I'm wiser today. Thanks! Drop me a line as and when. If you do come we won't be talking of having "seen Elvis" then!

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Brighty's website: TheBrightStuffDotCom

CURRENT RR WITH REGULAR UPDATES: The Wife Takes on Chlamydia: A South American Retrospective

I know. I was merely making a comparison. Bill W. and the concept of AA repairs humans like a good mechanic fixes a bike. I've ridden with many of "his friends" and count them among my friends. I admire your sobriety and am more than willing to help you find the folks of the local chapters. Bill W. has saved many people throughout the world.

Hey MikeMike, just wanted to say thank you for your insights . You may not remember that you offered us a place to stay as we we traveling through during the Teacher's Protest but I do. It is the discussions on the forum and perspectives that are shared that I as a novice rider hold on to. It gives me encouragement and adds to my travels. By the way we are in Nicaragua, this journey has been so cool.Thank you- Diana

MikeMike:

I thought there was an actual guy named Bill W., hahahaha jokes on me. I would appreciate any contacts when I get down there, it's alays great to hit a meeting in a strange town. You rock!

Any updates on the situation in southern Mexico, Mikemike (or any other informed HUBBer)?

I'm in Michoacan at the monarch reserve and heading out tomorrow toward Veracruz and then down to Oaxaca via 175 and on to the coast and 200 til Chiapas. Should I be avoiding any roads or specifically targeting any?

Many thanks.

hey jellyed, dont know where you are now, but a few days ago we ran into the bmw club from Durango, they specifically warned us to avoid veracruz... it wasnt in our route anyways.

Did they say why to avoid Veracruz? I live in Veracruz and ride everyday and have done so for 23 years. Some of the absolute best mountain riding in Mexico is on the Veracruz-Puebla border, the Pacific coast doesn't come close. Listening to a BMW club in Mexico is not always the best idea. Sorry you missed what could easily have been the highlight of your trip. In Veracruz, you simply avoid the heavily transited Mex #180 coast highway. Simple. I was a member of a BMW club for exactly one year. Situations like this of spreading misinformation through total lack of knowledge was one reason why I left.

Good to know Mikemike, as i may eventually be headed north through mexico later on. They didnt specify why to avoid Veracruz, but i assumed it was just the city itself.

Actually, I've gotten a lot of comments about avoiding Veracruz too, or, if I've already told them that I came that way their eyebrows perk up and then they express surprise and caution. In both cases, I ask what in particular. Carteles? Protesters? Local thieves? They never have an answer, so I'm not sure if they are just passing on rumors and old stories or whether as locals they are tapped in to the situation but just don't have specifics.

In any case, I made it safely through Veracruz and am now in Oaxaca. Ran into protests at the state border on 175, but they opened the road quickly after I arrived so not too much waiting. Heading toward the coast via 175 Monday so we will see if there are any more obstacles. A gringo I met here who is traveling by bus arrived at the coast two days ago without incident, so I'm hoping the situation holds.

Thanks for the input, all.

There is a lot of BS about riding in this part of Mexico floating around in a lot of bike forums. Those that say Mexico hasnt changed dont live here and havent seen the changes, then there are those that say to avoid certain states altogether. You can safely ride in all states by simply using common sense. Riding on rural brechas through areas known to be under narco control is a fool's paradise. Ask local riders, they will help you. Riding secondary or non-cuota roads in states with poor maintenance of roadways means you need to be more alert and not get complacent or lazy. Ask for info and riders or travellers with bonafide experience will respond. Listening to someone from Zacatecas talk about Veracruz and meanwhile they have zero bonafide info about the state, is like listening to someone from Iowa talk about Chicago when they've never been there.

The security situation in Mexico varies greatly day to day especially along the main drug routes. It has been quiet in my area for a long time until this past week and then the bodies started piling up again. Seems the shooting has ended, so maybe, it will be quiet again. Quien sabe? Some areas are basically lawless, so if you ride those routes, be prepared. No one knows with certainty if any area along or near a drug route is safe, it is remains a fluid situation.

