1961 To Old Mexico on BMW Motorcycle - 2-Page Vintage Article

Description

1961 To Old Mexico on BMW Motorcycle - 2-Page Vintage Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
Pictured: Author John E. Rayburn and wife Dorothy just before leaving on their trip; Page 2: Author Rayburn and his wife found a friendly and helpful welcome at the Mexico City BMW dealership of H. Rowald and Sons
While making plans for our annual vaca-
tion, my wife and I decided that, having
never taken the motorcycle except on week-
end trips of a few hundred miles, we would
travel to Mexico City aboard our BMW.
We had three weeks at our disposal, so
after having the bike tuned and all last
minute items such as shots and Mexican
insurance taken care of, we pulled out at
four in the afternoon from Reseda,California.
Our plan was to ride through the intense
heat of California and Arizona at night.
There was a National Championship motor-
cycle race to be held at Phoenix on Sunday,
and we planned to attend on the way down
to Nogales.
We arrived in Phoenix about four o’clock
in the morning, having traveled 392 miles.
Il was a very nice ride which, due lo the
heat, was made mostly in shirt sleeves. /\fter
a good rest in a motel and a refreshing swim,
we rode out to the Phoenix Fairgrounds
where the races started at 5:30 Sunday
afternoon. We enjoyed the fine performance
of all riders, and left that evening for
Tucson, where we spent the night.
Late Monday afternoon found us at the
border town of Nogales, Arizona. We changed
our American money into pesos, filled our
canteens with fresh water and had our last
American meal.
There are four customs stations inside
Mexico. We were headed south on Mexican
Highway 15, and after getting our vehicle
stamp and papers in order we were on our
way. The road was black top. two lane, and
a fairly good route to travel. Due to our
late start it became dark before we arrived
at Hermosillo, and we soon found out why
border officials recommended no night rid-
ing. It is all open range country and cows
and horses are apt to be on the road at
any time, so we rode carefully in Hermosillo,
which is the capital of Sonora and a very
modern city.
Next day we visited the Cathedral on the
Plaza and the University of Sonora. Then
on to Guaymas, a very old port city and
wonderful fishing spot. We stayed two days
at this port city. After changing oil in the
motorcycle we swam and rested up for our
trip to Mazatlan. While in Guaymas we also
took an interesting trip in a glass bottom
boat and saw all types of ocean fish.
Wednesday morning at 5:30 we left Guay-
mas for Mazatlan, a distance of 484 miles.
Though the trip should normally take 11
hours, it took us about 14. We stopped at a
town called Los Mochis for breakfast, then
went on to Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa.
To enter the town we had to cross a railroad
trestle set up as a makeshift bridge. This
is a quaint city with a population of about
48,000.
We rested up and were on our way out
of town when we met a young boy who
owned a Jawa motorcycle and had quite a
talk with him. He was very interested in
our trip and we enjoyed our chat immense-
ly. People all along the way seemed, very
nice and went out of their way to give di-
rections and other needed information. I
don’t believe they had seen many persons
traveling by motorcycle.
The scenery started to get green, and
small rolling hills appeared, which were most
enjoyable to ride over. We crossed the
Tropic of Cancer about 20 miles north of
Mazatlan, on the way in. But it was well
after dark before we arrived in town. We
had been advised to try Joncol’s Restaurant
and stopped there for supper, which was
delicious. Then we were directed to a hotel
on the beach. We rented a lovely room—
modern, overlooking the beach, with shower
and balcony. They even allowed our motor-
cycle to be parked in the lobby for safe-
keeping. All for 60 pesos, which is S4.80
in American money.
The next day we went swimming and
sightseeing. Mazatlan has a beautiful harbor,
tropical climate, and the tallest lighthouse
in the world. We also took a two-wheeled
horse-drawn cab ride out Avenida del Mar.
the most scenic approach to Mazatlan. Then
we went to the top floor of the Fremont
Hotel for a view of the whole harbor.
On Saturday, we left Mazatlan for Tepic.
Cocoanut palms, bananas, mangoes, and
papayas grown wild. About 20 miles north
of Tepic is Highway 54, which goes off the
road to a small fishing village called San
Blas. The jungle is very close on both sides
of the road, and we felt this was a most
worthwhile drive. We took a boat ride on
the river near San Blas—really beautiful.
Good swimming and fishing in the area, too.
We then headed back to Highway 15 and
rode on into Tepic, a small, picturesque city,
where we stopped for the night. Early Sun-
day morning found us starting on our way.
About 3 miles out of town I rounded a
curve and there on the road was a motor
scooter bearing a California plate. Curious
as to how he was getting along, I stopped
the young rider and talked to him. He was
from North Hollywood and said he had
been on the road about two weeks (and this
was about 930 miles into the interior of...
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