LITMIR.BIZ

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the rims at one place and take them to another place to put them on. It sounds a bit complicated, even more so by your lack of Spanish, and more so again because what you want nobody has. Your wheels take 32 spokes and the only rims which cost less than your entire bike all take 36 spokes. So you need to replace some other things too to fit it all on. But nobody sells that and it is all very confusing and you still don’t get anything done. Perhaps the next town.

      You ride to Mitla where some more ruins lie. There is a bike path leading out of town and then a nice wide shoulder almost all the way there. The ruins close by the time you get there so you will just have to wait until tomorrow. There’s not much to do in town.

      San Jose.: Some great descents

      Tuesday September 18, 2007, 98 km (61 miles) – Total so far: 4,143 km (2,574 miles)

      I hope you fancy big long hills today cause that’s what you’re going to get. But don’t worry as there are more descents than ascents. A twenty km detour up the autopiste doesn’t help matters. Someone tells you to go back and get on the highway.

      You already started the day late with a visit to the ruins at Mitla. They are okay by the way. Not very extensive or anything but nice to see if you are in town anyway. There’s an uphill section on the highway followed by twenty km of straight downhill. Someone painted ‘cyclists returno’ with a returning arrow on the road before the downhill. Cacti is in abundance out here. Head and side winds dog your day slowing you down even further.

      Then get ready for the ascent again. You leave Sofia behind only to find her much later in San Jose where a hotel is found. As you head up the mountains the view to the south is nice. Glad you’re not heading that way then. Looks hard. And back down again. You find a town just before dusk. A hotel is found if you ask politely. Time for dinner. And much relaxation.

      To Jalapa.: Pitching the tent on the roof

      Wednesday September 19, 2007, 112 km (70 miles) – Total so far: 4,255 km (2,644 miles)

      Some more mountains await your day. You make it to El Cameron by twelve and from there it is one long stretch up followed by another down. El Cameron has a hotel. The next hotel is 88 km further at Jalapa. There are places to eat in between but not much else but ascents, descents, and quite a nice view.

      You leave Sofia far behind. A driver says she has wheel problems a long, long way away up the mountain. The kilometers drop one by one until Jalapa where you agreed to meet Sofia. There is one hotel in town. It’s expensive. You ask for another and are directed to a rooftop which looks nice for pitching the tent. Best to wait for Sofia first though.

      Niltepec.: Nowhere to eat in town

      Thursday September 20, 2007, 126 km (78 miles) – Total so far: 4,381 km (2,722 miles)

      You pack up and find a restaurant on the main road for breakfast. Still no sign of Sofia. For once you are able to enjoy something of a tailwind. But before you reach Tehuantepic a freeway presents itself and you take it. This is a mistake. What was once a tailwind becomes a headwind. After thirty km of this the road veers around and the wind is more of a benefit again.

      At one point the freeway stops for construction and you need to make a short detour on a smaller road without shoulders and more traffic. You have a strong crosswind to deal with now. This is certainly no fun with big trucks wanting to overtake at inopportune moments. Back on the freeway again you are less concerned with mentally writing your will.

      You ask someone how far to a hotel. Five km. Excellent. Bullshit. It’s ten. The nice smooth freeway becomes a narrow shitty road. You arrive in Niltepec. There are two hotels in town. One is overpriced and you can’t find anyone to service the other one. But a wander about reveals the owner and you walk back with him to check in. It is the one year anniversary of his mother’s death so everyone is out celebrating. He’s a bit drunk and needs to piss. He does so while walking along, pissing out in front without conviction.

      It’s a nice hotel. You find some interesting food to eat and wash it down with a couple beers. Sofia is now 100 km behind you. Looks like you’ll need a couple rest days to let her catch up. But not here. Best to leave this half town to the dogs.

      Tapanatepec.: Good roads and tough wind

      Friday September 21, 2007, 57 km (35 miles) – Total so far: 4,438 km (2,758 miles)

      Just a short ride today. Sofia has to catch up somehow and if you keep going at your pace she never will. There is a town, Tapanatepec, just before the long hard slog up the mountain. It looks like as good a place as any to await Sofia for the climb ahead.

      The day is hot and the road is crap. It sure is a day of road works. After six km the road widens to the lovable freeway once again but alas it is short lived as all too soon road works hinder the ride. Some minor issues with traffic but this has all become second nature by now. Truck driver seems to be a synonym for arsehole.

      There are a couple hotels on route. After a bite to eat you really do feel like moving on. The town is as dead as the last and it would be nice to be somewhere more lively for the weekend. It is only three but you go back to the posada and check in. Good thing too as the heavens soon open up in a torrential downpour.

      The plan now, if you can communicate this to Sofia, is to lie in tomorrow morning and hopefully meet up here for lunch. Then together you can ride another thirty or fifty km depending. Maybe.

      Up and up and up.: Spanish or no Spanish you still get the same lack of answers

      Saturday September 22, 2007, 45 km (28 miles) – Total so far: 4,483 km (2,786 miles)

      You meet up with Sofia at the Posada at around twelve. After lunch it is all uphill. A guy stops and gives you some local food to eat. He seems to be praying for you. You probably need it.

      Some guy wants you to stop and chat. He wants to take you to the lagoon but you insist on cycling. “Is it uphill’ you ask. Lots of curves is all you are able to get. Sofia catches up with you as you grab a bite to eat. She asks herself about ascents and with all her Spanish is only able to find out the same. Lots of curves. But what does that mean? Uphill curves or downhill ones?

      Just after a town after 36 km of mostly uphill cycling you find a hospedaje. But the lagoon just ahead is apparently mui bonita so you detour another four km there to find out for yourself. It’s nice but there’s nowhere to really stay and now you need to cycle four km uphill to get back to the hospedaje.

      On the way back you find a bee somewhere in your shirt. Some frantic moments a spent veering all over the road as you try to get it out.

      To Tuxtla.: Bad bus driver. Naughty, naughty, naughty

      Sunday September 23, 2007, 126 km (78 miles) – Total so far: 4,609 km (2,864 miles)

      Is it just you or is the traffic today noticeably more aggressive? You leave Sofia at the hotel and continue on. Apparently there is a lot of uphill ahead and she would rather take the bus from the next town. There are a couple of ascents but nothing longer than six or seven kilometers. Cintalapa and Ocozocoautla are both decent sized towns with a few accommodations options in each. You stop at a campsite/restaurant with a pool just before Cintalapa. Three teenage boys approach as you near the restaurant. They aren’t intimidating but their idiotic attitude loses the place business. Why would you want to eat at a place with three guys staring at you at laughing about English. They’re probably trying to be helpful. But you don’t need nor want them around. You leave and eat elsewhere.

      You get to Ocozocoautla, the day’s destination and are lured in by some hotcakes. With three more hours of daylight left you should be able to make the 36 km to Tuxla. Only six km of it is uphill apparently. It’s the first six.

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