Mission improbable

For those of you who didn't catch our quick post on Saturday, our SPOT tracking device was stolen. The following is a primarily non-fiction account of THE LOST, THE CHASE, and THE RECOVERY MISSION.

The lost:

As we typically do, we arrived at our place for the evening and activated SPOT. This unit requires a clear view of the sky so we left it near a corner that didn't have tree cover. Over 5 minutes two people picked up the unit and started walking with it.....we were approximately 15 meters away (we are in the metric part of the world now!). Being a little slow to learn, we tried a 3rd time by placing it on a fence across the street. Several people walked by without noticing.

Around that time our warm showers host's parents arrived to let us in. In our haste we left the SPOT on the fence.

Three hours later I was checking e-mail and noticed we kept getting signals from SPOT.....ummmm Christie, do you have SPOT? The unit had grown legs and found its way to another part of this 7 million person city (Guadalajara, MX). Then another e-mail popped in and the race was on.

The Chase:

We quickly grabbed the GPS coordinates of the last signal. The coordinates are in decimal form and our GPS is Deg-min-seconds (this conversion and rounding would play a critical role later in the evening). We entered the coordinates and found the unit was about 5 miles as-the-crow-flies away. With our host not home yet and no motorized vehicle around, Christie and I got quick directions and rushed to our unloaded tandem.....the chase was on.

This was the first time we actually rode an unloaded tandem since Wyoming. Between the rush of potentially catching the culprits and the lightness and agility of the unloaded bicycle, we flew through traffic and up hills. The sun was setting as we attempted to navigate the traffic, Christie monitoring the GPS (note we don't have detailed Mexico maps in the GPS) and following her rough map scratched on the back of a napkin.

Our excitement and determination quickly got us within 3 miles before we took a wrong turn. As we backtracked our half mile, and darkness and traffic increasing we realized we were out of our league in this unfamiliar city with nearly twice the population of Los Angles. As any married couple has had, intense words went back and forth at the stop light. Christie, with tears streaming down her face said, "let's just go back". With less intensity, but still with great speed we tore off in what we thought was the right direction. Again, a half mile down a different road we turned around and slowly worked our way back to our host's house.

With our host home we dropped the tandem for a motorized vehicle and sped off into the dark. Assuming our GPS coordinates would be perfect we only briefly looked at the google earth map. The rounding errors in converting to DMS had resulted in a .25 mile difference from the actual location. Going by memory we walked up and down the block where the signal was sent from....no luck. Our needle in the haystack turned up a few squirmy teens but no way to press the issue. We left saying we would return in the morning if they found anything.

The Recovery Mission:

Upon returning home we dug a little more deeply into the last SPOT transmission. We printed the map pinpointing the exact location of the unit. Following a semi restless night of sleep we woke up with SPOT on our mind. At 9 am our gracious host and I took off, colored map in hand. We went to the location and found a small food stall with a woman and her two daughters selling tacos. After a quick description and pinpointing her food stall on the map she simply asked, "What do you want that for? It doesn't play music, make phone calls or do anything." We walked to her house.....yes the same house where the teenage boy got nervous and squirmy the night before.....and produced the SPOT! Her daughter works at a diner near where we are staying and simply picked it up. We drove off thankful and relieved.

In the end, we received a gentle reminder that items can grow legs and any material items we have with us can be replaced and are less important than our safety. And tonight I get to tell the great tale of THE LOST, THE CHASE, and THE RECOVERY MISSION.

And maybe tonight 5 miles away a lady is telling the tale of how two bearded men came to her food stall and produced a map that said she had this worthless orange gadget with 4 buttons and doesn't make phone calls or even play music.

Picture this!

A pictorial week in review from Mazatlan to Guadalajara.

Our warm shower hosts: David and his girlfriend Yolanda. Warm showers is an international group who opens their houses to the bicycle touring community. This was our first stay and we had an exceptional experience. David's family owns a bike shop in Guadalajara and he is an excellent bike mechanic, so could assist Eric with a few tweaks (in addition, he has done long distance touring, is a mountain biker, surfer, environmental conservationist, will graduate in civil engineering, and is the best tour guide in all of Guadalajara).

I would have never imagined my 32nd birthday would be spent cruising Guadalajara. On Sundays, the main street is blocked off for 5 hours to encourage exercise including bicycling, walking, skateboarding, and running. The parks along the way are filled with people double dutch jump roping, live bands playing, hulahoopers, and synchronized hiphop groups. It was quite a scene!

