Fatboy
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1993 Journal of a 5000 mile motorcycle trip thru Mexico
In 1993 when the company, Interlink Distributing, Matt and I was working for in Rancho Cordova was closing down, Matt suggested we ride motorcycles
from San Diego to Central America. While we did not make it that far south, it was still quite an amazing trip.
I had only been to Mexico once before, and that was to race in the Tecate 250 the year prior. I was completely naive about traveling out of the US.
Matt was a much more experienced with traveling outside of the US, having spent many weekends in Northern Baja, and having backpacked Europe for
several months a few years prior. As a bonus, Matt spoke some Spanish, while I knew almost none.
I had much more experience in the backcountry, with camping, and in dealing with problems far from help. We both were in our late 20's and had been
riding and racing motorcycles for the last decade in Northern California. Together we made a pretty good pair to deal with challenges one would find
on a trip like this.
There was no Internet, no cell phones, no Debit cards, no GPS for the average person back in the early 1990's. Everyone said we get robbed, kidnapped,
or killed by the Cartel's. The bikes would not run on the cheap gasoline in Mexico, we would get lost, stranded and left for dead. This was all from
people that had never left the country!
Every night we would camp after riding all day and I would scribble down a few notes about what had happened that day. Now, 32 years later, I came
across my journal from that trip and have transcribed my notes about what happened every day and I have added some additional background. (All the
text written in this format is added by me as I transcribe my notes to help clarify what I am talking about and are not parts of the original
journal.)
I have fixed some spelling, punctuation, and formatting issues from my original notes to make it more readable. Unfortunately, it is at times hard to
understand exactly what I am referring to, so much for trusting memories! I was actually surprised a few times, events that I thought happened at a
certain time or place in the trip actually happened much earlier or later than I remember.
Sorry that I have no pictures to post along with the text. While I do have some pictures, they are all prints from actually film and not digital
copies.
Friday, February 12, 1993
Getting ready to leave
Matt called last night wants to leave Monday – Don't know, H.J. (Hap Jones) wants me to work thru Wednesday or Thursday – No way (Not sure what I
am saying 'No Way' to, to working or leaving on Monday)- Still need to pay some bills and get a paycheck – Bike not ready yet. Going to be one busy
weekend – went to emergency room for Debbie's knee (She ended up having knee surgery just before I left on this trip).
Tuesday, February 16, 1993
Sacramento to San Diego
Left Sac (Sacramento) at about 2:45 (PM) Drive went OK except the for the Volkswagon (We were driving Matt's Volkswagon Rabbit Diesel Pickup with 2
XT350 motorcycles and all our gear in the back, WAY overloaded!) got an exhaust leak and we had to add water (to the radiator) 3 or 4 times. Arrived
in S.D. (San Diego) at 11:30pm, went to sleep at 12:30 (Matt had some friends in S.D. that we were going to leave his Volkswagon at while we were on
our trip).
Wednesday, February 17, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 9461
MILES RODE TODAY 141
Woke up at 7:00 (AM) – Got up and started packing – Went to breakfast, DMV (long line) (Forgot why we had to go to the DMV, Matt needed something,
driver license? title? registration? I do not remember.) the Mexican Consul – Matt did not bring his passport – no tourist card yet – went
shopping – couldn't find a 12v adaptor for radios (we had some headsets so we could talk to one another) Left S.D. at 1:30 – Matt's radio did not
transmit.
Arrived in Ensenada about 3:45 (95 miles). Rode about another 40 miles towards San Felipe and camped. Kinda cold. Lots of wrecked cars on side of
road. Nice drive. Went on a toll road part of the way, 2 tolls at $2.30 each (Not sure if that was Pesos or Dollars). Said 'Forget that' and hopped on
the free road. Lots of potholes.
Miss Debbie, I wish I could have done more before I left (We were living in Rancho Cordova and I was working for a small motorcycle accessories
distributor that was bought out by Hap Jones in San Jose. Debbie wanted to move to Grants Pass, Hap Jones wanted me to keep working, and Matt wanted
to leave, I had to get my bike ready and pack up the house and put everything in storage. I was being pulled in too many directions!) Spent $4.60 on
tolls and $2.70 (This must be in Dollars) on gas. Bike ran OK. Tire rubbed side panel, melted it. Went 140 miles.
