Hi, my plan ironbutt style. I know it will not sound like I'm taking the time to smell the roses but I have figured out over time that this is the only way I like to travel. I have to be moving or I get home sick, it doesn't matter if I'm 3000 miles from home and I'm traveling further away from home I'll be fine but if I'm stopped in one location to long ( more than a day ) I get home sick .Also I like doing 1000+ miles per a day and have done close to 100 of these and many 1500 mile days and so on.
That said, this is my plan. Keeping in mind I've never been in Mexico before but I have been doing some homework.
Start in early March from Massachusetts to Presidio,Tx. via southern route = 2,500 miles due to weather this time of year 3 days.
Presidio to Creel with a border crossing = 380 miles and 1 day.
Creel to Batopilas and back to creel = less than 200 miles = 1 full day.
Creel to Divisidaro loop and then onto Parral = under 300 miles I think = 1 day.
Parral to LosMochis = 450 miles ??? 1 day
Ferry to LaPaz at end of day or at start of next.
LaPaz to SanDiego = 900+ miles and border crossing =3 days.
SanDiego to home = 3270 miles = 4 days to stay on the safe side.
Totals = 8000 miles + or -., in 14 days. ( less than the 11,000 miles in 14 days doing Alaska this year ).
I have 2 bikes that can make the trip a KLR650 and a V-strom 1000. I think once I'm in Mexico a KLR would be bike of choice but all the highway and cooler weather leaving from Massachusetts the v-strom might be worth taking.
Now for a couple of questions: Can the copper canyons and the baja be easily done on a V-strom ?? Or toughing it out on the KLR the way to go?? ( I've done long days on the KLR also but the v-strom would work better for 70% of the trip)????
Weather in the first 2 weeks of march ??
Best maps and where to order them??
I will be offering this trip to the two people that I went to Alaska with this year BUT one ( my brother ) is between jobs and may not be able to do this trip come march and the other person has committed to a vacation riding with his father in Colorado next year, so not sure if he will be up to it.
So I might be seeking a riding partner with long distance experience ?????
All insight appreciated !! Thank you for your time

Gary; Should be an interesting trip, I like that style of riding myself,but also flower sniffing. Not sure of your exposure to Mx,but do avoid riding at night. Conditions are not like the states or Can.
Creel to Batopilas rtn is doable but weather dependent. Rain will slow you down drastically,or cancel out that leg.
We rode Parral to Creel from about 10 am till 6pm, so the Divisadero side trip is doable imo.
Parral to Los Mochis I haven't done, but La Paz to S.D. should be ok. I'm sure your experience tells you that anything can happen to thwart the best laid plans.
Again, avoid night riding at all cost, and enjoy the trip
Neil W.

I rode that route less than a month ago. I found the free AAA maps are great for all of Mexico. I did the Creel to Batopilas run on an 1150 GSA with TKC 80´s it was easy, slow, but easy. First gear most of the way down. Have fun!

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Brennan Dates

www.brennandates.com

Hi , did you stay in Batopilas or did you go back to creel ?? where did you stay? How long did the trip take?? Thanks for the info !!!!!

I stayed in Batopilas at Monse's for 100pesos a night. I left Creel early but made a wrong turn and ended up in Diversidero. I'm glad I did! It does take some time to get to the bottom of the Canyon from where the dirt road starts.

I met Ian (1200GSA) down at the bottom. He came in from the other direction. He would not go back out that way. It sounded like one of those rides that he was glad he did but would never want to do again.

Good luck, have fun.

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Brennan Dates

www.brennandates.com

[quote=mollydog]This is a mistake. Take a day in Batopilas. You could also ride dirt due west from there to Los Mochis. You could make it on your Vstrom but in March the KLR would be better (high water is possible) Vstrom is fine for everything really. I've done it twice on mine. See posts around HU for pics.


This will be tough. Probably end up miserable in the dark or dead. Stop in Mazatlan for the night. The Espinia del Diablo is a pretty fun road...watch for
diesel and ICE if its cold. Remember: Sierra.


Topo Ferry leaves daily about 10pm. 5 hour ride, nice boat. Take a day in
La Paz. Do the dirt loop from Loreto up to the two Commundu towns and back
to Mulege'. See it before the huge planned development starts....very soon.

No problem, but man, what a waste. You need to travel with
somebody you care about, not alone, and learn to S L O W down.

I've done the trip to CC on both
the KLR and my Vstrom. The Vstrom is the one you want. BTW, the way you're doing this means missing a lot of good roads and sites....but you knew that. You could take the KLR and then do a bunch of dirt in Baja, which the Vstrom is not well suited. Better make another dirt only trip another time.

In Baja you can do the two Commundu towns on the Strom. Stay away from sand and rocks or they'll find you and your bike sometime next summer.

