Hello cyclists,
I am researching about cycling in Mexico. Many cycle tourers complain about the traffic on the Mexican highways and some even cross the whole country on the toll roads, because they have less traffic and a wider shoulder. This is not how we want to travel.
I am sure that every country has a network of small minor roads, paved or unpaved doesn't matter. The problem is how to find those roads and how to put them together in a long route across the country.
We will probably cross the whole country twice, first on our way up to Alaska and a year later on our way down. We travel with small children in trailers, so really would prefer those quiet roads.
Now my question. Does anyone know about very good maps of Mexico that show the quiet roads, including unpaved ones? I already came across the Guia Roji in someones blog. Any experience with that one? Other suggestions.
Almost everyone seems to take the main highway across the length of Baja California and then cross by ferry to the main land. But most of them complain about the heavy and crazy traffic. Maybe mainland northern Mexico is overlooked as a cycling destination? Any experience in that area?
Any advice welcome,
Peter
que tal saludos. tienes razón en cuanto a que las carreteras de mexico no están en lo mas minimo preparadas para el ciclismo de viaje. y lo mas prudente es viajar sobre el costado de estas carreteras usando la terracería, mapas en donde vayan marcados caminos alternos de terracería entre pueblos quizá si el Guia Roji sea el mas especializado. viajar en bici por las autopistas es mas seguro si pero te pierdes de conocer los pueblos mágicos ya que las autopistas los excluyen y otra cosa en mexico no en todas las autopistas permiten el paso a ciclistas. en Torreon Coahuila tienes donde llegar si pasas por aca.
Hola Moises,
Gracias por la informacion sobre las carreteras de mexico. Entonces vamos a comprar la Guia Roji y disfrutar los caminos tranquilos. Queremos conocer los pueblos pequeños del interior de Mexico, escuchar la musica, probar la comida mexicana, visitar los mercados, etc.
Seguro que queremos visitarte en Torreon Coahuila. Probablement venemos en Enero/Febrero 2016, pero siempre puede cambiar nuestro plan de viaje. Te escribo cuando estemos seguro. Gracias por la invitacion.
Saludos desde Austria,
Peter
Hi - We loved Mexico, stayed mostly inland. Lots of people don't like Baja, and lots of people who ride down the west coast don't like Mexico so much.
Our route from 2007 is at http://www.hobobiker.com/big_trip_mexico_route
The Guia Roji maps worked great for us, http://www.hobobiker.com/node/4137
Highway etiquette, etc: http://www.hobobiker.com/node/4314
Nancy's notes on riding in Latin America: http://www.hobobiker.com/node/4099
General Tips: http://www.hobobiker.com/taxonomy/term/63
Security and safety in Mexico: http://www.hobobiker.com/node/3934
Hello Nancy and Randy,
Thank you for the useful links to your blog entries. I went through them one by one and found some useful information. I already expected that inland Mexico would be a great adventure. And now I am reassured that we will have an interesting time there. The Guia Roji seems to be the way to go.
I cycled already 2.5 years in South America. And some of my experiences have been different from yours. Maybe it is good to mention somewhere on your blog that it is possible to wild camp all the way from Ushuaia up to the Caribbean. I used a couple of warmshowers addresses and casas de ciclistas, but never stayed in a hotel or campground. I can imagine that things are different north/west of the Darian Gap, but no experience there yet.
We want to start in October 2015 from Central America, going up till Alaska and down again all the way to Ushuaia. The trip may take a lifetime, we will be with our two children and home school them on the road. We will probably pass near your house twice and will try to contact you then. Maybe you will have the time and space to host and meet us.
For now, life continues here in the Austrian Alps, during the day we enjoy beautiful nature, in the evening we dream about our next big trip.
Peter
Hello,
I came across some PDF files of maps that look quite detailed.
There is a separate map for each state of Mexico.
http://www.sct.gob.mx/informacion-general/planeacion/cartografia/mapa-por-estado/
Some people might find them useful.
Peter