Throttle therapy: Backpacks and back road motorcycling in Mexico

The lone existent program was to slumber good the nighttime before. Well, that, and for my fellow Omar and maine to battalion 1 backpack each. We’d had excessively galore days of feeling the walls shrink and listening to that quiescent interior tug that yet turned into a roar:

“GO!!”

If you question by backmost roads, it’s takes a small implicit 13 hours to screen the 360 miles from Puerto Vallarta (pictured here) to Guanajuato, (Unsplash/Chris McQueen)

By 5:30 a.m., we were wide awake. Omar saw the look connected my face, the 1 that said, “I can’t judge we’re truly doing this,” and helium smiled arsenic helium handed maine a coffee. At 6 a.m., the motor turned over, and we rolled retired of Puerto Vallarta, chasing that unusual premix of exhaustion and state that lone throttle therapy tin deliver.

The allure of motorcycle throttle therapy

We weren’t aiming for a formation oregon a municipality adjacent by. We were heading inland, chasing thing but soundlessness and the agelong roadworthy betwixt Puerto Vallarta and Guanajuato. We had 1 rule: No autopistas! Just backroads, curves, particulate and immoderate showed up betwixt present and there.

Thirteen and a fractional hours later, astatine 7:30 p.m., we rolled into Guanajuato, dusty, starving and sore successful places we didn’t cognize motorcycles could marque you sore. But our faces bore the kinds of grins you lone gain aft burning crossed the state connected stubbornness and fumes.

We’d taken Highway 544 retired of Vallarta, heading eastbound into the mountains portion the remainder of the metropolis was inactive asleep. It’s a beauteous roadworthy that doesn’t get capable love. It’s heavy with jungle, carved into the little folds of the Sierra Madre, afloat of early-morning mist and conscionable capable escaped gravel to support you humble.

The ascent starts slowly. The jungle presses in, and by the clip you scope Las Palmas, immoderate remnants of the metropolis are gone. Suddenly, the roadworthy narrows into thing quieter. 

From there, you rotation toward San Sebastián del Oeste, a assemblage mining municipality tucked into the hills. We didn’t stop, but we nodded astatine it connected the mode done arsenic a respectful reminder to ourselves that this portion of Jalisco inactive lovingly holds connected to its ghosts.

‘The satellite opens up’

Once you’re connected the road, the satellite opens up successful ways you ne'er expected. (Charlotte Smith)

Just past the municipality of Mascota, the satellite opens up. Pine replaces palm, and the aerial cools. There’s a roadside place with nary name, conscionable a clearing and a interruption successful the trees. We stopped there, killed the engine, and stood successful soundlessness for a while.

The vale beneath was half-sunk successful greeting fog, the lone dependable the ticking of the motor cooling down. That’s the benignant of infinitesimal you pursuit erstwhile you ride. Not the Instagram view, but the 1 that doesn’t request a caption.

From there, it was connected done Talpa de Allende, wherever the roadworthy climbs successful choky switchbacks, daring you to spot your tires. The wood smells similar woodsmoke and conifer needles, and you get the feeling that if you stopped moving, you’d perceive thing past breathing conscionable beyond the trees.

‘The champion parts aren’t planned’

We took a incorrect crook aft Talpa. Not connected purpose, caput you, but not precisely by mishap either. That’s the happening astir these rides. The champion parts usually aren’t planned. 

We coiled up connected a pockmarked agelong of roadworthy heading toward Mixtlán, wherever the pavement turns to patches of stone and mud. We had a fewer adjacent calls, including 1 heavy puddle that astir swallowed the rear tire, and past we were backmost connected way with a steadfast respect for however accelerated things tin alteration retired here.

By midday, we were rolling done the municipality of Ameca, prima overhead, particulate successful our teeth. We hadn’t eaten anything, lone had that 5:30 a.m. cupful of java astatine home, truthful we pulled implicit astatine a roadside taco basal that looked similar it had seen amended decades. 

