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Around the world by bicycle: equipment breakdown and crash in Mexico
© Ben and Linda
After a 4-week break in Oaxaca, Mexico, it's time to continue our journey. Before heading to Palenque, we head to the beach at Puerto Escondido.
It was very hot in Oaxaca, but it's getting hotter. We change our routine to morning rides only. We get up at 4 am, start cycling at 6 am and finish at 12 pm. This is to avoid the sweltering heat and high humidity between noon and sunset.
World trip by bicycle
Linda Reimersdahl and Ben van Baardwijk from Maastricht left in June 2020 for a long cycling trip around the world. Read their travel blog here regularly.
But it still feels like we are cycling in a sauna. After barely 10 minutes we are completely soaked. Sweat streams down our arms and legs. Our cycling clothes and even our sandals are constantly wet.
New roads
We feel like a little more adventure and decide to take the new highway to the coast. The road is not finished yet. As cyclists we can avoid most detours. But if a bridge is missing, we have to make a detour, just like a few other adventurers in a car. We are lucky to have chosen this new highway under construction. The other route would have been much longer and steeper.
Read more and view photos? Follow Linda and Ben's cycling blog here
Our first day at the beach is great. We stay in a small hut with direct access to the beach. The bed is surrounded by a mosquito net. Outside is a table and 2 chairs with a sea view. You can hear the ocean! We put on our swimsuits and take a dip. The waves are very strong at Brisas de Zicatela. Swimming is not possible, but we get wet.
Sunsets are beautiful here. Worth staying longer, but we plan to go to Zipolite to experience the hippie vibes. At Zipolite it is easier to swim in the ocean and there is a nudist beach.
Mazunte and Zipolite
Cycling on the 200 is not bad at all. There is little traffic and we often see the ocean. Especially if we take the 175 to Mazunte and San Agustinillo to finally reach Zipolite. We share the road with many trucks that transport large white stones for the construction company MECANO Construcción del Rompeolas Salina Cruz.
From Salinas del Marqués to Matias Romero we have to deal with strong headwinds. The signs warn trucks to beware of the strong wind. We've been told about this windy part of Mexico before, but we weren't quite sure where we'd encounter it. Now we know!
The strong winds of 'La Ventosa' are mainly caused by the 'Venturi' effect, between two foothills in the Istmo de Tehuantepec. This area is the narrowest region of Mexico, which means that the wind blows sometimes with more than 10 Bft from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean without any obstacles.
Breakdown
The landscape is greening up and that's nice. We pass many small farms. It is remote and shabby here. To reach Tenochtitlán, we drive all day on gravel. The last hill is called Vista del Valle del Uxpanapa and is a nasty climb!
In the village of Tenochtitlán, Ben's bicycle makes a terrible creaking noise. It's not the usual crack we sometimes hear when shifting gears. Then the Pinion starts to slip in all gears. When Ben wants to cycle, nothing happens. The pedal does go down, but there is no transmission.
We can't go on without gears. We decide to take the bus the next morning at 4 am to the next big city Las Choapas. We get advice on how to fix Ben's bike. There appears to be nothing wrong with the Pinion gear system. It's the rear hub that's broken. We just left our old spare hub in Oaxaca to save some weight. What are the chances that we need it now?
Las Choapas is a very small town. Being stuck there is no fun! The quickest way to get us out of here is to get the spare hub from Oaxaca. Fortunately, DHL can deliver it within 4 days.
Back on the road
After 6 days we can continue. Linda drives with the old spare hub. Ben cycles with Linda's hub. It's a temporary fix until we reach Guatemala City where a new, stronger hub from Idworx awaits us.
On the way to Huimanguillo we are bothered by traffic for the first time during our world cycling tour. On a narrow road, Linda is overtaken by a large and long truck. Another car is approaching from the opposite direction. The truck doesn't stop, but gets very close to Linda.
Linda: “I notice that the big truck is getting closer and closer. It does not feel right. I want to stop so he can catch up with me.” When Linda stops, she can only use her right foot. She is afraid that the truck will hit her if she puts her left foot on the ground. There is a small embankment on the right. Linda falls down when she stops and tries to stand on her right foot. A few scratches on her leg, but luckily she didn't break anything. We cycle on in an even more defensive manner.
Cooling down
Because the heat and humidity are so extreme, we tend to stay in hotels. During the afternoon we cool off in our air-conditioned room. The prices and hospitality of the hotels vary quite a bit. We will not forget Hotel Reforma. First of all: thanks for the hugs! The sweetest gift was a huge flag of Mexico. Most appreciated: 2 large bottles of ice cold water. Later we are spoiled with 2 coca colas and extra water and 2 apples for the road. Thank you so much!
In the direction of Jalapa, Komoot points us to a small road that is closed with a gate. We can easily open the gate. We drive into a palm oil plantation. We have never seen the fruits of these trees before. A group of workers shows us what they are harvesting.
On our route to Palenque we pass tiny villages. It seems as if we have arrived in the Middle Ages. Pigs walking by. Women carry wood on their backs with a rope on their foreheads. Shacks with only gray bricks.
Laugh and cry
From Palenque it is another 3 days of cycling to the border with Guatemala. We are on a dirt road. At the first small shop where we refill our water bottles, we meet Paco the parrot. He whistles a sexy melody. When Ben tries to pet him, Linda laughs because Paco tries to bite him. Paco imitates this laughing sound in a cute way. We both burst into laughter, after which we and Paco can't stop laughing. Hilarious!
But soon the fun will be over. When we have to cycle another 25 km to reach the next village, Ben hears the creaking sound again. It's the hub! Oh no! Same problem we had when we were near Las Choapas, but now we are in the middle of nowhere.
The next bus is at 5am, says a local in a truck. Fortunately, another small truck passes. We can board for a ride back to Palenque. It's the best we can do. Ben can no longer cycle with a broken hub.
In vain
Back to Palenque. The wrong direction. This is sooo disappointing! Another hub in Mexico cannot be found. We have to wait for a new stronger hub from Idworx from Germany. This is going to take a while…
We spend some extra time in Palenque. Then we decide to wait in Flores in Guatemala for the rest of the time. A different environment and some more sights to pick up the thread afterwards. It reminds us of the mystery of the Maya. They also left Palenque very suddenly.
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