Self Supported in the Yucatan - 2010

February 2010
My search for warmth and flat countryside in February landed me in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. I booked a trip for three weeks and spent the first week on an organized, self-supported cycling tour with Basil and Alix of www.bikemexico.com. This was my first foray into cycling with panniers. Last year I did a short trip in Sonoma, CA on my Bike Friday (www.bikefriday.com) pulling my trailer which is a piece of Samsonite luggage converted to trailer by adding wheels and a tongue. Using the panniers for Mexico, I reduced the weight approximately 17 pounds. My total bike/baggage weight (staying at hotels) was 53 pounds plus the weight of the 5 bottles of water I carried. After a challenging day riding in Burlington, VT last year consisting of a slit in my rear tire, five flats and two non-functioning pumps, I opted to carry my own mini-shop into the rural areas of the Yucatan. I carried a spare tire, five tubes, patches, 6 spokes, extra rack/cleat screws, pump and cartridge. Fortunately, all I needed was one tube.


The disadvantage of using panniers rather than converting my Samsonite case to a trailer is “what do I do with my luggage?” The one-week bike tour was round trip so I left it at the hotel. The following week I took the loaded bike and luggage onto a 1st class bus for a two hour trip to Merida, a city of 1 million. Five days later I took a taxi back to the bus station with my luggage and panniers in the trunk and my bike folded in the back seat. Once again, I was allowed to put the loaded bike and luggage into the luggage compartment on the bus (not allowed on a Greyhound in the U.S.). I arrived in Playa del Carmen at the beach area known as the Mayan Riviera and dropped my Samsonite case at the hotel where I would stay the following week. Freed of the case, I rode my loaded bike to catch a ferry to the island of Cozumel.

I was quite impressed with the bus system of the Yucatan. Each segment of my trip I used a 1st class bus run by ADO (www.ado.com). The ADO buses and stations were spotlessly clean, service was prompt, a movie played on the bus and it was never crowded, so I had two seats to myself. They laid my bike (with panniers attached) in the rear of the luggage compartment away from other luggage.

The one week guided tour was an intimate group of seven - the two guides (Basil & Alixandria) and five tourists. The five of us were virgins to the Yucatan and all sported brand new panniers. Mark and Carol came from the Fresno area, Karen from Portland and Sergio from Mexico City. Sergio rode a low-riding 3-wheel trike which was challenging to clear the multitude of speed bumps (topes) at every village. Karen and I rode steel Bike Fridays. Basil and Alix use full-sized Surly steel bikes with two couplers allowing them to pack their bikes in airline friendly luggage. Mark and Carol converted their road bikes to touring bikes by purchasing a modified rear skewer and rack from specialty company Old Man Mountain. The shock of the multitude of speed bumps made Carol very nervous since she was on a very light-weight Carbon bike. She and Mark are now interested in travel bikes for future trips.

Basil and Alix are from Canada but have spent the last 10 years living and leading tours in Mexico. Their intimate knowledge of the people, culture and roads took us to places most tourists rarely visit. We traveled in rural areas of mostly indigenous Mayan Indians. Most homes are cinder block or stick. Roofs are thatch or metal. The language is Mayan but some also speak Spanish. The Yucatan area is very friendly and safe and nothing like the news stories in the U.S. about the drugs and kidnappings in Mexico. It’s sad how our TV/radio lumps all of Mexico into one bucket of crime. One night was a home-stay in a Mayan village. A grandmother cooked our meals. Dinner was a yummy vegetable/bean soup with handmade tortillas. Dessert was sugared papaya cooked all day over an open fire. Breakfast was delicious eggs with chaya (like spinach) served with Atole, a thick corn based drink served in half shells of dried gourds. This village in Tihosuco was larger than most and included a museum converted from a Spanish hacienda built during the years of Spanish rule. Our male host translated all the wall placards to Spanish then Basil translated to us in English. It was very enlightening (and sad) to learn of the Spanish domination of the Mayan Indians and the long Caste Wars fought to obtain their freedom from slavery.

Mayans typically sleep in hamacas (hammocks), as did we. The technique is to lie flat is to sleep in a diagonal direction. Don’t forget to put a blanket under you too. The stick walls are only insulated with cardboard. Our hut was next to the chicken/turkey lot and they, along with the dogs, “sang” to us for two hours then started up again at 5:00 a.m. Our night on Isla Holbox (fishing island) was also noisy with the sounds of Carnival partying late into the night. Our other nights were spent in small towns in family-owned budget hotels costing $20 - $30 for a double. If staying one night in a Mayan village is “too much culture” for your taste, most of the Bike Mexico tours do not include that option.

