Trans-Mexico Day #7 Sùchil to Francisco I. Madero

Trans-Mexico Day #7

January 2, 2022
Sùchil ZA to Francisco I. Madero ZA 87Km
Start 8:38am Finish 6:53pm
Ride Time: 8:11
Ascent: 1258m
Descent: 1026m
Tour Total Km: 616

Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/80947663

I slept pretty well in my stealth campsite in the cow pasture outside of Súchil. Last evening I bought four Victoria tall boys, two liters of water and two bags of nuts at the deposito in Súchil. There was Internet service in town, but it was spotty where I was camping. I was able to upload the past two day’s reports, although they were far from being sufficiently edited. I’m trying to get the reports out as quickly as possible, and I’d polish them later. The service was so poor that I was unable to upload any images.

It got really cold in the middle of the night and I put on my long underwear. My toes were still cold, and I considered putting my down sweater over the foot of my mummy sack. I enveloped myself within my silk liner and down bag. I woke up several times during the night and it was dark. Towards the morning I could hear the muffled sounds of church bells from town. It was really cold when I got up. My water bottles were frozen. It was a slow slow pack up. I had spiky burrs and shedding plant debris stuck to my clothing. The land and I were becoming one. By the end of the day today I’d be at level three. My power pack only had 35% charge left. Hopefully I’d be in Zacatecas tomorrow.

I had a difficult time trying to figure my way out of the cow pasture. There were all sorts of thorn bushes with paths that led between them. I used the sound of the highway to navigate, but still managed to get turned around. I was wearing long underwear top and bottoms, cycling shorts, short-sleeve jersey, downed sweater, socks and short finger gloves. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky during my 8:30am departure. I was on pavement and could make up some time.

I was now in Zacatecas, my third Mexican state. I was surrounded by ranch land, grass fields, and cattle. I was in a wide valley with smaller ridges than what I had seen for the past few days. I rode through a the small pueblo of Gualterio with a few houses, church, radio tower, and plaza. All of the services were closed, so I kept riding.

On my way out of town I spotted a small comedor that was serving menudos. To drink I ordered a Mirīnda orange. The friendly proprietor kept bringing me hot tortillas, many of which I would take with me to go. Her two curious young daughters kept checking on me. The meal was just what I needed. Though, compared to the meal in Mezquital, 92 pesos seemed a bit steep. Even in these small towns people were wearing masks. It was a definite contrast to what I’d seen in small town USA.

Since Súchil I’d crossed a pair of railroad tracks three times. We seemed to be traveling east together which should indicate easy grades for me. There was a lot more motor traffic on the highway today. I’d seen a sign for Somebretto which was 34 km away, but I would be turning off before then.

I got a hot on the climb, and pulled over to remove my down sweater. Next, of course, I had a downhill and my sweaty long underwear made me cold. I pulled over to plug in my iPod. I was still riding along side the railroad tracks. I remember the Russians writing about these unused railroad tracks that went on for kilometers. I passed through a the small village of Colonia Aquiles Serdán with probably 40 houses, a basketball court, and a radio tower. The town borrachos were out at the corner where the main road met the highway with their 40 ounce bottles of cerveza. It was 10:20 in the morning.

Two horses galloped up onto the road and then back down into the grass. A guy on a motorcycle was corralling them. My rig and gear were covered with dust from yesterday’s off-road. The air was cool with a small headwind from the east. I hit an amazing section of asphalt that was perfectly smooth, and then it was time to exit the highway.

I had ridden 29 km and it was 10:51am. I took a right towards Corrales. I saw a sign that I was on the Pan-American Silver Mexico United Lacarbonara. I was on the Silver Trail. This area produced some of the richest deposits back in the day. I stopped to remove my long underwear bottoms. It was still chilly and the first part had been on pavement. I was doubtful that the asphalt would continue. I knew I had at least one off-road section today. I crossed back over the railroad tracks and began off-road riding alongside them.

I got confused and went over a gate that I wasn’t supposed to. I was basically following the railroad tracks and there was some sort of path to either side. Some of it was quite chunky with a lot of hike-a-bike. At one point I crossed the track and it was a little bit better. I noticed bicycle tracks in the dirt.

