A beautiful ride across cities and places named World Heritage by the Unesco, through an splendid protected natural area and ending in a surrealistic garden by artist Sir Edward James. Just keep reading... The ride starts in Queretaro City at 5,970 ft above sea level.
Queretaro is a colonial city founded more than 500 years ago and named World Heritage by the Unesco in 1996 . It's located in the center of the country two hours North Mexico City. Nowadays it has become one of the most dynamic cities in Mexico due to the surrounding industrial parks where many international companies are located.
The first stop is just 45 minutes away: "La Peña de Bernal" (The "Rock of Bernal"). We are talking about the third biggest rock in the world and the highest in Mexico. At its feet a quaint little town were you can stop for a soda, lunch or spend the night. You can also find nice little souvenirs. Whatever you decide to do, this place is a must.
If you like rock climbing, you are in the right place too!
The road to Bernal doesn't present any major challenge, most of the road is straight with just a few extended curves... but just after passing Bernal it starts to get fun!
Surrounded by an arid landscape due the high content of lime in the soil, you start with a very interesting section of twisties, one after another, up and down, a technical road between the mountains for about 30 miles. The landscape changes a bit as you advance and a few miles later you are in the middle of a semidesert.
After this twisty section you then continue on a straight part of the road. A few more miles down the route and you find a military checkpoint... Don't worry about it, they are normally courteous people just looking for arm and drug smugglers.
After the control point the curves and the fun start again. As you get to "Peña Blanca" ("White Rock" in English) - by the way if you need gas, this is the place to stop and fill it up - you start climbing the mountains twist after twist.
I love this part: most of the ride you can clearly see three or four turns in front of you, and as it is a low traffic road, you can enjoy yourself taking the best lines (always keeping it in the safe side if you know what I mean!).
After climbing for a while you notice how things start to change and suddenly what were rocks, sand and cactus are now pine trees. It's beautiful.. You feel the change of temperature and then you reach "La Puerta del Cielo" (The Door of Heavens") the highest point in this ride.
We are now at about 9200 feet above sea level... The turns continue but now you are going downhill. Remember to adjust your riding to that fact. Unfortunately I have seen more than one forgetting about it that and paying the consequences.
As you start descending you ride through a small town called Pinal the Amoles... descend, turn turn, descend turn turn, descend turn turn... I love it! About 10 miles after Pinal de Amoles, the weather starts to change again and gets warmer. The vegetation also suffers a sudden transformation.
You keep devouring the road and you cannot help but getting marveled of the landscape around you... Just remember to keep your eyes on the road! Turn, turn... You are in the middle of the Sierra Gorda protected area and home of multiple plants and animals.
You continue descending till you reach Jalpan de Serra the most important town in the Sierra Gorda and place where Father Junipero Serra built one of his most important missions in the area before heading north to build the Missions in California. These missions were also named World Heritage by the Unesco in 2003.
In Jalpan you can find a couple of simple but nice hotels and some restaurants. Another possibility to spend the night is to ride a few more miles west to a place called Conca where you 'll find a hotel with Spa to relax from the day's ride and get ready for the rest of the trip.
After Jalpan our next stop and final destination is Xilitla,so you head north-east till you reach the state of San Luis Potosi.
A few miles after crossing the state limits in the middle of the mountains, at about 3,300 ft asl, in a rain forest of incredible vegetation you get to Xilitla.
This town was chosen by Sir Edward James, a surrealistic British artist - also noble and rich -, to spend the rest of his life. It is in this place he built a huge garden, a private zoo and a meditation place in the middle of the jungle. Its very difficult to describe it with words... Maybe the photos in this site can help: http://www.junglegossip.com/.
In Xilitla you can stay in the Castillo "The Castle" the house of former Sir Edward James' right hand and friend: Plutarco Gastelum. This exclusive Bed and Breakfast is unique in its kind and you can see, feel and breath the influence of the artist everywhere.
Another possibility to spend the night is to ride a bit more to the north and stay in Ciudad Valles an important city of San Luis Potosi state where you will find all kind of hotels and restaurants, night life etc.
My recommendation... stay at the Castillo, forget about your ride and enjoy for a whole day this Mexican Shangri La.
After spending the whole day in Xilitla prepare for a long ride back to Queretaro. For this one I like to leave early in the morning and keep, if possible, a fast pace. Turn, turn...
