Days 34-36
Dia 34: 20k before San Luis Potosi to Santa Maria del Rio, 72 kms.
Slept hard after the beers, etc last night. Rose to a continuation of the wind, blowing rather fiercely out of the S-SW. Repeated my AM routine of cooking breakfast, coffee and re-packing my bags. I'm getting more efficient every time I do this. Cruised into San Luis Potosi to look for my friend Rafa Olvera. No luck - old phone number... Looked around the historic district and half the day escaped me. Had lunch of "enchiladas potosinas" and rode on toward Queretaro. It's the main road and heavily traveled but at least it has a wide shoulder... Found a cheap room at the Hotel Tejado in Santa Maria del Rio, where I had an interesting encounter with a girl I'll call "Sofia." She asked me not to write about her story, so I won't. It's an amazing one and I'll tell you in person someday... She taught me all the vulgar words she knows in Spanish. We laughed a lot!
Dia 35: Santa Maria to Queretaro, 160 kms.
Would love to write more about "Sofia," really funny person with an amazing story... boogied early today and on the first climb, I stopped to strip a layer. I saw a couple big double semis crawling up the hill and hurried to stash my jersey so I could hang on for a free ride. Finally mounted the noodle with a 100 mtr gap to close. Sprinted (?) and out of breath caught a good hold and cheated to the top. The least these truckers can do is pull me once in a while as usually, they´re whizzing by my ear at a nerve wracking pace. Don´t you think? The wind had died overnight and was still most of the day, which helped account for the big kms today. The terrain began to roll a bit today as I passed from San Luis Potosi to Guanajuato to Queretaro. 3 states in one day, New Record! I'm riding the "big road" now. It's one of the routes to Mexico city, one of the most populated in the world, 30 friggin' million people! So, the traffic is increasing... at least it's 4 lanes with a wide shoulder... I'm not wild about riding this route, but for now it feels safe and I'm making good kms. Had my first aggresive act directed toward me today. A passing truck passenger chucked a plastic bottle at me, but his aim was poor... It's still desert but the landscape is hinting at turning green. I can smell a touch of humidity also, which is welcome to my parched nostrils. The traffic toward Queretaro started getting really thick, so my guardian angel directed me toward a mellower route and I cruised into the city center and found a cheap room at the hotel Marques. In this area, it's getting too populated to find mellow places to camp. Gonna go check out the historic district.
Dia 36: Queretaro to San Juan del Rio, 58 kms.
After dinner, went for a stroll around the historic district. There were 2 churches on my street dating back to the 1600's. One is the oldest in all of Mexico. Lots of cool fountains and the most awesome aqueduct I've ever seen. The city streets are predictably narrow with cut stone pavement. Super quality constuction. Hung out till noon today with no desire to ride. My legs feel dead. Didn't want to ride, but didn't want to stay either, so I chamoised-up and rode on. I found the old road and stayed on it as long as I could, but eventually had to rejoin the main 4 lane toward Mexico City. I am trying to get to the edge of the city to meet my friend Palomo, whom I'd met in la vuelta Chihuahua. It's such a trip to observe Mexico as I roll by! I can feel the energy of the city already, still 160 kms away! To be honest, today was the first day since leaving Durango that truly sucked. Too many cars, buses, semis, noise, pedestrians, garbage, exhaust, dead animals, vendors, exits, entries... and then I flatted! All this with little desire to ride and zero juice in my legs. So I limped into San Juan del Rio with my tail between my legs. It was such a bad day that even my guardian angel deserted me and I was at the mercy of the locals... Just couldn't find the flow and the first people I asked for directions to an inexpensive room sent me on a wild goose chase. The one-way streets were all headed in the wrong direction, so I found myself going "conta via" at every turn. Got to where the cheap room was supposed to be, asked again, and was sent to another part of town! Got there, only to be told that the only cheap rooms here are back toward the dreaded main highway. Finally found a place as darkness fell, showered and walked off to find dinner. Ate my first "sope" which is another in a growing list of dishes that are all made with the same ingredients! Corn tortillas, beans, meat (of unknown origin at times), red and green salsa. Maybe some lettuce and onions (in the better places). The really good places have a production line that begins with a bowl of corn masa, followed by a hand press and then the grill. Your table is next in line, or just your mouth, because many places don't have tables.
