all this gear I don't want them getting too worn out now. Lo and behold, it's flat. Great. Kevin heads off for Creel and I do the dance, with the company of a couple locals who stop to drink beer and chat/watch.
It turns out the patch I put in several thousand miles earlier in Virginia was leaking. I was carrying a spare spare tube (ie, an extra in addition to the ones in the pannier) that I'd had along in case I pinched a tire doing my planned change in Presidio… the original plan was to mail it home if I didn't need it, but then it was Sunday so I couldn't. I figure I'll put it in and toss the leaky tube, since I'm sick of carrying the spare spare, but it's worn a hole from bouncing around in the otherwise empty trunk… so I have to scrape off the old patch and redo it. A little less than an hour and a half downtime:
The road through to Tubares is gorgeous, twisting up and down through saddles and peaks and valleys, sometimes lush and green and other times scrubby and rocky… it's not particularly rougher than the roads to Batopilas/Urique. Some pics:
After my delayed start from Urique, lunch, and slow tire change, it's late afternoon before I reach Tubares. Tubares is little—like 1 restaurant little, and you're eating in their living room. That's where I had my first homemade tortilla, by the way—EXCELLENT.
The church in Tubares:
There's no where to stay, but there's an army checkpoint set up at the bridge (there's army checkpoints all over Mexico, sometimes they want to look in your cases, sometimes they just ask where you're going/coming from. They're looking for guns and drugs and generally don't bother you)… I ride back out and ask the kids at the checkpoint if they mind my camping on the river's beach near them. They talk about it and decide I can camp on the other side of the road (same side of the river). I figure this is a safe bet—who's going to harass me camped a hundred yards from a bunch of guys with big guns?—and entertain them by piloting the beast down through their camp to the beach and roosting my way over to "my" side.
Camp on the river in Tubares:
After I set camp I walk back up the checkpoint and sit around drinking beers I bought at the restaurant, bullshitting with the army kids. Mexico has mandatory civil service, so these guys are all about 17 or 18. They won't let me take a photo and don't want any beer, so I'm forced to drink it all myself. It's interesting conversation and it's also interesting to watch the checks—it's a LOT more strict at night, especially in the middle of nowhere where there's not much reason to be driving around… and there's a lot of contraband in them hill. Eventually I run out of beer and stagger down to my riverside camp, nervous about stories of the river rising several feet quickly and overcast skies. I scope out my escape route, but it'll suck—the way I came in involves riding along the beach a bit, which would be well underwater by the time I'd be fleeing.
January 14th, 2007
It's my birthday and I'm alone on a riverbank in Mexico. Happy Birthday to me. It drizzled a little over night—just enough to make me nervous—but no problems with the river level.
In the morning I ride the couple miles to see La Mision, a boring little hamlet, then buy a quart of oil at the store back in Tubares. I ask about the river crossing from Batopilas and find out it's really nearby, so I follow the rough little road to Guaycansito and see the crossing. I was just a moment too late to watch a group of HumVees come through, which I would have liked to see. I'm sure it was deeper after two solid days of rain, and the HumVees were wet up to the windows so I'm glad I didn't try. I think I could have made it, but it was smart to bail. I'd love to come back without gear and with a buddy.
The crossing—you can see the road off to the left that eventually leads to Batopilas.
Satisfied I'd made the responsible decision—if not the fun one—I headed off towards Choix. A little outside Tubares you pass this church, the Iglesia de San Bernardo Garcia. It's ruined but beautiful, looking out over the river:
There's a family of about two dozen living in a little shack at the river's edge and I went down to ask permission before climbing up to check out the church. It's pretty neat, all collapsed but still with plenty of details.
The road from Tubares out through Choix stays beautiful. A lot of it is new or improved by the mining companies, so you can make some time… but some of it is REALLY steep. The canyons aren't as steep as they are up in Urique, but the road itself is steeper. I had a blast but I was getting kind of over taking photos all the time… and the road was dry so it was fun to ride fast.
I made it out to the coast without much happening—passed a truck with a blown clutch and relayed his message to his people in another town down the way—and avoid Los Mochis, blasting south to Guasave where it's getting dusky. I eat some excellent dinner and then hole up in a hotel and spend my birthday drinking beer alone and watching Mexican MTV.
