To Guadalajara and More Manosos…

Billy and I made good time to Guadalajara, covering the 400 odd km in less than five hours…

Following Billy out of Morelia… We would make a fast ride to Guadalajara, stopping only once to refuel and enjoy a light breakfast…

We rode the country roads, passing through Quiroga and Zacapu before stopping in Zamora for breakfast…

This is Mexico’s prime strawberry growing region and for miles, both before and after the town, long greenhouses had been erected to grow the fruit…

Packing houses lined the street where we stopped to eat, and refrigerated trucks stood waiting to receive their sweet cargo…

Our route took us up and over a few small mountain ranges, where plantations of pine tress grew on the slopes, and slow-moving trucks carrying logs, had to be avoided…

Just before Guadalajara, we veered off the main road and took a detour to Chapala, a resort town on the edge of Mexico’s largest lake of the same name…

Billy gives me the thumbs up as I pass him on the way to Chapala…

Many Americans have bought property here and built villas along the lake shore, and the town centre has a definite holiday feel to it…

There we met a few of Billy’s friends, all members of the Manosos Riders, but based in Guadalajara… Uri and Gonzalo rode sport bikes rather than the choppers I had come to associate with other Manosos Riders…

Billy proudly shows his colours while Uri and Gonzalo join us for a photo….

We strolled out on the long jetty that juts out into the lake, mingling with the many locals that had gathered there on this bright and sunny Saturday morning…

During the high season, these boats take tourists on short excursions to the nearby islands on the lake….

The Manosos here were on average a lot younger than their counterparts in Morelia were, and consisted of about a dozen riders in all… They were just as friendly and eager to make my stay in their hometown as comfortable and interesting as possible…

I met with a few more of them after we had ridden into the city itself, and parked outside a large and well established restaurant which is apparently listed as having the fastest service in the world…!!

Posing with a few of Guadalajara’s Manosos Riders… We had just enjoyed lunch together, where I had met most of the other members of the club….

The restaurant seats over 500 people on two levels and was packed to capacity when we arrived… And the service was fast…!! Not too surprising when you consider that there isn’t really a menu… You basically have three choices of the same dish; small, medium or large…!!

The dish is a delicious meat and bean stew, and while the waiter hurries off to fill the size plate you have ordered, side dishes of salsa, guacamole and heaps of tacos are placed before you by a small army of junior assistants…

After lunch, we rode out to Gonzalo’s home, where I was invited to spend the night… Together he and I made a professional job of repairing the wiring to my main head-light, which had melted around the connection…!! Gonzalo is meticulous in everything he does, and made sure that the new connection would not be giving me any trouble in the future…

Gonzalo on his Honda CBR 600… A machine he lavishes attention on and goes like the clappers…!!

Late that afternoon, we rode out to join other members of the club at a small restaurant that they frequented… While we ate, Uri, who has his own business repairing computers, spent time making adjustments and changes to the operating system of my laptop, which had been acting up in recent times… After about an hour, he had sorted out the many glitches he had discovered, and I am relieved to report that it is now working better than ever…!! Thanks again Uri…!!

After dinner we took a slow ride through the city, crossing a beautifully lit up bridge and touring through an area that showcased many of the beautiful old buildings of the city…

Juanito of the Morelia Manosos had in the mean time been in touch with another biker club in Mazatlan, and called to confirm that they would be waiting for me in the seaside city the following day…

We made our way back to Gonzalo’s home, after arranging to meet a few riders early the following morning… They would ride with me as far as the small town of Tequila, west of the city, where I sincerely hoped we would not stop to sample the liquid that this town is famous for…!!

One of the original gateways to the city, has been renovated and at night makes for an eye-catching landmark…

It was well after midnight before Gonzalo and I finally decided that if we wanted to make the early start I had planned, then we had better get some shut-eye…!!

The ride to Mazatlan would take me out to the shores of the Pacific Ocean once more, a distance of over 500 km, and by staying off the toll-roads, would take me over seven hours to complete…

After plugging the route into my GPS, I packed most of my gear in readiness to be loaded and began “surfing the coach” in Gonzalo’s living room…

©GBWT 2012