Thursday, February 18, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 9602
MILES RODE TODAY 313
Left about 8am/Cloudy and windy. Matt burned a hole thru his sleeping bag (it was actually 3 or 4 holes because it burned through when it was rolled
up and when it was unrolled it had a large hole every foot or so) Tire wore a hole thru my saddlebag. Hit San Felipe about 10:40am (110 miles). We
almost ran out of gas. Went to Puertecitos, filled up (The station at Puertecitos at the time was a large tank on four legs with a hose hanging down.
We then had to go find the owner to unlock the hose and fill up the bikes), hit reserve at 139 miles(Our MPG would slowly drop throughout the trip, by
the end we could only go about 105 miles before hitting reserve. With stock tanks we had less than 160 mile range at the start of the trip.).
Hope there is gas in Rosarito, no gas in Rosarito. Camping about three miles south, hope to make it to the next gas. It is supposed to be 40k/25 miles
away from Rosarito – don't think I can make it, Matt should. Last sign that said GAS was 40k, the station was closed for good. Cloudy all day, had a
few light showers. 83 miles of washboard but the view was nice. Seen a roadrunner.
Friday, February 19, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 9915
MILES RODE TODAY 315
Ran out gas about 5 miles from the station, Matt made it. Nice weather. Next gas Santa Rosalia. We picked a perfect time to go, green grass and
wildflowers everywhere. Weather has been good. Rode to Mulege and ate a couple of tacos – After all the talk I was kinda paranoid but I feel fine.
(Being a gringo I was freaked out about the food from roadside stands. I was quesy just thinking about the lack of refrigeration and sanitation. My
fears were WAY OVERBLOWN.)
Filled up in Loreto, gas is about a $1.30 a gallon for the cheap stuff. Camping about 15 miles south of Loreto. We are camped right on the beach. A
lovely spot, we will probably stay here for a few hours in the morning. Should be in La Paz in a couple of hours (3 or 4), about 150 miles from here.
Saturday, February 20, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 10233
MILES RODE TODAY 254
It is 5:30am, the local fishermen left already and another one is pulling out. A little rain last rain, then a really strong wind. Calm right now.
Wearing shorts, touch of pink in the eastern sky. Crossed into Mtn Time zone yesterday and didn't realize it until today. Rained for the first 1 hour
today. Road from Loreto to Ciudad Insurgentes had probably the best scenery yet – Amazing!
Hit La Paz about 3:00. Big town. Finally found the ferry, will try to buy ticket tomorrow. Getting about 50 MPG less than expected (I meant 50 miles
less per tank, not per gallon.) Once again my thoughts turn to Debbie – I hope she is OK! Bought some Dramamine, about $1.60 for 8 pills. Ferry ride
is 16 hours to Matazlan, hope it is comfortable.
Sunday, February 21, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 10489
MILES RODE TODAY 65
Did not get anywhere, no vehicle permits, no boat ride to Matazlan. We have to go to customs tomorrow to get permits. Just hung out today at a beach,
got sunburned of course. Will spend all day tomorrow on getting ready for the ferry.
Monday, February 22, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 10554
MILES RODE TODAY 37
After spending all morning going back and forth to get permits. We are finally on the boat, it is 2:30pm. Should arrive around 7am to Matazlan (We did
see 2 american women that were driving a lifted and heavily load Dodge Ramcharger while we were loading up, they were doing a similar trip as ours. We
never saw them again.)
Hope the bikes are OK! (The crew of the ferry just had us lean the bikes up against a railing, no tiedowns, nothing to keep them from falling over.)
Cost about $110 pesos, about $35 USD. Going to be a long night I think.(We went the cheapest route, which is basically a seat, no room, no bed. We
'camped' out just like the locals did that night.) Lots of Americans, even on the ferry. (I really do not remember to talking to any of them though.)
Well, it is 6:15 am, did not sleep much. c-ckroaches all over the boat. Should be in Matazlan within the hour. Well, it is 8:10 am, still not docked.
Matt is feeding the c-ckroaches. (At some point in the middle of the night, there was a mexican family sleeping on the floor next to us and the mom
woke up yelling about c-ckroaches, Matt thinks one crawled into her mouth.)