January 15th
The squeak has returned to my front wheel, despite a new speedo drive back in Texas and a thousand trouble free miles. I spend all morning looking for white lithium grease, which I can't find even though it's a good sized little city. The last one that blew out was freshly lubed with wheel bearing grease (it was handy) so I'm thinking maybe I need something thinner. I eventually find grease for CV joints and pull it all open… at which point I figure out that the inner drive of the speedo cable itself appears to be getting pinched between the speedo and the drive, pushing the worm gear forward. I didn't find it before because, disassembled, the cable moves fine and the gear spins fine… but if you thread the drive onto the cable and try to spin the drive by hand, no dice. I can't find anything to use as a spacer, so I use loctite to install the outer cable a little loose, leaving a touch of play in the inner cable, and it spins fine. I lube it with the CV grease anyway since whatever Kawi put in there looks pretty rough and button it up. Problem solved.
Bomb south towards Mazatlan. It's flat and boring. Just before Mazatlan the hills that have been teasing me by paralleling my flat road finally come close enough to be interesting. I ride up one and shoot a pic. Don't be fooled, look how boring the road is (on the left).
I ride the last few miles into Mazatlan in the dark, going slow and being careful. I find my way to a hotel from the Lonely Planet book, the Hotel del Rio. It's only a couple blocks from the beach and they're happy to have me park in the lobby, though I have to remove a box to fit in. It's not hard with the HT boxes anyway. For $15 I get a nice room and go out for some excellent seafood.
January 16th 2007
The next day I spend just wandering about—my favorite activity in new cities. This statue overlooks the "old" tourist area, Las Olas Altas. There's a new tourist area north of here that's way too resorty for me, I'm happy to be down in Olas Altas. I don't remember who this statue is of. Bueller?
Mazatlan is crawling with these funny little taxis, running old volksie aircooled engines. As someone with a soft spot for aircooled Vws, I dig em. This is an average looking one, some are really pimped out.
I also hiked up to the lighthouse, which was a bit disappointing… I mean, yes, you can see the whole city… but it's just not that pretty of a city from up high.
January 17th
I really wanted to go swimming—this is a beach town, damn it!—but it's cold. So the following morning I get up and hit the road at 7, riding up La Espina del Diablo, reportedly one of the greatest motorcycle roads on the planet. I also cross the tropic of Cancer again (I was trying to make Mazatlan before dark last time I crossed)
The section that's actually known as the spine is pretty nice, but overall I have to say this is the most overrated stretch of road I've ever ridden. I didn't even take any pics.
Up in Durango I found a hotel from the book for a fair price and park in the lobby, then go looking for a leather worker. I wanted to have a couple big grommets put in the calves of my boots so that I can lock them to the bike and walk away in flip flops or shoes… right now I can lock my jacket and pants in the trunk and sling the tank bag on as a backpack and I'm fine… but for any hiking the boots are awfully hot.
These two guys put two nice grommets in my Sidi Discoverys for $3:
Durango's a really nice little city, big enough to feel like a city but small enough to not be a hassle. It's warm in the day and cold at night. It's really clean… and it's full of people hanging out. I enjoy spending the afternoon and evening there.
January 18th
Get up good and early and head out—I'm hoping to ride south to Mesquital, then find my way through the mountains straight south to the coast. No one in Durango knows if that's possible, but I figure in Mesquital someone will.
…to be continued, I'm tired of typing
"To them, the bike's garage clutter. To us, it's a Beretta, half a mil' in cash, and a forged passport hidden under the floorboards. Whether it's used or not, that choice is always there." --Dan Walsh, Bike, December 2003
Dirty daydreamer
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate NY
Oddometer: 718
Just a tease
Here's just a little tease for you guys:
Sorry, tease pics removed because I'm almost done with the trip report. You'll just have to read it
"To them, the bike's garage clutter. To us, it's a Beretta, half a mil' in cash, and a forged passport hidden under the floorboards. Whether it's used or not, that choice is always there." --Dan Walsh, Bike, December 2003
ldeikis screwed with this post 03-23-2007 at 08:01 AM
Joined: Nov 2005
Location: Where Prince Charles spent his honeymoon
Oddometer: 13,354
The road to Hell is paved...
