Well this place looks familiar

10/25/16

San Luis Potasí, Mex to Aguascalientes, Mex

196.2 kilometers ridden.

Sleep was fairly fleeting as the cats wreaked havoc on my bag of beef jerky while I tried not to take note. The larger disturbance was the light from down the hallway. I had turned off all of them near me and the only one left was down by Leon's room so I didn't want to leave him blind if he needed to get up in the night. It just meant that I spent most of the night tossing and turning from one thing or another. I still couldn't be more grateful for the place to stay and all of the hospitality I had been shown.

Leon and I walked to Pina's place but he was out for breakfast around the corner so we went and joined him for scrambled eggs with bacon in them, beans with cheese, and some sort of cheesy tortilla casserole like dish. It was all very tasty and well worth the stop. Pina had to leave for work but gave Leon the key to his place where my bike was stored. He also offered to let me use his shower.

We finished breakfast and walked up the street to Leon's tattoo shop so he could open the shutter for his business partner before heading to Pina's again. Leon let me in and left me the key so I took up the offer of a shower and got cleaned up. It was so nice that I delayed my time in the warm water just to soak it in for a bit. I dressed and packed the bike so I could push it back out of Pina's living room and into the narrow pathway outside. It took some effort and I could feel my back straining to do the work. I rode the bike out of the small hallways and on to the street as I narrated for my helmet camera. The experience is still a little surreal to ride the bike into and out of lobbies and homes.

Leon actually met me part of the way between his shop and Pina's because he was on his way to oil painting class. I gave him the key and a hug before we each set off in our separate ways. I was able to dead reckon back to the McDonald's I had used the internet from and was happy to see that I sort of had an idea of where I was going without having to type it all into the GPS.

After catching up via WiFi I went to Walmart to replace some missing personal hygiene items. I plugged Aguascalientes into the Garmin Montana 600 and set off for the ride through the countryside. The road was actually quite enjoyable for the first 60 or so kilometers as it wound through the hills in a curvy path great for the bike. It reminded me a lot of the area just to the north of Dahuk in Northern Iraq with its small road side communities and small shops clustering the road. It was good to be away from the super slab I had been riding as this route plunged through corn fields and gave a great view of the country.

I got to Aguascalientes without issue but again rolled in hungry and with my anxiety on high alert. I looped through town looking for somewhere I knew would have free WiFi but had no luck. After about 40 minutes of aimlessly wandering I pushed back to main roads and found an Oxxo convenience store where I could grab a snack, refill my camel back and still watch the bike. I sat to eat a banana, drink a yogurt drink, and pound a monster while I began to write out the days events.

I drove until I was able to find open WiFi in a department stores parking lot near the Walmart at what I would later learn was the second ring road. With internet I was able to contact Chofelia, who was my contact and host for the night. She said I was very near her house and came to meet me and lead me back to her place.

There was a locking external yard where I was able to store the bike after pulling the bags. I secured my gear upstairs and we went to her favorite burger joint where I had the beef and mushroom quesadilla that she recommended as her favorite. It was amazing and I was very happy. She would not let me pay and said it was the leagues pleasure. After I ate we went to pick up another skater at the university. Once she was in the car we went to the practice space in the park. The space was a sort of paved amphitheater very near the bull fighting arena.

The girls were all very new and so after warm ups I ran them through edging drills to help them find where their balance was and better use their skates. With edging demonstrated we moved onto stops, then pummeling and push out drills. All the while working to improve posture, bio-mechanics, and proper form. All three skaters were giddy as they learned more and more throughout the night.

After practice three of the four of us went for a beer and some food. I had an excellent Belgian fruit ale and a mixed plate of mediocre empenadas. Again Chofelia refused to let me pay or even help pay. The hospitality has been amazing across the board here in Mexico. Following the meal we dropped the last skater off and headed back to the apartment where I prepared and crawled into bed after setting my equipment to charging.