The Dark Side

Well, apparently hell occasionally does freeze over and a snow ball does have the odd chance in hell, because Rosi and I have officially turned to the dark side. Or in this case, a very nice resort on the beach in Mazatlan. A place where the only Mexican you’ll meet is either making your bed or bringing you a cold drink. A place we always avoided in the past like the plague but now that we’re older - and some, but certainly not all, would say wiser - we’re willing to relax our standards a little and join the rest of middle-class, middle-aged BC, here at a resort.

We left Rincon Saturday morning to a bit of an overcast sky but still warn, and headed north on Hwy 200. The road was absolutely fantastic and gave us some of the best scenery and riding we’ve had so far! It’s a great back road, well maintained but not much traffic, that hugs the coast through thick green jungle and lush forest before it eventually leaves the coast and climbs back to the main autopista on the route north from Tepic to Mazatlan.

Once we hit this stretch of highway the sky was a crystal clear blue sky and the temperature rose to a really pleasant mid-twenties. Warm enough that mesh gear was perfect but not so hot that the heat became debilitating. We cranked it up to 140 (which I have to add is indicated, not actual. The speedo on these bikes is approx 10% optimistic so 140 is probably 126 in actuality) and headed north. Brad and I had already agreed we’d meet on this stretch of road somewhere so it wasn’t a huge surprise when up in the distance we saw another bike on the road and realized it was Brad making the run northward.

We pulled of at the next town for gas and a nice lunch, compared notes, caught up on our mutual adventures and continued north to Mazatlan.

Rosi and I succumbed to the pressure about two years ago and bought a time share package that gives us access to the RCI condo/hotel network. I won’t go into it here but I can tell you that I crunched all the numbers and if you take advantage of a few loopholes they don’t want the average owner to know about you can REALLY get you monies worth. In our case, for a relatively low investment, we can access seven weeks/year at some really nice resorts. Last week I booked online at Cost del Oro, a typical condo resort here in Mazatlan. We have a one-bedroom unit with a full kitchen, a balcony overlooking the beach and a fold-out couch in the living room for Brad. So here I am, typing on my lap top by the pool, a bucket of happy-hour beer by my side and my biggest worry in the world is will it be Cab Sav or Merlot with my fettuccini this evening.

Don’t despair though. For those of you thinking that we’ve gone completely over the edge, all is not lost. I can only take so much of resort living. Tomorrow Brad and I are leaving on a day run into the Sierra Madre to see how far we can make it up and over the Devil’s Backbone before we have to turn around and head back before we loose daylight. It’s the highest mountain pass in Mexico and is >10,000 feet at the highest. Snow and black ice are a concern but shouldn’t be too bad by mid-day.

Viva la Mexico!