Save $5 on a Smugmug subscription when you use my coupon: yBr7OofIPuOP6
Two arm bandit
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: Planet Reno
Oddometer: 5,422
Que padre!
07 KTM 990 11 Husaberg 390
Joined: Apr 2006
Location: Salida, Colorado
Oddometer: 926
Nice report man. Looking forward to the rest of the story.
Lost and Cornfuzed
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Port Ludlow, WA
Oddometer: 623
Looks like fun!
Your ride report is awesome! How'd that rear shock get broken? Keep it coming.
Don Quixote
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: 427 miles ENE of Orla Texas
Oddometer: 1,571
Whoo Hooo! Great report.
I was the gimp with the bad knee that you talked to when you first got into Creel and parked in front of Margarita's.
It soulds like you had a great trip. Can't wait to hear more.
Tony Eeds aka Teeds - Proud member of the Peanut Gallery and the Pajama Economy
Good roads bring bad people
Bad roads bring good people
we are NOT human beings having a spiritual experience, rather we ARE spiritual BEINGS having a human experience - johnjen
Studly Adventurer
Joined: Jun 2004
Location: NW Montana
Oddometer: 781
This is a great read!
Chopper Rider
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: On a set of 50,000 mile tires.
Oddometer: 15,223
nice report.
hey lone rider, that's how you post bewbs and NOT get banded.
Be sure the safest rule is that we should not dare to live in any scene in which we dare not die. ~Lewis Carroll~
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Sacramento, CA
Oddometer: 4
Fantastic! Can't wait to read the rest...
Cubicle Traveler
Joined: Mar 2006
Location: 25.805049 N, 80.304523 W
Oddometer: 1,286
Will need a description for the picture with the 3 coconuts please...
Surreal moments are the only moments worth remembering. Ride on...!
Mod Squad
Joined: Aug 2002
Location: Toronto, ON
Oddometer: 57,139
Wow!! What a great start!! Keep it comin'! thanks for the pics and report
The broken frame and shock don't look good.. what happens next...
get in or go in
Joined: Dec 2004
Location: GB-Wisconsin
Oddometer: 16,308
BRAVO!!!!!!....keep it coming...greta report...
teh frame and shock story...oh my
Lost in Alaska
Joined: Sep 2004
Location: Los Anchorage, Alaska
Oddometer: 1,000
Pulmonillos! The funny fiberglass VWs that get driven like they are Porsches! Aren't the seats comfy!
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The following is an archive of a post made to our
'vox mailing list'
by one of its subscribers.
> On Thu, 13 Jun 2002, Peter Jay Salzman wrote:
> > ps- i was under the impression that this sort of thing killed the temp
> > file. i'm surprised the check is made.
Why surprised?
> overwrites STDOUT.
>> appends to STDOUT.
If STDIN == STDOUT, every time the process reads writes to STDOUT, it
creates more work for itself on STDIN. Seems like a useful check to avoid
inadvertent filling of filesystems.
Did I misunderstand your question?
Jeff Newmiller The ..... ..... Go Live...
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Learn how to create a lab manual for your students with iBooks Author.
Leverage the templates and intuitive toolset in iBooks Author to create custom course material.
Demonstrates how to use the Apple iBooks Author application to create and publish your own iBook, without extensive design or publishing experience.
"lynda.com has enabled me to grow my skill set at an affordable price. I find the business profiles/documentaries inspiring and the training is top notch." —Shawn C.
more from our members »


text:
Boku: Control Your Credit Card With Your iPhone [MWC2012]
BARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2012 — What if you could swipe your credit card and then — moments later — have the transaction details appear on your phone. Better still, what if all of your payments could be organized in a beautiful app, an app which could actually make managing your money fun. This service now exists for your iPhone, and it's called Boku.


