It's been quite a while... The last time I hosted cyclists was just before I headed back to Germany for a year. But even that was close to three years ago! About time I re-immersed myself in this wonderful world of bicycle touring, especially since this year I am planning to continue my long bicycle journey down the Pacific coast, which will take me to the Baja California peninsula. But first I wanted to host a bit.
It didn't take me long to find my guests. The site of WarmShowers has been updated, looking simpler and more efficient, and once I marked myself as available to host I had the first request in within a day. Of course it had to be a francophone couple! For some reason, there seem to be more people from France, Québec, or the French speaking parts of Belgium and Switzerland, who ride this Arctic Ocean to Patagonia route, than from anywhere else. Not that I mind at all. Every time I feel a bit of a nudge to finally learn some French myself! Though right now I am more excited about continuing my own bike trip...
Émilie and Joël started their bike journey about half a year ago in Montreal. From there they headed west, crossed into the US in Michigan, rode across the plains of Iowa, Nebraska, and into the Rockies of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. Reaching San Francisco they continued along the coast towards Mexico, where they rode along the Baja California. Just like all my other guests, they took the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlán, but then continued onward through Nayarit, Jalisco, and Michoacán, entering Mexico City from the West.
This last part of the trip differed slightly from what my previous cycling guests have ridden. Mazatlán to Durango, then through Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí before heading south towards the capital, is the way that almost everyone had taken previously. But my two guests explained that those roads, particularly the ones in Sinaloa, are considered highly dangerous these days. Apparently various cartels are fighting out their territorial disputes, dragging everyone else into the mess. Even locals are fleeing, abandoning their villages, so it would not be a nice place to cycle through, even without any violent encounters. Jalisco and Michoacán, on the other hand, seem to be more peaceful these days. Good to know...
One of the major perks of hosting on WarmShowers is all the info you get... and also get to give. This starts with culinary recommendations, such as the exceptional tamales sold on our corner, and includes comparisons of tracking apps. Of course we went over the must-see tourist sights, such as Teotihuacan or the Museum of Anthropology, before and after their visit, and I enjoyed hearing the couple's experiences in the deserts of Baja and the mountains of the mainland. Probably the most exciting bit were the serendipitous (non-)encounters with other cyclists, which the French-speaking couple are quite meticulous about. One couple sent a request to stay with me, which I had to reject since I won't be here at that time. But they are also from Québec, and of course my guests knew them!
For Émilie and Joël it's clear: they'll continue riding southwards, between our two volcanoes into Puebla, then to Oaxaca, and down to the coast. I'll make sure to connect them with Itínera in Mazunte. Next they'll cross into Central America, meet their families in El Salvador, and eventually they'll take a boat from Panama to Colombia. But that is still pretty far away, especially from the viewpoint of a cyclist, where it's best to take it one day at a time.
And me? I'll be heading up to California in only a few weeks. There I want to build a new front wheel, complete with a hub generator, before I start riding again: crossing in Tecate, then continuing down the Baja, like so many others before me. Once I get to the southern tip... I will see what step I'll take next. And of course, there is a blog post to be looked forward to.
