Did a little roadside maintainance when my rear brake fluid got low, so we bought some good old DOT 3, and filled it up, much better.
Stopped In Puerto Escondido.......a beautiful spot and pleasantly free of much of the tourist scene characteristic of Mexican resort towns. Fish fillet at a beachside restaurant then on our way to make up for lost time. Nearly in
Juchitan, saw this herd of goats and the palapa.
Riding a motorcycle is a completely different experience than riding in a car.A few people who may be reading this are motorcycle riders, but most are not. On a bike you are part of the environment rather than just passing thro it Operating the vehicle is very user-intensive, no sitting back on cruise control. You constantly are receiving and assimilating numerous bits of information every few seconds which you must process and usually act upon as you ride. Thought I'd recount the thoughts that went thro my head, what I saw and what I did during about three minutes of riding today as we came into and left a little town.
***********************Scanning the usual 8 seconds ahead...following the mnemonic of
Scan Identify Predict (SIP), looking for hazards. Notice a dark spot on the road, could be oil so I swerve to avoid it. Something you unlearn when riding a motorcycle is to avoid the natural instinct of target fixation...looking at the hazard, because the bike goes where you look. Look where you want to go, not where you don´t want to go. Jogi dives into a tight lefthander, follows a racing line and I do too. Set up outside,go inside to clip the apex of the turn, then outside near the road edge. Perfect, and I feel like Valentino Rossi doing it right. Big black rocks up ahead?, no...two large black cow butts facing the road as the owners graze with heads down perpendicular to the road about four feet away. I move to the right to create some space even though it seems unlikely they will spring into my path like deer. Speaking of which, where are they? Haven{t seen any deer since we{ve been in Mexico, 2000 miles now. Maybe the Mexicans ate all the deer? Another turn, right hand this time, but as I am in the curve, leaned over on my line, I notice sand along the inside so I adjust the line a bit to miss it and skim the center line as I exit. Suddenly, we round another corner and there is San Ignacio....population about 1000. Signs warning of topes. Hard on the brakes, lightening up on the rear as the front end dives under braking to reduce chance of a rear wheel skid, simultaneously blip the throttle and downshift two gears, stand up on the pegs and whack the throttle open to lift the front tire over the tope. Two little kids walking along the virtual shoulder. I create space by moving to the left of my lane, wave at them but they just stare blankly. It occurs to me that, in my riding clothes and helmet, I must seem like an alien from outer space to them. Accerating leaving town when Jogi{s rear tire abruptly kicks up...stealth tope.....no sign, no marking, just a big undulation on the pavement which we don{t see....BRAKEBRAKE BRAKE, only time for one quick downshift, stand up so my legs can act as shock absorbers, but hit it too hard and feel the front forks bottom out as the bike becomes slightly airborne for a split second. Mutter my millionth curse at these infernal things. A truck, barely moving directly in front of me. I do a quick head check to my left, lean out and look ahead. A car is coming, but I figure I can beat him, quick downshift, accelerate around the truck to make the pass and tuck in with room to spare. *******************************
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