Diary & Travel Reports from the saddle

Mi gusta Mexico - 28th October

I am now in Guadalajara, Mexico´s second largest city in the Central West in the State of Jalisco. Next week is the second of my Spanish language course. For the next half year or more I´ll be in Hispanic countries. I have been looking forward to this region ever since 1998 so of course I want to communicate and mucho thanks to www.spanschool.com.mx for their help. I surprise myself at my motivation to go back to school and I am enjoying learning the language, even though progress is woefully slow and sometimes I feel helpless ­ just like the old days!

The El Informador newspaper carried a big article yesterday and I can hardly understand it at all. Tomorrow I will make a speech in Spanish to a local bike club, well I wonder if they will understand me because my pronounciation is not very good!

ROUTE
It was like going back in time when I crossed the border from Arizona in the USA at Nogales. The streets were a crowded chaos, trucks bellowed out huge clouds of black smoke and the state of the roads added to the general mayhem. In this sense my world tour picked up from where it had left off back somewhere in SE Asia a year ago and it was all quite emotional. A whole year of my life spent with my head down fundraising and, gosh, I am now 37 years old.

I rode down Mexico´s mainland coast of the Gulf of California, meeting various interesting characters on the way like Edgar a campsite owner, former rock singer and motorcyclist now campaigning for the PAN, the political party now in power here. Jesus Bouvet at the top Motel El Mayo in Navajoa has a policy of free rooms for bikers. After a few days of southbound travel I crossed the Tropic of Cancer and the lush green scenery reminded me greatly of Indonesia. I spent a few days in Mazatlan, the coastal holiday town, researching language schools in internet cafes, body surfing, meeting the local bikers. There is a small community of expatriots from Canada and the USA exhorting the easy going lifestyle where freedom is real, the cost of living is cheap and men are out numbered seven to one. More American bikers should visit Mexico to have the time of their lives.

I stopped for a night in Tequila, the home of the famous fiery brew and where still most of it is produced, en route to Guadalajara where I am now. On arrival here my first stop was the tourist info office, which took a full hour to find, to get a map and find the cheapest accommodation. God had a hand in this because back at my bike Andres Robriguez was busy scribbling a note to leave on it. Andres turns out to be the president and committee member of a number of motorcycle clubs, primary organizer of next January´s Expo Festival (Mexico´s most important motorcycle exposition) and who runs a successful computer and software business. He invited me to stay at his place. This means my stay in Guadalajara has been almost completely total immersion in the language.

RIDERS RIGHTS
Furthermore Andres introduced me to the members of the Mexican organization Motoclubes Nacionales de Turismo AC (MNT) which wants to join the international rights movement. They have been campaiging against the discriminatory ´peajes´, where motorcycles have to pay the same as cars and small trucks to use the main roads, but up to now with little success. Diesel spillage from truck´s fuel tanks is also a big problem as is the lack of availability of safety training for riders. Motorcycle use is increasing in this country and I hope the international biking community can reach out to them with help and advice. I have made some contacts on their behalf.

MOTORCYCLE OUTREACH
As well as all that three motorcycling doctors have told me that primary healthcare delivery in rural areas is a big problem that could be resolved by using small motorcycles for this purpose. There is not the motorcycle culture here as there is in Asia and therefore such a system might not so easily take root. I am proposing that the Mexican producers donate a fleet of bikes and that government funds a pilot project from existing budgets.

Incidentally I forgot to mention last time that according to my limited investigations into the state of rural health delivery in parts of the USA, like remote Indian reservations, motorcycles probably could play a role there. At least in the ones that don´t have big gambling incomes. In South Dakota a top health official on one of the Sioux reservations answered me that yes, small bikes would be a big help, but that there is too much snow in Winter for motorcycles. Perhaps snowmobiles could be used at that time. If anyone in the USA wants to take an initiative in this respect please let me know after checking the details of our Flores Project at www.millennium-ride.com. At least it could be an interesting subject for a graduate study.

My Mexican hosts here in Guadalajara have been absolutely maravilloso. They have kept me quite busy with fiestas, markets, a toy run to an orphanage and a track day where we learnt how the motorcycle police do their displays. Two nights ago they took me to the month-long annual cattle auction and fiesta where Guadalajarans buy their annual sombrero.

FUNDRAISING
The relatively big $500 donation from The Velocette Owners Club of North America arrived and other basic new corporate supports include ABATE Local 15 (Bay Area California USA), On Target Management USA and Triumph Motorcycles America.

Many thanks to Bullet and Nancy McGee who are the first couple in the whole world to set up a monthly transfer to Motorcycle Outreach. This is our US based 501(c)(3) organization though which donations to programnmes whereby motorcycles are themselves saving lives are tax deductible. A few dollars, ten, twenty or more will really make a big difference. In due course we are going to give some very special recognition to those of you generous enough to do this. The Direct Wire Information is: Fifth Third Bank, Pickerington, Ohio, USA ABA: 044002161 Account Name: Motorcycle Outreach Inc, Account Number: 751-70696

Lu in Iowa USA is making some quilts for auction to raise funds. They will feature the Millennium Ride logo and the main images of T shirts donated to me during my USA tour. These are very special items and if you want to make a bid you can email Lu at tink@harenet.net.

Anyway it´s all been pretty amazing and I feel so lucky to be alive.

Take care everyone,
Simon

Simon Milward, on the road

A solo fundraising round the world ride on a handmade motorcycle. Help us help motorcycles and motorcyclists improve the health of fellow human beings.

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