rapz
New member
My wife and I just returned from a four day ride into Mexico along with six other couples riding two-up and two solo riders. We crossed in Pharr, Texas (next to McAllen in the Lower Rio Grande Valley) into Reynosa and took the Autopista (Mexican Toll Road) to China and on to Linares which is southeast of Monterrey. From there we took small backroads to some very interesting places. Our first destination was El Choritto lake and water fall which is close to Cd. Victoria or southeast of Monterrey. From there we returned to Linares and made our way southwest to Galeana which is high in the Sierra through some very twisty roads and spent the first night there. That was a 13 hour day, a little too long for riding two-up in the mountains.
The next day we went south to El Salto which is a waterfall called "El Velo de la Novia" (veil of the bride). We ate at least 24 fresh trout taken right out of the stream--best fish. After that we got a late takeoff to Real de Catorce. It is west of Mateguala. It is now a famous little village, high up in the desert at an elevation of 9,000 feet, most famous for the filming of "The Mexican" with Julia Roberts and Brad Pit. It's no place for an LT though (or any large road bike), the last 21 kilometers (13 miles) are cobblestone road which works wonders on any bike and body. The last 1.2 miles is a one lane tunnel which goes through a mountain to enter the village. Since we were running late we didn't get into town until about 9pm and the cobblestone roads are very rough and our route to our hotel required two hairpin turns onto a narrow one lane road with a very, very steep elevation. When we looked at it the next day in daylight all of us wondered how we made it so in a way it was a good thing it was dark and we didn't know what we were doing! It's a very neat little village, but none of us will return on big road bikes. btw, as we drove in I got a hearty applause from the BMW Club of Mexico City who was also meeting there, but they had the right bikes...almost all of them GS bikes. I met two riders from Texas (San Antonio and Dallas) who rode up to join the Mexico City Club. One was as smart as me riding an LT. Most of the guys there were happy to see me make that hill climb to the hotel...good moral support.
We left Real de Catorce and stayed the third night in the outskirts of Monterrey and Sunday drove back to the US. It was the most exciting trip ever taken, but a little too risky for riding two-up. Almost all of the places we went to except Galeana are not with roads designed for an LT or the big Harleys. Those topes (speed bumps) are hell on the LT '05 with its very low electric center stand. I must have rubbed a few hundred, but solidly hit three of them which were just too high.
I'm doing an extended report on the trip and if anyone is interested I'll post that in the near future.
The next day we went south to El Salto which is a waterfall called "El Velo de la Novia" (veil of the bride). We ate at least 24 fresh trout taken right out of the stream--best fish. After that we got a late takeoff to Real de Catorce. It is west of Mateguala. It is now a famous little village, high up in the desert at an elevation of 9,000 feet, most famous for the filming of "The Mexican" with Julia Roberts and Brad Pit. It's no place for an LT though (or any large road bike), the last 21 kilometers (13 miles) are cobblestone road which works wonders on any bike and body. The last 1.2 miles is a one lane tunnel which goes through a mountain to enter the village. Since we were running late we didn't get into town until about 9pm and the cobblestone roads are very rough and our route to our hotel required two hairpin turns onto a narrow one lane road with a very, very steep elevation. When we looked at it the next day in daylight all of us wondered how we made it so in a way it was a good thing it was dark and we didn't know what we were doing! It's a very neat little village, but none of us will return on big road bikes. btw, as we drove in I got a hearty applause from the BMW Club of Mexico City who was also meeting there, but they had the right bikes...almost all of them GS bikes. I met two riders from Texas (San Antonio and Dallas) who rode up to join the Mexico City Club. One was as smart as me riding an LT. Most of the guys there were happy to see me make that hill climb to the hotel...good moral support.
We left Real de Catorce and stayed the third night in the outskirts of Monterrey and Sunday drove back to the US. It was the most exciting trip ever taken, but a little too risky for riding two-up. Almost all of the places we went to except Galeana are not with roads designed for an LT or the big Harleys. Those topes (speed bumps) are hell on the LT '05 with its very low electric center stand. I must have rubbed a few hundred, but solidly hit three of them which were just too high.
I'm doing an extended report on the trip and if anyone is interested I'll post that in the near future.