text:
Two New S1W Styles
While Stevie insisted that his S1W signature mid top be a fashion forward sneaker, it is at its foundation a high performance skate shoe that is equipped with a SUPRAFOAM footbed that provides comfort and impact protection in the heel without compromising board feel in the toe. But there's no reason a skate shoe can't look good and these two new styles are evidence of that:
Camouflage printed leather, tan nubuck, warm grey suede, orange accents, black/white rope laces, padded orange mesh lining, black cup sole with orange traction and white sidewalls.
Grey and dark grey nubuck, red accents, black/red rope laces, padded red mesh lining, black cup sole with red traction and white sidewalls.
The S1W is available at better skate retailers worldwide, and suprafootwear.com.


text:
2PM, one of the K-pop acts to perform at the "Love-1 Festival" in Japan.[JoongAng Ilbo]
From June 16 to 17, various K-pop groups such as KARA, Rainbow, CN Blue, 2PM and Leessang will join forces with J-pop groups to perform at the "Love-1 Festival" to take place in Osaka.
The Japanese music festival is in its second season this year, kicking off last year in July as the first all-day outdoor K-pop concert event. More than 20,000 fans flocked to last year's show.
"Love-1 Festival" is known for its emphasis on promoting volunteerism and respect for the environment via its music and sports events.
The participating K-pop acts are all very popular in Japan.
In April, KARA kicked off the Japanese leg of its Asian tour "Karasia" in Yokohama. The group will be busy touring around Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, Tokyo and Saitama until late May.
In total, KARA will perform in front of more than 130,000 Japanese fans.
Meanwhile, boy band 2PM is set to release a new EP in Japan on June 6.
Source : koreajoongangdaily.jo...
You're reading the news with potential spoilers, make them spoiler free, dismiss
Super Junior still a Japanese favorite
2012/05/11 (Source)
By selling more than 54,331 copies of its new single "Opera" on the day of its release, Super Juni,...More
Yeosu Expo commences 93-day run
2012/05/11 (Source)
Ceremony kicks off event with much fanfare, many leaders in attendance A flamboyant opening cerem,...More
2012 Busan Contents Market Kicks Off Thursday
2012/05/11 (Source)
Meet content providers, broadcasters, and other entertainment program creators from all over the w,...More
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Drama of the week
Today's birthdays


text:
Vt. joins disaster medical teamMarch 29,2013Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont have formed a specialized disaster medical assistance team to respond to disasters in the region.
The 56-member team has expertise in emergency and wilderness medicine, toxicology, pharmacology, respiratory therapy, orthopedics and radiological protection, among other fields.
Dubbed NH-1, the team operates within the National Disaster Medical System and is overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Robert Gougelet from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth called it a core group of people who can work in intense austere environments.
The National Disaster Medical System, which includes 7,000 volunteers nationwide, was established in 1983 to provide medical response, patient evacuation and medical care.MORE IN Southern VermontBENNINGTON — Ask author and Bennington College graduate Charlotte Silver if the title of... Full StoryPresident Calvin Coolidge was remembered in all sorts of ways Saturday on the 143rd anniversary... Full StoryPresident Calvin Coolidge was remembered in all sorts of ways Saturday on the 143rd anniversary... Full Story
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- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: On this day 1739, 'Richard Palmer' identified in prison at York Castle as the notorious outlaw DICK TURPIN; IN 1836, Battle of the Alamo begins near San Antonio de Bexar, Texas; 1896, the Tootsie Roll invented by LEO HIRSCHFELD.
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: On this day in 1472, Orkney, Shetland islands put up as collateral by Norway to Scotland in lieu of dowry for MARGARET OF DENMARK on her marriage with JAMES III, king of Scotland; 1962, JOHN GLENN first American to orbit Earth.
- TOMORROW'S HEADLINES TODAY: City mayoral candidates debate campaign issues; Hartford, Conn., woman still missing; Neal Goswami reports attempts to legislate suicide; local woman loses 100 pounds through TOPS program.
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: On this day in 1878, JOHN TUNSTALL murdered near Lincoln, New Mexico, by the outlaw JESSE EVANS; in 1930, ELM FARM OLLIE first cow to fly in aircraft, first to be milked airborne; 1955, nuke test WASP; '79, snow in Sahara.
