Is Mexico Safe?

[Craneguy]

Originally Posted by ARLENAAS

I suspect someone will reply that this is all made up by a "wanna-be" traveler that sits at home. I assure you......I was there.

Not at all. You are one of the few who can come here with an honest story to tell. That would have scared the crap out of any of us I think. We're all sincerely glad you're okay.

I think it's important to note that out of 13,000+ posts and many thousands of Mexico miles yours is only the 3rd or 4th incident of this kind, and clearly in your case you were "not the droids they were looking for"

If you'd care to share your Jedi mind-trick I think we'd all appreciate it.

To stop or run... It's a tough call but a vengeance bullet is very likely if you piss them off. The worst stopping is likely to get you is a lighter wallet.

I was shot at after running a roadblock here many years ago. It makes you question your judgment later that's for sure.

[WeazyBuddha]

Ain't seen nobody with a better story than Catfishingguide.

ARLENAAS, glad you came out of the incident alive.

[Lola Rides]

Originally Posted by varna2win

. One thing is for sure I'm not some candyass that rides a GS & drinks coffee at Starbucks.

I'm not either. I ride a Vespa and drink caramel frappuccinos with whpped cream and sprinkles at Starbucks.

[BobLoblaw]

Originally Posted by dcstrom

I thought I heard you had a Tenere? In which case why the talk about all the spare BMW parts? Are you just taking the piss out of the BMW guys? The only spare you might need on the Tenere is a rear shock

I do have a Super Tenere but I like excitement, the thrill of possibly breaking down in remote locations. Tomorrow I'll be riding that stretch of sand between Alphonsinas and Coco's corner, you remember it don't you.

And that poor BMW Kool Aid drinking Tricepilot doesn't seem to know the difference between a Tenere and a Super Tenere

Met the Bisbonian and Ron on the road to San Felipe today.

[tricepilot]

Originally Posted by BobLoblaw

And that poor BMW Kool Aid drinking Tricepilot doesn't seem to know the difference between a Tenere and a Super Tenere

I think its more chrome

[BobLoblaw]

Originally Posted by tricepilot

I think its more chrome

[RW66]

Highway 97 is a famous road here in Mexico....I couple of years ago a missionary couple ran a road block in that area and they filled the pick up full of bullets and killed the wife but the husband got to the border with his life....they were driving a 4 door pick up that these people like.
I have worked in Mexico for over 32 years and have lived in centeral Mexico for over 6 years....I have had several professional trainings on this kind of activity.....the bottom line is always the same.
The first thing is stop!
They dont want you they only want your money......or mostly SUV....and large pickup trucks...( I have never heard of them taking a motorcycle) I feel safer on my bikes than driving my pickup.....
The training says to always have a little cash In case we get stopped....the question the professionals ask.....is your bike or car and what you have on you worth more than your life? If they want our cash give them a little cash, but don't give them a reason to take yor life...
They do not kidnap Americans in Mexico.......kidnapping a US citizen is a US federal crime anywhere in the world....it also takes several days of servaliance to plan a kidnapping, this will probably never happen...
Dress down and don't draw attention to yourself.....don't wear expensive watches etc....wear the watch that you would not mind giving away....
I have been stoped by check points throughout centeral and northern Mexico......a couple could have been the bad guys, but I always tell them what they ask.......
I am just another inmate in centeral Mexico hoping others can enjoy all I have in my back yard and be safe doing it...
Follow the rules to stack the card in your favor.....good luck and enjoy!!!

[dcstrom]

Originally Posted by BobLoblaw

I do have a Super Tenere but I like excitement, the thrill of possibly breaking down in remote locations. Tomorrow I'll be riding that stretch of sand between Alphonsinas and Coco's corner, you remember it don't you.

And that poor BMW Kool Aid drinking Tricepilot doesn't seem to know the difference between a Tenere and a Super Tenere

Met the Bisbonian and Ron on the road to San Felipe today.

