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adventure - have experienced the
Tequilas Ride firsthand and quickly
spread the word to friends and associates (my ride included employees
from Acerbis, FMF, and Dirt Rider
magazine, and earlier clients include
workers from Thor, Baja Designs and
American Motorcyclist magazine).
That, along with an interesting, helpful Web site, has helped to generate
quite a buzz for Travel Extreme in the
space of just the past year or so,
establishing the Tequilas Ride as the
hip adventure of the moment.
Taking a cue from this humble Jackass
(above), Acerbls' Paul Eddy and FMF's
Bill Berroth (above right) make like
beasts of burden on a particularly
gnarly section of trail.
terfiy from Guadalajara southeast to
the state of Michuacan. The ride called the Monarch Tour - will run
from December to March, and
although I've not ridden the route, my
previous travels through the area
have me convinced that it's sure to
be a winner.
.;.GUE?
.;.COMO?
In addition to being the birthplace
of the potent beverage from which
the tour gets its name (it's also where
mariachi music was born). Guadalajara is one of the most important
Mexican cities, and it is the complete
opposite to the ride's Pacific Coast
destination of Puerto Vallarta, which
is arguably the country's nicest resort
town (I've seen them all, and in my
estimation, none can match PV's
combination of beauty, authenticity,
convenience and character). The terrain and ecosystems between the
tour's start and finish are equally
diverse, including majestic mountain
ranges over 7000 feet tall (like the
Sierra Madre Occidental); lush
canyons teeming with flora and
fauna; fresh pine forests to rival those
of the Pacific Northwest; slimy, sticky
mud routes and deep stream crossings; dense jungles of tropical vegetation; and open grazing land that
stretches as far as the eye can see.
Riders experience weather conditions
from chilly rain to humid heat, and
visit towns over 500 years old, where
residents speak the pre-Colonial
native language of Nahuatl.
In order to take advantage of the
rain season and ensure temperatures
between 50 and 80 degrees, Travel
Extreme runs Tequilas Ride tours
from June through November, which
means that if you want to try the tour
this year, you'll have to get a move
on (it's worth considering, since a
special price is being offered until
November). In December, Loera and
Arambula plan to launch another
tour, which will follow the famous
migration route of the Monarch but-
With a tour like this, there are far
too many rich experiences to be done
justice in a few magazine pages, so
I'm going to hope the accompanying
photos speak a few thousand words,
and limit my narration to a brief synopsis of the journey (though I've
attempted to chronicle a few of the
more personal highlights from my
particular ride in the sidebar entitled
"Mexico Moments").
After being picked up by Saul at
Guadalajara's Miguel Hidalgo Airport,
our group checked into our hotel and
enjoyed an exquisite meal amid
waterfalls and light-hung trees at the
beautiful Santo Coyote restaurant. A
day off awaited us before the ride,
and we spent it checking out downtown Guadalajara and learning how
tequila is made at the Herradura
("Horseshoe") distillery and hacienda. By that evening's mariachi-serenaded dinner, we had already bonded
with the employees and friends of
Travel Extreme, and it was with
reluctance that we finally turned in to
grab a few hours' repose before the
first day in the saddle.
That day took us from the outskirts of Guadalajara to the pristine
mountain town of Tapalpa. The 110mile ride took most of the day, as the
going is much more slow and technical than in Baja, but even with frequent photo stops, we arrived in plenty of time to visit an internet cafe and
enjoy yet another mouth-watering
meal in a quaint restaurant before
bedding down for a restful slumber.
That repose would turn out to be
essential, for day two -. a 160-mile
stint to the mining town of Talpa de
As "11th any adventure. the essence Of the Tequilas Ride Is more a series of distinct moments than the entire experience. tlow do you know what those moments
are? They're the snapshots that keep drifting back Into your mind long after
you've returned to your normal Ufe. Following are several such moments.
• Being Impressed by the gleaming. COlorful. identical bikes that are lined up
and awaiting you at the day-one startIng point. and Immediately choosing number 2X In honor of Mexican beer Dos £quls
• Cruising. seated. through an easy section. lost In an absentminded reverie
that is suddenly Interrupted by the delighted scream of an unseen child In the
roadside trees
• Negotiating a rocky. narrow descent in single file. when a startled cow nearly
takes out the rider ahead Of you as It leaps across the trail
• Realizing that your left arm has begun to fatigue. not from excess riding. but
because you've been waving so often to the grinning children who line the streets
of every pueblo
• loearnlng during a guided tour of the tlerradura distillery and hacienda that
tequila Is not merely a party splrtt designed for expedient inebriation. but an art
farm (they call it the wine of Jallsco) that Inspires great pride In its practitioners
(the process - from agave-planting to teqUila-bottling - tal