MEXICO NEWSLETTER #2


Dear Friends,

We are still enroute to Eijida La Esperanza on secondary roads. This week we 
followed a dirt road that took us to a town called Willie (wee-lee) and on through 
the Sierra Madres to Madera. It has been difficult both riding and staying warm at 
night, but we have been welcomed and aided along the way by families that live in 
these rugged mountains. We are glad to be on the bikes for we are certain we could 
never have seen this part of Mexico traveling by car. Few outsiders have had the 
opportunity to experience this back country and meet the people as we have.

This newsletter covers our second week which turned out to be more than we expected. 
As we mail this, we are starting our third week. We are back on paved roads which 
should increase our daily mileage, however the weather continues to be cold which 
cuts into our riding time. Thank you again for your support of this project. We 
welcome your comments on our newsletter.

George & Holly

"These people have such a simple life.  Why is ours so complicated?"


HOW ARE OUR BIKES?

George's bike is suffering from a problem head tube that keeps coming loose. It was 
just rebuilt, so when we get to a larger town we will see if it can be fixed or if 
we have to adjust it every hour. George's seat post is worn out also. This was 
discovered three days into the trip. A piece of rubber we found on the road seems 
to keep the seat angle correct so far.

Holly's bike is without problems except she says it is hard to peddle up rocky, 
muddy, steep hills.

Both bikes aren't shifting correctly right now because of the mud we ride through 
every day. When and if we get to a paved road, we will stop at a gas station and 
give them a good cleaning and lubrication, and hope no permanent damage has been 
done. Both bikes also have suffered from frost bite on several occasions

Late note: Holly's bike broke a spoke.

WILLIE/IGNACIO ZARAGOSA (1-19-94)

Luck was with us in two different ways as we reached the road to Willie. First, we 
were low on water after all the pushing, but we met up with three cowboys who showed 
us a spring just up the road with great tasting cold water.  Second, as we were 
starting up the mountain, a '55 Ford pickup came by and the driver offered us a ride 
to Willie. Tired and seeing a two day, rocky, uphill ride ahead of us, we accepted. 
The driver's name was Luciano and he had a ranchito outside of Willie. It took 2½ 
hours to reach Willie in the truck and after we saw the road we guessed three days 
by bicycle (maybe four). As we came into Willie, at 4 PM, it began to rain and sleet 
very hard. We pulled up to a house where Luciano'sdaughter, Chela (Shay-la), lived 
with her family. We put our bikes on the porch and helped Luciano cover the hay in 
his pickup bed. In the house, all three of us, wet and cold, stood around the wood 
burning stove. We were introduced to the family and served coffee, beans, salsa, and 
home-made corn tortillas. We ate well as we hadn't eaten since eight o'clock that 
morning.

We ended up as guests of Chela and her family that night as the rain continued. They 
had two bedrooms, one with a double bed and one with a double and a single. To 
accommodate us and Luciano, the husband, wife and three kids all slept in the one 
double bed bedroom. The visitors had the two beds. There were two other rooms in the 
house, one a storeroom wheresacks of beans and corn, etc., were kept, the other was 
the kitchen. The kitchen was the main gathering room for all activities. It was 
about 10' X 15', painted bright yellow and decorated with calendar pictures. Dishes 
were kept in a cupboard with glass doors and crocheted doilies hanging over the edge 
of the shelves. There were two windows, one to the front and one to the side yard. 
There was no indoor plumbing and the town did not have electricity, so when the sun 
went down they lit the petroleum lamps. 

At 8 PM one of the boys went outside and got the battery off the tractor so we could 
watch a 12 volt TV. We found that the "bathroom" was anywhere outside or a five 
gallon bucket that sat in the corner of the kitchen. The two year old boy used the 
bucket frequently and it was taken into the family bedroom at night. This kitchen, 
with no sink, refrigerator or electricity and an old wood stove that required wood 
continually, was so simple; we both wonder why we need all the luxuries we have that 
cost so much money.