Tuesday, February 23, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 10591
MILES RODE TODAY 195
7:30pm, just got done eating dinner. Cold can of green beans, chocolate wafer cookies, and water – Better than dinner last night (on the ferry),
Twixs bar and a couple of crackers. I do not want to do last night ever again! Between seasickness, c-ckroaches and trying to sleep, it was very long
night.
Cruised around Matazlan a little this morning, not impressed. Heading out of town on 15 south, not impressed. (Wow, I was really not impressed with
Matazlan.) Ate lunch at a roadside stand, very good! Four sodas and eight fajitas $19,000 pesos, $6.30 USD. (The Peso was going through a 'reset' so
depending on whether you were paying with 'nuevo' pesos or old pesos determined if something was $19,000 peso, or $19 pesos, it was a little
confusing and would cost us later.)
About 40 miles (north) of Tepic Matt's oil filter cover starts to leak, so rushing to Tepic. We pass some of the nicest (scenery) yet. On the side of
the road is a broken down pick up truck (nothing new) with a trailer with 3 very large (huge) Tigers. We pull back around to look but because of the
oil leak we hurry on. (I remember saying to Matt something like, “I told you to make sure your bike was ready for this trip!” and he replied with
“I thought it would hold!”)
Right inside of town we find a Yamaha dealer(nothing like the ones in the states). Of course it is 4:30 and they are closing and the mechanic has
already gone home. The manager calls him back and he does what he can. (By calling him back, I mean he sent a 10 year old boy to go get him and they
come walking back about 45 minutes later, with the mechanic on crutches!) Very nice people. (I did not write down how much it cost for some reason.
They worked on Matts's bike for almost an hour and helicoiled the stripped bolt. I believe they charged us $50 peso, or about $15 USD.)
It is now dark and we still need to get out of town and find a place to camp. Tepic looks like a nice place, wish we had time to check it out. Finding
a place (to camp) after dark is a little harder, but here we are, couple of miles out of town, way up on a hill. (This has to be one of my all time
favorite campsites, even now 30 years later. It was dark when we turned off and on to a dirt road looking for a campsite. The road wound up a hill
through cornfields and near the top we found a flat spot on the end of a road. We set up our tents in the dark with about 5 feet in between them.
I awoke early the next morning to an amazing view, but I was also scared to death because heading toward us was an elderly Mexican carry a large
machete and he had a massive dog with him and he was heading straight for our tents. It was clear to me he was upset that we had ridden through his
cornfields and then had camped on his land. Without so much as a nod he passed between our tents and walked into the forest, where a few minutes later
we heard him chopping wood.
Moments later he came out of the forest pulling some large logs and passed between our tents on the way back to his house. I just sat there in
disbelief with what happened and with an amazing view over the plains far below us in the early morning light.)
Been a lot of fires since Matazlan, do not know why. Passed a very pretty river along the way. Thinking of Deb.
Wednesday, February 24, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 10787
MILES RODE TODAY 293
Camped on the beach again. Very warm and a little humid. Sure could use a shower. Another time zone again. Puerto Vallarta was alright, lots of
tourists. Ate lunch at a McDonalds, kinda pricey. Little delay on the road as three tow trucks pulled up a semi that missed a corner.
Almost ran out gas, 1rst station out of Nova, O.K. we got enough to make it to next one. Next one out was out of gas completely. (The way I remember
it was that there was a gas station going into town and a gas station going out of town, and that was it.) Going to try to make Acapulco tomorrow.
Kinda doubt it. Camped somewhere between Manzamillo and Tecoman. Maybe even a little south of Tecoman. 8 days in Mexico and about 1600 miles.
Thursday, February 25, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 11017
MILES RODE TODAY 210
Now 6:15 (PM), what a day!
From camp (last night) Matt wanted to ride down the beach, bad idea, deep sand. Went 2 miles, took an hour, very hard on the bikes. Hit a road and it
ended up being a toll road, so we rode along some train tracks to bypass. (I have a large poster hanging on my wall of Matt on his bike in front of
me, looking down at the map, while off to the left is the train tracks that fade off into the distance)
Hit Tecoman around 10:30. Seen a large tarantula and a large lizard a ways back.