Not a few seconds after finding our hosts in Guadalajara, we were greeted by their neighbors Hector, Cecilia, and Andrew who were just driving by and curiously asked about our story. They were a delightful family and have connections in Central America we may use in the future.

Multiple modes of transportation. The burro had us on the uphill, but we smoked on the downhill!

Side shot. Riding with our Swiss friend for the last week allowed more photo ops along with great conversation.

A flat at the end of the riding day. What a perfect spot, right by the green coconut stand. A quick fix and rolling again.

A field of Agave. We rode by the city of Tequila (yes, that is the one). The Agave plant grows for 8 yrs before the center of the plant is harvested and used to make tequila.

A near perfect nighttime setting. We discussed how we would remember this place, the backdrop, the sounds of kids playing baseball and futbol, wonderful temperature.

Our new friend rolled up and asked where we were from, after stating Minnesota he asked if it was Mankato. Turns out his family owns the Mazatlan restaurant on Madison. Who would have guessed.

Can't help but smile at these two cuties! They spent their afternoon sliding down a dirt pile, having a good ol time.

We weren't expecting the stunning beauty of highland Mexico. There are dormant volcanoes in every direction covered with lush green vegetation. The climbs are challenging, but the views are well worth it! At times, it feels like we can just reach out and touch the clouds.

Travelling into the high country (5500 ft). We had great road conditions with excellent weather as we rode away from the coast. Here we are on the toll road (free for bicycles) with wide shoulders, few on and off ramps and little traffic.

A view over the city from the roof top. Since leaving the Baja, there are fewer opportunities to throw up a tent. In a typical town we'll look for the church steeples and head for the central plaza. From there it's a quick walk to find a few cheap places to stay as well as food and Internet.

We still like each other!

Center square of the city. Here with our cycling partner Markus.

Traffic jam. We have been impressed with the number of bicycles on the roads. It is a way to commute, the basis for food and delivery businesses as well as a simple form of exercise.

We have been pleasantly surprised with what we are finding on the mainland. Wonderful scenery, beautiful old towns and we continue to enjoy the people. We are currently in Guadalajara, a town of 7 million people, working our way towards Mexico City. What an amazingly diverse country!

The grace, beauty, and blow-outs of south Baja

Another East-West crossing of the Baja. We crossed these mountains 4 times to get to La Paz.

While this mishap significantly shaped this portion of our journey, it added more flavor than it took away! A helping hand at the bike shop. Don, Manny and a little logistical work to put JoJo back together again.

