Location: Tepehuanes, Durango, Mexico
Nights above freezing so far: 3
Price of Farokh´s bike in Ann Arbor: 80 dollars, or 960 pesos
Price of tune-up: 100 dollars, or 1200 pesos
Cost, each way from the airline: 100 dollars, or 1200 pesos
Price of Farokh´s bike sold to la policia in Guanacevi: 750 pesos without the ergon grips (63 dollars)
All out cost if he kept the bike: 380 dollars plus another tune up
All out cost after selling bike: 217 dollars
Difference: 163 dollars and a tune-up, plus not lugging a worn out, bent up MTB back to Michigan.
Times Farokh dropped his helmet in 11 days: 10
Avg. weight of a 6-month-old pig raised in Guanacevi on alfalfa and grazing: 100 kg
Gold mining companies operating there: 3 (American, Canadian, and Japanese)
grams of silver per metric ton: 280
grams of gold: 2
tons per truckload of dirt: 20-30
Farokh met up with me in Chihuahua Ciudad and we headed for Creel. A little bit of propina (tips, baksheesh, etc) to the hostel workers in the form of knives from Smoky Mountain Knife Works, and we were on our way. The next 11 days took us in and out of canyons, sierra, and ranch country. My middle 12 gears saw almost no use. Farokh jumped head first into some rough country. What a tough hombre! Break-neck, curving descents had our brakes cooking fajitas, and gruelling climbs had our hearts fighting out of our chests. We found some dusty roads, hot springs, and delicious food. Check the location page to see some roads that google maps doesnt know about.
And a video. I have more, but slow connections dictate careful selection :(
Next Stop Durango!!!!!!!!
Nights above freezing so far: 3
Price of Farokh´s bike in Ann Arbor: 80 dollars, or 960 pesos
Price of tune-up: 100 dollars, or 1200 pesos
Cost, each way from the airline: 100 dollars, or 1200 pesos
Price of Farokh´s bike sold to la policia in Guanacevi: 750 pesos without the ergon grips (63 dollars)
All out cost if he kept the bike: 380 dollars plus another tune up
All out cost after selling bike: 217 dollars
Difference: 163 dollars and a tune-up, plus not lugging a worn out, bent up MTB back to Michigan.
Times Farokh dropped his helmet in 11 days: 10
Avg. weight of a 6-month-old pig raised in Guanacevi on alfalfa and grazing: 100 kg
Gold mining companies operating there: 3 (American, Canadian, and Japanese)
grams of silver per metric ton: 280
grams of gold: 2
tons per truckload of dirt: 20-30
Farokh met up with me in Chihuahua Ciudad and we headed for Creel. A little bit of propina (tips, baksheesh, etc) to the hostel workers in the form of knives from Smoky Mountain Knife Works, and we were on our way. The next 11 days took us in and out of canyons, sierra, and ranch country. My middle 12 gears saw almost no use. Farokh jumped head first into some rough country. What a tough hombre! Break-neck, curving descents had our brakes cooking fajitas, and gruelling climbs had our hearts fighting out of our chests. We found some dusty roads, hot springs, and delicious food. Check the location page to see some roads that google maps doesnt know about.
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| Getting started right away testing out the Raleigh SC-30. |
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| Canyon country. Climbing out of Copper Canyon was brutal. |
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| Burros cost around 250 pesos. Hell of a deal. If you need a burro. (El burro es un animal muy importante en mexico) |
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| Christmas pasta for lunch. On sale for 1.50 pesos for 200g. With Chile de arbol. Cooked up in Mary Jane and Lydia (my cookware) |
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| On the road too long already. |
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| Camping in a rock formation wonderland makes for cool shadows. |
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| These Germans were rocking around the world. New Zealand and Ushuaia off the list. 3.5l turbo diesel |
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| Awesome baloney. |
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| Scrap prices in Guachochi pesos per kg |
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| why not? |
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| little did we know, we were in for a 6000 foot descent. mind blowing. |
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| out of the sierra and into ranch country |
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| sleep cab dump trucks and flatbeds are all over the place here. |
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| Dr. Poblano and his noble steed. |
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| Alamo Gordo = fat cottonwood |
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| dirt road riding near la haciendita |
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| hot springs soaking for some laundry and tan. |
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| polvo = dust along the rio balleza |
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| common construction with adobe bricks and high corners. |
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| kickin it old school. |
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| Dr. Poblano = action superstar |
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| Delicious! The Dankest candy bar ever. Bought the whole box. |
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| big rig logger. |
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| leaning cabin of rodents. great view from the porch though. |
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| soooooo beatifull. |
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| angular cow, curvy horns |
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| Loco por Zuko! Still a few hundred more flavors left to try. |
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| Yes. I will have an entire chicken for lunch. Pollo al carbon. |
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| Tatanka at the end of another big day on the road. |
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| Breathing polvo in the backcountry near la rosilla. |
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| Cibollin, town of little onions, hot springs, and an awesome tiendita communitaria (government subsidized grocery) |
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| straight out of the mountain. albeit a donkey-poo covered mountain. |
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| school´s out for winter. |
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| government subsidized pricing on necessities. in pesos. where else can you be 3 days ride from town on horseback and get 2 cokes and 4 packs of cookies for 2 bucks? |
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| morning haze as we drop out of the sierra madre again. |
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| awesome dirt road riding beat Farokh´s bike to death. But he still punted it for 60 bucks to a cop! |
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| Snack break in San Pedro |
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| awesome stickers! |
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| ya gotta watch for these cattle guards (guarde ganados) on the downhills. |
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| yee haw. Dr. Poblano survives the Sierra Madre. |
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| Guanacevi, Durango, Mexico |
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| Full moon on the way! |
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| Yuxtaponer = to juxtapose. Catholic church, spanish colonialism, gold fever, native languages. |
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| Still coming down out of the mountains. Looking towards Tepehuanes. |
And a video. I have more, but slow connections dictate careful selection :(
Next Stop Durango!!!!!!!!
rick-rolling your readers.. tsk, tsk, tsk.
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