06/11 Long day but got some easy miles in. The only bad thing was a flat tire followed 2 minutes later by another one. The hole from the first incident was on the inside of the tube which is a strange place to get a puncture. The inside of the rim was perfect so I have no idea how that could have happened. The second flat was also on the rear tire. This one had me dropping a couple expletives. Of course it had to happen far from any trees so the sun had me nice and toasty. Looks like a nice hunk of glass caused this one.

Nothing in the way of scenery other than rain forest. For wildlife I saw the wickedest-looking grasshoppers. They were jet black with red markings around their eyes. They were funny because they walked in perfect synchronization with each other.

When I arrived in town the first stop was an ice cream place. Yum. Nothing like a triple scoop on a hot day. I thought the “grungyness” of the town would improve as I got in the central area but it didn’t. It seems perfectly safe; it’s just that everything looks beat up. The motels are also horribly over-priced. I managed to track down a place with AC and internet for $400 pesos. It’s only a $250 peso room though.

Belize is only 2 days away and I’m really looking forward to it.

GPX Track

03/08 Two things of great importance to me died today. The first to go was the water immersion heater I picked up in Guadalajara. I’d heard they can have a short lifespan so I wasn’t too surprised. Fortunately I have another one. That thing saved me a fortune.

The second thing was my rear tire. It’s not dead yet but there is a tear on the side wall where it presses up against the the rim. The tube isn’t exposed yet but it won’t be long. It lasted 6000 miles. I have a spare Schwalbe Marathon Plus tire and can pop that on if need be. I need to find a way to get 2 new Schwalbe’s now. The Schwalbe Marathon Extremes seem like they’ll be the best ones for me. Oaxaca is the next big city so I might end up having to stay there a few days. I should get there tomorrow. Getting a bike shop to order me a couple will be fun.

Long day today. Big climbs but very little sun so I was happy.

GPX Track