April 10, 2016
This is one of our most enjoyable days in Mexico, largely in part due to the scenery, the nice weather, and the good company.
Cycling Stats
Start Point: Nicolas Flores, Hidalgo, Mexico
Destination: Cardonal, Hidalgo, Mexico
37.8 km trip, 4:44 time, 56.9 km/h maximum speed, 7.9 km/h average speed
Route Description:
There is a big climb out of town to start the day. The road swapped between gravel and pavement. There was not a lot of traffic. There is little opportunity to buy food. After you climb you then descen a lot but then you climb yet again for another 5 kilometers. In Cardonal there are a few stores to buy food.
Accommodations:
There is one hotel in Cardonal with wifi, a games room and very clean. It was 400 pesos for 4 people in a large room. There are also lots of wild camping opportunities before you arrive in the town.
What happened…
Andrew writes: I think we all knew what to expect today, which was a buttload of climbing; about 1000m worth. I don’t think that I took very many photos because, well, after 3 days of stunning mountains and towns nestled and perched upon the steep slopes, I think you guys have gotten the picture. It’s simply amazing. I remarked to Jean today on how this is probably the first time we’ve been in a rural, mountainous area like this, with small pueblos every 5-10km. It’s such a cool setup. If only the road were paved instead of being rock or gravel, it would be great for touring. Aww shucks, it’s still great for touring on, and today the road did alternate between pavement and less than paved. At least the downhill was paved.
We cycled pretty much straight through from Nicolas Flores to Santuario, about 4 hours or so, and then stopped for lunch and a bit of a siesta in the main square. Gareth went and talked to the guy at the local hotel, but we just didn’t feel like staying I guess, and so on we went towards Cardonal. Cardonal is a bit bigger of a town, and the hotel is a lot nicer. We split a giant room for $400MX, bought a couple of litres of beer/coke, and sat and watched the Revenant (movie with Leonardo DiCaprio). Outside, there was a thunder and lightning show, and it rained really hard for about 30 minutes. Despite Amanda being upset that we weren’t outside camping, I’m glad to be inside and warm with my lady love, and our friends. There is talk of either taking a rest day tomorrow and finding a taxi or truck to take us out to some hot springs, or just cycling the 20km out to them and camping.
Amanda writes: This morning I was grumpy and thoroughly irritated at Andrew. I’m writing this a few days after the fact and I honestly can’t remember why; isn’t that always the way. I’m sure it was a good reason at the time. Maybe I was still a bit miffed that we didn’t ride yesterday. In any event I spent a good portion of the day riding by myself, not that that isn’t normal but it was just different. The team knew I wanted to be alone and let me be. We climbed and we climbed and we climbed and it was very pretty. I stopped to take some pictures and tried to get some of the other climbing behind me but I don’t have a good zoom lens so didn’t manage to capture them. Oh well, we’ll chalk it up to pictures for myself that I store in my brain.
We stopped in Santuario for lunch and a break and all chatted for a bit about what we wanted to do from here. I told the crew that I’d like to camp tonight and find a stop between Santuario and Cardonal. I told everyone that I liked to camp and was looking forward to listening to the wind in the trees. It would become apparent later on that not everyone was listening. As we continued to ride we passed numerous opportunities to camp and the guys rode ahead of the girls for most of the remaining trip. We arrived in Cardonal and Gareth took off in one direction for pictures and Andrew off in another in search of a hotel. I just knew where this was going.
As expected Andrew and the team decided that we would stay at the hotel for one, possibly even two nights. I wasn’t happy and anyone that knows me can attest that I don’t hide my feelings. Gareth picked up on it and I reminded him of our conversation in the last town where I said I wanted to camp with the sound of the wind blowing in the trees. He confirmed he didn’t really here me. By the end of it I said it was fine and if it wasn’t I would keep riding. I really felt like we were a team and that I needed to compromise so that we could continue to enjoy traveling together. It was a small sacrifice to make so that I could continue to enjoy their company. And as the skies opened, the thunder crashed and lightning filled the sky; I was reassured that this was the right choice.