Around the World in 800 Days

[flyingdutchman177]

My next stop was Nevado de Toluca. It is a 15,000 foot volcano that you can drive most of the way up.
If you have been following my track, I went as far south as Huatalco and then headed due north to Oaxaca and then back toward Mexico City. The biggest reason I did this back tracking was because I wanted to ride/hike up this volcano. On the map, it didn't seem that far from Mexico City, but as I found out, things go a lot slower around that big town. The roads were windy. There was a town every 3 miles with tons of traffic and speed bumps. I don't know why they put these topes in. You can't go any faster than 20 MPH at times anyway because of all the cars. And I think they do more harm than good. I saw one unmarked tope with lots of skid marks and grave marking near it........just stupid if you ask me
But I finally made it and it was beautiful. I did it on a Sunday, so there were lots of other people hiking it too.

[flyingdutchman177]

First you have to hike up to the rim of the crater from the parking area. At over 13,000 feet I felt the altitude with in the first 20 seconds.
When you get to the rim, you look down in to the crater and there are two lakes
One is called the lake of the moon and the other is the lake of the sun

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Here's the trail heading down in to the crater

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From the top you can see the 2nd and third highest mountains in Mexico........each about 17,000 feet.

The one on the left Iztaccihuatl and the other is Popocatepetl. "Popo" is still very active and is off limits for hiking. In fact, I could see smoke coming from its peaky cone top. I was planning to hike Izta but I just ran out of time and it will have to wait for an other time

[flyingdutchman177]

Riding around Mexico City was quite a bit different than any other place in Mexico I rode. One thing is there are lots of nice cars like Mercedes and Audis. I started to see other Mexican guys on their motorcycles out for a Sunday ride. In fact, I ws passed by a guy in full leather tearing up a beautiful stretch of road in Puebla on his modern sport bike. Here, I met these three guys from Mexico City on their new BMW's. One of the guys said.......Mexico is the best country. And so far, I am thinking he might be right. That is before I had to ride thru Mexico City traffic hell.
Oh and the smog is horrible too.
I have also noticed a big difference in the quality of the pavement and road depending which state you are in. Cross the border in to Puebla was amazing. It looked like Switzerland. And so far Jalisco has the worst quality roads. You would think all that tax money that comes from the tequila sales would help patch a few pot holes

[flyingdutchman177]

Here my GPS is telling me that the parking area at Nevado de Toluca is 13,659 feet

[flyingdutchman177]

Ok ,back tracking a bit
Remember the ruins I went to called Tepozteco?
I was told to head to the end of the main street and start my hike from there.
Well, most people don't go that far because the road is so narrow and there are so many people walking on the road.
The surface of the road is made from uneven rocks. Perfect for the GS. But not if I had to stop as it is hard to catch it from falling over because it is so heavy.
WATCH THIS VIDEO. CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW TO SEE IT. IT WAS CRAZY FUN AND IT WAS TOUGHER THAN IT LOOKED
I am just glad that everyone got out of my way

[flyingdutchman177]

I spent the night in the picnic ground at Nevado de Toluca. It was 12,000 feet in elevation.
I had a bad headache from hiking up the volcano that day. The attitude really did a number on me. I was not feeling well. As the sun went down it started to get really cold. I got in to my tent and used both my zero degree and 45 degree sleeping bags to stay warm. I was sleepy and feel asleep around 6:30 that night
So, who says I am carrying too much stuff. If I didn't have both sleeping bags, I would have froze

[flyingdutchman177]

When I woke up in the morning, there was frost on the ground. It was really cold in my tent but I stayed reasonably warm. I packed up all my stuff, which takes 45 minutes to an hour each morning. Everything has to be packed and rolled just right to fit. The sun was up at that time and I started my bike to find out it was 29 degrees. It must have been in the low 20's that night
Burrrrr!
My hands were frozen as I packed up.
I put on my heated vest and turned my heated grips on high
Wow, my fingers hurt when they started to thaw out

[flyingdutchman177]

From Toluca to Teotihuacan Pyrimids, there was no other choice but to go thru Mexico City. Part of me wanted the adventure but in hind sight, that is one kind of adventure I could do without.
First, all of my maps are out dated
Second, my GPS is not precise and the road numbers are way off. And some of the major roads and towns are non-existant.
I was just going in and hope the signs would show me the way.
Boy was I wrong!
At first, things started out well
I made it thru Toluca.
There was some road construction and the main road was closed and there were no detour signs.
I just followed the car in front of me and he lead me around the construction, even if it did mean bumping down a dirt.
Getting in to Mexico City was easy too. I took a toll road in to the City and it then ended and dumped me in to a sea of traffic. And worse than LA traffic too. Some places it was so slow, I couldn't let my clutch all the way out in first gear! And then none of the signs made sense. I was following my GPS to be sure I was at least heading in the right direction. But then I looked and I was heading south when I should have been heading north. And to turn around in Mexico is not the easiest thing to do. You have to find an exit and the surface streets are even more congested. And then you need to figure out how to get back on. AT one point, I went the wrong way down a one way road to get where I needed to be.
What I thought would take 2 hours took me at least 5.
But getting to see the Pyrimids here was (almost) worth it.
Maybe in a few years it might be worth it when I look back.
I am just glad I survived Mexico City

[flyingdutchman177]

These are about 2000 years old

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On top the Pyrimid of the Moon looking at the Pyrimid of the Sun
Or is the other way around
In fact, I am not even sure I am spelling Pyrimid correctly

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My friend and fellow adventure rider Seth told me that I needed to go here and climb these stairs

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They are bigger than they look in the pictures