It is 1:30 now and did it good this time. Matt just left to see if he could make it to gas. I ran out at the River Cachan, just south of Maruata. At
least there is some shade and cold drinks. Matt just came back, he only made it a few miles before he ran out (of gas) so he coasted back. He just
went to ask if he could borrow some. Siphoned some gas, $5 for about a gallon and a half, but it got us to the next “gas station”, though it is
(only) a couple of 55 gallon drums, a pail and a funnel. We bought 5 litres, should be enough to make it to a Pemex station. Ate lunch and headed out
again about 3 pm.
Seen several large lizards, a cool looking green snake, a pretty black and yellow bird. Stopped to put on a shirt, Matt is on reserve again so he kept
going. He found a “gas station” but I missed him. 25 miles later I come around a corner there are two cop cars. Just as I see them I run out of
gas. Our lane is blocked by a wrecked pickup, don't see a body but the guy is probably dead. No idea what he hit.
I tell the police “no mas gasolina”, he says treinta kilometers (we go back and forth a couple of times, I was using all my spanish and patting my
gas tank before he realizes I am out of gas.) Finally gives me a hose and I siphon gas out of the wrecked truck, feel kinda weird doing (this) Just as
I fill the bottle I have (I got a 2-litre soda bottle from somewhere), Matt pulls up.
(My journal entry, that I have copied down here, was written at the end of everyday, before going to bed. I just recorded what happened during the day
with brief notes. My notes for this day seem a little confusing so let me tell it as I remember it, for whatever that is worth.
Here is what really sticks out to me over 30 years later. We riding near the coast and on a long uphill section I see a tarantula crossing the road in
front of me just as my bike runs out of gas. I switch over to reserve and a few miles later we see a large sheet of plywood with the word
“GASOLINA” on it. We pull into the yard and there is a couple of tables and some shade set up next to the house.
Off in the corner is a couple of 55 gallon drums, with hoses and funnels on top. After a few minutes a little girl comes out, I would say she was 8 or
9 years old and she has her 2 year old sister with her. We ask for some “gasolina”, and she says 'No'.
We are thinking, we probably need to wait for her parents to come out, but they never do. We ask for some sodas and she brings a couple out and we pay
her a few pesos for them. After we finish our sodas, we again ask for gasoline and she again replies with no.
We had been there for almost 30 minutes at this point and the children had quietly sat and watched us the whole time. Finally Matt, gets up and goes
over to the barrels and we find out they are both empty.
Matt had not switched to reserve yet so he decides to ride on to the next station and bring gas back for me. He returns a few minutes later saying
that shortly after he left he had to switch over to reserve also. We could only go about 15 miles on reserve and he was worried he would run out
before finding gas.
While sitting there trying to figure out what to do, a utility truck for the phone or power company pulls up across the road and stops. We go over and
talk to the driver and he agrees to let us siphon a few litres.
After that Matt takes off while I remove some layers, since it is much warmer now. I will not see Matt again until I am siphoning gas out of the
wrecked pickup.)
It is 6:30 now, sun is about to set over the Pacific while Matt and I sit here on the beach on the outskirts of Playa Aluz. We are camping at an
abandoned house on the beach. Just got done swimming the in the ocean for about an hour, very warm water. (This is the very first time I ever swam in
the ocean. It was sunset and we swam about 50 feet from the beach and just floated in the ocean. There was a very gentle, large swell and we just
floated there, rising and falling on each wave until it was dark.)
Midges are real bad here. Seen two dead donkeys(together), looks like they got hit by a car yesterday. very pretty drive, awesome views of deserted
beaches and palm trees, which they plant as orchards. Lots of donkeys, pigs, horses, cows, dogs, and people on the road, few cars. Road varies from
good to really bad. Will make Acapulco tomorrow. Sure is nice.
Friday, February 26, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 11303
MILES RODE TODAY 286
Another good, interesting day. First, left Playa Aluz around 8:30 am. Matt sure is a strange driver, passes cars going 30 or 40mph thru a small town,
or on a blind corner, or over a hill, yet on the many long straight aways he is content to go 50 or 55mph. I just don't know.