We are talking about many miles and literally hundreds of twisties... Once my wife counted them... She stopped when she was at the 500th and we hadn't arrived back to Queretaro City yet!
It's so fun that the time flies and suddenly you realize it's all over and you would like to turn around and do it again...
You know the feeling right?
Another possibility from Xilitla is to head to the famous Huasteca Potosina a zone of exuberant rivers, waterfalls and springs... But that area deserves a whole article by itself. I will be writing it in the future.
If you liked the trip I described and want more information about great motorcycle rides in Mexico and/or to contact me for any other issue please visit my site at www.japanese-motorcycles-only.com.
Enjoy the ride!
Daniel Levy
P.S. Below you will find a few facts about this ride.
Facts about the ride:
Difficulty: Intermediate-Advanced
Recommended time to enjoy the trip: 3-4 days
Total length of the ride: about 600 miles
Checkpoints:
Queretaro-Bernal
Bernal-Military Checkpoint
Military Checkpoint-Pinal de Amoles
Pinal de Amoles-Jalpan de Serra
Jalpan de Serra-Xilitla
Weather: normally clear and dry with the exception of the rainy season from July to September where you can find some heavy rain.
Recommended Map: Guia Roji Mexico Tourist Road Atlas. You can find it at Amazon.
Daniel Levy is the owner and contributing writer of Japanese-Motorcycles-Only.com. He loves motorcycles and Web development. For more great info about Japanese Motorcycles visit his site or his blog at: http://japanese-motorcycles-only.blogspot.com/
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Common Mistakes Motorcycle Buyers Make When Looking For a Motorcycle Loan
Whether interest rates are high or low or it's the end of a model year with lots of incentives, motorcycle buyers tend to make the same mistakes when shopping for a motorcycle loan. Here are four common mistakes motorcycle buyers make with motorcycle loans.
Shopping for a motorcycle before shopping for a motorcycle loan.Many motorcycle buyers enter the showroom looking for a motorcycle before they determine how much money a motorcycle lender is willing to loan to them for the purchase of a motorcycle. There is no need to shop for a $20,000 Harley Davidson motorcycle, if a lender is only willing to provide a loan amount of $10,000.
Additionally, once motorcycle buyers enter the showroom slick salespeople often pressure them into motorcycle loans with much higher internet rates than they could have gotten had they shopped for a motorcycle loan at a bank, credit union or online. Salespeople do not like motorcycle buyers to leave the dealership to get a motorcycle loan. In the salespersons mind this only increases the chance of loosing a sale and commission. Therefore, salespeople frequently try for a quick sale which normally results in pushing motorcycle buyers to get motorcycle financing at the dealership.
The bottom-line is that it is always best to shop for a motorcycle loan before entering the showroom.
Diving into the unknown motorcycle loan.Motorcycle buyers often jump into motorcycle loans that they do not completely understand or may not be the best alternative for them. For instance, in today's age manufacturers frequently run credit card motorcycle loan promotions on their private-label credit cards. But these promotions typically offer a low interest rate for a short term like 12 or 24 months and have a much higher interest rate after the short promotional term. On a credit card promotion if motorcycle buyers can not afford to pay off the loan during the short promotion period, then they are typically better taking a slightly higher interest rate on an installment motorcycle loan for a longer term.
Borrowing too much.
The most common mistake the first time motorcycle buyer makes in not having a clear sense of how much motorcycle they can afford. This is especially true for young motorcycle buyers who look to buy the top sport bikes that cost up to $10,000 - $15,000. What they fail to realize is that financing a $10,000 - $15,000 motorcycle can stretch them to thin, resulting in them having little cash to enjoy themselves and the motorcycling lifestyle. They may also have too little cash to pay for insurance, maintenance, registration or new accessories for their motorcycle.
Not asking the right questions.
The first warning sign that motorcycle buyers should see is that if they do not understand the type of motorcycle loan, then they should be sure to ask a lot of questions.
Here are some good questions to ask:
? Is the interest rate fixed or variable? If fixed how long will it be fixed for?
? Are there circumstances that can make the interest rate on the motorcycle loan change in the future?
? What happens if a payment is 30 days late? Does the interest rate increase?
