Swift - Starting the New Year training with Swift 1/7/13 - A long read...

Yeah I think you are right about that. Ya know, ever since last Friday the communication from her end as just waned. I try to keep my distance because I don't want to be "that guy", but I hate loose ends too. I've been keeping it cool. I let a day pass and then I'll just send a text "hello, how's your day?". The answer isn't really curt but I don't really feel any love either. Her answer today was "I'm good handsome, How are you?". Then really nothing after that. On Sunday I asked her whether she still wanted to grab coffee or something when I can ride or drive down there on some time off. She said she definitely did. I can't blame her really but I guess I feel a little let down. Definitely not like it was last week. It's all so silly any way. What can I expect? I guess it was just one of those things and I kind of got excited way too prematurely.

Either way I have been trying to pick myself up by starting conversations with some other women and they have been starting them with me on this stupid dating app. With a couple it's going ok, I"m just being cautious. One of them was married to a trucker so she is not scared off by what I do.

I guess I'll see what happens. Taking it slow...

 

I agree completely. I'm learning.

You are right about having that combination of things all at the right time. I think part of it is being able to take it to the next level fairly quickly, such as a short meeting for coffee or whatever. If it doesn't go to the next level fairly quickly and mutually agreed on, then it kind of fizzles out. I'll keep it cool with her and keep checking in. At some point though I have to let her make the contact. I'm not a doormat so at some point she is going to have to make the contact.

She is recently separated, like about 2 months ago, so that is a consideration as well. She has two twin boys so I know this is a tough time for her too and she is probably trying to find some normalcy. It may just be a bad time for me.

In the meantime I've been connecting with a few others. I just think this whole online dating thing is weird overall. I think it makes it too easy for people to reject others due to the numbers of potential suitors they have. I kind of miss the old days of meeting people and may have to return to that. There is one or two potential people though that I just started talking to. I'll see where it goes and let them kind of lead the way a little.

I appreciate the thoughts

 

I got a hotel room for tonight at the Swift Super 8 here in Ocala. Took the white shuttle van over. I got tired of sitting around at the terminal.

I don't think I'm getting paid for this. Talked to my DM yesterday and since I didn't take the Volvo piece of junk that was sitting behind the shop to replace my truck then I probably won't get paid. Not only do I not want to switch trucks again but I want to keep my truck. It has low miles and all my stuff is already in there. The thought of switching trucks, it taking a full day like it did in Memphis a few weeks ago, is not appealing to me. Plus my truck was originally supposed to be done on Monday so considering how much time it would take to clean the old truck, clean the new truck, switch my stuff it wasn't worthwhile. And the mechanics said I shouldn't move my truck so I couldn't use the safety platform thing to move stuff from one truck to the other. The thought of moving that heavy pillowtop mattress, tv, etc. to another truck without that platform is scary. And tedious. I figured my truck would be done Monday as they stated and that that would be it. MOnday turned to Tuesday turned to...and here I am.

The clutch slave cylinder didn't fix it so now we're waiting on some other parts. Plus the windshield people didn't come yet. I think they are waiting on rain. And I have hometime I need to submit for early early August for my little bro's wedding. That I can't be late for. And that's in about a month.

Phone dropped out of the truck today so I'm going to have to get to Walmart via taxi tomorrow to replace it. Food spoiled in the truck. I'm losing money here. But I should be rolling in the next day or two. I'm hoping.

I'll say usually I absolutely hate being at the terminals. This many days would be torture. But I met some cool people that were semi-stranded like me and we all hung out like kids until the wee hours of the morning just shooting the poop. I heard a lot of interesting life stories and I feel a little richer because of it. It hasn't all been that bad.

 

Back from the motel and at the Ocala terminal again. I've become a fixture around here, like a light fixture or a piece of furniture. They replaced my windshield but they are still waiting on my clutch part. Might be today, might not.

The motel was terrible. The air conditioning barely got cool last night. I had it on from the time I got into the room and I sweated it out the first few hours while I waited for the sun to set and the room to cool. It didn't. I ended up just lying on top of the sheets to sleep. Granted it was very hot here yesterday in Florida but I figured the A/C would be some kind of super unit to beat the Florida heat.


Trip planning while I kill time...

I've been killing time online doing additional research. I'm about to order a special case that attaches to my belt and tucks into my pants to hold my "real" license and passport along with some cash while I ride down south of the U.S. border. I'm also ordering a special PacSafe belt that appears to be a normal belt but contains zippered storage on the inside to keep extra cash. I know part of the trick is to keep your cash, ID/passport, etc. in different parts of your body and on the bike in hidden places to prepare for the worse. I'll keep an old wallet in my front pocket with a few dollars, an expired ID, a couple of expired or fake credit cards and some pictures that aren't mine to use as a "dummy" wallet. A throwdown wallet to prepare for a worse case scenario. So I'll go ahead and order the belt and passport pouch today.

