SkizzMan Rides The Americas

In Durango for the night

Had a great time riding the Espinazo del Diablo with @jimmex today. Was like old times flicking our bikes through the turns. Unseasonably warm but that’s forecasted to change tomorrow.

Sorry, no pix. Phone decided to nap all day on me.

Edit: grabbed some pix from Brian

The cold/wet front arrived this morning to Mazatlán. It was good we rode through the mountains yesterday. My AirBnB hosts told me they have never seen weather like this during December. In over thirty years. They brought me breakfast.

Had breakfast with my chef moto-buddy at his bistro then toured my retired moto-buddy’s beach condo after which he treated me to dinner. Pretty good day today although my iPhone once again let me down so I have only a few pix.

The street in front of my AirBnB was a little flooded. A local walking by welcomed me to Venice with a wry smile


Seeing more and more of these Chinese 200cc adventure bikes. My Guadalajara mechanic says they're quite good for the price


Kevin gave me the Grand Tour of his just-finished beachfront condo. Grabbed a few pix before iPhone went night-night

Then dinner at El Cid. All in all a very good day

The last Mazatlán sunset of 2020


Today’s foodie pix from Mazatlán:

Omelette bathed in green sauce and sprinkled with arrachera beef


MEATBALLS!! (nuf said)


Checked out of the AirBnB today over lack of hot water. Hoping for a partial refund. Meanwhile I’m enjoying the view from my friend’s house

Thanks for sharing with us!
Great job with your post! I would love to ride thru Mexico, but have concerns about safety. Any advice? Hoping to make it to the hill country of Texas sometime in the next year, it would be great to travel on across the border.

Hi Tim. Thanks for the kind words. It’s reasonable to have such concerns given all the news about Mexico. I suggest you search for and read a few current Ride Reports on Mexico to get a feel for what riders are experiencing first-hand. This helped me a lot when considering my first Mexico ride.

As for me I’ve logged maybe 125k-150k miles over the past ten years (I don’t keep close track) and have yet to feel I was in danger, even when encountering military, law enforcement, cartel and vigilantes. I ride through remote areas and am always well-received, except the Huichol don’t like outsiders.

Do your research and consider a solo trip if that appeals to you. I can assist with routes, destinations, etc. Post here or PM any questions.

Happy planning!

Thank you very much for getting back to me. I will surely get with you when I get into the planning stage. Happy New Year & Safe Travels!

Now that I’m in Puerto Vallarta it’s time to bring this RR up to date as I enjoy the best omelette cuitlacoche ever. Chocked full of corn fungus. YUM!!

Twisting the stem backwards I left Mazatlan yesterday after breakfast at Héctor’s, thanked him for his hospitality, then hit the cuota for Tepic. I missed my exit for San Blas so ended up on 200 to PVR. It lived up to its reputation as choked with slow-moving trucks and loooong lines of cars so into Dynamic Pro mode we went. This is where a nimble bike with big engine torque really shines as I alternated between leaning through empty sweepers to chugging through the choked sections like a St. Cloud snowblower in winter. That’s when I encountered Alvaro on his F800GS jammed into the middle of a tortoise race. Felt bad for my Brother as I passed by. Then he wooshed past me 20 minutes later for what became something roughly equivalent to Mexican Tron. We parted in PVR like two players leaving the pitch after a hard contest, spent yet elated.

The AirBnB I checked into was not what I expected so I cancelled with the very kind host and upgraded after which McFoil treated me to a very nice dinner at La Palapa on the beach. Or should I say “dinner/lucha libre” as two patrons engaged in a disagreement of sorts.

Thanks again @McFoil!

Going back to Saturday I’m joining Hector and his riding buds for a day ride MAZ - Cosalá, a Pueblo Mágico in the hills to the north. Full of easy sweepers and low enough to not present weather issues all had a great time.

Took Brian to my favorite ice cream shop


Enrique is as gracias and engaging as ever


Another great day in Mazatlán

Monday was reserved for laundry, packing and some running around errands before leaving yesterday for PVR. First I needed to pay my first-ever Mexico ticket (parking on the Malecón)

Then off to Honda to check on some RTW riders’ bikes in storage. They were happy to see some pix after months away. They’re returning to continue their trip next month

Saw this in front of the Honda dealership and sent it to Mom. Her childhood nickname. She got a kick out of it

Then off to the shop with Hector to re-shoe his ride followed by dessert, of course

This derelict bull fighting ring is just across the street from the bike shop. I wonder how low they’d go. Such a ring in Zacatecas was converted to a hotel

So Tuesday, Jan 5th, I left Mazatlán for Puerto Vallarta to reconnect with a Rusty Machete, @McFoil, who was kind enough to treat me to dinner at La Palapa on the beach. Very generous and an evening of stimulating conversation. Somehow managed to do all of that without taking a single pic other than our complimentary desert. Sorry, Amigo!

The next day I finally connected with Alain who I’ve been trying to meet up with for awhile. He lives in PV with his lovely wife Shalimar and we met for dinner Wednesday at a beachfront palapa restaurant called El Oasis del Holi.


Not a bad spot to sit and enjoy good company and a good meal


The original Top Gear guys would describe this as “sick with cheese” but I loved it


Alain and his lovely wife Shamala (sp?)

Rode back for breakfast Thursday morning before leaving for Barra de Navidad


Before I could clutch out a waiter signaled me not to leave. Then a beautiful young woman in a pretty dress and beaming smile ran over and presented me with a gift. Her father owns the restaurant and liked me posing the bike for pix out front. I was so taken back all I could do was thank her profusely and leave without taking the obvious pic. I’m still annoyed I left that one behind.

Dave Hand and I have been following one another for some time on FB and I’ve suggested I join him for Thursday and Friday nights in Barra de Navidad. We met for dinner shortly after arriving Thursday and the story swapping commenced with intense fervor. Soon it became apparent that two nights were simply insufficient so I agreed to follow him over to Melaque today for a few nights exploring the town, doing a little riding, and more story telling.

On the square in Melaque engaged in people watching after another great meal

Dave and I spent the day bicycling Melaque before riding to Barra de Navidad for 2-4-1 burgers then back to Melaque for postres and cafe

Some sites around Melaque



San Patricio-Melaque


Dave’s guess is that this is a man made roost to keep the pelicans from crapping all over the fishing fleet


Sunset in Barra de Navidad

It seems the further south I ride the behinder I get on this Ride Report. Well, I’ll just post up pix of @balloonman and bike here until I can get caught up

Mmmmmmmm..........guess I’m just a wee bit overdue around here. Must admit to simply melting into my current lifestyle and losing interest in most everything else, including my own RR.

So here’s a somewhat timeline-accurate posting of pix since late January:

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The whole world has turned orange?

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