A WALK THROUGH WILLIE (1-20-94)

The next morning we took a walk around Willie. It is a sawmill, ranching and farming 
town of about 300 families, at 8000 feet elevation. Most houses are adobe with sheds 
and barns made of scrap wood from the sawmill. We wanted to see the sawmill in 
action but the rain kept
the trucks from bringing in the logs. The sun was coming out as we returned to the 
house, so things were looking up for us to continue our journey. The adults had 
breakfast alone since the kids had gone to school. We did the dishes this time since 
we had watched Chela twice before and now knew the process of heating water and 
using buckets. While washing the dishes we noticed Hector, Chela's husband, and the 
town mechanic putting the transmission back in an old Chevy pickup. This was done in 
the mud of theyard with two people inside the truck and three under it. The two 
inside would pull on a rope tied around the transmission while the three underneath 
pushed up and aligned the shafts and bolts. This took ½ an hour and was successful 
in the end.

We were shown an old Farmall tractor with one wheel left on it that turned out to be 
Hector's workshop. An extra belt coming off the generator ran a grinding wheel and 
the rear power take off ran a welder by belt. The welder looked like it was nailed 
to the ground to hold tension on the belt. The battery that started the tractor was 
also the "TV battery." To complete our tour, we saw his blacksmith shed where the 
tools consisted of a hammer, chisel and two foot piece of rail road iron held to a 
log by bent nails.


We talked again about the way this town and it's population survive without all the 
conveniences and tools that we are used to back home. If they need something they 
either make it, grow it or wait a couple of months until they go to the big city of 
Nuevo Casas Grandes.

ESTIVEN (1-20-94)

"My frame is so full of mud,
my wheels won't turn."

After farewells to our new friends, we were again underway on a road that looked 
more like a trail through the woods. After being on it for a couple of miles, we 
knew this section of our travels was going to take longer than expected. The bogs of 
mud that we encountered proved to be both challenging and tiring. The scenery was 
spectacular. We enjoyed the mountains with their tall pines, the valleys with rock 
cliffs and caves, and ranchitos with crop fields and animals. 

It started raining again at 3:30 PM. We had ridden a total of eight miles on 
slippery road and were at a small community called Estiven. After pushing our bikes 
up a mud hill, we found an old elevated rodeo stand where we could set up our tent 
out of the mud.

About an hour after we made camp and were in the tent staying dry and warm, we heard 
voices outside. Two families had come to see where we were from and where we were 
going. They invited us to their house where we were served coffee, cookies and 
candied pumpkin by a warm kitchen stove. In the kitchen a dozen other people from 
the community gathered to find out about the two loco gringos who traveled by 
bicycle on the roads of their mountains. 

We learned Estiven has about thirty residents; most do not own pickups. They travel 
by horse or go to town with neighbors who do have trucks. As in Willie, there is no 
electricity or plumbing. No TV. The women do a lot of crocheting around the fire in 
the winter.

In the summer the people of Estiven grow potatoes, beans, corn and pumpkins, their 
staples throughout the year. We talked about the war in Chiopas. They had heard 
about it on the radio, but did not have any problems with the government. They feel 
they have everything they need. Enjoying their quiet life, they do not care to visit 
the big cities.

With a bag of candied pumpkin for the road, we visited the small Catholic Church. It 
had lots of handmade paper decorations hanging from the ceiling. The priest comes 
once a month.  

The next day we visited the school which has seven students, but only four were 
there for our "show and tell" using the big school map. The children were extremely 
shy. They did not want their caricatures drawn or photos taken. As we left, the 
children huddled around the wood stove in the school house. We were glad the mud had 
clogged our tires and forced us to find shelter at the rodeo stand.

For the next two days we continued traveling in the Sierra Madre Occidental on a 
steep, muddy road without seeing any sign of civilization. We pushed our bikes 
through cold streams and up slippery trails that hadn't been used by vehicles in 
many moons. One night we built a fire and spent four hours drying our shoes and 
socks. We were headed towards La Mesa Hurican where we were once again welcomed and 
aided by a special family.


LA MESA HURICAN (1-23-94)

We awoke with horses close by and lit a fire to warm our hands and feet. It was a 
three mile ride to La Mesa Hurican. There we visited the church and went to a tienda 
for supplies. The young store owner was named Noe (no-ay). He was interested to hear 
about our trip and we learned he had spent time working in the United States (both 
in New Mexico and in Kansas City). He hadn't been able to pick up any English. It 
was too hard he thought. He thought NAFTA was a good thing. We noticed several 
typically American items in his store, like catsup and Wonder Bread, instead of 
Bimbo bread.

