Trans-Mexico Day #12 Rincon Grande to Guanajuato

Trans-Mexico Day #12

January 8 2022
Rincon Grande, GU to Guanajuato, GU 83Km
Start 7:49am Finish 6:38pm
Ride Time: 7:18
Ascent: 1803m
Descent: 1871m
Tour Total Km: 1171
Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/81183122

I slept in a weird spot last night on a cow path above a clearing, not far from the road. The tent was pitched side to side and I placed my panniers on the downhill side outside the tent so that I wouldn’t roll down the hill in the middle of the night. It wasn’t the most comfortable spot, but I didn’t have a lot of options.

Last evening I was very conscious about being seen from the road. I was up the hill a bit and behind some trees, but the road was clearly visible. I sat and cooked myself dinner, and didn’t set up my tent until after it got dark. A few motorcycles and cars passed by on the road. I only used my red headlight and doused it whenever a vehicle passed. I sat behind my tent and attempted to edit yesterday’s report. Whenever a motorcycle or car passed, I would shut my laptop. I was exhausted and didn’t have any beer, so I didn’t stay up long.

This morning I woke up with the first light. It was a slow pack up. My gear and tent were covered in condensation. I was psyched that my tires had remained inflated. I was down to one liter of water and my power pack was at 16 percent. Not a single motor vehicle had passed on the road until right when I was sneaking back under the barbed wire fence. I guess I got busted. The next kilometer up the hill was tough and I had to walk some of it. I spotted perhaps a better camping spot another kilometer up the hill, but it was now too late. I climbed up towards the ridge and could still see the strange teepees from yesterday far in the distance. I finally crossed up over the ridge and could see the next valley in front of me. I put on my rain jacket for the chilly downhill. In addition I was wearing my short-sleeve jersey, short sleeve sweater, cycling shorts, leg warmers, socks, short-sleeve gloves, and brim.

I came to a crossroad and took a left towards El Gigante. I rode down through a small collection of houses and then took the tour’s steepest descent yet on smoothly paved rock. Thank goodness I didn’t have to climb this section. I entered a valley with jaw dropping views, and was still descending. I passed a dude jogging up the hill. Kudos to him!

I rode down into the valley and came to an intersection, and took a right towards Alfaro. I could see a large city in the distance to the west, ostensibly Leon. From there it was a long straight uphill with washboards and loose gravel. I came to a crossroad and took a left towards Nuevo Valle de Moreno. I was hot, and stopped to take off my rain jacket and leg-warmers.

I was at a solid level four today, and if I didn’t make it to Guanajuato tonight I’d be at level five, the very bottom of cycling hygiene. Because of how harshly I’ve been punishing myself out here, I've been going to nice hotels when I was in town. I can sleep in a palace in Mexico for less than what it would cost to stay at a La Quinta in the states. It’s an odd contradiction when a dusty, scraggly, scratched up cyclist with a fully loaded bicycle shows up at a nice dig. That’s how I roll.

I had peddled 10km by 9am. If I had gone to the hotel in Leon last night, as planned, it would’ve added 5 km each way off route. When I had made that plan I hadn’t known about the set of mountains that were beforehand.

I’ve noticed a lot of ATVs hauling propane and groceries. I’ve also seen motorcycles hauling people, groceries, and tortillas. Lastly the ubiquitous pick-up truck hauling people, propane, cattle, and you name it. I rode down into a small town without services, and then up back through the other side. Then I was on a nice flat, on top of the ridge. There were spectacular views of the mountain range.

I met a friendly cyclist named Andreas who was taking a ride up into the mountains. He told me about the road ahead and promised me services in fifteen minutes. He said that the trail to Cristo Rey would be tough, but then it would be downhill to Guanajuato.

As I was screaming down the hill another day cyclist was struggling with the climb in the other direction. I came up over the other side of the range and enjoyed stupendous views ahead. I rode down into the valley and hit a nice flat section. It felt great to get this mountain range behind me. I had really hit the wall yesterday.

I rounded a curve and could see buildings and radio towers ahead in the distance. My breakfast stop in San Juan de Otates was near. I stopped at the first tienda that I came to. A representative from JUMEX was there taking orders with his motorcycle. I got two bottles of water and a JUMEX nectar de mango. The representative shot me a smile. I filled up my water bottles and got my sugar fix. I continued into town and asked a woman where I could get some breakfast. She pointed me directions and I found a guy out in front of a tienda carving cooked meat. There was a table inside which his daughter promptly cleaned. I ordered three beef tacos. The guy recommended the chili’s from one of the bowls on the table. Mexicans love to talk about chili’s and I enjoy partaking. I also ordered a Fanta, and plugged in my phone to charge while I was eating. There were plenty of tiendas on my way out of town, and I relished the pavement. Then I came to a highway and took a left. The mountains were now to the northeast and I was heading southeast. I came to the turn off for the hotel that I had planned to stay at last night. It was 10:30am. From here it was another 55km to my destination in Guanajuato.

I was on the outskirts of Leon and there was plenty of businesses and motor traffic along the bumpy cobblestone rock pavement. There were dozens of places offering food. I stopped to readjust my rear right pannier and noticed that my mini tripod was gone. Like bread crumbs, I’ve been leaving a path across Mexico. The route finally turned from the highway and led me back again to dirt.

I eventually rejoined a stretch of asphalt heading east towards another string of mountain ranges. On the highest point far in the distance I could see an object, and had an awful feeling that it was Cristo Rey. Soon I was off the gravel and back on dirt. Many of the small streams here smelled like raw sewage. I crossed over the top of a dam, but there was no substantial water backed up behind it, only puddles in a field. A large concrete spillway was inactivate. This was either a failed project or it was incomplete.

