Trans-Mexico Day #5 Durango to Mezquital Municipality

Trans-Mexico Day #5

December 31, 2021

Durango DG to Mezquital Municipality, DG 105Km

Start 8:58am, Finish 6:05pm

Ride Time: 7:47

Ascent: 1703m

Descent: 1209m

Tour Total Km: 434

Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/80947621

I slept well in room 114 at the Hotel Roma in Durango. I had lost my room key last night and had to pay for a replacement this morning. I woke up around 7am and it was still dark outside. I began packing and finishing up yesterday’s report. There was a road-running event on the street down below my balcony. All of my clothes were clean. My devices were charged. I was freshly showered and shaven. I was back at level one.

My hotel was on the route, and I started by heading towards Plaza de las Armas. I rode by the city market where I stopped to buy three oranges. I went to an OXXO for a bottle of JuMex mango and a Olé Cappuccino. In addition, I purchased three bottles of water. I’d rather travel heavy then use my filters with cow pee water. I was wearing my short sleeve jersey and cycling shorts with leg covers and socks. In addition I had on my short sleeve sweater, rain jacket and balaclava. I was wearing short fingered gloves

I rode by the Vertical store where I'd gone yesterday to purchase the camping gas. I then got on a boulevard that led out of town. I was heading east and there were silhouettes of tall mountains to the east and to the south. I rode by the sprawling Coca-Cola bottling plant. I was on highway 23 headed towards Mezquital.

I cycled underneath the ‘Welcome to Durango’ gates and was once again in open country. There were orchards to both sides of the road with large trees in perfect alignment. The highway remained four lanes divided for some distance and then finally merged down to two lanes. There was substantial motor traffic. I was now surrounded by grass fields and grazing pastures.

There were a lot of speed bumps in Mexico. I didn't mind the large rounded variety, but the narrow high bumps and the topes drove me crazy. In a small pueblo 15km outside of Durango I saw three cyclists heading back towards the city. Large trees lined the highway.

After some distance the motor traffic calmed down, and it was just me, cornfields, stone walls, and cattle. There was an eighty kilometer stretch between Durango and Mezquital. I was in a wide open valley with large ridges to the left and smaller ridges to the right. I knew to expect a big climb at the end of the day.

Barbecue chicken stands lined the highway, and I could have easily stopped to grab a bite. I was still full from last night’s amazing meal (which I hadn’t even been able to finish). Twenty six kilometers into the ride, I began to feel a headwind that was strong at times. The breeze was coming directly out of the south, which was my heading. It was a matter of my crouching low and pushing out the kilometers. After 40km the road cut east and away from the valley. As I began to climb up the eastern ridge I noticed an old couch sitting underneath the shade of a tree, and I pulled over for a break. I sat there and ate the oranges that I had purchased earlier. They had a great taste but were pulpy and better suited for juicing. After another kilometer of climbing, I pulled over to remove my leg warmers. The headwind was chilly and the sun was strong. The climbing grade was decent.

The highway route clung to the side of the ridge and rose up from the undulating valley below. I later enjoyed a gorgeous long downhill that followed the ridge line back towards the valley. There were large rock outcroppings up above me along the top of the ridge. I was following the climbs and descents, down below the ridge line and midway along the slope. I would not want to be here in the heat of the summer.

The route then cut to the east and climbed up over a ridge to a new valley. I still had a fierce headwind. The wind was severe as I pedaled downhill into the valley. I was being blown all over the place. To either side of the road I noticed scrub, agave and cactus. Barbed wire lined the highway.

I descended down into the bottom of the valley and crossed a dried-up stream with beautiful eroded bad-land features that resembled architecture. I rode through the small pueblo of Paura. I noticed an open depósito and thought about stopping. Mesquito was only 10 km ahead. I crossed over another dried-up stream.

A little bit further down the road I crossed over another dried-up river bed. There was a broken down truck in the middle of the bridge. I noticed a small tienda and I stopped for a Coke. I removed my rain jacket and balaclava, and lathered myself up with sunscreen. I still had my short sleeve jersey, short sleeve sweater, cycling shorts and socks.

I stopped in El Troncón for gordita’s and a Pepsi. I thought I was in Mesquital, but I was still 2km away. It was 55 pesos (a little more than $2) for three gorditas and a large Pepsi. I asked if it was always this windy and they replied that it was. After lunch I headed up the hill towards Mesquital. There were plenty of open services and it hadn’t been necessary to transport an extra 3L of water. I could have purchased provisions here. When in doubt, I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. From here to Suchíl ostensibly there would be no services or bottled water available.

The climbing began immediately after Mezquital, and I had heard that it would be a tough climb. The wind seemed to only be an issue for part of the climb, depending on my heading. There were huge buttes ahead of me. Very little motor traffic plied the road, and I stopped to turn off my rear tail light.

I could see the colossal climb in front of me as it crisscrossed it’s way up the ridge. I pulled over to remove my sweater and socks. I fired up my iPod. Duane was doing a Toots Gibbert special, which was pretty lit. It was 3:30pm and I had 2-1/2 hours of remaining daylight.

The next four days, to Zacatecas, would be on back roads with little shared motor traffic. There would be very few services and I was looking forward to the adventure. I saw a large black object ahead of me and then realized that it was a calf.

The switchbacks snaked straight up the mountain, and the turns were sharp and steep. Climbing this mountain would be my last accomplishment of 2021. The Morning Glory trees to either side of the road were in bloom, and white flowers littered the highway. The trees were strange because the bare-boned branches had no leaves, yet the white flowers proliferated.

The climbing progressed with straights and hairpin curves with a consistent seven percent grade. I was switch-backing north and south. I had a headwind when I was headed south and had to push when I was going north.

A little after 4pm, I made it to the cut that I’d seen from down below. From up top, I was able to see the straight road that had led me to the climb. The cool breeze felt refreshing. Finally one of the switchback turns brought me to a tailwind. The headwind returned with a mellowed grade.

It was after 5pm and I was still on the backside of the ridge. It was shady and the air was considerably cooler. Finally I rounded a bend and was bathed in sunlight. The headwind was so strong, and it was a fine balance between warm and cold.

Back in the shade, I rode a big go-round indentation. The last part of the climb would be in sunlight. My toes were getting cold and I needed the sunlight.

The asphalt surface was beginning to deteriorate and the long shadows made it tricky to see missing chunks. I was getting cold so I pulled over to put on my sock,s leg covers, and short sleeve jersey. I had about forty-five minutes of daylight left, and would still need to find a place to camp.

At 5:52pm I finally reached the top of the ridge. The climb had taken 2-1/2 hours. I had a nice flat section and there seem to be good camping options, although there was barbwire. There were once again pine trees with long needles.

I came to the gate where the route went off-road. Jeff, the Russians, and the young Americans had all taken this route. It involved several locked gates and barbed wire that needed to be crossed. In addition there was chunky hike-a-bike. I like to ride my bike and not hike with it. I would be taking a detour and staying on the road the long way around. But it was getting dark and I needed to find a place to sleep. I noticed a gate across the highway that didn’t have a lock. There were pine trees and discreet places to camp. I quickly snuck in and followed a dirt track. I headed away from the tracks as far as I could go before I hit another barbwire fence. I noticed toilet paper and I knew that others had probably spend the night here. I was somewhat visible from the track, but it was getting dark. Two motor vehicles actually later drove down the track and didn’t see me.

I set up my tent and sat out in the cold enjoying a can of Tecate as I prepared this report.