Noe and his wife, Patricia, offered us coffee and pan dulce while we warmed up. As 
we talked, Noe's brother-in-law, Julio, came in and offered us a ride to "40 Casas," 
in his '54 GMC (after he got it fixed). Noe offered us water to clean the mud from 
our bikes. Half way throughthe cleaning we were served bean and egg tacos, followed 
an hour later by rice and guacamole that was delicious. Holly drew pictures of their 
three children and friends which soon became treasures.

With our stomachs full and our bicycles clean, we left with Julio and his son, 
Pedro, for "40 Casas." It was a twenty mile ride on a dirt road that took us through 
majestic canyons with rock sides full of caves that were once home to the Indians. 
It was not hard to see why they had chosen this area to live in 1000 years ago. 

"40 Casas" is famous for it's archeological site, but Julio was taking us to the 
home of his in-laws, Francisco and Enrietta Gaytan. Once there, we also met Julio's 
wife and slew of kids that Holly drew. Pedro guided us to the archeological site 
which is similar to the Gila Cliff Dwellings in New Mexico. Before leaving, Julio 
filled the back of his pickup with wood, and killed and plucked a turkey to take 
home. As they left we counted six kids in the cab with Julio and his wife. An older 
boy rode in the back atop the wood along with two spare tires and a chain saw.

That night we were invited to stay in Francisco and Enrietta's spare log cabin, 
complete with table, stool, bed, and wood stove. Holly especially liked the idea of 
a wood stove for warmth.  

We visited with Enrietta for awhile, which was great because she spoke very clear 
Spanish. Their two room house was cozy, but you could see through the walls and 
roof. We learned they have twelve kids. One lives in El Paso, and they enjoy going 
there to visit and to stock up on cheap American items such as coffee, cookies and 
toilet paper. Francisco worked on a farm in Tucson for seventeen years while 
Enrietta stayed in Madera (our next town) and raised the children. Now they are 
comfortable in their old age, taking care of their many animals and crops.

That night we enjoyed eating and writing by an oil lantern, warmed by the wood 
stove, in our own log cabin with dirt floor. Our bed creaked and sagged in the 
middle which brought us closer together, and the three or four extra quilts on top 
of our sleeping bags made the most comfortable and warm night we had experienced all 
week.

H REMEMBERS A HILL

Rocky muddy steep road
Try to build momentum fast
Stand up in the saddle
Push with your legs - hard as you can
feel every muscle in your calves,
thighs, butt, back, shoulders and arms.
Try to steer away from the deep ruts
water puddles and big rocks.
Hope the small rocks will squish in the mud
and not roll like marbles.
Feel the body heat up
and wish your jacket was off.
Try to unzip it to let the air circulate.
Push and pull, one revolution at a time
Drop into granny gear and
Reach for the handle extensions.
Don't think of where the top may be
Just fully concentrate.
Keep the body and gears in sync,
Try to find the easiest path 
through the mud and rubble, but
don't dare to look too far ahead.
The mouth drys quickly and
the many bright red Tecate cans
make you think how refreshing 
a cold drink would be.

The curves seem to level off
just before they get steep again...
They trick you.
They look like the summit
But just keep going up and up.
Try to build the energy to switch 
up a gear to change positions.
But already in the steep part
Just hold on and hope it is a summit.
Grunt a little and shout.
Go Holly Go
I can, I can, I can
Do This
Glance up to see my friend
Is he standing, sitting, or pushing?
Usually
He's too far away to see
Look for blue sky among the trees
Indications of the next bend
Anything can happen at the next bend
Continue one revolution at a time
That plastic oil can is close to the top.
Halfway there
Even with
past
YES! I KNOW I CAN 
MAKE IT TO THAT BEND!


HOW'S OUR HEALTH?

We are happy to report we are both in good health. Since we entered Mexico, we drink 
the water and eat the local food with no problems.

For the last eight days, the mountain riding we have been doing has been very 
strenuous. Our holiday weight gain has been turned into muscle so we don't have to 
worry about dieting. We aren't eating as many calories as we are burning, so our 
bodies are doing their thing correctly and using our excess fat. It is amazing that 
we may get hungry while riding but don't stop, and the hunger goes away as this 
little mouth inside our body eats away at the extra weight we carry.

Tomorrow we will start riding on paved roads again for a couple of hundred miles 
before we go back to dirt. We should find that after this past week our legs will 
feel stronger and we shouldn't have any problem doing 50-70 miles a day.  YES  YES  
YES


ADVENTURES OF GEORGE & HOLLY
PO BOX 1866
SOCORRO, NM 87801
USA