Marvelous Morelia…!!

Mexican toll roads are an expensive alternative to taking the slower and more scenic country roads…

After making good time on the Arce Norte and having my wallet punished at 5 toll gates, I was ready to take to the country roads….

It cost almost $35.00 (R300.00) to travel about 250 km from Teotihuacan to a point where I had finally had enough of the high costs, and slipped off the Mex15 to ride the last 75 km to Morelia on a winding and far more interesting road…

Back where we like it the most, the winding, twisty country roads leading through scenic landscapes…

Petrol is relatively cheap in Mexico, at an average of about $0.70 a litre (R6.15), and the $35.00 in tolls to cover 250 km, could have seen me riding over 900 km on toll-free roads…!!

The alternative routes or “libre”, are not much longer, but do take you through a number of villages which make use of “topes” or speed bumps to slow traffic down…

These conical structures are used to store seeds for the following year’s planting, and can be found in many villages in central Mexico… Seems like a lot of trouble to go to, just to store seeds…!!

These bumps are often cleverly disguised in the deep shadows of roadside trees, and on more than one occasion, I found myself airborne…!! Not a pleasant experience, especially when you happen to be taken a photo on the fly, and have only one hand on the steering…!!

One “big save” I made after hitting a speed bump one-handed, actually elicited a short burst of applause from a shepherd, and a loud cry of  “Una vez mas, por favor…!!” (Once again, please…!!)

“Not likely…!!” I shouted back, running my tongue across my teeth to see if any were missing…!!

I arrived in Morelia at lunchtime, and made my way to the cathedral as directed by Martin of the Venados Riders… I was supposed to meet members of the Manosos Riders there…

I made a call to my contact Juanito, and quickly discovered that I was at the wrong cathedral…!! Gi-Gi received a flick of my finger as punishment for this little error…!! She lapsed into a sullen silence for three days after this, causing me to miss many a turnoff…!!

The Manosos guys duly arrived, and greeted me like long-lost friends… We stood chatting in the little park outside the church I had been waiting at, while Juanito, made calls to various media personalities to advise them of my arrival…!!

My first meeting with the Manosos Riders… Mauricio, Salvador, Juanito and Gabriel…

Apparently, meetings had been set up with various forms of media as well as the secretary for tourism in the city…!!

They guys then led me to the city centre and parked outside the Cathedral I was supposed to meet them at, and while we waited for confirmation of my interviews, we raised the first of many glasses to toast my arrival in Morelia…

We were led through the narrow streets of the historic quarter of town, on our way to the Cathedral…

The first of many a liquid refreshment to toast my arrival in Morelia…

The Manosos Riders are more of a social club than the typical “Biker Gang” that groups of riders are normally associated with… The club is composed of local businessmen and professionals, and were formed when various couples sought out other like-minded folk to ride together with… They have been going for almost seven years and remain a tightly knit group of close friends…

Each year they organise a “Combebe”, or Rally, as we would call it, and the previous year almost 2 000 bikers attended the Manosos Combebe, boosting the local economy, and no doubt pleasing bar owners throughout the city…!!

Meeting the media, and the Secretary of Tourism at the headquarters of the local newspaper…

At the meeting with the local Secretary for Tourism, I was interviewed by a large group of reporters and answered their many candid questions as best I could… When I was asked how many countries I had ridden or been in on my tour, my reply was greeted with amazement, and it was at this moment that it began to dawn on me, just how big a ride I was making…

Morelia’s Coat of Arms… A treasured memento from the city…

Honoured by the local Bureau for Tourism…

My mind has been rather pre-occupied with getting to Alaska, and I had let the fact that I was about to ride into my 100th country, slip into the rear seat of my consciousness…

At the end of my interview, I was presented with a huge bag og “goodies” which included a bright red waistcoat extolling the virtues of this wonderful city; a t-shirt and cap; CD’s featuring local artists; a book of poetry; a banner with the city’s Coat of Arms; and a certificate proclaiming me “Visitante Distiguido”…!!

This was all very humbling for me, and I felt my cheeks burning at the fuss that was being made over me…!!

The looks of pride on the faces of my friends from the Manosos was more than heartwarming…

Then we went out onto the street for more photos and more questions about the bike I was riding… I was sure to let everybody in earshot know that I would not have been able to make this ride without the Big Fella, ushering him into the spotlight and then having to field a raft of new questions…

Outside the offices of “La Vos de Michuocan” the local newspaper) we gathered for a photo with the secretary for Tourism…

Meat went onto the grill in relays, and as more people arrived, Salvador had his work cut out for him…!!