We stop for lunch around 12:30, we got scrambled eggs, salsa, beans and tortillas (of course) (We had that for lunch because after asking for several
different lunch items which the owner kept saying “no” to, we just asked him “What do you have?” and he replied with “Huevos!”. We said we
would like eggs then. He walks off to a shed where we suddenly hear a bunch of chickens making a racket, and a moment later he walks over to the
kitchen carrying a bunch of eggs!)
The guy there was really nice, sat and talked with us, his little bit of english, our little spanish. Matt ain't to quick sometimes, the guy asked if
we wanted some chilis, Matt said yes, even though he didn't. Matt would't try (them), I did, “Muy Pica!”(very spicy). Took a bite about the size
of a pea and my lips burned for the next twenty minutes. They were Serranos, Habaneros are even hotter he said, NO THANKS!
Seen 10 (different) kids trying to sell large lizards. Describe the road in one word? BAD. In two words? REALLY BAD. Huge potholes everywhere. Made it
to Acapulco around 3. Matt's lights have not worked since before lunch. Went to where the cliff divers are and met another guy on a DR650 who has done
the same exact route with a friend. Talked to him for awhile.
Around 5pm three guys jumped off the cliff. As we were getting ready to leave a retired american talked with us awhile. He lives here and said his
rent is $150/month with a nice view (and a maid) and he lives on about $250 a month, sounds cool!
Acapulco was nice as long as you stayed away from the tourist side. Headed southeast out of town, ended up on a dead end (road) with the locals
yelling at us, turns out the road no longer goes thru. (What happened was the map showed this road curving inland, crossing a river, then curving back
to the coast. It was dusk and we were going to find a camp spot once we got back to the beach. As we headed for the bridge we came across 20 people or
so walking towards us wearing shorts and carrying towels as if they were coming from the bath house.
As we went to pass them they started yelling and waving to us to stop. It turns out the bridge had washed out years ago and has never been repaired.
So we turned around and headed back the way we came, after a little while we took a path off the road looking for a campsite. Somehow this lead us to
a little village and we ended up riding on peoples porches and stairs trying to figure out how to get out of there. All this was happening in the
twilight and Matt had no lights. It was crazy.)
So here we are camped on the beach again. Very hot today and muggy. Don't know where we are going tomorrow. Very beautiful country, a little dry. Be
better around the first of the year. Wish I had time to call Deb, hope she is doing good, I miss her.
Saturday, February 27, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 11589
MILES RODE TODAY 262
What a day! Bad mostly!
First, fill up at a gas station just out side Acapulco and the guy cons Matt out of 45 pesos, got to be careful! (We had both new and old pesos with
us and after filling up the bikes Matt pays the guy with a new 50 peso note. Then about for guys started asking about the bikes, where we are going
and so on. Then the guy says he needs more money. Then he says that we only gave him an old 50 Peso note, not a new 50 peso note. I do not remember
the exact exchange rate but a new 50 peso note was worth about $15 usd, while an old 50 peso note was worth about 10 cents. On the average it cost
about $3 to fill up both bikes.)
At the Pemex station I got a nail in my tire, changed it and we are on our way. The guys on the DR's pass us. Very hot today. Pass a fire burning on
both sides of the road. Damn near singes the hair on your arms.
Finally turn off on to (Highway)125, go thru Putla and we see a trail. Go check it out to look for a place to camp. Well, on a steep section I loop my
bike. Lucky I am OK. Damage to the bike, broken mirror, tachometer, tachometer mount, ignition switch, and bent the headlight bracket.
Now camped and dinner is about 10 saltines and water. Hit the 2500 mile mark and turned for home. Days like today I really miss Debbie, showers, and
clean clothes too. Mostly Deb though!
Sunday, February 28, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 11850
MILES RODE TODAY 325
Not much today, some nice scenery, some ugly. Bike don't run well at this altitude, 7000'. Camped between Pueblo and Mexico City off of (Highway)190.
Very cool (as in cold) here, made good time. Also burned a hole in my tent last night. Could have done without yesterday.