Slept hard after the beers, etc last night. Rose to a continuation of the wind, blowing rather fiercely out of the S-SW. Repeated my AM routine of cooking breakfast, coffee and re-packing my bags. I'm getting more efficient every time I do this. Cruised into San Luis Potosi to look for my friend Rafa Olvera. No luck - old phone number... Looked around the historic district and half the day escaped me. Had lunch of "enchiladas potosinas" and rode on toward Queretaro. It's the main road and heavily traveled but at least it has a wide shoulder... Found a cheap room at the Hotel Tejado in Santa Maria del Rio, where I had an interesting encounter with a girl I'll call "Sofia." She asked me not to write about her story, so I won't. It's an amazing one and I'll tell you in person someday... She taught me all the vulgar words she knows in Spanish. We laughed a lot!
Dia 35: Santa Maria to Queretaro, 160 kms.
Would love to write more about "Sofia," really funny person with an amazing story... boogied early today and on the first climb, I stopped to strip a layer. I saw a couple big double semis crawling up the hill and hurried to stash my jersey so I could hang on for a free ride. Finally mounted the noodle with a 100 mtr gap to close. Sprinted (?) and out of breath caught a good hold and cheated to the top. The least these truckers can do is pull me once in a while as usually, they´re whizzing by my ear at a nerve wracking pace. Don´t you think? The wind had died overnight and was still most of the day, which helped account for the big kms today. The terrain began to roll a bit today as I passed from San Luis Potosi to Guanajuato to Queretaro. 3 states in one day, New Record! I'm riding the "big road" now. It's one of the routes to Mexico city, one of the most populated in the world, 30 friggin' million people! So, the traffic is increasing... at least it's 4 lanes with a wide shoulder... I'm not wild about riding this route, but for now it feels safe and I'm making good kms. Had my first aggresive act directed toward me today. A passing truck passenger chucked a plastic bottle at me, but his aim was poor... It's still desert but the landscape is hinting at turning green. I can smell a touch of humidity also, which is welcome to my parched nostrils. The traffic toward Queretaro started getting really thick, so my guardian angel directed me toward a mellower route and I cruised into the city center and found a cheap room at the hotel Marques. In this area, it's getting too populated to find mellow places to camp. Gonna go check out the historic district.
Dia 36: Queretaro to San Juan del Rio, 58 kms.
After dinner, went for a stroll around the historic district. There were 2 churches on my street dating back to the 1600's. One is the oldest in all of Mexico. Lots of cool fountains and the most awesome aqueduct I've ever seen. The city streets are predictably narrow with cut stone pavement. Super quality constuction. Hung out till noon today with no desire to ride. My legs feel dead. Didn't want to ride, but didn't want to stay either, so I chamoised-up and rode on. I found the old road and stayed on it as long as I could, but eventually had to rejoin the main 4 lane toward Mexico City. I am trying to get to the edge of the city to meet my friend Palomo, whom I'd met in la vuelta Chihuahua. It's such a trip to observe Mexico as I roll by! I can feel the energy of the city already, still 160 kms away! To be honest, today was the first day since leaving Durango that truly sucked. Too many cars, buses, semis, noise, pedestrians, garbage, exhaust, dead animals, vendors, exits, entries... and then I flatted! All this with little desire to ride and zero juice in my legs. So I limped into San Juan del Rio with my tail between my legs. It was such a bad day that even my guardian angel deserted me and I was at the mercy of the locals... Just couldn't find the flow and the first people I asked for directions to an inexpensive room sent me on a wild goose chase. The one-way streets were all headed in the wrong direction, so I found myself going "conta via" at every turn. Got to where the cheap room was supposed to be, asked again, and was sent to another part of town! Got there, only to be told that the only cheap rooms here are back toward the dreaded main highway. Finally found a place as darkness fell, showered and walked off to find dinner. Ate my first "sope" which is another in a growing list of dishes that are all made with the same ingredients! Corn tortillas, beans, meat (of unknown origin at times), red and green salsa. Maybe some lettuce and onions (in the better places). The really good places have a production line that begins with a bowl of corn masa, followed by a hand press and then the grill. Your table is next in line, or just your mouth, because many places don't have tables.
posted by Bicycle Bob at
6:13 PM
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