Day 5: Teotihuacan, Mexico

Yesterday was a riders hell!! The day began overcast and we were planning on riding about 250 miles from Tampico to Teotihuacan. It was supposed to be a nice-and-easy day...NOT!

Here is short synopsis of Sunday´s ride...after leaving our Sexy Time hotel where you pay every 4 hours (mirrors on the cielings, on the headboard, on the wall opposite and bad porn on a 30 minute loop on the TV, with doors that shut you into your garage so snooping spouses can´t see license plates) in Tampico we headed down the overcast road.

After kevin ignored perfectly good directions from the Pemex service station, he proceeded to get us lost before taking the important left turn on red across the railroad tracks right into the waiting arms of the police officer signaling us to pull over! Just what Kevin was looking for.
We played it perfectly, kevin went up and started asking him for directions and clara gave him the pissed off wife look and explained that kevin was very agitated because we just wanted to get out of town before the guy could even get in a word edgewise about giving us tickets or shaking us down for bribes. After giving us the exact same directions we had previously received from the gas station attendant we headed off down the road, got onto the highway and out of the hell town known as Tampico, MX.

ONLY TO FIND......that we were gyped on the Leonard Zakim bridge. The same friggin bridge exists in Tampico and was clearly built well before our bridge in boston. We were so flabbergasted that we stopped on the highway and took a picture (see picture of clara with bridge in the background) who would of thought that boston would copy some icky town in Mexico for its signature architecture!!!

The day was miserable rain, fog, dead dogs, hills, mountains, drunk guys on the side of the road, accidents, leading to a one mile backup of vehicles on a winding mountain road with about 25 yards visibility. WE used our bikes to go around, stopped for awhile and took the picture of kevin with the 15 guys in the truck then went up to where the accident was. It was very dangerous with trucks going up the hill at about 12 miles an hour, with impatient drivers in VW´s trying to pass, with no passing lanes, no straightaways, less big visibility, and no guardrails down the hundred of meters embankments. Clara was great, the temperature was less than 50 degrees as we could see our breath.....we finally got to a dirty old town around 4 pm that even the locals couldn´t pronounce right. We were cold and wet, and came to a stop sign where clara fell over at a stoplight to signify where we were going to stay that night. Sure enough the rex hotel was 50 feet away, where we stayed for the night, and we only had to wait two hours until they turned the hot water on!

more later, we are at a machine shop in san martin getting a missing part for clara bike custom made. kevin got a great 3 dollar haircut while we waited.

peace

After riding all day yesterday through the most miserable conditions yet, we have finally made it to Teotihuacan; the site of the largest ruins in Mexico.

How things looked starting the trip! (what gear we are taking)

Here is a picture of us on Constance Street in New Orleans right before we left. Clara's Red 2006 BMW 650 GS is on the left, and Kevin's 2005 Blue BMW R1200 GS is on the right.

Clara's bike has been outfitted with Touratech rear panniers, engine guards from A&S cycles, Acerbis hand guards which we got from our good friend in England Bob Wylde of Wylde's Motorcycles in Leeds (thanks, Bob!), an aftermarket windshield, a crampbuster, and is otherwise stock.

Kevin's bike has been outfitted with Touratech panniers, BMW engine caseguards, and also a crampbuster (the best $9 bucks you will ever spend for a long trip)

We have disc brake locks to deter theft, we hope!

We both have chicane tank bags with their custom water bags in side the case. So far we are not too impressed with the suction nozzle's as they don't work with full face helmets. If I scrunch my head to the side and suck on the nozzle with the side of my mouth and squint down the road sideways I can occasionally get a trickle to refresh my spittle. Needless to say Clara doesn't try those head spinning tricks while riding down the road.

We have purchased Chatterbox HJC-FRS helmet mounted intercoms. We tried them a bit in Boston and they worked barely OK, maybe a 3 out of 10 on the desirability scale. I'm putting mine on the new helmet today and we'll see if we can dial them in better. We've already custom

mounted the earpieces and I can imagine other modifications to make them better. A work in progress that I can imagine being shipped home at some point.

Clara has done a great job of packing the clothes which we keep in her bike. I carry the tools and other junk. I have a toolset that should be able to do most roadside repairs on both bikes, including an air compressor that runs off the battery and other tools to fix flat tires which seems to be the most common world traveler problem. A Leatherman wave has already come in handy, as well as the hacksaw blade! I have gear oil to lubricate Clara's chain, WD-40, tire irons, zip ties, duct tape, a lighter, and special tools to do oil changes and remove the wheels. We have a couple medial containers with basic first aid and medicine.

We have a garmin $150 dollar GPS which I'm still trying to figure out how to use. We have Maps of central and south america and a couple travel books. In a funny story which we will relate later, we won enough money to buy a tiny computer at the Craps table and so we brought that along. Thanks to radio shack we can drive along and charge the batteries of our computer, or blackberry, or Chatterbox's by tapping into the BMW accessory port. We have cheap sleeping bags and a tent, and a nice backpack which rides on the back of Kevin's bike. That way if we stop and want to go hiking or visit a site, we can lock up the panniers (I purchased and installed the touratech locks) and Clara can carry one tank bag, and I can carry the rest of our stuff on my backpack. We each carry a complete set of keys for both bikes.

I also have a beat up Red Sox hat!

Day 2: Brownsville, Texas.

Today was our second day on the road.

Yesterday we made it from NOLA to Houston. It was a rough beginning as we rode through heavy rain and strong winds for about the first 100 miles. Then the rain stopped, but the winds persisted throughout the day. By the end of the day, I was very, very tired and sore. My knees, arms, and back hurt; my ears were sore from the headphones of our communication system pressing against them; and my eyes were dry and my vision blurry. This was the longest I had ever spent on a motorcycle. As a result of my fatigue, I dropped my bike on it's right side while just waiting at a stoplight! Soon after, we found a hotel and called it a day: 350 miles and about seven hours of riding.