I came to an edge of a field and the route took me south away from the railroad track. This part of the route was dirt and pretty smooth, and I was able to make up for some of the hike-a-bike. I continued to notice bicycle tracks. For a stretch I had some asphalt and could make up some time. I saw a worker in a field with his bicycle besides him. I saw several locals riding bicycles.

I rode through the small pueblo of Buena Vista that had two basketball courts and about twenty houses. A tienda was open and I stopped for a Fanta and a banana. I had thistles and burrs attached to my socks. I wonder what I must look like to the locals. A little girl gave me a piece of gum before I left. I rode on dirt with a headwind out of town.

I was pedalling through fields on tractor paths. I wouldn’t have been able to navigate this with just the Wahoo. I also needed the GPS from my iPhone. Some parts had treacherous rocks and other parts had sand. There were many areas that I had to hike-a-bike.

I stopped at a tienda in San Jose de Mesillas and got myself a Fanta. I met a guy on horseback who had worked most of his life in Texas. He commented on how cold it must’ve been for me up in the mountains, and I told him that my water had froze last night. He offered me help if I needed it. On my way out of town I passed an outdoor arena, either for baseball or for rodeos. As I rode away from the town I noticed a large lake to the northeast.

I crossed a cattle guard with the slots aligned with traffic. It was harrowing on a bike. A pick-up truck then passed me. I subsequently entered a long stretch of cobblestone. I prefer dirt to cobblestone. The cobblestone road from hell was a bumpy long climb surrounded by scrub, grass, cactus, and these weird palm things. Finally the cobble stone rock road ended and I was back on gravel. I was making really slow time. There was a small chapel at the top of the ridge and the backside was really pretty, just as the route notes had claimed.

I saw a beautifully formed tree in a nice grass field and I was going to stop and take a photo. At the last minute I realized there were a bunch of dudes set up with a picnic, and I didn’t want to be intrusive. Down the road, on an uphill, there were eight people out taking a walk. I wasn’t the only one out enjoying the local splendor.

A black SUV passed me going in my direction. I really shouldn’t go there but there’s a number of rich kids in my Brooklyn neighborhood who drive around in Jeeps and Range Rovers decked out with wenches utility racks, and huge extra tires. These guys look like they’re decked out to go on safari. I doubt that any of them have ever been on a road like this. But they like the the OUTCHEA look. That's how they pick up girls.

My cycling computer died. It’s had a spotty performance from the beginning. I thought about buying a new one before this tour and I should have. Now I’ll have to manually compute the total mileage. I crossed two more cattle guards with the normal cross traffic orientation that I was used to. These are terrifying enough to cross on a bicycle! I rounded the bend and made a nice downhill into a small puebla. There were about twenty to thirty homes. I smelled nice aromas, but saw no services.

I climbed back up out of the valley on a smooth gravely road. A pick-up truck passed me going the same direction and kicked up a cloud of dust. The shadows were starting to get long and I was in shade on the western ridge side cuts. My water bottle nipples tasted like dust.

I descended into a valley and crossed a stream. I then started climbing the next ridge. A white pick up truck passed me going the other direction as I was almost to the top. Back up on top of the ridge I enjoyed the warm glow of the late afternoon sun. It would be dark in ninety minutes and I wasn’t sure where I would be sleeping. I had a long flat stretch of washboards. The scenery was beautiful with evergreens, bushes, and grass.

I stopped to take off my sunglasses and swap into my goggles. The sun finally went over the horizon and I got cold. I was fairly close to Francisco I. Madero, and I was hopeful that I could make it. I stopped to put on my long underwear and socks underneath my jersey and cycling shorts.

I could see on my GPS that Francisco I. Madero was getting close. The sun was setting and there were plenty of trees to camp behind up on the ridge. I kept riding, and could eventually see the town down in the valley. Now there was a slope and the trees turned to bushes. I might have passed up my best stealth camping options. I was trying to be inconspicuous and was riding without lights. I reached the straight away at the end of the switchbacks. There was no longer a slope. I saw a tree in the distance, and bushwhacked through the scraggly thorn bushes while dodging cactus. I set up my tent and cooked Backpacker’s Pantry freeze dried Santa Fe Style Rice & Beans with Chicken. I edited this report for awhile before it got too cold.