Bike Forums - Brewer & Malkin's Mazatlan Ride Report

We went, we rode, we returned.

The bike packed up into its cases, just like it was supposed to. They got the extra special search, but nothing ended up missing or broken.

The Mazatlan traffic is a bit wild and hairy, but doesn't really get dense until about 10 AM, so there's plenty of time for a morning ride.

We took several short rides on the Malecon--a wide sidewalk at the edge of the sea, like a boardwalk or promenade depending on your local dialect. It is always pretty crowded with cyclists, pedestrians, joggers, dogs, pelicans and you name it. Good practice dodging obstacles. Sometimes we'd pop into the street for some sections. The road there was fine, not fabulous.

We attempted one ride sort of heading for the harbor. The road was...well, our skinny tire road bike wasn't exactly suited for that road. To ride there routinely, you'd certainly want to make a different tire choice.

The speed bumps are SERIOUS. Sometimes there is a row of bumps across the road, and these bumps are like freeway dots on steroids. Other times there will be an asphalt speedbump with a metal rail set into the top. Quite a thrill for a tandem stoker! The rest of the road surface was rough and unpredictable. Lots of oily looking patches and huge drainage grates that could swallow knobby tires whole.

We missed a turn and ended up lost, heading way out of town toward the airport. It felt like the traffic was all over the place, but we never got brushed by mirrors or bumped or honked at, and no one threw trash at us. And we did manage to find our way back to my parents house (Head for the sea and then toward the radio towers).

There are lots of bicycles everywhere, including many "trucks" with two wheels in front under a cargo space.

The weather was glorious; people were friendly and curious about the tandem. One guy offered to buy it, and when Brewer turned him down, the guy offered to trade his car for it.

I think there's a pic to put up later.

I saw a magazine article about cycling in Mexico, and the pics were of muddy guys on cyclocross bikes. Probably a good choice.