Expedition Recovery

10/27/16 Guadalajara, Mex to Leon, Mex 241.2 kilometers ridden. I slept in a bit and spent the morning trying to get some work done. The spotty internet at the hotel was only moderately better during the morning. I wasn't able to get much done but I at least got all my photos and videos onto my computer. I tried to coordinate with both Roller Derby Leon and Porto Viarta to see where I was headed next. Porto Viarta wasn't ready to practice and Leon was practicing tonight and had games the next two nights, plus the games were at Moto Fiesta Leon which is the largest motorcycle gathering in Mexico.   So I opted to head for Leon. Learning from my last few days of scrambling, I got the address where I was going to be staying, and my host even sent me a photo of the gate which made it much easier to find. Enroute I stopped for fuel and was finally able to use my card by being insistent and the attendant had to take me into an office and use a different c...

10/26/16 Aguascalientes, Mex to Guadalajara, Mex 250.8 kilometers ridden. I was able to sleep in for a bit before getting up to shower. The morning routine of packing is getting smoother but no less time consuming. Chofelia was still asleep when I got up and I felt bad for having to wake her to ask about the hot water heater. She was so sweet and gave me earrings for Cat and tried to give me a shirt as well as food. I felt so awkward saying no to all but the earrings for Cat and a bag of apples for the road. She unlocked the parking gate so that I could get my bike out and we talked while I loaded it for departure. We hugged many times and I could tell she very much wanted me to stay and teach for a few more practices. I headed back to the department store with the open WiFi and talked to Cat for a bit and planned my day with Vale from Guadalajara. I rode during the mid day and made good time. The sites along the road were pretty and I stopped to take pictures again,...

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 ...

10/22/16 Laredo, TX to Nuevo Laredo, NL Mexico 9.6 miles ridden. My anxiety kicked into high gear last night as I started to think about crossing the boarder.  It meant that I slept terribly and woke up a bit behind the power curve. I started out with four packets of oatmeal and a cup of tea from the continental breakfast. Knowing I was leaving the country finally I went ahead and purchased my travel insurance and called Bank of America to put the travel advisory on my card.  It took me almost an hour, three phone trees, and three people to sort out mistakes on the system that was threatening to strand me without a card for several days. It finally got worked out but delayed me so much I had to ask for late checkout. As I went to leave a guy from Romania was there and wanted to talk to me about the bike, my trip, and Mexico.  He was a really nice guy and wanted to help as much as he could. Was really cool to start to get that traveler's vibe. He had...