Canada to Mexico Dual Sport Motorcycle Adventure

Leg 4 - Cabo San Lucas Mexico to Copper Canyon Mexico - "You can't take the Adventure out of Adventure Travel" Ricardo Schneider

Link to photo gallery - click HERE

On the ferry with no major obstacles in front of us, it was time to find the bar and have a couple of cold Pacifico's to celebrate simply being there. When we boarded we noticed that there was a nice dining room but that it was very crowded. Now calmed by the cold beer and settled into the ferry crossing, we decided to go for a nice relaxing meal. WRONG again... The dining room closed an hour after sailing?? Back to the bar for beer and snacks.

We arrived in Topolobampo in Sinaloa state of Mexico and then in keeping with tradition, we rode in the dark to Los Mochis Mexico where we found a nice hotel. The following morning we awoke to a view straight out of the industrial revolution.

Ricardo ha told me that it would take us under 4 hours by highway to ride our dual sport motorcycles to Alamos Sonora Mexico from Los Mochis Sinaloa Mexico. But.. since we had all day and our goal for this entire trip is to travel using as little pavement as reasonably possible, I had a much more interesting route planned out.

We road our motorcycles east out of Los Mochis and found a busy roadside stand for breakfast. Ah.. this was more like it. A schedule loose enough to stop and enjoy what ever the day and trail presented to us.

With our bodies and dual sport motorcycles re-fueled we set off to learn how good our new GPS database for the mainland was. We quickly discovered that the answer was 'not very.' After a few dead ends following our GPS route through farmers fields and overgrown trails, we decided to use the GPS routing as a guide and wing it. That proved to work quite well as we wandered along dirt roads in the general direction we wanted to go. This sinuous route took us through tranquil villages full of smiling faces and friendly people eager to let us take their photo and help with directions.

We worked our way north to the small heritage city of El Fuerte. The colonial architecture is beautiful and the ambiance was too inviting to pass. We stopped for a short walk around the square and a couple of cold beer at a lovely hotel. This is certainly a place to visit if you ever have a chance. We both agreed it would be a place worth returning.

With the help of a couple of beer, some song and a few laughs. The stress from the previous 3 days was completely flushed out of us. Things were back to normal. We were taking things as they came and enjoying the freedom of our loose schedule. It was with this satisfied feeling that we said adios to our new friends.

Before our pit stop we had passed a truck full of police who had looked at us and our KTM dual sport motorcycles rather suspiciously. (the states of Sinaloa, Sonora and Chihuahua are all in the Copper Canyon area and have a very large drug problem.) While cooling off with our friends the police had driven by and waived. 30 minutes down the road and there they were again. This time when we blew by they not only waived but hooted and howled at us. I guess we made some new friends there too.

This is what we wanted when we decided to ride our KTM dual sport motorcycles through the back country of Mexico. Not only nice scenery, interesting trails and friendly people, but it was finally warm out!!

We rolled into Alamos Sonora Mexico in the early afternoon and were impressed with the look and ambiance of the town. This is a place with a great deal of well preserved history. It is also where gringos have been quietly hanging out enjoying the 'Buena Vida' for many years. One such gringo was our dual sport motorcycle guide Richard 'Ricardo' Schneider of Sierra Madre Motorcycle Adventures Ricardo has it figured out. He works as a river rat (guide) in Washington state during the summers and a river, dual sport motorcycle and birding guide in the Alamos area during the winters.

Ricardo had set us up to spend our first and last nights at the 1200 acre Rancho El Palomar on the outskirts of Alamos Sonora Mexico. This beautiful working ranch not only allows crusty old dirt bikers like ourselves to darken their door, but hosts genteel dove hunters, wacky birders, and those normal folk who just want to relax in a gorgeous rural setting. Hosts Felipe & Cherisse Acosta are certainly that. Both are very friendly and accommodating. The bonus is that Cherisse is a fabulous chef as we found out the first night during the delicious welcome meal Ricardo provided.

After getting settled into Rancho El Palomar. We stripped our KTM dual sport motorcycles down to the basics and took care of some maintenance things neglected at the Honda shop in Los Cabos. It was during this wrenching session that we met the other member of our tour. Californian, Charlie McCollough, who we learned winter just south of Puerto Vallarta with his wife. Charlie served beer while we worked on the bikes and immediately won our friendship. After a very short time with Charlie we felt confident it was going to be a good trip.

