'Gladeadores' and burn outs!

I’ll tell you about Cabo (or tell you most of it) once I have left the place…

… Well, I left the place, stored the van in La Paz and took the Topolobampo ferry across the Sea of Cortez and then rode to Los Mochis on the mainland.

Cabo was nice. The campground was more geared for big rigs and it wasn’t exactly cheap. It was walking distance to the beach and easy to get to. I walked around the Marina area and was quite impressed by the scale of the waterfront upgrades and mega construction that has been completed, but it was amazingly quite to me. Every bar had someone in it but because there is 5000 places, 10,000 customers is a small number all of a sudden. From Cabo I organized my storage, chilled out, got bike parts, chilled out some more, toured San Jose (my first impression says I like this town better than San Lucas), you got it, chilled some more, and washed the van and bike. I didn’t actually get to town much as I was quite content either on the bike or by the pool. I had to reload for the bike trip, and besides, after La Paz I needed the rest. Liking La Paz so much, I returned. This time I headed straight to the hotel after storing the van and only stopped for breakfast on the way to the ferry.

On the ferry I met up with 2 John Deere sales dudes Dave and Jose. We drank a couple beers and they were then kind enough to share a bunk in their 4 bunk Suite. It was funny because I had spotted them and their truck (I was thinking of Tim) getting on the ferry, and we managed to get to know each other later.

All hell broke out in Los Mochis the day after I rode in. I managed to land in town the day before a weekend bike rally was planned. There were live bands, thousands of people and their bikes, cheves (the local word for beer), tequila, burn outs, wheelies. I met a lady who introduced me to her son (Ray and later, Taco), who introduced me to the promoter (Tito), who introduced me to his family. I was invited for lunch with Tito’s extended family and I felt like an honored guest. While cruising around Topo and Playa Mavida I ran into a group from the ‘Gladeadores’ (Gladiators) Motorcycle Club out of Guadalajara. They were very cool people that worked hard to communicate with me and ensure I had a good time. I ran into them chilling on the Topo waterfront with music and beers. I pulled over to join them and practice a little Espaniol. They greeted me like the gringo loco I am and we hit it off immediately. Angelo’s (right) English is really good and it made the difference as my Spanish has a long way to go. Hector (left) is the father of the group and the life of the party (he kinda reminds me of Daryl) with his son and nephew. Toss in more amigos and amigas from the club, a hundred friends from all over, and another 3,000 bikers and we had a party that lasted all weekend long. It was the real Mexico to the core. ‘Viva Mexico Cabaronnes!’ What went down… Something that was either a destruction test or a loudest muffler competition was very popular. Bikes were doing brake stands everywhere. Modified trikes, quads and bikes were popping wheelies dangerously close to wild fans while all the time the live band is rocking to an old Led Zepplin song in the background (and doing a very good job too). Broken bottles and empty cans were everywhere. Girls were stuffed into leather pants. Over powered, under muffled, smoking, screaming motorcycles were put to the red line. The police were watching everything very dispassionately. Hell, they even lead the whole drunken bunch on a parade. I had to step away in the photo or surely I would have been killed by something. It was a blast! What great people! And then I just slept in the street again, but this time I didn’t have my van… Ha! Just kidding… Remember the first lady I met? Her family made sure I found a good hotel that was walking distance to the festival. They also took me for breakfast and invited me into their home just to make sure I survived the weekend. This was another opportunity where I only planned to stay a day and ended up staying for a bit longer due to ‘super bueno festival’. I plan on meeting up with the Gladeadores again in Guadalajara and I will also call back on Ignacio and his family when I pass through Los Mochis again. I got a map to Creel from Ray and I am set to go up the Copper Canyon on bike via El Fuerte.

I rode into El Fuerte on Sunday, Nov. 1st. Ignacio set me up in a nice hotel with a great view at a discount rate of 300p. It is the start of the ‘Festival of the dead’ today. As it is was explained to me by a couple of people… It is an opportunity to go to the grave side for a day of celebration. Families go to the grave side with candles and flowers, other decorations, and a picnic (and quite often, a bit of tequila). I saw a number of cemeteries decorated with flowers and populated with people having their day with the muertes.

I rode into Creel today, Tuesday Nov. 4th. The bike and my nerves are mostly all together but that’s the story for the next blog… I plan to Ride to Batopilas and then to Durango via Parrel de Hidalgo over the next week.