The Epic

While my buddies were away riding El tour de Tucson for the nnnth time, I slowly mumble what to do on the long weekend. The only sensible thing to do was a solo epic ride.

I have always wanted to get up and personal with the communities of El Rio Fuerte, the original inhabitants of Mexico before the Spanish conquest.

So the plan was to ride up to San Blas and find a way to singletrack along the Rio Fuerte, hitting as many small communities as possible all the way to the coast before returning home. Eating fresh produce and local home made bread along the way instead of powerbars will give the ride that special plus.

I went at sunrise and after 6 Plus hours on the saddle and enjoying northern Sinaloa's oldest towns I finally completed the Epic ride I envisioned months ago.

Pictures to follow.

And then I remembered Mr. Adams ...

There is always another side on everybody, one not as visible and somewhat weird.

That side of me suddenly remembered a great quote by a very witty and funny man.

"There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened."— Douglas Adams

To my two readers (You know who you are): I hope the picts are back up in a day or two.

Saludos

A trip across Sinaloa's northern bays

The state of Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico has several beautiful bays, some of them have inspired many dreams in the past.
Falling in the same trap, I envisioned a while back a route to cross them while mapping a loop that will take me from my home and back.

As summer creep on me, it became impossible to do the trip, so I just put the plan on hold, and as autumn slowly came, the plan was on !!!.

The plan was simple enough, ride the dirt roads from my home to a Campo Pesquero (Fishing camp),
hitch a ride in a Lancha to the other side of the bay, cross a few hills, look for a place to camp, repeat on the next bay and ride home.


So off we went, trying not to hit too much pavement and on route to Paredones on the Ohuira Bay.


After riding for a while on a very nice Saturday morning we started to see some blue on the GPS.


Exchanging some beer money for gas, we were on the water in a matter of minutes.


Happily riding across Ohuira Bay.


The usual artsy shot.


We even saw some friendly dolphins along the way


Seeing Lazaro Cardenas across the bay made us realize that those hills were not going to be as easy as once thought.


Lazaro Cardenas doesn't have a channel, so they make do with high tides and some resemblance of and unfinished pier.


Unloading the bikes at Lazaro C.


That pier was some nice exercise after sitting in the boat, maybe a little more than we bargained for.


After some huffing, shouting and just hopping along the rocks, we thought it was over, only to find this.


Every town in Mexico has a house that will either give you or sell you some food, and we weren't about to cross those hills on an empty tank.


Ahhh, the joys of Shrimp season, Camarones Rancheros, rice and tortillas.


Slowly riding out of town wearing a couple of pounds of shrimps.:sombrero:


Putting miles to the ground


A newly constructed small ditch got us lost, as we began contemplating a mosquito infested camp in the middle of nowhere.


Getting out of that mess was not hard and soon we were doing Photo opps on the salty flats.




Looks easy without the damn mosquitos.


You can laugh at us flatlanders, but those short hills were mean late in the day.


The private beach of San Ignacio brings back a lot of memories, nice secluded place. In the back La Bahia de Navachiste.


We set up camp in a nearby beach in a cloud of mosquitos that later on succumbed to the evening wind. Falling fast to sleep I woke up to this view.


After some fumbling trying to get a ride, we talked a fine gentleman into taking us to Cerro Cabezon, our next town in the trip.


Bahia de Navachiste is even nicer than Ohuira, lots of fishing on this area.




Upon arrival, we setup to ride, with a stiff wind at our face.


Leaving the coast we got in the farming country.




Arriving at Bachoco, then Juan Jose Rios and soon to Los Mochis.


The steed at the end of the journey, best damn bike I have :victory:


Overall a very nice trip, some great company and great practice for some future Bikepacking trips.

The Shrimp, Steak and Poultry bike ride.

Another weekend, another bike trip.

Lately finding new tracks and testing equipment for Bikepacking has become fun, Today's trip took us over some Precolonial settlements and onto a very familiar wilderness close to home.

A camera malfunction (Ok, I messed up the settings) gave me some nifty antique looking photos, on tune to describe the 1600s era trails we took.


Getting close to Los Cerros de Barobampo.




Almost at the river crossing.



Once we got onto the wilderness, it was time to find my Dad's group who was Dove hunting on the same area.



After tracking down the tireprints we decided to wait for them and have a quick rest.



Eventually the group got together, and the feast started.

First some early morning caught steamed shrimp. Yep, we do suck the heads off the shrimps, good stuff



And then some Carne Asada and even a couple of doves to finish off.



The bunch enjoying midday under a fresh mesquite shadow.



Overall a very nice quick trip, the new fat tires of my bike (700c X 40mm) worked really good and I am getting confident about my multiday Bikepacking trip coming up.

Saludos from not so hot and somewhat dangerous Mexico.

The Lower Sierra, Alamos, Sonora

The pueblo of Alamos is the dowager queen of southern Sonora, immersed in memories of an elegant and rich past, steeped in its cultural heritage. Between 1533 and 1540 the Spanish conquistadores Diego de Guzmán and Vásquez de Coronado and the famous traveler Alvaro Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca passed by the site of Alamos and the distinctive Los Frailes peaks of the Sierra de Alamos on Mayo Indian trails (French 1962). In 1630, Jesuit missionaries built an adobe church on the spot where the Iglesia de Alamos now stands, essentially founding Real de los Frailes, New Spain, later to become Alamos, Sonora, Mexico. After the 1683 discovery of fabulously rich silver and gold deposits, Alamos thrived as a mining and religious center. Many of the expeditions that established missions in Pimería Alta (northern Sonora and southern Arizona) and such distant places as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Monterrey were funded with silver from the Alamos mines.

About 1940, wealthy Americans and Canadians "discovered" the town, mostly in ruins, and were smitten with its Spanish colonial ambiance, the beauty of the tropical forest, the scenic Sierra de Alamos, and the tranquil pace of life. During the last half century, the influx of "silver" from the United States and Canada has reinvigorated Alamos. Renovating the old mansions with local materials, labor, and skills is an important local industry. The result is a unique mosaic of historic buildings, colonial architecture, cobblestone streets, cultural traditions of religious celebrations, dances, the Sunday night promenade, a historical museum, a library, a classical music festival, and a mixed Mexican and American population that has lived together for several generations.

Taken from The center for Sonoran studies.

Here are some interesting photos.

An overview of the town.


The local Callejones.


Near the Main Plaza.


Alamos inolvidable, a local song (Bilingual to boot). Courtesy of Gabriel Velazquez

Got 40s ...

I finally put 700cX40mm tires on my trusty franky bike. Looks mountain bikeish now, but should work great, sadly with a Hurricane around us looks like there wont be any riding.

The Ceremonial Sierra, Mochicahui, Sinaloa

Mochicahui, Sinaloa with and undetermined foundation date precedes the Spanish Conquista, one of the three settlements of the Zuaque Nation (Being Charay and the lost Cigüini the other two), it was home of some of the fiercest Indians that resisted colonization until the early XVII century.

Located 18 miles from Los Mochis on the Rio Fuerte, it houses one of only 3 Indigena Universities in Latin America. UAIM and its 5,000 inhabitants host the main Semana Santa celebrations of northern Mexico.

Good info at Mochicahui - Su evangelización y fundación como misión jesuita a partir de 1605 Just use a little help from goggle translation.

A typical street.


Ruins of the Old Church.



Semana Santa en Mochicahui, the dance. Courtesy of Maencame