What happened…

Andrew writes: This time when Amanda set the alarm, I was ready; well, not exactly ready, but I wasn’t tempted to throw the phone off the side of the mountain. The plan that was talked about last night was to break camp early so as to avoid the heat, and to cycle towards Metzitzlan, about 50km away. Whether or not we would make it to Metzitzlan was open for debate. The thing about a debate is, sometimes the participants can have very narrow perspectives.

Oh right, let’s get back to that plan to leave early. Amanda and I had eaten, packed up and were waiting at the bus stop across the street from where we camped at 0730hrs. It would be another hour before the Days of High Adventure were ready to roll, but whatever, an 0830 start is still pretty decent. The weather couldn’t have been better as the sky was overcast and the air temperature a cool 15C. The road condition could definitely have used some improvement however. As soon as we made the turn off of the main highway leading to Tolantongo, we were riding uphill in hard-pack gravel/rock. The road conditions really reminded me of a forest-service road back home. In areas where there are sharp corners, quite often the road would become a washboard from the braking bumps of cars. On the uphill, it’s less of an issue, since our speed varies between 4-6km/h. On the downhill, it’s another matter; so much so that our speed on the downhill was probably between 4-6km/h. It’s difficult, mentally, to appreciate the ride when the road is like this. For myself, I cycle uphill knowing in my heart of hearts that I will be rewarded with a downhill at the top. Well not today.

The downhill was dreary, dusty, and dangerous. Looking down from the top of that first climb, I could see that we stoop atop one end of a valley, and way, way in the distance, through the hazy morning, I could see the switchbacks going up the other side. First things first, which was to get down to San Pablo Tetlapayac. I ended up getting about 10-15 minutes ahead of everyone else on the descent, I want to say because I threw caution to the wind and just was “given’er”. Unlike some other downhills lately, today I wasn’t carry any eggs, so I was less worried about anything breaking. I’m also getting to the point where despite there being an amazing opportunity for a photograph around every corner, I think I’ve taken my fair share of hair-pin turns, mountain vistas, and valley bottoms. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t take ANY photos, I just took less. As a group, we pulled in to San Pablo around 1100hrs, with the sun starting to peek through the clouds.

I’m not sure how well I’ve communicated with you, our readers, on how Amanda and I feel we’ve compromised our riding a lot, to enjoy our time with Gareth and Jean. They stop a lot to take breaks, Amanda likes to ride straight through, stopping only for lunch and again at the end of the day. They’ll call it quits if they think that the road ahead will be too hard, or it’s too hot; we like the challenges that await us. They aren’t afraid to hop in the back of a truck and get through a difficult section; we aren’t afraid to either, but we’re less likely. And let me be clear, these aren’t bad traits; just different from us. They want to check out landmarks and small-towns, which is something we find refreshing and really enjoy, but not something we’ve done a lot of. So, as we stood outside of the small grocery store (which was closed at the time) in San Pablo deciding how to spend the rest of the day, there were three of us (Myself, Amanda and Jean) who wanted to push on towards Metzitzlan. Gareth didn’t; he wanted to go swim in the river and camp in San Pablo. He was thinking that it was too hot to ride, that he didn’t want to ride the big uphill we had today, and he pretty much ignored the “democracy” that I felt we had within the group. I found myself disappointed in Gareth’s lack of compromise. I understand that maybe he didn’t have his mojo today, or that he really wanted to check out San Pablo. It’s important to realize that everyone is on a different adventure, and so Amanda and I waved goodbye, hoping that we would see them down the road somewhere. It’s really hard to say if that’s true or not. Amanda and I just cycle at a different pace, which while it is slower, lends itself to longer days in the saddle. We like to ride for 4-6 hours everyday, and with Jean and Gareth it’s been more like 2-3 hours, which translates into less distance.

So back to today, I had this idea in my head that what lay before us after San Pablo was a gradual climb of about 6km, gaining just a bit of elevation. What it turned out to be was 15km of hell. The road condition was even worse that the road we were on in the morning, and there was barely enough room for our bikes and any other traffic. To one side, it was a sharp drop-off, and in the loose gravel, any sharp turn had the potential for disaster. Here is where I really admire Amanda’s lack of compromise. As I would stop and catch my breath every few hundred metres, Amanda just grits her teeth and plows on. It’s really inspiring to see her fighting against the terrain, growling, and grunting, as she just powers her way up the steepest grades.