Once the crowds surrounding us had dispersed, we were able to ride out to Biker’s Garage, a business owned by Juanito and Gabriel, where bikes of all shapes and sizes were sold and serviced…

A grill was dragged out from behind the shed and more meat than you can shake a stick at was soon BBQ-ing away… Many more bikers from the club arrived, each bearing liquid refreshments of one kind or another, and a very merry time was had by all…!!

At some point, the Tequila bottle was brought forward, and before long the level in it had dropped alarmingly… I was sure that another would be produced sooner or later and vaguely remember drinking toast after toast with my new-found friends…

This in between many trips to and from the bike to have my photo taken with all the members of the club…

I was introduced to Fernando, who not only rode a BMW 1200 GS, but was also the local distributor for Polaris Quad Bikes… He later presented me with two more sweaters and wished me good luck on the rest of my journey… Much appreciated, Fernando…!!

Photo call with part of the Manosos Riders… Many hours later, we were still gathered around the table, discussing all things “biking” and planning an outride for the following day…!!

At some point during the evening, somebody asked me where I was staying, and I realised with a start that I had absolutely no idea…!! A quick discussion took place and it was decided that I would be hosted by Gilberto and his wife, Jessica…

They might look friendly in the early morning light, but when I was confronted by these two, in the midst of a tequila-befuddled sleep, I thought the Hounds of Hell were upon me…!!

After arranging to meet some of the group for an outride the following day, I rode out of the workshop, following “Sol” as he is affectionately known, down the main street of the city and out into the suburbs… Considering my condition, it would have been safer to have left the bike at the workshop, and taken a taxi instead…!!

We roared through the darkness of the early morning (midnight having come and gone while we partied…!!) and minutes later arrived safely at Gilberte’s home where I settled into their spare room and collapsed into bed…!!

I was woken at some point by the cold and wet nose of their doe-eyed Basset, who seemed to find my armpit of particular interest…!! It took at least ten seconds for me to figure out that there was a large dog in the room with me, before I levitated off the bed, crashing into another, much larger dog who had been standing at the foot of the bed, no doubt egging the Basset on…!!

To say that I nearly soiled myself would be an understatement…!! The dogs got as a big a fright as I did, and fled from the room, knocking each other over in their haste to get out of the door…!! I dragged some of my gear over to the door to prevent them returning to scare the living daylights out of me again, and fell back into bed…

Barely a few hours later I was back out on the road, riding towards the town of Quiroga, with a small posse of the Manosos…

Following the guys and girls on an outride into the countryside…

Mauricio and Juanito’s daughter, Sofia led the way…

Fide, looking like Castro…!!

Memo, a local doctor, and his wife Norma, who owns a coffee shop, rode with us…

And finally, Juanito’s wife, Dinora, on her blue Vulcan…

We stopped for breakfast in the small town of Quiroga… It was market day, and the town was a bustle with locals….

A meaty breakfast…!! What more could you want…!! Maybe a little salsa to cover the veggie angle…!!

Layout of Tzintzuntzan…

After breakfast, Mauricio and I strolled about to look at all the locally manufactured items on sale… The town seems to specialise in leather and wooden products, and large wooden carvings can be found in almost every doorway… They are mostly of old men and women, and I was told that on Sundays, the elderly congregate in the local square and dance in the open air…

It’s this big…!!

We rode south after that, towards the archeological site of Tzintzuntzan, which means “Place of the Hummingbirds” in the ancient dialect of Purepecha…

This large site was once used for ceremonial purposes, and the five large semi-circular structures or “Yacatas” once held temples… The Tarascans controlled a vast area surrounding this centre, subjugating smaller chiefdoms and demanding tribute from those they conquered…

We strolled around the site, where archeologists are re-building many of the massive platforms as part of a World Heritage project…

What’s missing from this picture…!!

Have I got the pose right…??

From the grounds we could see down over Lago de Patzcuaro, and across to the hills in almost every direction…

The Tarascans had chosen the site for their fortifications very well, as the hill we stood upon was both easily defended, and surrounded by fertile fields which fed the inhabitants…

Fide, Dinora, Memo, Norma, Mauricio and Sofia…. My Manosos companions for the day…

We later stopped in the beautiful town square in Patzcuaro, and while the girls enjoyed an ice-cream, the boys tried a beer or two…

Morelia re-entry…!! It had been a great ride through many interesting towns on very good roads…

Our route which took us out on a big loop to Patzcuaro and back to Morelia…

The Club’s Emblem…

Boutique with a sense of humour…!!

The ride back to Morelia was made in double-quick time and after making the 120 km loop from Morelia, we arrived back at the Biker Garage, where we had a quick lunch that was brought in by one of the gang…

It was decided that I accompany Fide to his house, and meet up with the club members later that evening…

And so began an afternoon that I would not soon forget…!!

