Mike- Maybe you want to put your VC/Puebla ride tips in another thread of their own. That way they don't get lost in our little asylum here. Maybe throw in a thread link here when updated or someone asks for more VC info. I do need to Puebla sometime, get some of that quality mole poblano. Hard to find here in Ohio. Maybe the cartels could branch out into running batches of some of Abuelita's secret mole recipes up north here. I'd pay for some of that. But then, like Guinness, it probably wouldn't taste the same in our cold, dreary, cloud infested climate.
Folks shouldn't worry about lack of the high octane gas at higher Mexican elevations. There's so little air up there, that your engine isn't making the compression to truly need 91+ octane. And, its cooler up there too. Giving a 500 peso note to a Pemex attendant is just asking for a screwing. (On a motorcycle, where your average fill is about 200 peso. Unless, of course, you're on a GSA Valdez Edition, which might actually need 100 liters of fuel )
Hi Mark, yes, it is very cool in the upper elevations, however the type of road you are on and the lack of air can give you an overheat situation. On the BMW GS twins you will appreciate the higher octane to avoid the pinking under load on the sand and dirt/rock roads. Many of these stretches are first gear. I put the post into the Mexico route planning thread, thanks for the suggestion. I guess another thread in the Latin America section might not hurt.
Happy hour at the Rockaway... I think that was the night Dianna and I went out to eat, and returned a bit later. Sorry we missed each other Bob. I passed a posse of 4 GS riders who were heading south on the cuota between Puebla and Oaxaca yesterday, and assumed it was you guys and you'd been delayed. Didn't bother to stop as I caught the mother of all cold/viruses in PE and decided to head home pronto, without infecting any intrepid travelers. If I'm taking a cuota, you know there's a good reason, as I almost never do dat. Back in SMA hacking my brains out as I type. Let me know if you guys come back through this way, and I'll shout the posse a round.
We rode down 175 and I kept thinking I had somehow got on to 131, as it sucked so bad. We rode back up 131, so I now know definitively what the differences are betwixt and between the two. There were stretches on 175 where it was OK, but mostly you could never lay it out the way you would like as the corners where the arroyos washed over the road, were almost guaranteed to be awful, and the rest of the road was just bad. Toward the bottom, I ended up pacing a guy on his little 250 and he set as good a pace as I was comfortable riding that road.
That's pretty much my take on them also having ridden both this past week. I would characterize 175 in its current state of repair, as a very twisty road, poorly maintained throughout, but particularly bad in the corners where the arroyos spill over the road surface. You can find yourself in first gear as often as not in those corners. The upshot is that the heads up riding continues unabated for almost the whole ride to the coast, (after you enter the montanas). There is one stretch in the middle, and the end where it improves a lot. I rode back 131 two days ago, and I would characterize it differently. Riding out of PE the road absolutely sucked for the first hour and a half at the rate I was comfortable riding it, (20-30 mph). This first stretch is often no different, and sometimes worsse than any dirt road I've ridden. It's largely bumpy pavement, (the kind that bounces your bike to the outside of the curves if you ride it very hard at all), punctuated by stretches of no pavement, or very little pavement. The stretches sans pavement seemed to be more than those with pavement, but it may just be my imagination. After leaving PE, and approaching the top of the first pass, the pavement improves dramatically. The rest of the ride seemed to be quite good to me, although I admit I had been predisposed after the first hour and a half of the ride, to think that a ride on corrugated washboard, sand, and marbles was a walk in the park.
I arrived back in Oaxaca after trying the 131 hwy from Puerto Escondido. Spectacular road and scenery. Plus, McFoil and crew have illegally parked on the front of the zocalo and the Policia Estatal is threatening to tow them. I asked the Policia to give them some time as I'm sure they wouldn't have left their bikes there for long. Looked for them for a bit but no idea where to look. Anyway, all is well is Oaxaca.
Wow that Hotel looks great! Is it really $100.00 a night? I stayed at San Martin up the pedestrian mall for $15.00 with parking up the stairs in the lobby. Solo travel did not allow any higher class hotels.
Got so dangerous in Puerto Escondido that we had to leave this morning for San Cristobal de las Casas. Tomorrow Guatemala.
I didn't want to start a new thread. I've read a bunch of threads all stating different documents and fees necessary to cross the mexico border. I'm headed to baja in April. What all do I need. will be likely staying in the north but may dip into southern baja. The trip will be 7 days. 1. Vehicle import? 2.tourist card? 3. Original title of the bike? 4. Insurance ? 5. U.S. registration ? 6.passport 7. Anything missing ? Thanks
Just parked my bike in Cabo from coming down from the states. You DO NOT need a Vehicle Import for Baja. I actually didnt need any paperwork as they didnt look at anything my entire way thru Baja but all the other stuff is a good idea. I went with a notarized copy of my title b/c I hate having the og on me. I think you got it all and insurance is a must and tourist card at the border. Baja was great!!! Enjoy it!
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <wunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <wontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]-->ATM card. A new law in Mexico aimed at reducing money laundering prohibits us from paying for hotels in US dollars. Have to pay with credit card or pesos. The peso exchange rate is better at ATMs even with the fee charged. In 11/10 the official rate was 12 pesos to the dollar. Merchants would give you around 11 if you wanted to pay for goods with USD as would hotel front desks. Official money exchange windows paid about 11.2 pesos/dollar. We will have some fees at the border and I cant remember if they will take USD. This was last year. Is this still true boys and girls?
Go here for Mex requirements for vehicles: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/country/mexico/entry If you want a PDF of a walk through step by step on how it is done, PM me.
Thanks for fending off the Policia. We went into the market to find some bugs to eat. Si all is well in Oaxaca.....
"illegally parked" now that is subjective. Thanks to Jimmex for cooling it with the heat. We were just going to grab a handful of fried bugs and a shot of Mezcal or two and the time seemed to get away from us. We got through the day without getting in trouble. Heading to Escondido in the a.m. All is good.
I paid for my room in Nuevo Laredo a few weeks ago in dollar$. (In many border towns it's hardly worth changing currency although I usually carry some peso$ just in case the exchange rate is lousy).
