Day 521
40 is the new 1
Finally, we were on the mainland of Mexico. The real deal. The Baja had felt like a transition from the USA, totally Mexican yes, but on departing the ferry we felt we were entering a completely different world.
We arrived in Mazatlan in the state of Sinoloa. Though a city with a lot of history, and definitely worth seeing, after the rest in La Paz we were keen to get back on the bikes so we decided to head straight through it. We are making our way to Puerto Vallarta and a 2-week beach holiday with my sister Liz, and nephew Jed, who are flying out from the UK for their Christmas holidays. We had a choice of routes, stay coastal, or head up into the mountains. The coastal route would be warmer, fewer hills with opportunities to relax on the beach along the way. Or we could leave the heat behind, ride up a 125-mile hill and have temperatures nearer freezing at night. No choice really, bring on the hills!
First we were heading for the city Durango, the capital of the state of Durango. There are two roads leading there, the old road, which winds up and up into and over the mountains, or the more direct new toll road with its 61 tunnels and 115 bridges, a stunning piece of engineering. It also has a wide hard shoulder, so beloved of us cyclists, but most of the traffic uses this route, and technically cyclists are not allowed. We decided to ride on the old road, and after a final goodbye to Harry, Moe and the guys we headed out. Naturally we bumped into the 4 guys at the supermarket. Apart from Charlie they were also riding our way and we hoped to meet then on the road.
To begin with we thought we had made a major mistake. The road was packed. There appeared to be a motorbike event on, with 1,000s of riders, though fortunately coming towards us. Then we reached a road block. After weaving our way to the front we realized that we could probably go past and sure enough, a quick ‘Por favor’ and we were on our way. With no traffic behind us it was a pretty relaxing ride, as long as the motorbikes stayed on their side of the road! We crossed under the toll road and could see no traffic on it. So, it looked that as well as the bikes we would be getting the traffic from there too. Finally, they clearly removed the road block and we were back in the thick of it. After one too many close passes we decided to call it a day. Tom spotted an ideal wild camp spot tucked away under a bridge, out of sight of passing traffic and the bonus of a river to wash in, result! We were both a bit nervous of wild camping on the mainland so took extra care to choose a spot where we were well hidden.
In the morning we hit the hills proper. First a 15-mile hill, followed swiftly by a 10-mile climb. In the heat we were only managing about 4 miles per hour so it was slow going. The views though, oh boy it was worth it! We were riding through the magnificent Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains, with the stunning ridge called the ‘Espinazo de Diablo’ or Devil’s Backbone. We were simply blown away by the beauty of it. Our road clung to the edge of the mountain and it was a nervous ride at times. In the UK this area would be a National Park, crammed with cars, hikers and day trippers. In Mexico it seemed we had it all to ourselves apart from a bit of local traffic. It was hard going but perfect cycling and the road has gone straight to No 1 in our top 10! After 3 nights wild camping and in serious need of a bath, we have stopped to recover in the small town of La Ciudad. At around 9,000 feet the temperature has dropped to near freezing at night so we are glad of a warm bed. We are here for 3 days, and somehow we have passed the 3 guys so hopefully we might see them later today!
