After the last leg of their journey through the southwest of the US, Alex and Gregory continued their bike tour into Mexico. They’ve been touring the world on Montague bikes. What follows is their own account of their experience in Mexico.

It was a strange border crossing at Nogales. The US customs office didn’t check our passport but asked a lot of questions and the Mexican customs office isn’t for another 20km after the first town. We quickly understood that life won’t be easy without being able to speak Spanish but we have been studying it for the last 3 months on our bicycles.

In Hermosillo a local newspaper wanted to interview us. Even if we can speak a bit of Spanish, they should have sent a journalist that could speak just a little English…

We were told that parts of Mexico could be dangerous, but as always we are naturally curious and must see the country for ourselves. For once we are quite happy about our almost homeless look as we might avoid some trouble that way! Who would want to rob us, seriously? We are just afraid about our Montague bikes which are very nice looking.

The roads from Nogales to Ciudad Obregon are in poor condition and quite narrow. Fortunately we are used to it and know we are better off to cycle in the middle of the road when necessary.

The landscapes in this area are not much to look at. The US deserts had a certain beauty to them with many rock formations and colors, but so far the Mexican deserts are disappointing. When we are able to ride near the coastline, the ocean always makes for a great view.

Wild camping is quite difficult as well. We don’t dare camp in the middle of the villages here yet, so we hide our orange flashy tents for now. Climbing into fields over barbwires is not always easy with a 60kg bicycle. Sometimes, we have the surprise of a giant black snake around the campground or the evening visit of a scorpion. We’re really making friends with nature!

We’ve broken a flat tire record these last two weeks as we’ve averaged 1 or 2 per day! Even with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires we’ve gotten more flats during this period than the rest of the trip.

We eventually reach Mazatlan after 15 days where we’ll rest for a while. We don’t know what to think about Mexico for now. We are absolutely not afraid by the dangers everybody promised us, but the military has a strong presence everywhere; a symbol of an ending war with the mafias which has never really concerned the tourists. We more and more break the language barrier with the locals who have been quite welcoming. We expect a lot more fun from this country.