The Copper Canyon is the general name given to a massive area 4 times larger than the Grand Canyon. The Copper Canyon area in fact consists of 6 distinct canyon systems. The Urique - Copper Canyons, Sinforosa Canyon, Batopilas Canyon, Candamena Canyon, Huapoca Canyon, and the Oteros - Chinipas Canyons

The next morning we were up early and excited to get on the trail. With logistics and navigation taken care of by Ricardo, Arnie and I were very much ready to be tourists and enjoy ourselves.

Ricardo has spent many years poking around the Copper Canyon back country. The love he holds for his adopted home and the people who inhabit it, was very evident. Everywhere we went Ricardo had friends and was eager to make new ones. His respect of the local culture and the nature surrounding it did not go by un-noticed. The relaxed pace, the respectful yet easy going attitude and the company of Ricardo and Charlie was quickly appreciated.

We zigged and zagged along a series of dirt roads and trails in a seamless ribbon of progression toward the days destination of Choix in Sinaloa state of Mexico. Arnie and I normally run fairly hard (once a racer - always a racer) but we were both enjoying stepping it down a gear. Nobody seemed to mind that I would run ahead at times to set up for a photo or fall behind often for the same reason. It was an easy days ride to Choix which afforded us time to stop for lunch on the trail, a cool drink in a small village and even a soak of tired feet in a hot spring.

We arrived in Choix Sinaloa Mexico early in the afternoon. After fueling up the motorcycles we got settled into our hotel, found a few beers and spent the remainder of the afternoon reliving the adventures we had shared during the day.

Before dinner we made a little walk-a-bout the town of Choix where we were greeted by many friendly faces. After a very pleasant meal we took another stroll. Like so many Mexican towns, the night life of Choix centered around the Zocala (square) where people of all ages had congregated to see and be seen. This was the perfect wind down to what had been an excellent first day with our host Ricardo and Sierra Madre Motorcycle Adventures With one day behind us, we were stoked about the tomorrows.

This was going to be our longest day of the Copper Canyon dual sport motorcycle tour so we were anxious to get a few miles under our tires. We were about a half hour into the day, following a relatively well used dirt road, when it happened. Ricardo came around a left corner on the high side of the road where he should be and out of nowhere came a Jeep that clipped him on his left leg. This sent him flying, tore off one of his motorcycle saddlebags and some plastic, not to mention some fairly expensive damage to the jeep.

Arnie and I were riding at the back in our staggered formation about a minute or two behind to avoid the dust. What we first saw was a jeep parked in the middle of the road with the passenger throwing a beer bottle away. As we passed my thought was WOW.. it is 7:30 in the morning. These guys like their beer even more than us!

What we saw next was a yard sale of stuff strewn over the road and ditch ending in Ricardo's bike laying in the ditch up against a fence. I rode past to get a safe place to park and was glad to see Ricardo, although pinned under the motorcycle, was conscious and struggling to get free.

Thankfully Ricardo only suffered some bruising and there was minimal damage to his bike. The boys in the Jeep made sure Ricardo was OK, asked if he wanted to go to see a doctor or if we needed assistance and then got out of there with no word about the damage to their vehicle. My guess is that they were still partying from the night before and knew it would not be good to hang around longer than necessary.

A little shaken but otherwise OK, we were off again, all be it with an extra degree of caution.

As we continued east the mountains were getting larger, the canyons narrower and the all ready light traffic was becoming scarce. The next stop was at a dam where we had an interesting ferry ride through a canyon that had been flooded.

After crossing the dam we were treated to a single lane dirt road/trail that followed a creek up a canyon. From this point on most of the day was spent on narrow trails that served as 4x4 roads for the locals who lived back in these mountains. This truly was dual sport motorcycle heaven and having Ricardo guide us through the maze of options made it all the more enjoyable.

We climbed up, over and around various mountains. Although there was the odd downhill, for the most part we were steadily gaining elevation. As we did the cactus gave way to pine forest that Charlie said could of been at home in northern California and Arnie and I agreed looked reminiscent of near Kamloops British Columbia Canada.

I fell behind due to stopping often to take photos and talk to a few of the people walking along the trail. My Adventure Travel ..... Adventure Travel ..... Adventure Travel ..... mantra was playing softly in my head as I took in the panoramic vistas, fearful drop-offs, pastoral villages, and tranquil people I met.

As we worked our way through the mountains the day wore on but the enjoyment never did. We stopped from time to time to re-group, take in the sites, have lunch, and share in what we were experiencing.

