Heads up for anyone heading north or south on the coast highway Mex #180, tropical storm Fernando hit us here pretty hard. At least 13 deaths near Roca de Oro in the Yecautla area which is up around the route that Schizz and Donnie did a little over a year ago, on the edge of what Andres and Arte call "Greenland". This is a little bit inland, west, from the coast. Also, inland from Guiterrez Zamora in the San Rafael area, the road has been closed between San Rafael and Martinez de la Torre. This is the route that Schizz and Trice rode up towards Teziutlan and beyond a couple of years back. The storm was last Sunday, and here in Boca del Rio, it dumped about 8 inches of rain in about 5 hours. There are now closures of the coast highway and roads leading into and out of Veracruz with residents who are po'd at the lack of planning, response, and responsibility on the part of the state and municipal governments. These are impromptu and can cause some pretty big traffic jams. Anyone heading north or south should consider a route more to the west, via Tehuacan and Teziutlan or Puebla (city) for the next week or so. The high plain around Ciudad Serdan is drier, stick to the high ground. The deaths resulted from a landslide that took out some homes. With the heavy rains, there is always the risk of landslides here, particularly in the Zongolica region. A couple of weeks back, two vehicles were swept off the Zongolica highway and down the mountain side. If you have ever ridden there, you know that is a one way ticket. Usually, from August to October, we get heavier rains, these storms can pop up real fast, like Brett did a number of years ago. In this case, the CFE weather website had clearly shown winds and rain in the 3 day forecast but no alerts were issued. The CFE got it wrong by about 12 hours, but it still had it in the forecast. The state and local governments really and truly seduced fido on this one. This is one of the best weather sites for Mexico: http://app.cfe.gob.mx/Aplicaciones/QCFE/Meteorologico/WebForms/Bol_3dias.aspx It offers a morning forecast (matutino) and an afternoon update (vespertino) for the day and a decent 3 day outlook that is usually available and updated by 10am on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Regional specific wind and rain forecasts are found on the page. It's in Spanish but nobody will find it too difficult to understand. The CFE is the Federal Electrical Commission of Mexico and they use it for their operations planning. Bookmark the website. I usually use a combo of the CFE site, WeatherUnderground, Accuweather, and Weather Spark, and a massive amount of wishful thinking and denial as Craneguy can vouch for! And now back to our regular programming...
Got the big bike back in the barn tonight. LSBMW did a great job getting the FD rebuilt for me and even re-shoed the bike for Mexico no charge after I fetched the tires from TJ's. Leaving 2pm tomorrow for WeazyBuddha's in Edinburg then crossing over Anzalduas Bridge for the Sierra León Friday morning. Planning overnights in Aramberri, Real de Catorce/Concepción del Oro and Cola de Caballo before returning home Monday. Should be a really sweet little four day minitour.
Watch for rocks in the shadows; I hit one hard enough to damage a GSA wheel on road from Mex 85 to Rayones. Have a safe and fun trip.
Sjoerd, your guidebook has been fantastic and used many times in my almost 6 weeks in Mexico. ( my own hotel tip for monterrey old town: hOtel fundadores) and if it wasn't for expert mechanic Airhead Wrangler adjusting my clutch in Manzanillo we'd have been stranded. Great forum here, couldn't have done the trip without it. Lesson learned regarding brake pads.. Rear ones wear fast if you are fully loaded 2 up. The Jerry rigged pads (hardening pasta on old pads) that were installed in tuxtla by the nice owner of "Motos Refacciones y Servicios" have worked great so far though. Tomorrow crossing back into the us at Nuevo laredo. No fumigation this time and also no sjoerd Bakker guide for cheap hotels. Good that we still have our camping gear..
Just tried out all these useful phrases with my Mexican wife. My doctor assures me I'll probably be able to walk and reproduce again within a year. In the meantime I've accepted a position in the Vienna boy's choir. They needed someone to hit the really high notes for the dogs in the audience. "Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it"
All of those words, and even more, can be found by simply listening to customers at a BMW parts counter here.
Funny! But remember that most of us Olde Guys (tm) feel that reproduction is overrated ... especially when there is a knock on the door of the Texas mobile home at 11PM ...
Where have you been? The Witness Protection Program? I thought you had sold some mineral rights, bought a Prevost, and took off
Casa WeazyBuddha looking like a motorcycle museum. Tyler and RW66 chewin' the fat, waiting on the Pollo Asado.
Found a girlfriend in Uvalde and am working through the vertigo that is making riding difficult. I will be back to full force soon.