- TOMORROW'S HEADLINES TODAY: Rutland Herald News Editor Alan J. Keays and staff writer Gordon Dritschilo discuss stories planned for the February 18, 2015, edition of the newspaper: Winter budgets maxed, legal marijuana, Springfield bank job, USPS slowdown
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: On this day in 1249 AD, ANDRE of LONGJUMEAU is dispatched by LOUIS IX of France to meet the KHAGAN, ruler of the Mongol Empire; in 1804, during 1st Barbary War, STEPHEN DECATUR scuttles the pirate-held USS Philadelphia in Tripoli.


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Drew Pearson
Drew Pearson is in his first season at USC, serving as a graduate assistant working with the defense.
Before coming to USC, the 28-year-old Pearson was a child and family specialist at Five Acres in Altadena, Calif., for 6 years (2008-14) after earning a graduate degree in 2012 from the Phillips Graduate Institute.
He was the secondary coach at Muir High in Pasadena for 3 seasons (2008-10), where he coached 5 All-CIF first team players who all earned Division I scholarships.
He lettered as a cornerback at Utah State in 2006 and 2007 after redshirting the 2005 season. As a 2006 junior, he started the first 9 games of the season and had 34 tackles, 4 deflections, an interception and a fumble recovery. He added 1 tackle while playing in 4 games in 2007 as a senior.
He spent 2004 as a freshman cornerback at Mt. San Antonio Junior College in Walnut (Calif.), where he made 11 tackles and an interception while seeing action in 7 games.
He was an All-League selection at Muir in 2003, getting 25 tackles and 1 interception on defense and 44 receptions for 510 yards (11.6 avg) with 3 TDs as a wide receiver on offense. He spent the previous 2 seasons at Etiwanda High in Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.).
He earned his bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies from Utah State in 2007 after getting an associate's degree from Mt. San Antonio in 2004. He is working on his master's degree in communication management at USC.
He was born on Nov. 1, 1985. He is single. His brother, Keeyon Howard, played football at Central Methodist.


text:
Lada cat, Deadmau5′ Nissan GT-R over Purrari, and MKC faces Cyrus the bull
Mercedes Benz's magic body control cats garnered quite the fan following late last year. Jaguar chose to reply with their preference for cat-like reflexes. Now, there's an answer on behalf of AvtoVAZ for Mercedes too, with Lada's preference being cats dancing the dance.
Matthew McConaughey and Lincoln collaborate
Matthew McConaughey has signed an advertising deal with Lincoln Motor Company. Following this multiyear collaboration, McConaughey will act as storyteller to a soon to be launched Lincoln broadcast and for all company's digital advertising campaigns.
Lincoln Motor Company signature sponsor of 2014 Tribeca Film Festival
2014 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) will be hosted at Lower Manhattan from April 16 – April 27, 2014. TFF films screen in 5 sections: World Narrative Competition, World Documentary Competition, Spotlight, Viewpoints, and Midnight, and additionally includes galas and special screenings.
JFK's last ride before assassination turns up for auction
Two Lincoln's which were used by former US president John F Kennedy, one on the day of his assassination in 1963, are up for auction. These two Lincoln's include a black 1961 Lincoln Continental Limousine and a 1960 armored Lincoln Continental in which JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy along with John Connally, the Governor of Texas drove on the morning of that fateful day.
Lincoln MKC Concept at NAIAS, Detroit Auto Show 2013
Lincoln MKC Concept at NAIAS, Detroit Auto Show 2013, is the brand's first small vehicle has debuted at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. Competing against the Acura RDX, BMW X1 and Mercedes Benz GLK Class, the MKC Concept will be based on the Ford Escape platform.
