All going well mate ,some nice shots ,the waterfall was impressive.how is the language going ?anyhow will check in next week regards Noel

Hey Noel, all going well. Have a bit of catch up to do with my blogging but I keep stopping at beaches for R&R and not quite catching up! You need to be out here fella!!

Spanish is a slow process for me but getting lots of laughs!

PN

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Keep 'em comin' Paul!!

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On their way TM1-SS. Don't forget to check out my blog for expanded story

PN

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I recommend the riding here to anyone wanting some magnificent roads and some full on adventure challenges. Fast forwarding a bit here with mostly photos.
A visit to El Divisidero is a must. Even if you don't ride the zip lines, the riding is awesome.










The cafe has a great view






I inadvertently became the new attraction


I rode on and the roads just got better and newer. 75kms down this road from Creel is all pavement and they are still building.








Eventually you catch up with the roadworks


And get diverted onto tracks like this.

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After getting diverted onto dirt, it becomes a bit more challenging with trucks, rocks, hairpins with ankle deep dust, and just dust...







I ended up in a little town called Bahuichivo where I hotelled up for the night


But not before I found myself facing downhill with nowhere to go. I didn't have the space to turn around so I lay Ziggy down for a well earned rest, spun her around so the front wheel was facing where I wanted to go, then picked up and kept going.


The road to Urique was more of the same and the road to Batopilas from there was one of the most challenging roads in Copper Canyon according to Ivan from 3 Amigos Tours. I decided it was beyond me and backtracked to Creel. I like going off road but these were a bit beyond my experience. First though I had to wait for the street parade to clear.


I was happy to be back on the nice paved roads.


And back to Creel. The next morning I headed to Guachochi after passing the statue and the house built on rocks




The road had rocks too. BIG ones.






And some great bends, sights and views

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Hi Paul, just checked out your blog, Cool!! Curious how you and Ziggy like the Heidenau tires for both paved and offroad?

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Have to say that they are the only tyres I have used on this bike. I love them. Never let me down in hot, cold, wet, off-road conditions. They last for ages. 22,000kms from my last front one. Currently they are at 9,000kms and the rear looks a little over half and the front hardly looks worn. They have a tendency to flatten out but where I've been riding they have stayed nice and rounded.

Probably worth doing a wider search, as this is a subject that gets a lot of discussion.

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Hi Paul, many thanks for the quick reply!! I have sought a lot of information on the tire topic. The Heidi K60s seem to be nearly universally loved by those who ride on them. K60s and Continental TKC80s seem to be the most liked of the tires for a real mix of on and off road. Trying to decide what to mount for times of more offroad than I think my Anakee IIIs might be able to really get into. I love the Anakees for highway (especially when it's wet) and rough road but would like something a bit more sure-footed in looser surfaces. Many thanks for the info.! Ride safe

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It was time for a bit of a trim




It was an interesting town with a recreational lake and a huge bird sculpture








And an inquisitive local


A waterfall at the edge of town




And a steep walk to dinner




.

One for the girls

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The next town was Parral and it was not a long ride but once again had some lovely twisting roads through the mountains and I took it slowly, enjoying the riding very much. Along the way I stopped for a break and saw one of the huge logging trucks I share these roads with.


There's always some animals along the side of the road to deal with


And more shrines dotted along the way. This was only small


with this inside


I came across a group of dirt bike riders stopped at the side of the road so I stopped to talk with them. They were all on 400 and 450cc bikes, and they were all dusty and sweaty so I knew they had been riding hard.




One of them owned a restaurant and invited me over, more to show off his shiny and (unlike mine) clean 2009 GSA


The ride from Parral to Durango was long and had a 100km straight section, so I opened Ziggy up to have a bit of a run after all the mountains, not often getting above fourth gear. It was a Sunday so when I stopped at a small town, they were all out with stalls and a baseball game.








A foul shot came out of the stadium and hit Ziggy on the front crash bar! I wasn't standing far away looking the other way and heard it hit. I continued on and had a nice cloud show


Roadworks are everywhere in Mexico which means you often get to ride on brand new bitumen...Yum


I couldn't find a hotel or town leading into Durango that appealed and before I knew it I was in town. I stopped when I saw some guys around a 'Harley'.


I asked if they knew a good but cheap hotel and after some discussion I followed one of the guys in his pick-up to the Red Motel. Needs no words.

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I had to be out of the Red Motel by 7am so I set my alarm and had one of the earliest starts of the trip. The road went straight into the mountains and the early morning gullies were chilly, getting as low as five degrees Celsius.


The road started winding immediately and climbed high into the mountains. Before long I was getting some spectacular views.






and the roads just kept getting better






Over 200 kilometres of some of the best winding roads I have found so far in Mexico, and it is worth every bend! My riding improved significantly today.
Then my day hit an all time high. I saw another travel bike coming the other way high up in the curvy mountain roads, so I indicated that I was stopping and pulled over at a nearby clearing. Then a second bike came and pulled in behind me. The first bike returned and I met Billy and Trish.


Billy and Trish are a couple of Australians…well Billy is actually a Kiwi but lived in Australia for decades…who have been travelling around the world by bike for seven years – this time. As I got off the bike, a female voice said,
‘You must be Nomad Paul. I saw the Queensland plate and thought it was you. I’ve been reading your blog and knew you were in Chihuahua and wondered if you were coming down this way.’
Pays to keep the blog updated!

We started talking and eventually had lunch and spent a good two hours exchanging stories and laughing. We were all on the same page. It is amazing how frank and relaxed you can be with your own countrymen. The irony was that they are from near Broome in Western Australia and we have some common acquaintances. I had lived in Derby (north of Broome) for a year where they were like folklore; the mysterious couple who worked at Cape Leveque for two months a year then continued travelling the world by motorcycle.And I meet them in the mountains of Mexico!!






I wanted to spend a week with them to listen to their stories, but we were heading opposite directions and we both needed to get to our destinations before dark. I don’t normally have regrets, but I think I will regret not following them to a camping area for the night just to continue the great connection we found with each other. But after two hours, we packed up and went our different directions with each other’s contact details.


They pointed me towards Hotel Lerma in Mazatlan where they had spent the last three months and for me it was the perfect destination to rest and relax. The road of 3000 curves and the ‘chance’ meeting with Billy and Trish had me on a real emotional high. This was a good day.

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Following Billy and Trish's directions I found myself at Hotel Lerma a couple of hours later. I pulled into a large central courtyard through a pair of solid gates, found a spot and parked Ziggy. There were three other motorcycles there, a KTM 990, a Suzuki 1200 V-strom and another 1200GSA under a cover. I knew I was in the right place.


I spent the next six days there hanging out with my new friends, all of whom had been good friends with Billy and Trish for the last three months. The photos are a snapshot of my time there.
















































Finally it was time to leave and farewell my new friends

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I was heading to Puerto Vallarta but it was 400kms and I didn't want to do that distance in a day so rode 200kms to San Blas where I 'roughed' it for 50 Pesos ($4) camping on the beach in my hammock.














The problem there were the bitey sandflies that apparently stopped the place being developed. It didn't bother me too much but I only stayed one night and headed to Puerto Vallarta. For me it was a big disappointment. I felt like I had ridden back into the USA and the whole Mexican feel had gone. It had a big coastal esplanade with restaurants and bars, throngs of people walking and speaking English. It wasn't the place I came to Mexico to see so after a night in a small motel I headed south again. I took no pictures because there was nothing you haven't seen before.

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