I was debating on getting a waterproof duffel or drysack and then securing it to the rear seat with a cable mesh system that PacSafe makes. The mesh is almost cut proof. Not 100% but it's to discourage someone from just grabbing something and running. But the PacSafe mesh is expensive and I don't think the whole duffle/PacSafe mesh system is going to be necessary. For what I would spend on the duffle and mesh I could get two more days in Mexico or Guatemala. I did some online research on this international adventure riders forum and asked around. The consensus seems to be to pack only what is necessary and keep it all as light as possible. Not sure if I'm yet as having a duffel with just my clothes, an extra pair of shoes to walk around in and toiletries in one bag sitting on my back seat to grab off at the end of the day to bring in to the motel might be easiest. I'm on the fence...

I'll probably only bring about 3 changes of clothing and a bottle of Woolite to wash and dry the laundry in the motel room at night. I'll have to order a packable, clothes line today as well.


The amount of space I have to work with otherwise will then be my top case and the two side panniers. I'll bring my tankbag to carry my camera for easy access and I need the clear map pocket it has on top to guide me.

SIDE PANNIER #1:
Roughly, the way I figure it, I will keep one pannier for electronics including my laptop, accessories and camera. I may place some of the clothes in this case, if I don't use a duffle for clothes storage, to keep the electronics protected over bumps. If not my towel may go in here.

SIDE PANNIER #2:
The other side pannier I may use for some of the tools, keeping the heaviest at the bottom of the side pannier to keep the center of gravity low. The partial and working list of spare parts I will most likely bring are:
- spare hand levers,
- clutch cables,
- brake pads,
- tire compressor,
- hose clamps,
- zipties,
- duct tape,
- electrical tape,
- JB Weld,
- bailing wire and electrical wire,
- electrical quick connections,
- fuses,
- spare bulbs,
- miniature jumper cables,
- tire repair kits and plugs,
- air pressure guage,
- siphon hose,
- folding reflective triangle (as required in some countries),
- extra fuel and oil filters,
- spark plugs, air filter,
- and the list will go on as I add things. I'm keeping this post as my back-up working list to reference later as I tend to lose things.

TOP CASE:
I'll fit the bike cover in here as well as any additional parts I will have. The bike cover will be the primary theft deterrent for the bike when I don't have it parked inside a lobby (or my room). I'm debating getting an alarmed disc lock to keep on the front wheel as well. These are usually around 120db and if the bike is so much as sat on or moved even a small bit the alarm starts screaming. The downside is that they are expensive - around $80.
The top case will be used to store any extras that aren't too heavy. Again, keeping the center of gravity as low as possible.

There's not a ton of room in any of the cases and I think the weight on the side cases is governed at 15 lbs. and the top is something like 12 lbs. What I have already listed is going to be pushing the limit as it is. I may just need that duffle.

This leaves my topcase for the remainder.

 

The route...

This has been one of the toughest and most fun aspects of trip planning.

Using a combination of ride reports on my advrider.com site as well as Lonely Planet, web research, the Sjoerd Bakker guidebook to Mexico and Central America and just general curiousity I have been drawing a rough plan of must see places.


Border crossing at Presidio, TX most likely...

I've been researching the best border crossings. The consensus, for the most part, has been to avoid the large crossings into Mexico such as Laredo/Nuevo Laredo and El Paso/Juarez. One of the crossings I heard good things about is the Brownsville, TX/Matamoras crossing but I think I have settled on the Presidio (TX)/Ojinaga, MX crossing. At least when crossing into Mexico. On the way back out I think I will use the Brownsville border crossing. When looking at the map of Mexico and the must see places the best plan of attack to see the Copper Canyon (Parque Barranca Del Cobre) is to cross at Presidio off Highway 67 south of Marfa, TX and I-10.

The Copper Canyon has been on my list of must sees from the very beginning. It is located directly southwest of Presidio in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, southwest of the city of Chihuahua. Copper Canyon has some of the best riding in Mexico and possibly the top 20 motorcycle roads in the world. It consistently comes up on everyone's list. It is deeper than the Grand Canyon in parts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_Canyon
There are a couple of little towns I keep hearing about that I must visit that are near this park. One is Creel, north of the park, and the other is Batopillas which is accessible by a tough dirt road.


Presidio, TX to the Copper Canyon...

I'll be running southwest from Presidio in Texas down Mexico HIGHWAY 16, to the city of Chihuahau, a distance of 146 miles (235 km) east-southeast towards the park. Continuing due east another 93 miles (151 km) Ill drop due south for about 55 miles (90 km) towards Creel before hitting the park. I'll probably try to make this run all in one day as there isn't really anything that I want to see in Chihuahua City. Maybe take a picture of one of those dogs, a Chihuahua in Chihuahua on a street called Chihuahua. Not sure if I can make a total of 285 miles in that single day. Probably not likely but I may just try. Although us truckers can run 600+ miles a day on the nice roads of the U.S., I can't expect the same down there. It might come down to how long the border crossing takes at Presidio, delays there and the condition of this HIGHWAY 16.

