What's the ONE THING you wish you knew before your first ride south of the border?

I'll start: I wish I knew that all the money I spent preparing my bike (except the corbin seat ) would have been better spent on tacos and cerveza.

Don't drink the water or get drinks with ice in them. Get bottled water or just drink beer.

Also...the lettuce is rinsed with the same water.

There is a reason some of the stalls have 6 rolls of paper in them.

It was back in the 90s, and I crossed at Agua Prieta. I didn't know where to check into the aduana. I just assumed someone would tell me where I had to go. I ended up having to talk the checkpoint guard down the road about 40 miles into letting me go to the aduana south of Nogales, rather than backtracking. So, even though it worked out, I guess I wish I knew more about bringing vehicles into Mexico.

I wish I knew that riding in Mexico would become an addiction that is very hard to break and tends to consume those of us who have this addiction.

Ditto!!

Or just move here. Then ALL your riding is in Mexico. Solved.

I have 1 little problem.... my wife is not addicted please no marriage councilors need comment.

Ya Baby!!

I wish that I knew.............

well fuck, I wish I didnt know anything. I was happy about everything that happened to me that I did'nt know or could never anticipate. That is what makes it special, an adventure........JMHO, and I'm sticking to it.

Does that help?

The excitement of the unknown!

I made the mistake of drinking a blended margarita in Ensenada. For 12 hours my body did it's best to get rid of any fluid I had in me. I bundled up in blankets, and sweated it out quickly to get it over with.

Since then, I have had good luck with food/drink by avoiding anything that touched water: ice, lettuce, salsa , lemon/lime slices in beer , etc. I also heard I should avoid Mexican cheese, since it is not pasteurized. I have ignored that advice, with no problems. Deep fried calamari is safe, but again I avoid the dipping sauce. Enough tequila will sanitize anything .

I wish I had known how easy it would be to get help, no matter where I am - whenever I've had problems people have fallen over themselves to try and help get me back on track.

Also: the poorer or more 'dangerous' the area, the less tourists that are there, and the friendlier the locals are. My highlights have to be El Salvador, Nicaragua and Eastern Colombia.

I think it's a matter of awareness, which you learn as you go.
Learning and determining personal borders for yourself - not talking land borders.
A zoom lens, if you may, and you control it, and it's a f'ing powerhouse.

Get your own zoom going...

That lane-splitting is an easy and fun addiction, but the fear of not being able to break the addiction after getting back to Michigan is overwhelming!

In Mexico (and less so in Latin America) it is considered impolite to say "NO". So when speaking with a Mexican and asking for a negative or affirmative response...it will always be "YES". The three yes's are: Yes ....I will do it.....Yes ..I will think about it....Yes....I won't do it.... All you hear is "YES"...this leads to many misunderstandings.
I have lived here for 16 years and learn something new each day about the Mexican view of the world. Enjoy the ride!

6 months, local water, only time we had trouble was when we were cooking our own food and using sealed "water cooler" bottles. huh.

Indeed- especially when my wife was with me

Words don't mean things in Mexico. In english or spanish. I have 8 years.

Si! Si!,Si!,etc., infinitum...yeh it really messes with my feeble mind!