Ruta del Desierto Rally Ride

Our Ride to Ruta del Desierto
Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico
November 17-20, 2005
3 bikes, 5 riders - Ron & Maria, Bill, Jesse & MaryAnn
Photos courtesy of Maria & MaryAnn

I would like to thank the people of Mexico, state of Coahuila and city of Monclova for the warm welcome they gave to these 5 Texans! We experienced the greatest hospitality from everyone we encountered. A special thanks to the following:
Marco, Isidro, German, Rolando, Luis, Valerie & Mexican Bob
The staff at the Hotel Chulavista
The Monclova Police Officers - especially the 3 officers that we met at the town square!
All the friendly people of Mexico - from Piedras Negras to Monclova
And last, but definitely not least - John Cannon from Elsa, Texas! He gave us his help, advice and guidance for weeks before our trip and all throughout our trip. He introduced us to many of his friends along the way and in Monclova.
He is a true friend and we hope to ride with him many more times. ~MaryAnn

The coordinators for the Ruta del Desierto Rally

Thursday, November 17, 2005
Ron & Maria, Bill, Jesse & MaryAnn met at a cafe in Seguin for breakfast. By 8:30 am we had eaten, gassed up and were on our way to Mexico! After several quick stops for fuel and to stretch our legs, we arrived in Eagle Pass around noon.

Bill, John, Valerie, Jesse, Ron & Maria

John, from Elsa, and Valerie, from Port Isabel, rode up within minutes of our arrival. We made our introductions, took pictures, and then Luis from Eagle Pass rode up. After visiting for awhile, Luis took us to the best place in town to eat Mexican food. Besides eating some delicious food, we also got to meet Luis's wife who worked at the cafe. We then headed to the border with Luis in the lead.

Jesse & MaryAnn

We changed our money to pesos in Peidras Negras and continued down the highway to the station to get our permits, etc, which was a little over 50 k's away. Before we reached the station, another friend of John's, Rolando, took the lead and Luis turned back to the US. A very big thanks to Rolando and his brother who helped me get the permit to continue on into Mexico, as I had missplaced one of my documents. We said our goodbyes to Rolando, and John took the lead for the remainder of the ride to Monclova.

Luis, Valerie, Bill, Ron & Maria

After a nice ride on a very good highway, we arrived at Monclova. As soon as we reached the edge of town, a police officer took our lead and escorted us to the rally site. We had all pre-registered online, so our check-in was quick and easy. We were all very happy to see our fine rally shirts and great rally pins! After a quick check-in at the Hotel Chulavista, John and Valerie decided to call it a night, while the rest of us rode down to Los Corrales for dinner.

Jesse & MaryAnn

Bill, Jesse, MaryAnn, Maria & Ron

We were surprised to see that the flour tortillas were very small, but tender and delicious!

Friday, November 18, 2005
We started the morning with breakfast in the hotel's restaurant, which was beautifully decorated with stained glass and painted tiles.