Hi Don and Mike
What are the main "drug routes" you speak of Don? I've been around a while, that is I don't get spooked easily, am not naive (interestingly this word spelt backwards is a brand of drinking water... ) and also gave up a long time on BMW as a brand of m/c. However my ability to read Spanish isn't too clever, so reading up on the topic isn't so easy at local news outlets.

In a week or 2 I intend to head southeast from CDMX towards the Caribbean coast and head south, before cutting west to the Pacific and northwards and across to Baja California from Mazatlan and then north to SoCal.

Maybe we can drink a cerveza together too?

Best
Chris

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CURRENT RR WITH REGULAR UPDATES: The Wife Takes on Chlamydia: A South American Retrospective

In my area, Jalisco, a main drug route would be up MX 200 and there are always problems on this route in the area of Tecoman, Acapulco, Manzanillo, and Lazaro Cardenas, In this area there are multiple cartels fighting for control. Many of the meth precursors from Asia come thru Manzanillo, Colima. There are other splinter routes coming out of Michoacan. One is thru La Barca. The Jalisco cartel CNGJ and the Templarios of Michoacan have been battling it out in this area for the last three years. South of Uruapan in Michoacan is hot.

Advrider is full of bad advice from expats who report there are no problems if you are a gringo riding in Michoacan or Guerrero. That is just not true if you are riding thru a lawless area in these states. It is a fluid situation.

That all being said, I feel safer here than in the US. I still ride into Michoacan on a weekly basis. But I am not a tourist, so my experience and awareness perception is not the same. Que te vaya bien.

Here it is the Mex #180. Period. But not because of drugs, but due to poor road conditions. All of southeast Veracruz has seen a huge rise in crime. However, no riders have been affected. Avoid the brechas throughout the areas near Minatitlan, Coatzacoalcos, and Acayucan. Motorcycle travellers are still more of a curiousity here than a target, but dont go sticking your front wheel where it shouldn't be. I rode 450kms yesterday through previously known hotspots but I also had been advised that, like in Pancho's statement, things had quieted down. Poza Rica and Martinez de la Torre up north are high crime areas, and the area around Platon Sanchez has always been rough for roads and has spiked from time to time for criminal activity. Unless you know the brechas well around Ciudad Mendoza and Ciudad Serdan/Esperanza, ask first. The Mex #180 is a long shitty highway, narrow, filled with double semis and the usual caravans of Central American "in tow" vehicles The state and secondary roads are bumpy and lumpy, in the next two weeks the military will be returing statewide and ramping up activities. I trust them as much as I trust the bad guys. Have a look at the new documentary, "Watching Them Die" and you'll know why. Read Anabel Hernandez's new book, "La verdadera Noche de Iguala" and you'll understand how much Mexico has changed to become the second biggest supplier of heroin in the world, right behind Afghanistan. That, and with the huge amount of meth production and illegal fuel sales from tapped pipelines, is exactly why you don't go riding without understanding where you really are. This is common sense to those that live here and those that have racked up big kilometers over the last few years as visiting riders.
There's the facts about how things really are. Touring riders will likely never see the bodies piled up, literally, like those of us who live and ride here everyday have seen. Just pay attention and ask local riders, they'll know what is a threat to a visiting rider. Traffic accidents and road conditions or both, are what usually presevnt the most danger to riders, just like anywhere else. I know guys who ride the coast down from Matamoros to Tampico. I won't ride that route due to events that I know of that involved visiting riders solo on the stretch by Sota La Marina. Common sense tells me to avoid desolate areas solo on routes where riders have had trouble. Easy, see? It isn't anything more than a little extra caution. Besides, the road is boring with not much worth looking at.

Many thanks for your quick and detailed replies gents. Much appreciated. When I have a better handle of timings, I'll drop you a line as to my movements and hopefully we can drink a cerveza or 2.

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Brighty's website: TheBrightStuffDotCom

CURRENT RR WITH REGULAR UPDATES: The Wife Takes on Chlamydia: A South American Retrospective