Yes, it looks like this



And this



but also like this



And when you get to Coco's, I can recommend the last cabana on the right - just look for the one that says "International" on the grille.



You're in for a fun day

Oh and on Super Tenere reliability - got my second leaky fork seal today I have a spare, should be able to get it fixed in Antigua. Then just have to organize another spare... Looks like you win Trice. This only happened because you got me going on about S10 reliability yesterday!

[mark883]

The Super Tenere has no beak.

It is beakless. It is beaklacking. Sin el beako.

Behold, even the lowly KLR, it has a beak. Even the new KLR, though it may be a bent beak, it has a beak.

I would hate not to have a beak.

I once broke my beak, in New York, ramming it against a wayward pickup. That pickup suffered the wrath of my GS's beak. My beak, it was worth more than that pickup.

My insurance company, they bought me a new beak, from Germany. But it was beakback ordered. It was not even a touratekbeak.
The beak boat was slow, and it was not from China.

So I bought a new beak. The beak from ebay. I performed my own beak transplant.

Now my GS sports a Big Black Beak.

And I have a backup beak. Don't lack the beak.

[Süsser Tod]

Originally Posted by RW66

Highway 97 is a famous road here in Mexico....I couple of years ago a missionary couple ran a road block in that area and they filled the pick up full of bullets and killed the wife but the husband got to the border with his life....they were driving a 4 door pick up that these people like.
I have worked in Mexico for over 32 years and have lived in centeral Mexico for over 6 years....I have had several professional trainings on this kind of activity.....the bottom line is always the same.
The first thing is stop!
They dont want you they only want your money......or mostly SUV....and large pickup trucks...( I have never heard of them taking a motorcycle) I feel safer on my bikes than driving my pickup.....
The training says to always have a little cash In case we get stopped....the question the professionals ask.....is your bike or car and what you have on you worth more than your life? If they want our cash give them a little cash, but don't give them a reason to take yor life...
They do not kidnap Americans in Mexico.......kidnapping a US citizen is a US federal crime anywhere in the world....it also takes several days of servaliance to plan a kidnapping, this will probably never happen...
Dress down and don't draw attention to yourself.....don't wear expensive watches etc....wear the watch that you would not mind giving away....
I have been stoped by check points throughout centeral and northern Mexico......a couple could have been the bad guys, but I always tell them what they ask.......
I am just another inmate in centeral Mexico hoping others can enjoy all I have in my back yard and be safe doing it...
Follow the rules to stack the card in your favor.....good luck and enjoy!!!

HW97 also gets to "San Fernando"...

I'd rather avoid the whole area. Last time I went to Reynosa/McAllen I took HW40 from Monterrey to Reynosa.

[MikeMike]

Originally Posted by ARLENAAS

I don't really know but I think they had been watching us for many miles and thought we were rival drug dealers and just needed to find out who we were.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, double wrong!
They were, in fact, only paleontologists and they simply wanted to examine your bikes!

[MikeS]

For those who love and are interested in Mexico, I watch an inspiring movie, "For Greater Glory" a movie about the Cristeros War in the late 1920's. Somewhat melodramatic, but the subject matter was very inspiring. It's on Netflix and other sources.

[MikeMike]

About this time last year, a couple of guys from this BB were riding through a city that was used in that flick.
Go back a couple hundred pages.

[MikeMike]

Cold yesterday, only 5c in Perote, the witch's bosom and the monkey's brass gonads suffered.

Light wasn't really what I wanted and El Pico was in a haze (as was I).

Here's a look. And can anyone identify the little bird in the final photo (yes, a real pajarito and not the other kind although that one was pretty small too with the temperature)?



Through the zoom, a route for future reference.




Close to the lighting I was looking for but not quite, gee, that means another trip.



Windows (Porfiriato version)



Hektoglider, when you see this type of thing, you are on the right road.







Wind devil popped up on the high plain just as i was about to put away the camera. This was a tiny little one, they get bigger, especially around Perote.



Can anyone ID this little guy on the pipe?

[tricepilot]

Them thar are some fantabulous pics