Day 170something-180ish: Ventanilla to Tuxtla Gutierrez

The last week of riding has been everything to love about bike touring: gorgeous scenery, generous people, beautiful cycling roads, major milestones, and strange surprises, like this pet... anteater?.... that I encountered at a gas station. It was extremely tempermental. One moment it would be, literally, crawling all over your legs and then if you moved to quickly it would jump straight up and run away. It would cycle between manic gregariousness and extreme skittishness about twice every minute. I felt bad when I scared it and it jumped onto the table where another patron was trying to eat. 

Can someone identify what animal this is?

My camera was dead when after taking photos of what I think is an anteater, but I made it to Salina Cruz where I tested the limits of mango consumption by eating 5 in one sitting.

The mangos by themselves are probably worth the cost of a round trip flight to Mexico for anyone considering a vacation.

 The street market in Salina Cruz was right by my hotel, and I had fun going up and down looking at all the vendors and hearing the hustle and bustle of the city. The fact that I was not overwhelmed by a gigantic city tells me that I spent sufficient time at the beach. Good for me.

After Salina Cruz I turned inland. The stretch between Salina Cruz and the mountains is some of the windiest conditions I have bicycles in. It wasn't as bad as my Veracruz experience, but it was intense! I must have been expecting Veracruz level intensity because I didn't mind it at all and was able to make very good time despite a persistent and strong headwind.

You know you're in a windy area when the city is called "Windy" and they build windmills.

 While asking for a place to camp, a friendly mechanic offered to let me camp underneath his shop! I talked with him and his friends for a good while into the night. And in the morning I took advantage of a photo op.

I also talked with a construction worker who lived in Minneapolis for a number of years! We talked about the Twin Cities and the poor old Metrodome where he used to work. Fortunately he already knew it had been reduced to a giant pit so there was no grieving to do.

People are friendly. Some guy yelled at me, "Want a watermelon?" 

I can't think of a kinder thing to say to another human being. And so he gave me a watermelon and I ate a fresh, locally grown watermelon in the middle of December. Never done that before!

And so all that was needed after double doses of kind strangers was to see some amazing scenery while traversing perfect cycling roads, which I got. For me, the road between Salina Cruz and Tuxtla Gutierrez has been a top cycling road. Maybe sans the windy part, although that wasn't bad. There was a climb up a mountain that was steep enough to be called climbing a mountain, but not so steep that I hated it. Just right for Tyler. And then at the top it gave way to rolling hills. And amazing views.

A real lake!

Looking across the plateau.

Every so often in Mexico you come across some very cool murals. I very much enjoyed this one. Another pannel had a psychadelic sort of Jesus and Mary thing, but I liked this one best.

And then I hit 8000 miles. It happened to be on a hill. It happened to be on the final hill. It happened to be at the top of the final hill! It was by no means the toughest hill I've done, but it was 2 miles of pedal spinning. Just enough to make me work for it.

After 8000 miles it was all downhill to Tuxtla Gutierrez. I cruised with a dumb smile on my face, as shown below, the whole way.

And it was in Tuxtla that my poor old tire finally kicked the bucket. I noticed a ticking noise in rhythm with the wheels, and when I stopped to check it out, I was horrified to see a gigantic rubber tumor buldging out of the side of my tire. It was the most bizzare looking bicycle malfunction I've ever had, so I grabbed my camera to try and take a picture. Before I could get the camera to work the bubble burst with an earsplitting pop. Curiously the tire didn't deflate, and I was able to ride it the remaining 2 miles to my hotel. I thought I was seeing the innertube bursting through the hole in the tire, but now I have no clue what it was. I will report back after I replace the wheel and I can see exactly what the burst tumor was.

They say Schwalbe Marathons are the most durable tire. I say that if mine can hold up for over 2,000 miles after being sliced through the side, they are tough indeed!