Miles: 409 -- Total miles: 4,356
Time on road 8h 45m

Acayucan, Veracruz to Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo

Decided to take a break from the topes and make it a quota day. Also wanted to get a few miles behind me. Over 350 miles and no topes. Paid the price for it though. Literally. Cost me over twice the amount for tolls than what I paid for gas. Almost 4 times as much as what I paid for the hotel tonight.

Elevation starting out was around 300 feet. After I turned west on 150D the elevation begin to increase. After passing Cordoba I had a range that I had to cross and even for a 4 lane highway the road began to get fun. 8.5+k in elevation. Temperature dropped into the low 50s. Low 50s and mesh riding gear is not a good combination if you like to stay warm.

Elevation dropped to around 7k, temperature warmed up some, and lost the curves. High altitude but the terrain was more flat with peaks in the distance or “hilly”.

Before getting into Mexico City I headed north and looped around to the north of the city. Elevation went back up to almost 9k and then back down to around 7-8k. Terrain became more arid and cactus were becoming common.

Found a hotel for $20 in Ixmiquilpan that looks almost brand new, Attached restaurant and bar. Large rooms, tile floors, very clean, secure parking, TV, hot water, and internet. No fan. No AC. No toilet seat. __________________

Miles: 264 -- Total miles: 4,620
Time on road 9h

Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo to Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas

This morning turned out to be rather disappointing. Left the hotel and stopped at the first Pemex that I came to. Lady gas attendant, young (for my age), and very attractive. Filled the tank on the bike, gave me my change, started talking about the bike, then started trying to get me to take her home with me. Told her that I would have to call the wife and see if it was OK. Called the wife and asked her if it was OK with her if I brought home a pet from Mexico. Wife said no. Sometimes wives just don't understand. Gave the young senorita the bad news and headed north toward the mountains.

Morning started out in the upper 40s. Mostly cloudy and the temperature was very slow to rise during the morning, finally getting up to 60. Heated grips. Never leave home without them.

125 miles of non stop mountains and curves. Elevation was averaging between 6-7k. Only took me 5 hours. Very few towns and very few topes so they were not an issue. Actually, at times they were a good break. Best ride of the entire trip.

Came back down out of the mountains to an elevation of 200 feet. Several small towns and several topes really slowed forward progress. North of Ciudad Valles the towns became fewer, I was running in a valley between two mountain ranges, and the pace picked up somewhat.

Stopped for the night in Ciudad Mante. Got a nice hotel room in zona centro for $33. Among other things, room had AC and a toilet seat

Miles: 500 -- Total miles: 5,120
Time on road 10h 45m

Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas to Falfurrias, TX

Today's objective was to cross the border before dark. Also I needed to cross into the state of Nuevo Leon so that I can color it in on my map. Also heard statements from several sources that you do not want to stop overnight in the areas that I had to go through today. Nuevo Leon is one of the areas that went hot while I was passing through the neighboring state on my way down.

Mostly good travel roads so I could make some reasonable time. Only a few towns and even fewer with topes. Seems like the further south you go you find more small towns and more topes. Either I or the GPS made a mistake a couple of times so I got to tour a little extra in a couple of towns.

Passed through 4-5 Federal Police check points today. Waived through all of them One military check point. Searched all of the bags. That's 3 for 3 for military check points in the last three days. Apparently the military considers me a major threat to Mexico. In all fairness, the V-Strom (“the mighty Wee”) does look like a very powerful weapon capable of destroying small countries and little old ladies who take too long to move out of your way.

Got into Reynosa and found the border crossing with a little extra touring. Waited in line for almost an hour to get across. They were checking out all vehicles and opening trunks. Got to open up all bags again. Only other time that I had the bags searched entering the US was at an isolated crossing in Canada. There, I think that the guy was just bored and had nothing else to do.

Back in the USA. Going to Mexico is like going camping. It is a lot of fun, but it really makes you appreciate home.

Miles: 632 -- Total miles: 5,752
Time on road 11h 15m

Falfurrias, TX to Ruston, LA

Now starts the boring part of the RR, getting home.

Spent most of today in Texas on secondary roads. Good roads, mostly straight, light traffic, and able to make some miles on them. No interstate, no check points, no topes, no tolls. Left from south Texas heading north early this morning. Very relaxed riding but was able to maintain a good pace. Nothing to see here folks. Just keep moving along. As I got up into east Texas the roads were not quite as straight. A few curves every now and then compared to south Texas. Hard woods replaced the low shrubs. Towns became more frequent and traffic increased.

Reached I-20 just west of Shreveport LA and headed east, finishing up the day with slab riding.

Miles: 557 -- Total miles: 6,309
Time on road 8h 15m

Ruston, LA to Woodstock, GA

Last day and nothing to really report. Slab-ed from Ruston, LA to Woodstock, GA. Nothing eventful. Lot of interstate, traffic not bad, good weather, made good time.

Got home around 4:00pm ET. Time to start working on my plans for my trip to Chihuahua in July where I will be attempting to do the End of the World Ride.