Total mileage for five days riding with one day off at the beach was 300 with two long days of 78 and 80. The shorter days allowed time to tour ruins or swim in cenotes. A cenote is unique to the Yucatan. This region seldom has above-ground rivers or lakes. Instead, huge sinkholes have formed requiring you to climb down ladders or steps to swim. They are quite beautiful with the vines and roots hanging down 50’ – 100’ from the top. Mayan ruins are another huge tourist draw. We stopped early in the day at two ruins before the crowds arrived – Elk Balaam and Coba. Hiring a local guide to explain the history shed a whole new light on what we were viewing.

Another major concern going to Mexico was water quality. Before departing I made an unnecessary trip to R.E.I. to buy two types of purification pills. Our hotels had filtered water dispensers. Using panniers, I carried five bottles. Along the way we could purchase water at shop-ettes. The Mayan villages have trucks delivering jugs at homes. We never drank tap water nor brushed our teeth with tap water. For food on the road, we carried nuts, peanut butter or jerky brought from home. We bought fresh fruit (peel-able) when available. Basil taught us to make oatmeal the night prior by adding water and letting it sit over-night.

There are volumes written on Yucatan cooking which has no resemblance to what we call Mexican food. It is not spicy unless you choose to spice it yourself. Chicken and pork are popular. I ate Mero fish nearly daily which is a type of grouper. The prices are wonderfully inexpensive. My favorite drink is Horchata made from rice milk, cinnamon, spices and sugar. Our tour was during the week of Carnival which meant daily celebrations. For the family-oriented Mayans, this meant children’s parades, dancing and singing in the streets along with food vendors.

We thoroughly enjoyed Sergio, from Mexico City, on the tour. He is a well-rounded, successful patent attorney who gave us yet another perspective of life in Mexico which goes far beyond our network news. He has a distant relative who owns a hotel on Isla Holbox who treated us to a fabulous 5-star meal. Isla Holbox was a tiny fishing village five years ago until it was “discovered”. It is still small and quaint and all the streets are hard-packed sand.

In the rural areas of the Yucatan, bicycles are often their method of transport. It is common to see bikes carrying a load of firewood to cook dinner that evening in their outdoor kitchen. Men may have a rifle strapped to their back for hunting or a machete or other tools for work. Three wheeled bikes (two in front) with a plank seat serve as taxis or for transporting the family. Mexico is a 3rd world country and reminds me of stories of life 100 years ago in the U.S. What I could really appreciate is their family unity and support since the family doesn’t get scattered like in the U.S.

Sadly, our tour ended and we went separate directions. Most had extended travel plans in the region after the tour. Karen and I took our Bike Fridays by bus to Merida. Karen stayed a couple of days then rode solo 50 miles to Izamal. From there Karen took a bus to the beach at Tulum. I spent four days exploring the festive, colonial city of Merida. Every Sunday is a huge cultural day with festivities and performances at the Plaza Grande. A five mile stretch of road is closed for bicycles. Merida has an old town along with a modern city with sleek hotels and shopping centers. Many ex-pats, including Americans, live there. A previous club member from Atlanta, Ken Scott, and his wife retired there last year. They feel very safe there, as did I. Walking alone at night is not a concern. They have a beautiful home in the hubbub of Avenue Paseo Montejo. To Atlantans, think of our midtown. Ken just purchased a Bike Friday (New World Tourist) for riding around the city or doing tours. Ken took Karen and me on an afternoon tour of Merida on our Bike Fridays. If you never leave the old historic Centro (downtown) section of Merida with all the one-way narrow streets (many are brick) then you would have no idea Merida is a modern city. It has Wal-Mart, Target, new malls, a glass-encased Hyatt and many other mega stores/hotels. In Merida the typical February temperatures of 80’s returned versus the previous week when we were blessed with a “cold front” of 70’s. Merida is 30 minutes from the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. On Sunday three of us went sailing on a 10’ sail boat in the bay and amongst the mangroves. We were fortunate to sail close to a dozen pink flamingos feeding in the waters.

Next stop was a two hour bus trip and 30 minute ferry ride to the island of Cozumel for some sun, beach and snorkeling. On one day I decided to ride my bike around the island. Thinking it was 42 kilometers, I kept a very leisurely pace stopping frequently. Near the end of the day while enjoying drinks with some newly made friends, I was informed it was actually 42 miles, not kilometers. Ooops! I have 10 miles to go and it’s nearly dark. Many folks don’t think a little bike with 20” wheels can go very fast. Oh contraire! Speed is based on gearing and gear inches. A Bike Friday can be geared with identical gear inches of a full-size road bike. With my lights back in the hotel room (another oops), I made it to the edge of town and street lights just as the darkness fell.

My final stop was five days at the beaches of Playa del Carmen on the Caribbean side referred to as the Maya Riviera. My daughter joined me for this segment which is definitely the area highly populated by tourists from all over the world. Here you find less of the real Yucatan culture replaced by the resort scene with beautiful beaches, lots of shopping, restaurants and bars. Final words….don’t let our news media keep you away from a friendly and safe cycling destination.