Creel would be a great place to spend a night and the next day to just settle in and absorb the fact that I am now on a solo motorcycle trip in another country. Creel is at the heart of the park's tourism.

Room prices in Creel vary from very expensive near the rim of the canyon ($190/night!) to very reasonable, even cheap. The motels average around $21/night (single) and there is one that is described in Sjoerd's guide as "ratty" with not great parking around back for $9.35/night (single)!!! I'll probably stick with a room in the midrange $20 area.

Since this area is known to get snow in the winter I want to hit the Copper Canyon early in my trip, during the 2nd week of October. That way I can get in, experience it and start heading to places further south as the temp starts to drop. Miss the snow and cold.

This next section will be slow as I will be finding these ultimate twisty parts and riding the heck the out of them. Possibly over and over until exhaustion. I may spend a few days in this area just exploring the roads, the park, taking lots of photo and GoPro onboard video and making my way down to Batopillas.

Batopillas is south of the park and canyon and is accessible only by a scenic gravel road. They are paving one of the routes towards Batopillas (scheduled for completion in 2015). There is a chance of snow on these gravel/dirt roads through Urique towards Batopillas. Batopillas is a tiny old mining town and the route to get down to it is a dualsport riders dream. Rooms in town are as low as $8.00/night with parking inside.


Batopillas to Mazatlan...

After spending a few days around the park in Creel and Batopillas I start heading southeast, east towards Hidalgo del Parral. Then it is nearly due south on Mexico HIGHWAY 45 for 256 miles (413 km) through a very twisty part near Donata Guerra down to Durango. Durango is a modern state capitol with a colonial core. Most likely will have a night's rest here. West from Durango on HIGHWAY 40 for 198 miles across the Sierra Madre mountains (318 km). This is a time consuming run west across to Mazatlan but it is another must see and ride road. This may take a couple of days just getting across to Mazatlan.

Mazatlan is a tourist mecca but I will be going into Mexico in the off season. Less tourists. Cheaper rates everywhere. Less traffic. Hotels here might average in the $21-26/day range but not bad.

From here I'm not sure exactly where I'm going yet. I'm thinking of running the Pacific coast south of Mazatlan down Mexico HIGHWAY 15 down to San Blas. Originally a Spanish port and fortress, later a pirate hideaway and later still a burgeoning tourist destination.


Mazatlan to San Blas to Guanajuato (the city with underground tunnels of mayhem)...

Looks like from San Blas I'll head southeast out through Guadalajara, Mexico's 2nd largest city. I'll probably avoid stopping here and bypassing it the best that the roads and time will allow. Heading southeast on Mexico HIGHWAY 15, passing through Guadalajara before heading east to Guanajuato.

I've had my eye on Guanajuato since the start. It is an old colonial Spanish city and a university town. It is built on a mountainside and in a basin and was a former mining town. Now a cultural hub it is known for its maze of narrow streets and alleys winding up and through the valley. It sounds like a photographer's dream. There are old mining tunnels that run down below the Centro Historico that are now used by vehicles to get to different parts of the city. Supposedly there are no signs so I look forward to this driving chaos when I get down there.


Guanajuato to places further south and yet to be determined...

This is where my trip has not come into view more clearly. I know I'll head down south towards Mexico City, aka the "DF" (Districto Federal). West of the DF there is a monarch butterfly World Heritage site. I'll stop there if they are in season while Im there. I went ahead and highlited all the World Heritage sites on my map so I can hit as many as possible. The theme of my trip may actually become more focused on hitting as many of these sites as possible. There are plenty outside of the DF and nearby.

South of DF my next big "must see" is Oaxaca. It is roughly 271 (437 km) miles south of DF. This is where one of the biggest Day of the Dead festivals and it is a jumping off point for seeing a lot of the ruins. November 1 is the height of the Dia De Muertos festivities and it would be fantastic to be down here in Oaxaca at that time. Not sure if I leave in mid October I would make it down here in 2 weeks. I haven't even tried to do that math yet. Besides I have a rough idea of where I want to go but I'm not going to be on a specific schedule. It's better that way.

From Oaxaca it will be some wandering due east across Mexico's skinnier waist towards San Cristobal de las Casas. Another one on my list of places I have to visit. At this point I'm not far from Guatemala. I'll either cross into Guatemala or head north from San Cristobal into the Yucatan Peninsula towards Campeche or possibly into Belize. It's all up in the air mostly at this point. Gonna try and hammer down a route later tonight.

 

Finally left the Ocala terminal and ran a load down to Miami. Deadheaded north 200 miles to grab a load going up to Norfolk.

While down in Ocala I had the opportunity to strike up a conversation via that singles app. Some texts later, phone calls everyday since and I have a daytime date with her tomorrow. Im anticipating this.

Tomorrow she will be picking me up around 11 from a Walmart near my delivery. Keepin my fingers crossed...

 

I definitely will. Most don't like a good first date headbutt!