Mexican Motorcycle Manoeuvres: We have been on a tequila diet and have already lost three days!

OK, I totally stole that line. But, suffice to say that the day doesn't end with the riding.

We have been introduced to what it is to ride in Mexico and it is to ride hard. Most mornings, we are to present ourselves at the hacienda before 9:00 and gear up for departure shortly thereafter. We get a little briefing about the day's ride, even though we were presented with an agenda on the day we arrived. John will generally identify a few of the highlights and as well, if there are any tricky parts to driving, we get a head's up in advance and in one case, where we had to negotiate and on ramp with a stop sign and then make an exit 200 metres after joining the highway, John would put up his hand to tell us we were at "that place".

This is one of those Mexican driving situations that you can't really appreciate until you have been here. In the briefing, we are instructed to do a shoulder check and if it is safe to enter the highway, to blow through the stop sign. Most traffic laws here and "rules", they are "guidelines", which really means, "proceed if it is safe". Getting onto the highway and then off again is difficult because you have to enter into the traffic at speed because the entry is so short and then pass under the under pass and immediately exit right. As is turns out, traffic is light so it is not that big a deal and stopping isn't even a consideration.

We are heading into the hills and are going to ride some "twisties", the word every motorcyclist knows and loves. Our leader John has a need for speed. We were all told to drive at our own speed but John is leading so he will go at his own pace and Chuy is picking up the pieces. Eric, also a very experienced rider, likes speed; these two have a history together though it is not clear what; Eric started the farkle (motorcycle accessories) company A Vicious Cycle and so has travelled across Canada numerous times on the motorcycle show circuit as has John, so I suspect they know each other from doing this tour. And notwithstanding a not insignificant difference in age (Eric is 39, John is 69) they are clearly cut from the same cloth. But it is not clear to me what riding they have done together in the past. Anyway, as we get into the turns, Eric, who has been riding near the back just in front of Chuy, blows by us all so that he can ride right behind John. Nan and I were next in line and for a minute or so, we are witness to an impressive but scary display of high speed manoeuvering through the turns. Both John and Eric are hanging off the sides of their bikes as they go through the turns, leaning the bikes over at impossible angles almost to the point that they are touching their knees to the pavement. In very short order, they have left us behind. John at least has the experience of having been on these roads; Eric is just plain riding hard and keeping up with John.

We are stopping at Zona Arqueológica Guachimontones near Teuchitlan, the site of some ancient ruins. Unlike other Mexican ruins which are known and well researched, these ruins were discovered quite by accident only 40 years ago and so the process of discovering about the civilization has only just started but what is known for certain is that they were not Aztecs or Mayans. Quite unique was their propensity for using circles to design their pyramids and the regions around the pyramids whereas most known pyramids are geometrically shaped. The pyramids are 13 levels and then four on top; there is a platform at the tops and it is believed a pole was erected at the top, from which would swing a priest or other important person. The ruins date back from about 300 BC to 700 AD (sorry if that is no longer politically correct) and in addition to the pyramids, had platforms built around the pyramids in circles, upon which it is believed homes or tents were erected. As well, there were "playing fields" or "ball courts", shaped like long pitches with "T" extensions at either end. The objective was to carry a ball between the hips of two players into the corners of the "T" extensions. The skeletons of several men were found with broken hips. In addition, it is believed that the competion was not sport but rather, a mechanism for settling disputes, as the gods would judge the winning team the winner of the dispute. It is not clear how this theories were concocted but there was a large painting diorama-style in the interpretive centre depicting all of these things so therefore it must be true.

The group in front of the Ex Convento de Carmen hotel, a luxury, high end complex but generally closed except those with a resrvation. However, John knows the owners, so they toleratre us stopping in for a visit.