As before, the downhill slowed us down considerably, and if anything, the road conditions made it a very hard affair indeed. All hail adventure and adversity! After 15km of this though, while still high above the lush green valley on the other side of the mountain we had just climbed around and over, we reached pavement again. Hallelujah! As we cycled through the farmlands towards Metzitzlan, about 10km away, Amanda and I talked about how if there was any way to contact Gareth and Jean it would be to tell them to just find a truck up and over the pass. In my mind at least, it just isn’t worth it. There is too much potential for damage to bicycles and humans to make the ride enjoyable.

I was running on fumes by the time we finally pulled into Metzitlan. We found a room at the Hotel Granaditas, although there was some discussion about renting a small cabana for a lot less money, but we would have to ride somewhere to get to the campground, and frankly, I was done riding for the day. I wanted food, drink, and a warm soft bed to sink into. Do I regret not staying in San Pablo with Gareth and Jean? No, and in fact, I’ll do my utmost tomorrow to see about reconnecting with them, which will mean another day here in Metzitlan, but I would rather rest here in the comfort of a hotel, than the confines of our tent. Plus there’s the matter of my sleeping pad, which makes me dread bedtime every night until it’s replaced when we reach Puebla.

Amanda writes: Today we started out nice and early. As Andrew said we sat for a bit enjoying our coffee while Jean and Gareth came down and I’m glad for it. I set the alarm early so that I can sit and enjoy my book and coffee before everyone else is ready. Jean and Gareth are able to pack up so much faster than us and I’m happy for the extra time we had today. We headed out and almost immediately left the paved road onto the gravel. The first part wasn’t horrible and it wasn’t great. We were expecting the climb which somehow makes it better for me. After finishing the climb we had an amazing descent down toward the next village. The mountains around are still magnificent and while we’re still enjoying them, the rough roads are taking their toll. I’m constantly checking my guitar and we’re wary of the wear and tear to our gear. After we arrived in San Pablo we tried to see what there was to see. It became apparent quickly that Gareth wasn’t into riding further. We all chatted about it and the three of us (Jean, Andrew and I) agreed that we’d like to push on. Gareth was adamant that he wanted to stay. At first I thought it might be a compromise situation similar to what we have been doing thus far; majority rules. Well it didn’t turn out that way and Jean and Gareth decided to stay in San Pablo. While I was disappointed to not continue riding with them, I think I was more surprised about how Gareth wanted it his way. End of story. I thought for sure because we had arrived early and it wasn’t hot and it was overcast that he might bend. I respect Jean for standing by his side and being a great partner and just really hoped that we would see them up ahead.

As we continued up the road we had lots of time to reflect because the road surface deteriorated and we spent more time focusing on the road than the landscape. It was again a beautiful mountain range around us and it reminded me of the rockies in Canada. The road surface however took more of our attention. While we climbed I was able to ponder the dynamics of riding with other people. As I’ve said numerous times in the past couple of posts I’m thrilled with the compatibility of riding with Jean and Gareth. The more time we spend with them, the more we get to know their quirks and they get to know ours. Gareth has been cycle touring since long before cycle touring was a popular thing to do. I think he said he’s got something like 20 years on the road. He has cycled a lot in Mexico, Central and South America and has done so without the help of many of the luxuries the rest of us have become accustomed to. Things like the internet, GPS devices and reading others blog posts. As I pondered these things it became apparent to me that Gareth tours in the way that he knows best and it works for him. He doesn’t like to know exactly what is ahead; that’s part of the adventure. He likes to see everything there is to see at his pace. It’s refreshing to be surrounded by someone not in a rush. At the same time I do think there is value it taking advantage of some of the new tools available to make bicycle touring more predictable; at least for me. Where I’m going with this is that Gareth is set in his ways and does things in a certain way that work very well for him. The time we’re spending with him and Jean we are certainly learning a few things about how bicycle touring works for us. Jean and Gareth have reminded us about the joy of traveling shorter distances each day and while we’re enjoying it mostly; some days I just want to ride my bike. Today was one of them. Today I was reminded as I made the choice to not compromise that I’m cycling around the world and I really like riding my bike. And with that I was very happy with our choice to continue forward. Let’s ride bikes!

After arriving in town we were glad to find the hotel even if it was a bit more money that we like to spend. It had air conditioning, internet and it was clean. It was walking distance to all the stores and restaurants and I was very happy we made the trek today. And maybe a night away from our friends is good for everyone. I just really hope we manage to reconnect with them tomorrow. Andrew is already thinking ahead about tomorrow to make sure we can not only hook up with them, but also be flexible with plans for the afternoon to accommodate them. Go team!

Today’s Photographs