Parking with the police bikes.
honest, it was much easier than we antici- pated. We had built up this unnecessary pressure within ourselves and, alas, we were free to go. What’s the next thing you do after cross-
ing the border? Get the hell away from the border! Seriously, most border towns are not known to be the safest nor the most pleasant of locales. We had set our sights on the town of Nuevo Casas Grande, an area just southeast of where we entered, with a town large enough to find a decent hotel for the night. You must remember that now all of our future hotel/hostel/ camping stays relied on one thing: secure parking. If we can’t park the bikes in front of our room or in the building, we don’t stay. Budget was also a major issue. Our daily budget was $100 to include gas, food, lodging and incidentals. Also, traveling as a threesome was more expensive than as a duo or
solo. It was time to hone our
haggling skills. When we rolled into town along the major corridor, we began the hunt for a hotel. No. No. That one looks a bit shady. YES! We pulled into a rather large hotel with fingers crossed for success. To our surprise, the young lad at the coun- ter spoke English. Nice! Terry and Jack negotiated a fair price, and yes, we could park the bikes in front of the room. Even better. There was a supermarket within range and a restaurant on sight if we were feeling like a date night. We had found the ideal landing spot for the night. The topic many motorcycle travelers
don’t talk about is exhaustion, the drain you feel after days and weeks of mental and physical strain accompanied by the daily “Try not to die” ride around pot holes and through parades of donkeys. Our one night turned into three as the pressure of the pre- vious four weeks weighed itself quite heav- ily on our need to rest and regroup. Even
Jack was feeling the need to stay in bed and refill the sleep bank. I’ll admit, I could barely get out of bed but did find the strength to venture outside every once in a while. By day three, we were feeling a bit more human and ready for the next phase of Operation Mexico. But we couldn’t leave town yet until we experienced our first real taste of the beautiful people of Mexico. A parade had broken out along the main
street in front of our hotel, and we weren’t about to miss it. Miles of local elementary and high school kids dressed up as super heroes, ‘50s sock-hop characters or bandi- tos were riding on floats and dancing their way along the street. We asked a local what the occasion was, and he said that it was an annual parade that celebrated all the schools in town as well as the surrounding areas. We stood on the sidewalk and watched as the kids danced and sang their way along the parade route. I even received
August 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS 73
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