Lincoln MKZ at 2012 LA Auto Show: Introducing the Lincoln Motor Company advertising campaign start
The ongoing 2012 LA Auto Show sees Lincoln showcase the all new Lincoln MKZ, 1961 Lincoln Continental Sedan, 1956 Continental Mark II, 1940 Lincoln Continental…
Ford Motor Company to bring Lincoln luxury auto brand to China
As part of their major expansion plans scheduled for the coming years, Ford Motor Company will be adding the Lincoln luxury brand to their lineup…
2013 Lincoln MKZ powered by 2.0L Ford EcoBoost: Price, features and details revealed (Photos)
Replacing the 2012 Lincoln MKZ, the new 2013 MKZ midsized sedan will be available at dealer showrooms by late fall. The vehicle will be available…


text: But the kicker is this: a 2008 Petopia wall calendar. Featuring fun screenshots (and even some original art) of the best and most favorite pets in the game. I love it. Echeyakee, Humar, Takk the Leaper-- all the greats are here to count down 2008 with you. At $25 it's a little pricey, but on the other hand, any Hunter would love to have that as a gift this holiday season. Very cool idea to put that together, and totally fun to see your favorite virtual pets show up in a setting like that.


text:
Reflection, Repentance and Renewal.
Schedule of Services - 5775 / 2014
WEDNESDAY 9/24 Erev Rosh HaShanah
5:00 pm Children's Service
8:00 pm Adult Service
THURSDAY 9/25 Rosh HaShanah Morning
9:00 am Children's Activities/Babysitting for Grade 2 and below (*this is not a service)
9:30 am Rosh Hashanah Morning Service (appropriate for Grade 3 and above)
12:30 pm (approximately) Tashlich at Windmill Pond
FRIDAY 10/3 Erev Yom Kippur
6:45 pm Children's Service
8:00 pm Adult Service (Kol Nidre)
SATURDAY 10/4 Yom Kippur Day
9:00 am Children's Activities/Babysitting for Grade 2 and below (*this is not a service)
9:30 am Yom Kippur Adult Morning Service (appropriate for Grade 3 and above)
12:30 pm Healing Service
1:30 pm Yizkor (Memorial) Service
2:30pm Study Session
4:00 pm Afternoon Torah Service
5:15 pm Neilah Service
6:15 pm Congregational Break Fast (RSVPs requested - TBA)
FRIDAY 10/10 Sukkot
6:00 pm Annual Sukkot Picnic and Service In The Sukkah, 6.00pm, followed by service at 7:30
FRIDAY 10/17 Simchat Torah
7:00 pm Simchat Torah Service 7:00pm
Guest Attendance Policy and Guest Tickets
Beth Chaverim welcomes all members of the community to our High Holiday services! We do request a donation from all guests to help offset our costs. Should guests choose to join Beth Chaverim before December 31, 2014, the amount you donated will be applied towards your annual financial commitment. Note that no "tickets' will be issued; instead, we will have your name at a table in the lobby area.
Yizkor Book
Reciprocity for Members
Many may not be aware that member dues, school tuition, and building fund combined cover only a portion of our synagogue's operating expenses. We must rely on fundraising activities – and primarily, our annual appeals such as the Kol Nidre Appeal – in order to maintain the programming and services which all of us have come to enjoy.
The success or failure of the Kol Nidre Appeal relies on you. BCRC has about 135 member families, and many more who participate in our services and events but whom have not yet taken the step of membership. We're hoping that each of you who count BCRC as part of your lives - members and guests alike - will raise your hand and contribute, no matter the amount - $5,000, $500, $50. Obviously, the more you can give, the more it helps, but whatever you can provide is appreciated. We are hoping to stand before our congregation at our Annual Meeting and report not the amount of money raised, but also that all of us contributed and participated in this annual tradition - that 100% of our incredible community cared enough about BCRC to stand and be counted. Our goal is to raise $75,000 – please help however you can.
Of course, if you have already made your Kol Nidre donation separately, please accept our special thanks for your generosity and your commitment.
Please click below to make a secure donation to our Kol Nidre Appeal.
As we prepare for the High Holy Days, we wish you Shanah Tovah and a year filled with health, happiness and peace. We look forward to being together as a community during this special time of renewal and reflection.


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Product Information
Mountains composed by James R. Murray - Digital Sheet Music
At a Glance
Mountains digital sheet music. Contains printable sheet music plus an interactive, downloadable digital sheet music file.
* This arrangement contains complete lyrics
* This product is available worldwide
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