We pushed our bikes through 50 km of sand and mud in northern Veracruz.
This is a newsletter from Family on Bikes. The family of four is currently cycling the Pan American Highway from Alaska to Argentina as the 11-year-old twin boys attempt to break the world record as the youngest cyclists to bike the entire Pan Am. See a slide show of cycling this area here.
February 21, 2009
Where do I even start? This past month has delivered an inordinate amount of adventures for us, and we are more grateful than ever for having the opportunity to live our dreams.
Before we crossed the border into Mexico, we were barraged with concern from nearly each and every person we met. “You aren’t planning to go through Mexico, are you?” they asked. “It’s so dangerous!”
And yet we have met the most wonderful people here and Mexico has given an extremely warm and generous welcome. In short – we are thrilled to have had the opportunity to pass through this country.
We are now in Minatitlan, a city at the southern edge of the Mexican state of Veracruz – just before heading into the Yucatan Peninsula. Minatitlan is just a typical Mexican city, and the people have been typical of others we’ve been blessed with meeting.
Yesterday, as we wearily pedaled into the city, we met two local cyclists out getting their daily exercise. They willingly offered to escort us into the city and help us find a hotel. We readily accepted their offer as we’ve long since discovered that having local knowledge as we maneuver through cities is invaluable!
Ricardo and Esteban stayed with us our remaining six km into town, then led us directly to a nice little hotel next to the bus station. Later last night, Esteban and his family took us out for a relaxing evening on the boardwalk along the coast. And this morning they came over again just to make sure we are all set and have everything we might need.
It’s people like Ricardo and Esteban who have made our journey through Mexico so special. As I think back over the past month, I see a continuous stream of friendly faces – Alex who escorted us through Tampico, the family who handed us a bag of apples as we passed through Tampico Alto, Juan de Dios who welcomed us into his home in Poza Rica, Hijinio who invited us to lunch in his restaurant, Daniel & Gladis who made us feel totally at home in Veracruz…. The list goes on and on – there truly is no end to the acts of kindness we’ve seen.
Mexico has also thrown a few challenges in our path. As we continued on south from Tampico, we opted to take a secondary road along a lagoon – which proved to be a huge mistake. Everybody we had talked to about the road had advised us to avoid it, but we decided to try to escape the traffic on the main road. As it turned out, we would have been much better off dealing with traffic. Pedaling that fifty kilometers – through loose sand, mucky mud, and jarring washboarded sections – was tough, to say the least. We came to the conclusion that the main highway was definitely the lesser of the evils!
We’ve also now arrived into heat. Our efforts to ride in the morning to take advantage of the morning cool are frequently thwarted by heavy fog, which means we can’t leave until the sun is strong and the air is hot. We sweat profusely as we pedal the highways, and can’t possibly drink enough water to keep us properly hydrated. Every couple of days we are forced to stop for a whole day so we can drink and replenish our energy reserves.
Along with the heat, however, has come the ocean. For much of our journey this past month, we’ve pedaled along the ocean and the boys have greatly enjoyed playing in the waves and sand. The beach has certainly been a highlight of the journey for them!
We want to thank each and every one of you for your support. Knowing there is a whole network of people out there praying for us daily and offering us words of support is invaluable. You will never understand just how much that means!
May peace be with you all,
Nancy, John, Davy, Daryl
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Read our other newsletters here:
Read y for takeoff: June 6, 2008
Dalton Highway in Alaska: June 28, 2008
Alaska Highway: August 3, 2008
Crossi ng into mainland USA: September 10, 2008
In Montana, Wyoming, and Utah: October 17, 2008
Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico: November 19, 2008
No rthern Mexico: January 25, 2009
Yucatan Peninsula: March 14, 2009
Belize, Guatemala, & Honduras: April 15, 2009
Ni caragua & Costa Rica: June 25, 2009
Costa Rica & Panama: July 21, 2009
Made it to South America: August 16, 2009
In the Colombian Andes: September 18, 2009
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