26.) The Devils Spine To Durango

This segment of the trip was the most spectacular riding by far. The roads were magical. The surface was groomed, fresh macadam, the curves were perfectly banked, and there was very little traffic. Many pictures and videos are included below, because this section was truly the gem of the whole trip, from a riding perspective.

Unlike the first section of twisties I endured on Mexico Route 16 between Basasiachi and Hermosillo, Route 45 was not nearly so scary, even though it was more technical. It was just as exposed, but for some reason, I was able to ride it very aggressively. Probably just an example of an "on" day versus an "off" day. That plus additional experience. Anyhow, it was a total blast. I will definitely do it again. It is about 100 miles of road equal to Deal's Gap, or better.

Here we start, right outside of Chupaderos.



Typical S-curves. Lots of these sorts of things. No traffic. Take race lines!



We begin to start gaining serious elevation.


More curves.



We played cat and mouse all day with this truck. I do not think the driver peed all day.



Back to our beloved alpine environment. Temperatures were perfect, in the low 70s.





Some cross canyon shots.



The mountain ridges are stacked one behind another and go on forever.



This was a wonderful spot. Big drop off if you missed the turn, though.



Typical Devil's Spine turn. This sort of stuff went on without stop for about a hundred miles.



VIDEO! - Me and Jim riding twisties in this area. Way cool.



VIDEO! - Here is Jimmy shredding another part of this road. As you can see, he is able to be much more aggressive without a slow guy on a Beemer in front of him. Pretty good lean for knobbies.



There is Jimmy way across the other side of the canyon. He is the size of an ant.





A pretty serious curve with decent fall exposure. No rail either.





This was a wonderful spot. Many of the following pictures were taken from this, the peak of the Devil's Spine.












VIDEO! - A truck comes around a curve as we take a rest in a particularly picturesque spot.



VIDEO! - A panorama of the area.



We leave that spot and start making our way into a rather flat Alpine Highland.



The roads straighten out a bit on the highland section before El Salto.



Some of the strangest rock formations I have ever seen. They are cone shaped. Very odd. I asked about them in the next town, and everyone knew of the rocks, but nobody had an explanation as to "why".







We stayed in El Salto, a poor working class town that was unremarkable. The terrain north of El Salto turned more arid and we begin losing altitude, finally leaving the alpine environment for desert scrub. In this section, the cliff exposures were among the worst of the entire trip.



Notice the guardrail damage. It was everywhere.



More "if you miss 'em, you die" turns.



This drop is about 1000 feet down. That is a road down there.



VIDEO! - If that last picture did not do it for you, see if this video does, which was shot at the same location. There are lots of instances where there is pretty serious exposure in curves. Tons of no fall zones, like this one.



Same vantage point, looking across canyon.


Now, looking up at the previous vantage point from the valley floor. Yes, Eunice, there is a road on the side of that mountain. Zoom the picture to see it.





And finally, we arrive at the outskirts of Durango.



This ride was absolutely stunning. It should be considered a must ride by every motorcyclist.