Our Mexico route started in San Miguel de Allende where we visited my mom and brother before setting off. We rode through beautiful mountains of Guanajuato and Michoacan states before hitting the Pacific coast. We had a free week at a time share in Acapulco, a place we would have otherwise avoided. This shaped our route along the coast down to Mazunte. From there, we decided to head back into the mountains to escape the heat. It was a wise decision, because Chiapas turned out to be some of the best riding we’d encountered so far!

Route Notes

The gap between Salina Cruz and Tuxtla is where we took a bus to avoid a boring stretch of busy highway in blistering heat.

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Route Highlights

• Basically all of Guanajuato, especially the mountains around Guanajuato city
• Detour through La Mesila to Paracho, Michoacán
• Tuxtla to San Cristobal de las Casas on the old road
• Backroads to Lagunas de Montebello

Places To Avoid

• The mountain road between Nueva Italia and Arteaga via Tumbascatio. We had a frightening encounter with narcos in Tumbiscatio and later learnt that it is a known hideout for the Caballeros Templarios, a dangerous Mexican drug cartel.
• The coastal route from Mazunte, Oaxaca towards towards Chiapas is horribly hot and boring (hence we took a bus to Tuxtla). In hindsight, we should have climbed up to Oaxaca city via Carretera 175 from Pochutla and stayed at high elevation all the way to Tuxtla, Chiapas.