All of this area owes a great deal of its development to the mining industry. In fact I think all of the trails and roads we were using had been built to gain access to this remote area for that very purpose. Most of the glory days are all but forgotten but the current high prices have sparked a new interest and influx of capital to parts of the area. Eventually we got into one of these areas. Once again we had to pay particular attention for other traffic.

The town of Urique was our destination for the night and when we first made sight of it, all of the cameras were out. From high up on a cliff we could see the small town of Urique in the valley below with a river wandering past. The trail/road down into the Urique valley was as spectacular as the view. In many places it is not much more than a trail carved onto the side of a near cliff. At one point I stood on the side of the trail and watched the other riders make their way through the switch backs below. Looking straight down I could see the road at 5 different levels in the same line of sight. Many of the switch backs are so tight that 4 wheeled vehicles have to stop and back up to make the turn.

What we found when we entered Urique were more of Ricardo's friends and another sleepy little Mexican town full of character and characters. One such individual we were not quite sure how to take at first. He was an obvious down syndrome young man who was packing a big mean looking side arm on his belt and wandering about town as if he was the most important person in town.

Now we are in the heart of drug country where it can be hard to tell the good guys from the bad so we were just not sure what to think. When we later questioned someone about it, they laughed and told us that it was a toy gun and he was a nice guy who the towns people let believe that he is a cop. How Mexican to live and let live.

We had a pleasant stay in Urique. A hot shower, a nice dinner, some cold beer, a comfortable bed, a hearty breakfast and some new friends. What more could we ask for?

There is no Pemex fuel station in Urique, but as usual finding someone with gas for sale was not difficult.

With no cellular coverage and no internet cafes, Arnie headed down to the local 'caseta de telefono.' While cell phones are certainly becoming quite common, there are still many people who do not have a telephone so these telephone booths can still be found in every Mexican town and city. You go in, wait your turn, give the attendant the number you want to call, they make the connection, send you into one of the booths, and then charge you for the time you are on the line.

The route out of Urique was back up the switchbacks and into the pine forest. The ride up was just as spectacular with many new vistas demanding we stop often for photos.

After we gained some significant elevation we took off on a new road that would lead us to Bahuichivo and eventually Temoris, our days destination.

In Bahuichivo we found a beautiful old church and hotel. Bauichivo is one of the places travelers who are taking the famed Copper Canyon train between Los Mochis and Chihuahua can overnight, should they want to spend some time exploring the canyon. It is also a good place to find a cold beer on a hot dusty day.

As we got closer to Temoris, evidence of a renewed interest in mining became evident. It is a bit of a stretch to call these mountain passes roads, but certainly where they are mining there are attempts to widen where they can. Through here we passed numerous trucks of questionable standard, chugging up and down the steep trails that hugged the mountain sides turning the parched ground into a talcum like powder that makes it very unpleasant to pass. Thankfully these sections were not too long. Most of the riding was of the same rewarding quality that any dual sport adventure motorcycle rider would love.

Temoris was another inviting town full of friendly people who knew Ricardo. We enjoyed a relaxing evening wandering the plaza and sharing an early meal.

Temoris is another of the available stop for visitors arriving to the Copper canyon via the train. In fact very near the train stop, this incredible railway loops through the mountains in a spiral tunnel in order to gain elevation as it comes in from the coast. Ricardo knew of a trail that would give us a good advantage to view this amazing piece of engineering so that was our first stop of the day.

Between Temoris and the days destination of Chinipas, we had the treat of picking up an old rail bed with numerous tunnels for us to pass through. It was impossible not to consider how difficult it must of been to lay this grade through such inhospitable country.

Once again we found someone selling gas and were able to fuel up the motorcycles before heading off on the last leg of our trip. The days route proved to be just as rewarding with interesting trails, wonderful vistas, and new sights as we rode up, down, and around the mountains in pursuit of our starting point, Alamos.

The following morning Arnie and I made our way back to Los Mochis. Once there we found the friendly owner of the Yamaha shop willing to store our bikes and do the few repairs we wanted done. Of course it was with trepidation that we made this decision. After the problems with the Honda shop in Los Cabos, we were pretty reluctant to pass over the keys.

Leg 4 was completed with 1411 Km (882 miles) ridden. That made it 10,656 Km. (6,660 miles) since we left Calgary.

The next day Arnie flew to Puerto Aventuras to spend a couple of weeks and I made a 3 day stop in Guadalajara where I visited friends Sandi & Craig Rothwell.