Pedal The Unknown: Media

Tug or ?

Packed in real tight

La Paz

Sunset over Baja. ¡Adios!

Sunrise

Mazatlan

Perfect spot for lunch and a stretch

Getting a good look at the new landscape

Lots of agave farms

I thought they only played fútbol

Assorted tasty chocolate from the states my mom sent me. Muchas gracias.

Can't always camp in the nicest of places, gotta make do with others sometimes. Which is fine, afterall, the sweet just ain't as sweet without the bitter.

I thought this was hilarious. For almost 1km, there were girls lining the roadside, with the same setup/prices, and selling dried shrimp.

Starting to see lots of orchards

Still lots of military checkpoints, most checking more thoroughly the north-bound side

Taking a break in a grove of mango trees.

Almost ready

Gracias

Usual story

The girl in the white wanted to take a picture with me, I said only if I can take one with you. When I told them I was looking for a hardware store to fix my tent, a kind gentleman pulled out his knife, and cut a hose to give me a hoseclamp - People are so incredibly helpful here

Clearing the brush I guess

Fishing the river

Other times, I get great places to camp. There was a family hanging out when I arrived. The woman was quite funny, when I asked her how the water was, she says "the lava?". They left as I made camp, and upon hearing I was solo, asked if she wanted to send some of the guys down from town to keep me company... I thanked her and declined, then they all burst into laughter. After they had gone, I stripped, and scrubbed clean in the river, cooked myself a nice dinner.

Loads of bats

First try at the fix

So much growth, every area of land is covered with life.

I see lots of these trucks, they carry produce.

I had been craving banana bread for a while. Oh so good.

Coconut muffin, never had that before

After a long day riding in the hot sun with cars, nothing like relaxing in the refreshing ocean and getting some waves. The only downside was this place was my first encounter with sea lice - they are tiny bugs that bit me all over after I got out of the water.

wow

Second try at the fix, but this time didn't hold as long

Bananas in the front yard

I'll miss you SC of a different kind

The large green fruit in the back left are Jaca, mild and sweet

Carambolo, or starfruit, one of the sourest, juiciest, intense fruits I've ever had

Jaca growing

Last look over Santa Cruz, and the lush growth

This is the saddest example of animal abuse I have seen so far. This poor thing was missing an eye, the hair falling off his body, it had probably been run-over by a car and should have been killed. I tried to give it food and water but he was scared and ran.

What a treat on a hot day, one of the most satisfying snacks on a hot day of riding

I got this for two (2) pesos - that's less than 20 cents in USD. I ate so much, I could barely ride afterward. I kept this one for later, was worth the weight when I cracked it open the following day during a break.

Field of tobacco growing

I stopped to fix my tent pole that had started to fall off the trailer and start dragging on the ground. I heard someone on the side of the road down below ask me where I was going. We exchanged a few words, and asked him if the plants were tobacco. He confirmed my query, and asked if I wanted some. I asked him if it had to be dried. Not fully understanding what he said, I resumed better fixing my tent pole, and when I looked up, he was motioning me to come down the hill. Then he handed me a bunch of dried leaves he just pulled of the plants. Awesome

The beginning of the craziness of semana santa

1kg of mangos for 10 pesos, thats less than a buck for fresh, ripe mangos

Camping next to some goats. With semana santa going on, I didn't want to chance riding into the night at all with the drunks driving around. A fellow was kind enough to let me camp near his home, and animal pen.

Thoughts of home

Fruiterias are real prevalent down here. They're great, sell only fruits and veggies, for real cheap. This guy was awesome, asked him where a purifacadora was (places where they sell filtered water), he filled up my bottles for free.

Doesn't matter what language you say it in, always a welcome sight

After a day of riding, relaxing on the beach with a hand-rolled stogie, from fresh tobacco plants picked the same day. Then went for a surf afterward

New friends all the time

Puerto Vallarta, and the looming mountains I had to get over

I could've taken a plane, that's just too easy though

Getting caught up with the news

Navigating the crowd with my bike on the malecon

Hanging on the roof with Graham and Chase

Graham working

Leaving Chase's

Gino, Anna, and Goffey

This picture is misleading. I'm standing on a hill, same as the cars, the motorcycle and truck are on an even steeper hill. Sign of things to come

The punk kid torturing animals

With all the traffic coming into PV, it turned into gridlock. This guy tried to cross the median, they call this a Jeep?

Trying to cool off a bit, and cut some weight

Gino, trying out my rig

On the way to zipline

Some day...

Anna making sushi

Learning from Anna how to make it good

Gino riding with me out of town, taking pictures along the way

Then the hills begin

These were popping from the trees. Took me a bit to figure what was going on with the loud noise, and ensuing clatter of these falling. This one nearly hit me in the head, instead landed right in front of me and knocked the lid from my stove.

Long day of climbing

Abandoned adobe home

Gino was concerned that I would stay hydrated enough, got me this for the hill

Not even close...

La bufa at 2500 meters, near the top

Pine trees, now I know I'm getting high up

Soooo incredibly steep

Helpin'em out with their thermostat

Mexico has a branch of the government that drives these trucks around, just to help tourists

Saw a few of these burn marks on the hill on the way up. Cars giving up, and bursting into flames.

Made it. View from the top.

The first touring cyclists I've seen since Cataviña. They were riding from GDL to PV

Air strip for a crop duster

I said kilo y medio, instead of medio kilo. So I got 1.5kg of tortillas. Still, great fuel and for only 19 pesos.

Tortilleria

Trying to get through Mascota on the sidewalk, because of the cobble stone.

Lots of street-side memorials, this one was cut into the rock

Taking a break in the pine forest

Packing up in the morning at a hidden spot

Tamarindo jelly, yum

So many mountains for so long

Finally a bit of flat land for once

Usually around the towns and cities, they have a series of bumps, leading up to a big speed bump. Sometimes it seems for no reason - there are no side roads or anything. No matter, people take advantage of the slow cars and sell stuff on the side of the road.

I love how so many Mexicans improvise, making do with what you have.

Guadalajara, Jalisco, México

Very bike friendly city

Watching movies on the projector

Dancing to salsa for the first time

Sundays are biking days. They close down a bunch of the roads.

Sofi and Jorge

I love salsa

Working on my bike

Ghost Bici

Meeting at the house

Making guayaba juice. Few days later I made more, but used pineapple, mango, and strawberries, all fresh from the market.

Jorge, Bernardo, and Izhak

A lot of homes in Mexico, have the shower right next to the toilet.

Full shop of bike tools, making the bike good

Bike stripped, waiting for my wheels to get finished being built

They have night rides around town several times a week.

Cooked agave, sweet and unique taste

New hubs

Maggie cooking up delicious stuffed chiles

Delivering supplies to the firefighters. First time riding in the back of a truck around town.

Bernardo

The fire raging, filling the sky with smoke and ash, that would later blow into the city and burn my eyes for days.

It's amazing to see how many people came together to help out. There was so much food and drinks donated. Even at the house, people came by all the time to donate things for the firefighters.

Thunderstorm closing in on the fire, but only a few drops fell

The busy market in the morning

With a lack of variety in some things, they don't with hot sauce

Some really old buildings in GDL

Working on my blog at the cafe

So hot out, kids are playing in the fountain

Salva's going away party. He's been traveling around the world by bike for something like 9 years. He got stuck in GDL for over a month, and is now leaving to get back on the road.