Christie: We have had a wild, wild, yes...3 wilds...time since we last said hello...all centered around tire problems that started plaguing us just north of Loreto. If you can (and desire to) follow these crazy details, here they are: 1) We were very much looking forward to a couple days rest in Loreto and had positioned ourselves only ("only"...would come back to haunt us) 35 miles out of town. We woke up just before sun-up for the rest of our climb in the mountains. About 15 miles into it, the front tire sidewall failed (this means tire change). 2) Okay, on the road again, pedaling smooth, envisioning the comfort of a hotel bed and the possibility of seeing the Vikings vs "Packalores" game on tv, but only for about 3 miles, when the rear tire (which we had just changed the PREVIOUS day because of bulging) bulged out again on the side wall (Bulging: a new word for me and I do not like it) after only about 50 miles on this new tire AND the tube was flat. We patched the tube and since we had done 2 tire changes in 2 days had NO spare tires left. So, Mr. Magyver used duct tape to "patch" and reinforce the bulge. 3) With 15 miles into town on duct tape, I was doubtful, but we needed to keep moving forward. Went another 8 miles and didn't want to chance the tire blowing on a hill, so started walking with the bike, arms flailing in the air at each truck passing by. 4) Not 10 minutes roll by before Frank and Francisco came to our rescue, a retired American guy living near Loreto and his Mexican friend who was along for a ride. Loaded up the bike and trailer, took us to the bike shop. 5) (This is an important number...and another that will haunt us) The owner, Manny (a champion mountain biker in Baja), had no good tires in the store, so took used tires off his own bike and gave them to us. Then Frank dropped us off at the hotel. 6) Watched the Vikings beat the Pakalores with Espanol commentators (the best was "Si Senooooor...Touchdown!"). 7) Had a good rest day and were off and rolling, hoping to get to La Paz, a bigger town were we could get better tires, about 4 days away. 8) A gorgeous ride, rugged mountains to our right, over looking the sea on our left with little islands, and a lush green desert....for about 15 miles. 9) Going down a hill at 30 mph, the rear tire exploded, everything locked up, and we were fishtailing, with sparks flyin', on the rim of our bike (yes, scary). 10) We were at a dead stand still and not going ANYWHERE soon. Again at the side of the road. Saw some houses in the distance along the coast, so Eric started walking down the road while I stayed with the bike. 11) The next steps I only found out that evening....Eric gets picked up by a Canadian guy driving down the road, he brings him to a marina area about 7 miles down the road, some lady calls on the marine radio saying "There is a guy and his wife who need a ride north or south to the next town." 12) The guy who answers the call will turn out to be our angle of the week, his name, Don Beck. Don picks Eric up at the marina with his jeep, drives to where I am waiting, load the bike up, and drive BACK to Manny's bike shop. 13) If you're still following...congratulations...this is where it gets even more fun....In need of a brand new rim and GOOD tires, the final solution was the following: call the maker of our tandem (Santana), order a rim. Santana can not send this directly to Mexico, so sends it to a bike shop in San Diego. Manny has a friend in San Diego who's wife is coming to Mexico, so this friend picks up the rim and 6 new tires, gives them to his wife, wife puts them on a bus in Tijuana, bus comes to Loreto, and we pick up all of the parts we need to keep this journey going (Ahhh.) So after about 3-4 hours of talking on the phone and about 12 hours of waiting at the bus station over 2 days, we get the parts! 14) Remember Don? During all this waiting, calling, and rigamaroll, he and his lovely wife Brenda put us up in their "guest camper", treated us to delicious dinners, let us use their kayaks, jeep for transportation, and were our prayer warriors through it all. They were so incredibly gracious and welcoming, day after day. 15) Remember Marcos....no I haven't told you about him yet....just testing you! Marcos, a Swiss biker, pulls into the same little town (Juncalito...pronounced Hunk-a-lito, but it's more fun to say Junk-a-lito) where we were staying. We hit it off with him. He has been on the road for 14 months, started his travels with a friend in Southeast Asia, then went to Canada, biked through Calif, the friend went back to Switzerland, and he's been biking alone through Baja. We met up again at the ferry crossing in La Paz, biked together though Mazatlan, and are currently staying together at a CONDO (yes-condo) for a couple days. 16) Remember Rob and Rebecca (I'd be surprised-we met them in San Felipe about 2.5 weeks ago). They offered their condo in Mazatlan to us for a few nights...this is like magazine beautiful with the pool water flowing over the edge, ocean in the back, golf, palms, crazy luxury kind of place (with air conditioning too). Not too shabby! 17) Then...get this...as we are pedaling though the golf course with Marcos, and a guy in a mini van pulls up, rolls down his window and curiously asks "Where are you guys from?," "Minnesota," we say bluntly, with sweat beating down, just anxious to get to our condo. He says "I'm from Red Wing!" So the story goes, David and his wife Hazel, invite us to their condo that evening. Belly up to their big kitchen bar, Eric, Marcos, and I had endless snacks and drinks, laughed and told stories through the night. Their energy is so much fun. Hazel repeatedly said, ending each sentence with a high inflection in her cute voice, "I just can't Belieeeeve it!...It's just so unbelieeeeeveable... (then she'd change the adjective to be "amaaaaazing"..."incredible!" I AGREE!

Making good use of our downtime. We wanted to go Kayaking while in Baja anyways! One if by land and two if by sea? Two of us, we'll take the ferry! Free-spirited Frenchmen, working and hitchinghiking their way South from Canada. Maybe we'll cross paths again! (Note: we now carry 5, yes 5, spare tires) All aboard! Bicycle parking in the rear. Weaving our way through old Mazatlan with Marcos. Watch for the bus behind! It was tight in a few places. Christie said I hit a car with the side of our bike bag, but I'm not buying it!

Eric: So here we are at the mainland of Mexico....we continue to be in awe of the people we meet and are excited for each next step in this journey. Our plan to go down the Pacific coast is up for debate. We were concerned about the traffic going through Guadalajara and Mexico City, but also have questions about the hilly, curvy coastal road combined with more heat and humidity. We'll see what the road brings, but we are fairly confident we'll keep moving south!