September 19, 2014

Initially, I had planned to stay a day or two longer in this crazy town, mainly because to hook up again with Felipe and Silvana, who were a day behind me. Turned out, they were staying about 40 minutes outside of downtown Mex City, and took the train to do some sightseeing. Four days was going to be their stop-over time in the Mexican capitol.

As for me, I had gotten road fever again and needed to get some asphalt under my rubber.

Nice thing though, I got to see the two for lunch just before hitting the road. We exchanged our riding stories from the past few days and what would lay ahead of our trips. Then, we waved our good-byes, and I rode off in to the thick Mex City traffic. Would we see each other again on this trip? It's not for sure...

After about 1+ hours , I finally had some open road in front of me. Yeah...I could breathe again. My ride today would take me East to a town called Puebla. I was trying to avoid riding the "Cuotas" (toll roads) and opting for the more scenic "Libre" (no tolls).

Snow in Mexico,,,? You better believe it.

The weather was warm, sunny and the air smelled fresh. Awesome riding conditions.

I should've known , as I move up in altitude, not only gets the temperature progressively colder, but also at some point, it starts to rain. Light at first, then heavier. But this time, I was ahead of this game. I had donned my rain gear as soon as I noticed the first drops on my visor. And it paid off big time! Not only did I have to stop only once because of poor visibility, but luckily, I stayed dry.

Baby blue church...you don't see that everyday.

Not a big deal really, but I thought I mention it. Earlier, I had noticed a snow covered mountain in the distance. "PPO = Perfect Pic Opp", I thought to myself. That mountain had followed me for quite a while now and wanted desperately to be photographed. Ok, fine. I stopped the bike, ready to turn off the road on to a grassy, safer area. Going for that perfect shot with my Android phone camera.

And wouldn't you know it, I dropped it. No, not the camera, the bike! "Big Bertha" fell flat on her side in slowmo. I had lost my footing and now, 500 lbs of dead weight were kissing the grass.

"Man, now what?? How did that happend??" That beast is so heavy and, was resting slighty downsloped. Too much for me to lift by myself.

A few cars drove past, stared, but didn't stop. Then a truck. Two guys looked, and I montioned, that I needed help with the bike. To my relieve, they came walking up the road. They had to park their truck in a safe area first ( I was in a curve, and they were driving downhill), . With teamwork, one old weak guy, and two young strong dudes, we were able to lift "BB" back to her wheels. I was so happy, I could've...opened a cerveza to celebrate, hehe. Instead, I thanked them, gave them each a wristband, and continued on.

As the darkness began to set in, and the rain refused to stop, I was looking for a hotel or something of that nature. On abandoned structure would've done at this point. The water was starting to rise on the road, and the oncoming trucks didn't seem to give a rats ass, if they doused me with their splash water or not. Time to call it a night. I spotted a hotel at the entrance to a town called, Texmelucan. Not really planned to stay here, but, why not...better then sleeping on the bike. "New town, new adventure", I thought to myself.

The one-story hotel looks more like a nicer "Motel", the rooms are all next to each other, but seperated by drive-in garages. Seems clean, quiet and orderly. I am approached by a Spanish speaking lady. "Una noche, una persona", I say. " 220 Pesos", she replies. Hmmm....I like the price. She shows me the room. Wow...has everthing, no wifi, but that's ok. Then, there is a narrow, chair/bed like device in the middle of the room. It is curved and has, what appears to be, stirrups and handles on the side. An extra bed...? No, looks more like a "love" something

An unusual request...alone and just wanting to sleep...

....And then it dawns on me, I am in a "Love Motel". Ok then...a knock on the garage door. The same lady tells me, I have to be out of here by midnight. Are you %$#% kidding me? I am not getting on my iron horse at 12 in the morning and ride in to the wet darkness. I don't even want to make use of your love chair, maybe as a clothes hanger. I want to just sleep and shower.

I ask for my money back. We go back and forth. Like Dancing with the Stars, just without the music. Finally, she agrees to let me stay until 7am. That's all I need! I'll be gone by then. "Just make sure, there are no funny noises coming from the neighboring rooms tonight", I am thinking, but unable to relay that to her in Spanish.

I am hungry. Nothing in walking distance. Big Bertha and I ride down the main drag. Traffic and lake-like water puddles don't make this town exactly attractive. I find a guy who makes Hamburgers in a little hole-in-the-wall joint off the side of the street. His name is, Mr. Happy. I order a "Happy Hamburger" with everything. Ok...for the beer I have to walk a block. It's still raining. No problem. Beer is wet, too.

Not pictured...strips of grilled beef strips...taaaastyyyyy.

I return with a six-pack and by that time, a friendly friend of Mr.Happy has stopped by the open air restaurant. He speaks good English, wears a 49ers cap and has lived in Philly for a while. We chat about life, take pictures, and I tell 'em about my trip. Turns out, Mr. Happy had lived in Vallejo for a year, and knew many towns in and around the Bay Area. Small world. Then his 18 year old daughter, Nancy, joins us. We talk more, take more pictures and then, it's time to head back to the...hehe, Love Motel.

Mr. Happy, little Ms. Happy and a "Happy" customer

I leave Mr. Happy with a a yellow "Mr. Happy Hamburger" cap in exchange for a couple of "Crazyridesouth.com wristbands. Now that's the spirit...

Just hope, I don't hear any funny noises tonight from next door...yeah right, it's a "Looove Motel". What ya you thinking, Axel...?