Day 129: 40D Quota to medical headquarters

October 28-October 31

Mazatlan to Durango via Mexico Highway 40D: Quota

Just days after a trip highlight in La Paz, the Philtrons and I have had yet another trip highlight on Mexico Highway 40D: "The Quota" from Mazatlan to Durango. Quotas are toll roads, and to bicycle tourists that means excellent pavement, lower traffic, wide shoulders, and, if the road goes between Mazatlan and Durango, unbelievable scenery and North America's highest suspension bridge. 

The road was extremely grueling. Maybe we were a little soft from being off the bikes for so long, but I think we can safely say that riding from sea level to 9,000 feet over the course of 200 kilometers through sticky jungle heat is indeed an intense ride. What made it more difficult was that we were uncertain of what services were available to us because the road is 1 year old and there is little development along it, and by its nature of a toll road there are few exits to the pueblos along the way. So we carried about 10 liters of water each at the beginning, almost 20 pounds of water weight. 

What made up for the uncertainty and difficulty were two things: exploration and beautiful scenery. In fact they more than make up for the difficult conditions. I will elaborate with photos and descriptions.

The Philtrons' photos are even more impressive, and I recommend you check out their blog for these days because the scenery is so incredible. 

October 29, 2014

42 miles

Jungle folliage

Some of the tunnels have these vents/natural lighting arches in them.  

One of many crazy spiders.

Imagine living here. Photo taken form one of the many many bridges.

At the tropic of cancer again!

Yay!

The longest tunnels have lights and fans and the whole deal. This was one of the previous few downhills we had.

More jungle vistas.

This guy is supposed to be monitoring the electronics and computers for the tunnels. I saw him walking around the mountainside with his machete. 

First suspension bridge. This is the small one.

Bike. Tunnel. Bridge. Mountains.

This is the big bridge. 300 meters from deck to ground.

And then my camera died, obviously overwhelmed by all the beautiful scenery I forced it to take in.

In the morning my shirt was completely soaked, but I hardly cared because it was so beautiful out. By the afternoon the temperatures had moderated since we had climbed so high. We tried to camp behind one of the electronic stations for the tunnels. The guy gave us permission after asking his boss. Then the boss showed up and had us get in his truck. He took us to the quota headquarters where we were able to sleep inside with the medical team who were on the overnight shift. They were very helpful and a lot of fun to talk with.

Part of our mission for the quota is to record and publish information that is helpful for cyclists in the Philtron's blog. When we took the ride in the truck, we skipped about 10 miles of riding. That means in order to accurately record everything, we will have to ride back in the morning (without packs) and cycle the part we skipped.