Two Up On A Honda125: The Pacific Coast of Mexico

I just happened across some pictures from a past motorcycle trip to Mexico. I'd travelled to Mexico a number of times previously and not only did I love the country, the food, the people, I felt safe.

I wanted to show Mexico to Alex. The Pacific Coast is stellar for relaxing on quiet, deserted beaches in pockets of non-touristy areas. We landed at Huatulco which is still a relatively in-expensive airport on the coast. From there, we jumped on a bus to Puerto Escondido, a known surfing town where a friend was kind enough to lend us his Honda 125.

From Puerto, we took a few days on the road to check out Mazunte, Zipolite and San Agustinillo, all of which represent my favourite spots in Mexico. The area just happens to be at the foot of the Sierra Madre mountain range in Western Mexico.

At first, I was concerned about riding a motorcycle in Mexico, but, it's hard to resist the coastal roads and twisty mountain ranges. Of course you hear about crazy drivers but on the contrary, for the most part, we found the drivers to be skilled and respectful to motorcyclists.

We were cautioned not drive at night. Daytime riding is no problem. The roads are just fine, well maintained and easy to maneuver. The most annoying road obstruction is the notorious 'Tope', or Mexican speed bump. They're deployed in strange places and designed to replace "reduce speed" signs. Watch out because the tope can be a real hazard for day or night riding.

You may notice that motorcycle gear is not a priority in Mexico. You'll rarely see full face helmets or any helmets at all. Flip-flops are standard foot gear. Given we were riding short distances, and mostly low speeds, we took the risk of going sans-gear. I loved having the wind in my hair and feeling the sun and wind my skin but I don't think I'd go no-gear again - even on a 125. It just feels naked.

Two-up on a 125 doesn't get you anywhere fast, but things are slower in Mexico and we still managed to keep up with the flow of traffic. I can't say it was very comfortable but the Honda did give us an incredible amount of low-cost freedom for a manageable 2 + hours of riding per day.

Once you get out and get riding in Mexico, it's hard to stop, even two-up on a tiny bike. Truly a perfect place to explore twisty, technical and easy riding motorcycle roads. At the time of this trip, not many professional motorcycle tour companies were operating in the Huatulco - Puerto Escondido area. Today there's a few we've heard of but none I can recommend just yet.

If you do go, you can use the ESR App to record your motorcycle routes without having to buy a local data plan. Simply record your ride and the App will receive your location and save it to a route that can will be saved, replayed and shared when you reach a WiFi point. For more info take a look at http://App.EatSleepRIDE.com or leave a comment on this post.

Experience riding in Mexico? Share your story. EatSleepRIDE!