6.) Due to FEAR, we scrap the trip - NOT!

This entry is about my change of mind. How I changed from just wanting to go back home and recover from near death, to deciding to keep on with El Paseo Mexicano.

As I lay in bed recovering, the thought of going on with the trip was terrifying to me. I call my parents and inform them that I am calling it off, and that Jim and I would ride around stateside. Everyone is happy. Except me... If you read the last entry in this blog, you will see some of what I was feeling during this time in more detail, so I will save it from this entry. So, I recluse in my bed for a few days.

Then Jim talks me into taking a ride from Presidio back to Big Bend to see how I feel. I ride like Valentino Rossi. Absolutely slaying the twisty route 170 between Presidio and Lajitas. This road is one of my favorites. The following pictures prove its beauty.











VIDEO! - We have a great ride. Jimmy has a bit of fun here.



We haul major ass back to Lajitas to eat a great lunch at this place. It is right out side of Study Butte, and is the real thing. Traditional Mexican, not Tex-Mex.



After lunch we turned around and headed back to Presidio on Rt 170. We stopped off at Close Canyon for a short hike in the slot canyon. If you ever have the chance, you owe it to yourself to go see this. It is massive in scale. Close Canyon is on the south side of Rt 170 about half way between Presidio and Lajitas. You have to look hard for the canyon, as it is not marked with a sign. It is not visible when you are traveling west to east. But when you are traveling east to west, you will encounter it right after you see the "Tee Pee" picnic area. Don't worry... You WILL recognize the Tee Pee Rest Area when you see it for the first time.

VIDEO! - Here is a video Jimmy took of the inside of Close Canyon.



Here are the snaps:











After exploring Close Canyon, we take the bikes to the bank of the Rio Grande and get a little dirty....



And right here after cutting a good Roost, joy of joys, I gotta share something intimate with you...



It's my first urination episode in like 72 hours. You never knew how good it is to take a leak until you haven't been able to do it for about three days...

After we get back to Presidio, again driving like Valentino Rossi (sorry to keep bringing up Rossi, but I just cannot bring myself to say I rode like Max Biaggi), I decide I need a bit more fun. Behind our hotel is a large hill of gravel. I decide to climb the hill. I did not scout it out. I just laid into the throttle, hung on, stood on the pegs, and hoped for the best. I did not make it. Please do not think me a sissy, as it was a pretty big hill, and it was very loose...









So the day starts off with me having serious trepidation about going on. Then I ride like a rock star. And I remember that the reason I did this in the first place was to overcome fear. So, I say to Jim, what would you think about going on into Mexico?

It takes him about one nanosecond to say Hell Yeah!

But, given my recent close encounter with death by dehydration, I am not in any way interested in going to Baja. Remember, my goal with this trip was to face fear on my own terms. Not to get stupid about it! I do the math to see how much water I would need to carry in order to be comfortable going to Baja, and I determine that a motorcycle will not carry it all. I would need a Chinook helicopter, at least.

So, Baja is out. And because of that, we do not need the camping gear, because, camping in the Copper Canyon region is not a very safe thing to do, many say. We decide to motel it in Mexico. We ditch 75% of our stuff at a hotel in Presidio for storage and retrieval upon our return in a few weeks.

Good decision to ditch the stuff. Very good decision. The lighter weight made the upcoming twisties much more fun.