This morning we had a hearty breakfast at IHOP where the manager decided to play a trick on Kevin when we were paying the bill: "Sir, your credit card has been denied" he said to Kevin, while giving me a sly smile. But Kevin took him seriously and was soon on the phone with the credit card people. All was good and the MasterCard lady was confused as to why he was calling. It took Kevin a couple of minutes to warm up to the fact that he had been "punked" by the wily IHOP manager...but he finally cracked a smile as we were leaving the restaurant. The drive today was a lot better in terms of weather. It was a very nice, dry, sunny day; but the winds caught up with us once again for the last 100 miles. We did another 350 miles today and made it to Browsville, just minutes from the Mexican border. By the end of the ride my knees were hurting and feeling numb again. I have told Kevin that my limit is 250 miles, no more no less, and I think he finally got the point today when I dropped my bike again, this time to the left side, as we were parking at the hotel! No harm done, and all is good. We checked in at about 5:30 pm and had plenty of time to wash our bikes ("a clean bike is a happy bike) and take a dip in the pool. Well, we both washed but only Kevin dipped because it was too cold for my liking. However, after the bike washing and before the pool dipping, Kevin decided that he wanted to make an adjustment on my bike that entailed sawing! You see, when I fell over yesterday, the brake light on my bike got stuck "on" so once Kevin figured out what was making the break light switch stay engaged, he decided that the best way to fix the problem and prevent it from happening again if I happened to tip over again, was to saw off about an inch from my front break lever. So, my objection to the remodeling was duly noted on the record, but off it went anyway. Kevin said justified the minor amputation by saying that it made him feel safer knowing that by break light will work properly no matter what (I like that) and by telling me that now my bike had some personality because according to him, all "real riders" make adjustments to their bikes...OK then, just as long as I get to be first in line when it's time to saw something off his bike.

We just finished our delicious pizza and are getting ready to stretch out on the bed a watch movies 'till we fall asleep. Tomorrow: Mexico.

Finally...Here we go!

We are leaving today; in about half an hour our Big trip begins. Kevin has his cool new helmet painted by our great friend Jim McCarthy, I have my MA license in order (passed both my exams, yey!), and we have electricity coming for our house in NOLA. We had a great send-off BBQ yesterday with some of our friends here at our loft and we had a good night's sleep. All is good and it is finally time to go!

First Ride

We took our first ride yesterday with all the gear mounted up, and it was a rousing success. We took off on I-10 west through the swamps and edgewaters of Lake Pontchatrain, before heading south and crossing the mighty Mississippi and heading back to New Orleans along the river road.

Unfortuneately, there are large mounds on either side of the river so you don't actually get to see much of the river here in Louisiana, you just get to feel the presence of it off to your side, while trodding from tiny town to tiny town, each with their abandoned buildings, and the feeling that nothing new has been builts since the 70's, occasionally passing a huge modern energy plant with gas fire plumes coming from some central chimney.

Just a couple of minor things like my helmet and learning to use our garmin legend GPS and we're going to hit the road, probably on Thursday to Houston, Friday to Brownsville, and then VIVA MEXICO!

Chomping at the Bit!

We still have not been able to resolve the electrical issue that has been holding us up here in New Orleans. However, we feel that we are getting very close to "go" time. So, today we laid out everything we're taking and packed up our panniers (aka, side bags). Kevin was pretty amazed that we still had some room left over in each bag after packing everything up, but I knew that would be the case since I do fancy myself a master packer. After surveying the equipment, we took one final trip to various stores to get the final things on our lists; sleeping bags, a GPS, ziplock bags, and things of that sort that we thought would come in handy! So, here is the final tally of what will be coming with us:
Clara - 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of "zippy pants" (nylon pants that turn into shorts), 2 short sleeve t-shirts, 1 long sleeve t-shirt, 1 safari shirt with longs sleeves and collar, 2 pairs of riding socks, 2 pairs regular socks, 1 pair of hiking shoes, 2 bathing suits (mom says you should always take 2), underwear, rain suit, heated jacket liner, sleeping bag, camera, blackberry, toothbrush/paste, soap, shampoo, face cream, deodorant, first-aid kit, pain meds, hat.
Kevin - 1 pair of jeans, 1 t-shirt (Boston Red Sox of course!), 1 pair of zippy pants, 1 safari shirt, 2 undershirts, underwear, 2 pairs of riding socks, 1 pair regular socks, 1 pair of sneakers, rain suit, heated jacket liner, 1 bathing suit, first-aid kit, tools, sunscreen, bug repellent, tooth brush, floss, hat, vitamins, GPS, travel books/maps.
As you can see, we are ready, ready, ready...now all we need is some open road.

Getting everything ready and enjoying Mardi Gras

Haven't left yet...
Happy Lundi Gras!
We're still in New Orleans, tying up some loose ends at our house and getting our motorcycles and gear ready. In the meantime, we're taking in all that NOLA has to offer during the Mardi Gras season...great music, lots of parades, fun parties and lots of beads and other great "throws". We've met some fantastic people who have lavished us with their hospitality and are sure to become long-lasting friends (shout out to Katie, Richard, Margared, Meighan, David, Suzanne...and many more).
Kevin finished mounting his panniers and putting locks on both our panniers, and we took a short teaser ride yesterday to a party.
Tonight we'll be catching the evening parade, Krewe of Proteus, and then we'll be heading off to catch some more live music until the wee hours. Then we'll come home and put on our "costumes" before we head out to catch the Krewe of Zulu and the rest of the Mardi Gras Day parades and festivities...so I'll catch up with you when we've recovered!
Besitos.