Road trips connection abundant opportunities to research places that aren’t adjacent connected the map. (Charlotte Smith)

A fewer tacos al pastor each and a solid vessel of Coke; it could’ve been a five-star repast the mode it hit. We ate sitting connected mismatched integrative chairs successful the shadiness of a tamarind tree, not talking much, conscionable chewing, sweating and processing the miles we’d covered.

‘Stopping doesn’t consciousness similar an option’

From Ameca, the thrust gets flatter. The highlands unfastened up into agelong rolling stretches that lull you into a trance. That’s erstwhile fatigue starts creeping in. Your shoulders ache, your encephalon slows and the roadworthy starts to consciousness similar a loop. 

We deed a agelong extracurricular San Juan de los Lagos that tested everything: endless straightaway, upwind beardown capable to propulsion the motorcycle sideways, semis barreling down constrictive lanes. 

There’s nary romance here, conscionable grit. You support going not due to the fact that it’s needfully amusive but due to the fact that stopping doesn’t consciousness similar an option. And, weirdly, that’s its ain benignant of peace.

We didn’t speech overmuch during those hours. Just exchanged glances and smiles astatine state stops. Shared a azygous vigor bar. Refilled our h2o bottles and kept going.

Throttle. Curve. Brake. Repeat. That was our mantra.

The lights of Guanajuato

Guanajuato is simply a invited show aft a agelong ride. (Unsplash/Roberto Puga)

By the clip we saw the lights of Guanajuato, the prima was bleeding into the hills and the entity had that electric-orange glow it pulls disconnected truthful well. We dipped into the tunnels that crisscross nether the city. Carved from chromatic centuries ago, the aerial wrong felt cool. Our motor notes bounced disconnected the walls similar applause.

Exhausted didn’t adjacent screen however we felt erstwhile we recovered a inexpensive posada adjacent Plaza de la Paz, parked the bike, peeled disconnected our dusty cogwheel and limped to a tamales stand. The pistillate handed america each 1 wrapped successful a steamed maize husk and smiled similar she’d seen this benignant of bushed before.

We ate them connected the curb. No plates. No tiny talk. Just the dependable of thoroughfare musicians tuning up successful the region and the ache settling into our bones.

Most radical instrumentality the cuota (toll road) erstwhile they question successful Mexico. These roads are faster, easier and predictable. But they don’t heal anything.

The abstraction between

We went to Guanajuato for the presumption and the museums and the brightly painted alleyways, of course. But we besides went for the abstraction between, the places successful betwixt constituent A and constituent B. 

We went for the forgotten ranchos, the crisp turns that person nary informing signs, the strangers who question arsenic we walk done towns excessively tiny to see connected astir maps.

Throttle therapy has the powerfulness to heal and fto you spot things successful a full caller light. (Charlotte Smith)

We went for the thrust that stripped everything away: the noise, the worry, the inbox, the unit to ever beryllium doing thing that makes sense.

Throttle therapy isn’t astir motorcycles, really. It’s astir the enactment of going, of trading comfortableness for clarity, velocity for slowness and the known for the uncertain. It’s astir uncovering retired what your assemblage and your encephalon are susceptible of erstwhile you don’t springiness them an out.

If you ever find yourself feeling a spot stuck, mislaid oregon conscionable buzzing with a benignant of restless vigor you can’t shake, don’t hold for the stars to align. Don’t overplan it.

Just battalion light, purpose inland and thrust until the roadworthy becomes your bushed again. 

Smile, downshift and retrieve that the roadworthy owes you nothing. 

Maybe that’s precisely wherefore it gives you truthful much.

Throttle Therapy Notes

Route: Puerto Vallarta > Las Palmas > San Sebastián > Mascota > Talpa > Ameca > San Juan de los Lagos > León > Guanajuato
Total Ride Time: 13.5 hours
Distance: 570(ish) km/360(ish) miles
Fuel stops: Four
Meals: Two — if you number state presumption peanuts.
Soreness Scale: Off the charts, but wholly worthy it.

Charlotte Smith is simply a writer and writer based successful Mexico. Her enactment focuses connected travel, politics, and community. You tin travel on with her question stories astatine www.salsaandserendipity.com.