¡El Tour
Budget Bicycle Tours in Mexico
www.BikeMexico.com
The Complete Archive · 2000–2020
Ron and Marge's Review
Touring the Yucatan Peninsula from Sea to Sky — Feb–March 2006
With some trepidation we sent off our deposit to this guy Basil Yokarinis for three weeks biking in the Yucatan. Frankly, we weren't sure which we were more worried about — losing our money to some unscrupulous internet conman, or not losing our money and having no excuse but to go and bike in MEXICO!
As it was there was no need to worry about either. Basil actually exists and he does fabulous tours which are everything, and more that he advertises.
The pace of the tour is set by the folks on it. There is always one guide at the front and one at the back to give encouragement when required and, much more commonly to provide a running commentary on all things new and interesting.
The ride starts on the main road south from Cancun along the as yet relatively undeveloped Mayan Riviera.
The riding is easy, ie it's flat, along a main artery with a wide verge. The traffic by North American standards is relatively slow moving and gives you lots of room and encouragement. There are numerous towns and villages to see, and interesting places to eat. While on the subject of Mexican food, it is no where near as toxic as we were lead to believe, however, we learned to keep off the Halapenos, the local variety can be warm, or throat closing hot, and you don't know which until too late. They act as an extremely good laxative if you have problems in that direction. Most water these days is either treated, or bottled and restaurants do wash their veggies in it. On the positive side there are lots of fresh fruit juices, mango, pineapple, melon, and there is orchata, a rice and coconut water drink that is variable in quality, but at its best is nothing short of nectar. Frankly, there are so many lightly spiced dishes with names an Anglophone like me found impossible to remember, but Estafado de Pollo, a sort of chicken stew with rice became a staple with enough local variation and calorific value to remain interesting throughout the trip.
As the tour progressed, we left the coast and ventured inland on quieter roads, through a variety of towns where gringos, of all shades, were a rarity, but the local folks were extremely friendly, polite and helpful.
Our hotels were always more than acceptable, some even luxurious and quaint.
The Mayan Ruins- what can be said about such magnificent reminders of a glorious past, and you see many of them. There is a book written some 160 years ago, and recently edited, called Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, by John L Stevens, and illustrated by F Catherwood which makes excellent reading, and features a lot of the places we visited on the tour. Once out of the tourist areas we had most of the sites almost to ourselves.
The tour is advertised as a Challenge, but Basil and Alex have done a good job of interspercing long days with rest days. Beware though that traipsing through Mayan ruins with temperatures in the high 30's (95F) can be quite exhausting on its own, and there is a sting in the tail.
We always started early, between 6 and 7am to get a head start on the heat, and usually arrived at our destination by lunchtime, ready to eat, drink, shower and sleep. Most businesses close for a long siesta between 2 and 4:30pm so not much is lost by this tactic. Further, in the two weeks going up to Mardi Gras, there is a carnival parade every night that starts about sundown and can go on with lots of LOUD music until 3 or 4am. Earplugs are provided by Basil, but frankly, it is just a case of getting used to it, or getting up and joining in.
Hills: Except for a few sections, over the Sierras and down into Campeche, where temperature can make things more difficult, all the real climbing is left to the last three days in Chiapas province. The final day is the crowning glory with over 7000 feet of ascent. Tough, but a magnificent ride and worth the effort (and three weeks training)
Preparation: Basil sends out a package of do's and don'ts, and some good advice. This is worth reading and following up on, especially bike maintenance. Good bike shops are very few and far between, though tires are available at several of the larger towns. I expect one could feel a complete idiot, if one had a breakdown in the wilds due to not having your bike prepared before the trip.
Lastly, this trip is an experience of a life time, it visits places that others will never see. The change of diet, ambient temperature and 1400km take their toll, so some days are tougher than others
Would we do it again? Yes, absolutely.
Thanks a lot Basil and Alex
Ron and Margaret Trumper
As it was there was no need to worry about either. Basil actually exists and he does fabulous tours which are everything, and more that he advertises.
The pace of the tour is set by the folks on it. There is always one guide at the front and one at the back to give encouragement when required and, much more commonly to provide a running commentary on all things new and interesting.
The ride starts on the main road south from Cancun along the as yet relatively undeveloped Mayan Riviera.
The riding is easy, ie it's flat, along a main artery with a wide verge. The traffic by North American standards is relatively slow moving and gives you lots of room and encouragement. There are numerous towns and villages to see, and interesting places to eat. While on the subject of Mexican food, it is no where near as toxic as we were lead to believe, however, we learned to keep off the Halapenos, the local variety can be warm, or throat closing hot, and you don't know which until too late. They act as an extremely good laxative if you have problems in that direction. Most water these days is either treated, or bottled and restaurants do wash their veggies in it. On the positive side there are lots of fresh fruit juices, mango, pineapple, melon, and there is orchata, a rice and coconut water drink that is variable in quality, but at its best is nothing short of nectar. Frankly, there are so many lightly spiced dishes with names an Anglophone like me found impossible to remember, but Estafado de Pollo, a sort of chicken stew with rice became a staple with enough local variation and calorific value to remain interesting throughout the trip.
As the tour progressed, we left the coast and ventured inland on quieter roads, through a variety of towns where gringos, of all shades, were a rarity, but the local folks were extremely friendly, polite and helpful.
Our hotels were always more than acceptable, some even luxurious and quaint.
The Mayan Ruins- what can be said about such magnificent reminders of a glorious past, and you see many of them. There is a book written some 160 years ago, and recently edited, called Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, by John L Stevens, and illustrated by F Catherwood which makes excellent reading, and features a lot of the places we visited on the tour. Once out of the tourist areas we had most of the sites almost to ourselves.
The tour is advertised as a Challenge, but Basil and Alex have done a good job of interspercing long days with rest days. Beware though that traipsing through Mayan ruins with temperatures in the high 30's (95F) can be quite exhausting on its own, and there is a sting in the tail.
We always started early, between 6 and 7am to get a head start on the heat, and usually arrived at our destination by lunchtime, ready to eat, drink, shower and sleep. Most businesses close for a long siesta between 2 and 4:30pm so not much is lost by this tactic. Further, in the two weeks going up to Mardi Gras, there is a carnival parade every night that starts about sundown and can go on with lots of LOUD music until 3 or 4am. Earplugs are provided by Basil, but frankly, it is just a case of getting used to it, or getting up and joining in.
Hills: Except for a few sections, over the Sierras and down into Campeche, where temperature can make things more difficult, all the real climbing is left to the last three days in Chiapas province. The final day is the crowning glory with over 7000 feet of ascent. Tough, but a magnificent ride and worth the effort (and three weeks training)
Preparation: Basil sends out a package of do's and don'ts, and some good advice. This is worth reading and following up on, especially bike maintenance. Good bike shops are very few and far between, though tires are available at several of the larger towns. I expect one could feel a complete idiot, if one had a breakdown in the wilds due to not having your bike prepared before the trip.
Lastly, this trip is an experience of a life time, it visits places that others will never see. The change of diet, ambient temperature and 1400km take their toll, so some days are tougher than others
Would we do it again? Yes, absolutely.
Thanks a lot Basil and Alex
Ron and Margaret Trumper