I was now steadily climbing on gravel. There was amber grass, scraggly bushes, and cactus to both sides of the road with no barbed wire fences. I was surrounded by mountains. By noon I had ridden 40km. I stopped at a tienda in El Paraíso for a Coke. I removed my sweater and I covered myself with sunscreen. From here it would be a major climb up to see Jesus.

I was on a long bumpy climb on stone pavement which then cut off into dirt. I had read that reaching Cristo Rey was tough, but had no idea that it was basically a hike-a-bike up an entire mountain. The grades were too steep and it was too chunky for me to ride. I was having to stop every twenty to thirty feet to catch my breath. At some points I would have to push, haul, or carry my bike up through a deep rut. I was using all of my strength. I noticed a group of guys below on horseback who were slowly catching up with me. They were all well dressed and had fine animals. They finally passed me and I watched them progress ahead of me. I could see bicycle tracks in the dirt along with foot prints. I wasn’t the only person whom had hike-a-biked this mountain. Mountains are a tangible challenge. When I first laid eyes on the peak, it seemed insurmountable. It was the tallest summit in the area. But like any challenge, it can be solved bit by bit. Besides, I knew there was food up on top, and I was confident there would be a downhill on the other side. Plus there would be cold beer waiting for me tonight in Guanajuato.

I came to a flat section where I could ride. I’d been using my lowest gear for two days now and needed a whole new set of lower gears. Apologies to Jesus for all the times I used the F word today on the climb. The guys on horseback eventually passed me on their way dback own. They had already been to the top. I was slowly getting there. At least there was a cool breeze up on top of the ridge.

My GPS mocked me whenever I hike-a-biked. It couldn't tell if I was standing still or moving, and it chirped at me. Finally I reached a road that was paved with stones and with a rideable grade. There was motor vehicle traffic and numerous guys on horse back. One dude was riding a donkey. I stopped at a food stand and drank a Coke. I then began the final ascent. The cobblestone paved rocks were bumpy so I rode a long narrow section of concrete sidewalk that was smoother. Souvenir stands lined the road and were swamped with Mexican tourists. Cristo Rey is the Mexican equivalent of Mount Rushmore. The twenty meter bronze statue stands at the geographical center of the country and is visited my millions. The official at the gate asked me to put on my mask before entering. I got my photo taken up top in front of Jesus. For me, what made this a special achievement was the harrowing climb.

My ride down the other side of the ridge was on cobblestone rock shared with motor traffic. I estimated that it was another 20km to Guanajuato. For some reason I was seeing TelCel bars on my phone but didn’t have any service. I eventually left the cobblestone rock pavement and took a right onto gravel. I climbed up over a small pass and came down on the other side where I saw an astronomical observatory and an entrance to a mine. My rear wheel was a little soft so I stopped to inflate it.

I had about 500 m of tarmac then the road turned to dirt. I took a right on GTO State Highway 110 which had a much smoother cobblestone rock pavement. It was actually cast concrete made to look like cobblestone rock. There was a cement embankment to the right which was much easier to ride. I stopped at a tienda for a Coke and asked the proprietor how much farther it was to Guanajuato. He replied that it was another thirty minutes by bike. One never knows if these are cycling or motor vehicle estimates.

I came around a curve and spotted the small town of Santa Ana in the distance. I was coming down off the ridge and the afternoon light was golden. It was a magical moment. Guanajuato was another one of Mexico’s famous silver cities and I saw plenty of mining evidence. I came around another turn and could see Guanajuato ahead. My Wahoo GPS ran out of battery and died. My stats today would be a tad incomplete. Fortunately My new milage computer purchased in Zacatecas was keeping count. Stats and navigation are all about redundancy. I had charged the Wahoo last night, but apparently not enough. Maybe the hike-a-bike chirping used more power. There was only 1% left on my power pack, so I couldn't recharge it. I had missed a turn onto a dirt road and decided to just stay on the highway. I was using my phone to navigate the route. I passed through the town of Valencia and noticed the Hacienda de Guadalupe ruins up on a hill.

I wound my way down into town and entered my first tunnel. There are old tunnels underneath the entire city of Guanajuato and I had heatd that it was easy to get lost here. I finally came up above ground and found a TelCel store in front of me. I went in to find out why I didn’t have any service. Silly me. I had shut off my data in an attempt to save battery life. I Googled and booked a room at Hotel Luna in the historic center. It was only 500m from the TelCel store. Google maps routed me back down into the tunnel system where there was no longer a gps signal. I got completely turned around and ended up in an entirely different part of town. Guanajuato is incredibly hilly and I found myself climbing up a steep hill to Monumento Al Pipila. Then, because I was using bicycle directions, Google maps took me down a steep staircase the entire side of a mountain. When I finally returned to the historic center, about an hour later, it was hopping with music, entertainers, and souvenir hustlers. I was exhausted and just wanted to get to my hotel.

I had booked a room with a balcony and the clerk told me that it was only available for one night. I was told that I would need to change rooms tomorrow. I like to completely unpack, air out my tent, and string a laundry line. For the same price, he moved me to the presidential suite, where a Mexican president had once stayed. It was away from the street and less noisy than the balcony suite. It had a twenty foot ceiling and an exquisite tiled floor. I took a shower and let my filthy laundry soak in the sink.

For dinner I sat at the restaurant out front. Music was coming from every direction. I ordered an avocado stuffed with tuna, a chicken Caesar salad, pasta Bolognese, a few Victorias, and a couple of margaritas with mezcal. It was good to be back in civilization.