We heart freeways

How to get into shape without losing weight:

It´s all very simple, really. First, get yourself a bike and four panniers and load it all down with about 25 - 30 kilos of random stuff. I mean, you could use practical things, but where would you be without that hardback copy of War and Peace or that full-sized towel? Anyway, the next thing to do is to find some hills, and I mean HILLS. Think Queen Anne Avenue or James Street - anything that you couldn´t possibly go up without zigzagging. But don´t stop there. Make sure that the pavement is really terrible, visibility around curves is nil, and that cows, horses and donkeys create nice obstacle courses for you (Seattleites, you´ll have to be creative here). Basically you know you´ve got it right when spending a day on the bike feels like a StairMaster marathon (except, of course, when you have to get off and push, which should be often). Here is where you have to be careful. In order to continue on without losing any weight it is imperative to exploit all bread and cookie resources available to you. Typically an entire loaf per day as well as donuts, empanadas, a pack of tortillas and the ocasional half dozen of bolillos will do. So far this well-kept secret formula has worked wonders for us and, with a bit of dilligence, it can work for you too!

So where are we now? Resting in Cuauhtemoc. We are finally out of the mountains for a while, but we were surprised to see a sign telling us that we are still at 2200 meters. We have no idea how high we were at the tippy-toppest points, but it was probably in the vicinity of 10,000 feet. The mountains were certainly beautiful, but the ride in yesterday on a shouldered, graded, 4 lane highway was a heavenly contrast. We´ll be spending more time on the big freeways for about a week before heading back into some higher elevation. We don´t know how gradual or sharp the climb will be, but if it´s killer you all will surely be in the know ;c)

Since our last post we had the good fortune of not only finding a bread shop in Tomochi, but the owners of the shop took us in for the night! We stayed at their ranchito outside of the pueblo and had a very laid-back, vaquero-style evening complete with cows, a bonfire and a rustic cabin. In the morning we used the wood stove inside to heat a bunch of water in order to do some cleaning as a way to say thanks. Later that day we arrived at the the edge of the mountains. We literally came around a curve and saw the plains sprawling out in front of us! We stayed in a small pueblo that evening with Abdias and Maria Ester in their lovely home. We initially asked if there were a place in town where we could set up our tent for the night, but we wound up being asked in for dinner and then were offered a warm bed to sleep in. I must say that the enchilladas that Maria Ester prepared for us were absolutely delicious - very simple, very irresistable!

So now we are here in Cuauhtemoc living the high life. We have a hotel room, cable TV, and instant access to real supermarkets, internet, and street food. We are absolutely gorging ourselves on food that we can´t typically find, but I think it is finally catching up to us - we are both complaining of gurgly tummies!

*Side note: At the beginning of this trip I would literally get bruises on my hips from sleeping on the ground - getting comfy was quite the challenge. Now, sleeping on a concrete floor with my pad is more comfortable than in virtually any bed because I´m so accustomed to being on the ground. Who knew?


M