Monday, March 1, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 12175
MILES RODE TODAY 338
What a difference a day can make! Last (night) slept around 8500' and froze, tonight, 9pm, and sweating. Crossed the Continental Divide, 3000 mile
mark and the most miles in one day today (Going forward from today, every day would have more miles then the day before until the last day where we
did a crazy long day).
Yesterday went from Pulta on (Highway) 125 to Atlixco on (Highway) 190. Camped near Chalco. Today went up (Highway) 136 to Calpulalpan, took (Highway)
10 thru Apan to Pachuca. Hit (Highway) 85 and are camped near Xolol, about 50 KM south of Cuidad Valles.
(Highway) 85 has been awesome, tons of breathtaking views. Tons of fireflies where we are camped, out in some field behind an electrical substation.
Matt started to dweeb on me, wanted to ride for about two hours after dark. (One of the few rules we had on this trip was no riding after dark, and
except for the time when Matt's bike had to be fixed and we left town late that night we rode in the dark for about 20 minutes and the time the bridge
was gone and we had to backtrack, we had always stopped before dark.)
But he soon realized it is very hard to find a campsite that way. (A couple of interesting things happened that evening on the bikes though. One, was
we pulled off into some tall grass thinking we had found a place to camp but the tall grass became wrapped up in the sprockets and stopped the bikes.
We spent 15 minutes or so get all the grass out of the rear sprockets before the bikes would move again.
Another thing was the lights on all the houses through that valley. Up until now we only saw a bunch of lights after dark in the city, out in the
more rural areas there wasn't many lights on the outside of peoples houses. It wasn't until we stopped to camp that I realized that those were not
lights on house, but fireflies!)
Tuesday, March 2, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 12516
MILES RODE TODAY 346
AH! We are in a hotel tonight at Zacatecas. (Matt did not want to stay in a hotel, he wanted to camp somewhere. It was cold and windy and I said go
ahead, I am staying in a hotel tonight with or without you. We ended up staying in this old fancy hotel, it was really cool.)
Awesome town, lot's of old buildings. First 200 miles (of todays ride) was good. Then 200 miles or so of desert, where it got real windy. At times
could only go 55, blown all over the road.
Hard to order sliced ham if you do not speak the language. Got charged 72 pesos (about $22 usd) for 4 beers, went back and got it right. (I went out
to get us something to eat. There was a large grocery store where I got some bread, chips, snacks, beer and some sliced ham from the deli. It was hard
to explain what I wanted at the deli and some of the other customers laughed at me, not in mean way but just from the humor of me trying to order with
hand signals. Then, when they rang everything up it seemed real expensive.
Back at the hotel we looked over the receipt and saw that they had charged us for 4 six-packs of beer, not 4 beers. Me and Matt went back and after
awhile they understood and gave us our overcharged money back.)
Tried calling Debbie (from the hotel) but no answer. Should be home Sunday night. Got hold of Debbie, did some laundry in the sink (and in the shower!
Our riding clothes were filthy and covered with bugs from the last 3000 miles of riding. So, I got in the shower fully dressed and washed my gear
while I was wearing it!) Went swimming, 8100' and March 2nd and I go swimming. (In the hotel's swimming pool.)
Wednesday, March 3, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 12860
MILES RODE TODAY 397
What a day! Again! First 100 miles we froze our asses off, very cold at 8000' in the morning. Matt's speedometer cable broke. We changed our oil,
finally.
I know I keep saying it but the ride from Durango to Matazlan has some of the best views I have ever seen. Crossed the continental divide, crossed a
time zone and the Tropic of Cancer (twice) today and rode almost 400 miles. Camping just north of Matazlan.
Now the bad news – I hate candles! It seems like every night I spill wax on something new. (I was using candles for light to write in my journal
every night, but that wasn't the bad news, what I write about next is the bad news.) I crashed on the road today.
Was just cruising because of the cold and the views, came around a corner about 35mph and hit some gravel and down I went. I slid about 50 feet on the
pavement, OUCH! It wore a small hole through my glove and into my hand. Got a little road rash on my thigh with a bruise about the size of a tennis
ball and a bad cut on my knee.
By the time we camped, blood had soaked through my pants, it hurt to get them off. Wrapped up right now, and I wrecked my pants, bent my brake lever,
and brake pedal. (For years I thought this crash had happened much earlier in the trip. Transcribing my journal 32 years later I am surprised it
happened just a few days from the end our trip.