In the Sierra, anything can happen. I was in CC in late March in '98 and we had a 2 day blizzard/white out that had us holed up in a hotel, scrounging all the firewood we could find and sharing the good times with my old friend
Ron Barcardi. Most roads closed. It can still get very cold in March
at 8000 ft or higher.

Patrick[/quote
Would I be better off doing this trip in april ?? When does the rain season start????

Hi Brennan!

Re. Tubares loop: I just didn´t want to go back the same way, certainly straight away! It was tough going solo on a 1200 with 5 months´ luggage onboard, on a virtually deserted track. I thoroughly enjoyed it though, but slept well that night!

Hope you´re going good - I´m 2 hours from Panama City tonight, got caught in very heavy rain so pulled over early (+ $20 speeding "fine"!).

BTW San Jose Costa Rica BMW dealer was excellent, fully equipped, did service and new TKC80 at a good price.

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sounds like a great ride... !!...I like your riding mode too.

FWIW....in April 06...3 guys on 3 KLRs...Creel to Batopilas (for lunch ) and back (departed Creel 8 am...and was back by 5-6pm IIRC...the store was just closing)....a great ride...and with plenty of breaks and photos etc and even field repairs (in La Bufa)...

our weather was great...rain would make it spicy...

have a safe ride !

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Gary p... WHOOOA there! Good thing you put a question mark for the distance between Hidalgo del Parral and Los Mochis , 450miles is a grand underestimate no matter which route you pick. If you go south via Durango and the Mex40 ruta sinuosa you will be looking at almost 1200km , and you would be faster to take the ferry from Mazatlan anyway. The other route north via Cuauhtemoc and Mex 16 and Mex12 to Cd.Obregon to Los Mochis is close to 1000km.
Unless you intend to go directly west from Parral , then you may have a shorter ride- but it will take a humongus lot of sweat and a lot of time to negotiate the dirt/gravel routes that the various posts on the HUBB have described .
The point I am trying to make is that you would do well to reconsider your planned "Ironbutt" mode of attack . As a novice to Mexico you will soon enough learn that this style of travel may work well in the " lower 48" with all the freeways and an organized system of good highways with which you are already familiar, but in Mexico it is a recipe for disaster if you try to do 1000mile days.
Remember how many hours that takes on US roads. Can you accomplish that distanc e between sunrise and sunset on two lane highways through towns and villages? Unlikely, and in Mexico you do not want to be racing along unfamiliar roads in the dark!
Just because a map shows a certain distance from A to B or as the cuervo flies, do not asssume you can calculate the driving time based on what you average in the US. For Mexico try doubling the distance and then figure a slow travel speed and you may get a better guess for time. What is the point of going if you will not allow yourself to see the country ?If accumulating miles on the odometer is the reason for riding you can just as well stay on familiar roads closer to home and ride around fast. Slow down, Enjoy the ride.

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http://advrider.com/index.php?thread....207964/page-5 then scroll down to post #93

My 1000 days are in the us only wasn't planning any days in mexico longer than 350 with the goal being 300.
As I stated in my original post this is the way I like to ride . I've been cross country ( usa ) about 5 times and alaska and hit all the states, the last couple of years I've been hitting them on my KLR and smelling the roses but I still ride from sunrise to sunset and cover 600+ miles on mixed roads , So I was hoping 300 was a safe bet. Time will tell.
I knew people where going to focus on my miles that's why I explained myself from the start. Am I safe at 300????

Good to see your clarification Gary,I was getting worried about you becoming bait for the" buitres." 300miles a.k.a. about 500km is the most you should be able to do comfortably in a long day.As Pat notes the horses and burros take traffic into account in their habits of wandering without a blink . After dark they stand out in the road often, assuming everybody else should be home. Even in daylight on the curvy mountain routes the cows will not budge freom their post unless you honk a lot. This goes for Mex 40 Durango to Mazatlan too, so take care to slow down for blind curves in case bossy should be standing chewing her cud.In really nice curves I like to check that there is no livestock, then turn around for a blast through and back- hence my sometimes long time to cover some apparently shorter km diastances- but FUN.Enjoy the ride.
( Nice photos Pat),

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http://advrider.com/index.php?thread....207964/page-5 then scroll down to post #93

they are all right...slowing down is key...and you kno w that with 350 mile days in Mexico...

but when you must do it....I understand this unfortunately...

we had to get home once....2 KLRs...from Acapulco to Laredo TX in 2 days daytime riding was a hump.....and we screwed off some time too....but it had to be doen that way for my riding partner's timeframe..

we did some of the pricey gringo way cuotas north of acapulco...I mean pricey IMO....IIRC it was something like $30 US ofr 100 kms !...

and a slog from San Juan Del Rio to Lardeo...around 680 miles....long day...making the best of it...but never again I hope

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