Victoria de Durango

[ Zacatecas, Mexico ]

Queridos amigos, queridas amigas—

I arrived yesterday morning here in Zacatecas, after a stunning, eventful, off-road passage through two Mexican states. Those stories will have to wait, because for now I’d like to introduce you to my new two-wheeling friends from my stay in Durango (the city, capital of the eponymous state, and officially known as Victoria de Durango).

As you can see from the attached photos, I was adopted by the local mountain-biking club, Nopal Bike MTB. This was facilitated by two bike-touring Spaniards I met along the highway from El Salto. (I met the Spaniards, the Spaniards met the locals, and we all had a great couple of days.)

The first evening in Durango we met for beer and snacks and niceties, leading directly to the most horrid of sins—and national pastime, apparently—karaoke. The evening remained more tame than karaoke tends to be, and everyone was fit to meet the next afternoon for an hours-long tour of the city. By bicycle, of course. We saw sights, rode roads, took pictures, and finished with a steep, short climb up the city’s lone hill—rewarded with a dazzling night-time view of the metropolis.

We had dinner that night as guests of Marisqueria, a delightful gourmet seafood restaurant owned by a friend of one of the locals. The food was good, but the in-house, artisanal #mezcal varieties were the main draw.

*****

We had several smaller gatherings over the next days, then Nopal Bike MTB organized a going-away escort for the Spaniards Jose and Irene (@supersonicarq & @kamararq for those of you on Instagram) when they left town bright and early on a Saturday morning.

For my part, I enjoyed another two days in Durango before heading at long last into the backcountry for the 405km journey to Zacatecas. And that, I believe, brings us back to the present moment, and a host of stories and images for a later dispatch.

And with that I leave you to the usual trove of images and caption-stories to put faces and places to the words above. Please like and comment should the spirit move you.

Until the next time,
Adios,
—jim