The crash really caught me off guard because we were not going very fast at all. We were riding high up above some very large and deep canyons, houses
at the bottom looked like toys so we were just cruising along admiring the amazing views. Matt said he came around the corner behind me and I was just
– gone! Lucky for me, I did not go off the road on the canyon side, but into a ditch up against the mountain.
Funny thing happened when got to a town. I knew I was going to have soak my pants around my knee because all of the blood had dried up and my pants
were now stuck to my knee. I went into a store to get a gallon of water and I kept asking over and over for AQUA, not AGUA, the clerk just looked at
me as the idiot I was!)
We don't think we have enough cash to get us home. We are going to have to get some cash with the credit cards, hope we can! (It was a different time
back then. We paid for everything back then with cash, a check or credit card. I far as we were concerned, our type of Mexico trip was done by cash.
Today you can just go to almost any ATM in Mexico and use your US Bank debit card and take out Peso's. Back in the early 1990's that was not a thing,
especially in the smaller towns and rural areas.)
Thursday, March 4, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 13260
MILES RODE TODAY 446
Not much today, just wish I was home. Left Matazlan around 8am, crossed the Tropic of Cancer for the last time.
Matt got some money in Culican. Hit three toll roads (40 pesos). We think there might be more and we tried to bypass one. Bad cactus everywhere, and I
drove through some chit! Phew!
Rode after dark for a ½ hour, headlight pointed to space from the crash. Battery doesn't work or something, lights don't work unless the bike is
running. Bike is pinging bad, hope it is just all the bad gas, but don't really care as long as it makes it to San Diego. Camped just north of
Obregon, beside some canal.
Friday, March 5, 1993
STARTING MILEAGE 13706
MILES RODE TODAY 750
Well, we are done. Arrived in San Diego around 10pm. 750 miles! Ate at a Carrows, and took a hot shower.
We froze our asses off on Highway 8 from the Border crossing to San Diego. No trouble crossing the border.
Cleaned our air filters at 12 – Hah! (The bikes must have been running bad so we cleaned them on the last day with only a couple of hundred miles to
go.) Matt ran out of gas, is getting only 100 miles to reserve now.
Nice drive, fixing a bunch of bridges, must be the ones washed out in the big storms last month. (This was all in Northern Baja.) Rode 16 miles to get
gas, I barely made it. Then 16 miles back to Matt. Very tired, but glad that it is over. 5005 miles on the bikes.
Saturday, March 6, 1993
San Diego to Sacramento
THE ENDING
Got to Matt's house around 9pm, very warm went we left San Diego, 78 degrees (Being early March it was probably cold and maybe raining when we got
back to Sacramento, I do not really remember though.)
Took one and a half hours to return our vehicle permits. Car overheated (on the drive back to Sacramento) had to add about two gallons of water.
About ½ way home we had a tire blow out on the VW and no spare! Made it to a gas station, $35 for a used tire with no balancing (in 1993 that was
crazy expensive, but we had no choice and they knew it.) We take it off the car. Matt is putting it back on when the VW falls off the jack, what a
trip! It was good though. We figure it cost us about $350 each.
THE END
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lencho
Junior Nomad
Posts: 84
Registered: 1-16-2005
Location: Tan lejos de Dios y tan cerca de EU
Member Is Offline
Mood: Somnoliento
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What a great report, thanks!
"riding on peoples porches and stairs trying to figure out how to get out of there."
Yep, those were the days... 
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is, by how stupid he thinks I
am."
"...they were careful of their demeanor that they not be thought to have opinions on what they heard for like most men skilled at their work they
were scornful of any least suggestion of knowing anything not learned at first hand."
Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
"Be kind, be patient, help others." -- Isabel Allende
"My gas stove identifies as electric." Anonymous
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Fatboy
Senior Nomad
Posts: 803
Registered: 6-28-2005
Member Is Offline
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Quote: Originally posted by lencho  | What a great report, thanks!
"riding on peoples porches and stairs trying to figure out how to get out of there."
Yep, those were the days... |
Thanks! It was an amazing, crazy, eye-opening trip for me!
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