The plan was for me to spend the afternoon checking my mail and perhaps doing some work on my site, using Fide’s WiFi set-up which he had installed at home…

On the way there, I pulled up next to him at some traffic lights and he suggested we stop at a local biker bar to meet the owner and perhaps have one beer…

The bar where we stopped for “just one beer”…!! The Yea-Yea is a famous biker hangout in Morelia…

Beer and bikes seem to go hand in hand at this place…!!

The bar was decorated with the colours of many of Morelia’s biker clubs, as well as some from out-of-state…

We met the owner, known by the same name as the bar, “Yea-Yea”, who sat down with us and began asking the usual questions about the bike and the journey I was on…

He was more than impressed with the details I gave in reply to his queries and ordered one of his waitresses to bring the first round of tequila in honour of my visit…

Other bikers from nearby table had overheard parts of our conversation, and soon more tequila’s were arriving to “honour the crazy biker”…!!

During this time, Fide also kept the waiters busy by ensuring that we were never short of beer…!!

Yea-Yea then presented me with a T-shirt and various badges and stickers to keep as mementos of my visit and bid me “Fuerte…!!” before leaving to attend to the other pressing matters…

Yea-Yea (nobody knows his real name…!!) and Fide keep the drinks coming while I begin to wonder how I am going to ride the bike…!!

It did not take Fide and I very long to work our way through this mix of meat and vegetables…!! I needed something to dilute the deadly concoction of Tequila and Beer that was causing havoc inside me…!!

Outside Yea-Yea, the Big Fella waited patiently while we were being toasted by every man and his dog…!!

A few hours and a number of tequila’s later, as well as many beers and a great late lunch/early supper, we finally made it back onto our bikes and rode to Fide’s home…

Carefully, I might add…!!

Once there, Fide decided that I needed a stiff Cognac and Coke “to clear the cobwebs in my brain”…!!

While I tried to focus on the many emails in my inbox, he went upstairs to change, and appeared downstairs a few minutes later, looking completely refreshed and ready to roll again…!!

Looking better than I felt, outside the Cathedral in Morelia… This was my final evening among the many new friends I had made in the city…

After a quick shower, we rode out to another suburb close by, and stopped at another bar…!! At this point my brain and liver combined to reject and further offers of alcohol, and I switched to Coke…!!

We were joined by Mauricio and his brother Billy, and after a few rounds, left to meet the rest of the Manosos across the road from the magnificent Cathedral in the city centre…

The building of this Cathedral was completed in 1744, and its twin bell towers dominate the city’s skyline…

It is made from a pink stone that the seems to absorb sunlight during the day, and ensures that it stands out from all the other buildings surrounding it…

At night, the entire structure is lit up by a battery of floodlights, making it the focal point of the entire city…

While the Manosos had a quick club meeting at the restaurant directly opposite the Cathedral, I chatted to the members who did not take part in the meeting, and discussed the route to Guadalajara that I would be riding the following day…

Mauricio’s brother, Billy, had very kindly offered to ride to this city with me, and introduce me to the Manosos Chapter in Guadalajara…

Displaying the colours of the Manosos Riders, as great a bunch of guys and their girls, as you’d ever hope to be hosted by…!!

We made arrangements to meet the following morning at 8.00 am, and as the bells of the Cathedral began chiming midnight, I began my search for Gilberto, at whose house all my gear was, and more importantly, the bed I was longing for…!!

It took another hour or so before I was able to begin the final round of “goodbyes”…!!

One by one, the friends I had made, shook my hand and gave me a farewell hug, inviting me back to their city, and confirming that I would always have a place to stay there…

Slowly, the parking area in front of the cathedral emptied, as riders fired up their machines and roared away into the night…

I followed Gilberto and his wife Jessica, through the dark and traffic free streets of Morelia, and arrived at their home, where we were greeted by the howling of their two dogs…

I remembered the fright they had given me the night before and this time ensured that they would not find their way into my room again, by barricading the door before I fell asleep…!!

The Manosos gather for a few final photos with me, as I prepare to ride back to Gilberto’s house…

After enjoying “a sleep of the dead”, which lasted barely four hours, I was up loading the bike and waiting for Gilberto to make an appearance…

With Jessica and Gilberto, ny kind hosts in Morelia…

We wheeled our bikes out into the street and then with Jessica up behind him, Gilberto lead me to where we would meet Billy and begin our ride to Guadalajara…

I will always remember the kindness and great lengths the Manosos of Morelia went to, to ensure that I enjoyed my stay in their city… My heartfelt thanks go out to all of them…!! I hope to see you all again one day…!!

©GBWT 2012