PowerCycle

No mortgage… no wife… no kids… and now no job… what’s a guy living in South Florida to do? Jump on a bike and ride to Alaska of course. When I make it up there the plan is to head down to South America and then over to New Zealand and then Australia. After that wherever the road (or a boat) takes me.

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02/08 Had to cut today short on account of my knee. Both have been bothering me a little since I first climbed up into the more mountainous central area of the country. Yesterday they were both a little sore but today my left knee really started to smart. Took a couple Advil and that helped. The seat was raised up a half inch to relieve some stress but I think it was too late.

I found a motel in town and went and got some ice next door (and beer). There’s a girl working there who just moved here a couple months ago from Atlanta (she’s Mexican). She even has a Georgian accent. Small world.

90% of the ride today was flat and on a highway with a nice, wide shoulder. That and a strong tailwind made for an easy day.

Update: This place doesn’t give you a key to your room either. If you want back in you have to find someone that works here. With my Spanish sucking as it does being told you don’t get a key is a strange thing to have someone try to explain to you. I noticed that most people just leave their door cracked open. It’ll take me a while to get used to that.

GPX Track

Weather in Morelia when posted:

Temperature: 20 °C, Humidity: 45%, Wind Speed: 8km/hr, Cloud Cover: few clouds

02/07 Happy Super Bowl Sunday! I lucked out and found a motel with a TV before the end of the 2nd quarter. Not sure what station I was watching but did I see a freaking SUV advertisement superimposed on the playing field? Is that new? How annoying. I changed the channel to another one that wasn’t doing that. It’s my first Super Bowl in Spanish. The commercials don’t seem like anything special. I guess that makes sense though.

The highway numbers were messing with me today. My map said I’d be on a toll road all day so I was all psyched up to sneak around toll booths. I ended up on a free highway (Mex-43) that was just fantastic. The road was in great condition and there was a huge shoulder. Couple little hils but nothing like a few days ago. I also had a strong tailwind from the SE all day. The wind is supposed to be even stronger over the next couple days so I’m glad I’m going north. All this made up for having to fix my front tire that I noticed was flat right when I was getting ready to leave. It gave me time to chat with one of the guys that works in the motel while I was fixing it so it worked out OK.

I think its time I started looking to replace my poor old front tire. Its not worn through enough to see the tube or anything but it has to be getting pretty thin. The Mr. Tuffy liner I have inside is probably the only thing keeping me from getting flats all day. Maybe I’ll hold out until Mexico City.

When I made it into Morelia I was surprised how big it was. Traffic was crazy. Riding wasn’t bad but I had to wait forever for cars to pass so I could take pictures of things. In the central plaza there were all these crazy looking people in costume tap dancing so I stopped and watched that for a while. After stopping for a beer I cruised around the historic area a bit but decided not to stay. Leaving was a little challenging. Someone had plastered stickers over the highway signs so I wasn’t sure what road I should be on. I ended up just heading north like my GPS said and it worked out.

The town I’m staying in is different from any other town I’ve been in. All the buildings along the main street are exactly the same and the name of the store is written in black letters on the building but there are no signs or anything. I rode right by the hotel. Had to stop and ask a cop for directions. When I was walking back that way to get some food I smelled pot for the first time in Mexico. A scruffy looking guy had lit one up in the plaza not 100 feet from the police officer who was directing traffic. Seemed very strange considering what I’d heard about drug enforcement down here.

When I came back to the hotel the door to my room was open a little. I would have locked it but the lady said they only had one key for it so she didn’t give me one. The main door is locked all the time so I wasn’t worried about it when I left. I’m the only one staying here too. There’s a little kid running around inside. Maybe she opened it. Nothing was missing.

GPX Track

At the suggestion of one of my oldest web site visitors I stayed in town an extra day to visit the Isla de Janitzio (thanks Ben). Boats leave regularly so I went and bought a ticket for 40 pesos round-trip and hopped on board. It was well worth the trip.

After a short ride on the murky lake the boat docked at a pier chock full of vendors. In fact the (steep) roads leading up to the 130 foot statue of José María Morelos were lined with shops selling just about everything. I was kind of surprised to see just how self-contained the island was. There was a school, an outdoor arena, a church and even a graveyard. One set of power lines brought in juice from the longest unsupported strand of power line I’ve ever seen. Garbage appears to be removed from the island using little barges that stink like you wouldn’t believe.

Up at the statue 6 pesos lets you inside the park area. The inside of the statue was amazing. Huge murals line the wall showing the life of Morelos (he was a revolutionary rebel leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement). The winding staircase takes you up right into the giant raised fist here you can look out over the town of Janitzio and the surrounding lake.

Weather in Uruapan when posted:

Temperature: 22 °C, Humidity: 49%, Wind Speed: n/a, Cloud Cover: n/a

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