? What happens if a payment is 60 days late? Does the interest rate increase?
? How long is the term on the motorcycle loan?
? If the loan is an installment loan, does it use rule of 78 or simple interest? (Simple interest is always better because it does not penalize the motorcycle buyer if the loan is paid off early.)
? What is the down payment requirement to get the motorcycle loan?
? Is full coverage insurance required?
? How much is registration and are these fees included in the motorcycle loan?
? Are there any administrative fees to get the motorcycle loan and if so how much are the fees?
Overall, motorcycle buyers can avoid these common mistakes by spending a little extra time focusing on shopping for a motorcycle loan and asking lots of questions.
Copyright (c) 2004, by Jay FranThis article may be freely distributed as long as the copyright, author's information and an active live link to http://www.motorcycle-financing-guide.com is published with the article.
A complimentary copy of any newsletter or a link to the site where the article is posted is greatly appreciated.
Jay Fran is a successful author and publisher at http://www.motorcycle-financing-guide.com. A comprehensive resource on how to have the best experience and get the best deal on motorcycle financing, bad credit motorcycle loans, high risk motorcycle loans and motorcycle buying.
Shopping for a motorcycle before shopping for a motorcycle loan.Many motorcycle buyers enter the showroom looking for a motorcycle before they determine how much money a motorcycle lender is willing to loan to them for the purchase of a motorcycle. There is no need to shop for a $20,000 Harley Davidson motorcycle, if a lender is only willing to provide a loan amount of $10,000.
Additionally, once motorcycle buyers enter the showroom slick salespeople often pressure them into motorcycle loans with much higher internet rates than they could have gotten had they shopped for a motorcycle loan at a bank, credit union or online. Salespeople do not like motorcycle buyers to leave the dealership to get a motorcycle loan. In the salespersons mind this only increases the chance of loosing a sale and commission. Therefore, salespeople frequently try for a quick sale which normally results in pushing motorcycle buyers to get motorcycle financing at the dealership.
The bottom-line is that it is always best to shop for a motorcycle loan before entering the showroom.
Diving into the unknown motorcycle loan.Motorcycle buyers often jump into motorcycle loans that they do not completely understand or may not be the best alternative for them. For instance, in today's age manufacturers frequently run credit card motorcycle loan promotions on their private-label credit cards. But these promotions typically offer a low interest rate for a short term like 12 or 24 months and have a much higher interest rate after the short promotional term. On a credit card promotion if motorcycle buyers can not afford to pay off the loan during the short promotion period, then they are typically better taking a slightly higher interest rate on an installment motorcycle loan for a longer term.
Borrowing too much.
The most common mistake the first time motorcycle buyer makes in not having a clear sense of how much motorcycle they can afford. This is especially true for young motorcycle buyers who look to buy the top sport bikes that cost up to $10,000 - $15,000. What they fail to realize is that financing a $10,000 - $15,000 motorcycle can stretch them to thin, resulting in them having little cash to enjoy themselves and the motorcycling lifestyle. They may also have too little cash to pay for insurance, maintenance, registration or new accessories for their motorcycle.
Not asking the right questions.
The first warning sign that motorcycle buyers should see is that if they do not understand the type of motorcycle loan, then they should be sure to ask a lot of questions.
Here are some good questions to ask:
? Is the interest rate fixed or variable? If fixed how long will it be fixed for?
? Are there circumstances that can make the interest rate on the motorcycle loan change in the future?
? What happens if a payment is 30 days late? Does the interest rate increase?
? What happens if a payment is 60 days late? Does the interest rate increase?
? How long is the term on the motorcycle loan?
? If the loan is an installment loan, does it use rule of 78 or simple interest? (Simple interest is always better because it does not penalize the motorcycle buyer if the loan is paid off early.)
? What is the down payment requirement to get the motorcycle loan?
? Is full coverage insurance required?
? How much is registration and are these fees included in the motorcycle loan?
? Are there any administrative fees to get the motorcycle loan and if so how much are the fees?
Overall, motorcycle buyers can avoid these common mistakes by spending a little extra time focusing on shopping for a motorcycle loan and asking lots of questions.
Copyright (c) 2004, by Jay FranThis article may be freely distributed as long as the copyright, author's information and an active live link to http://www.motorcycle-financing-guide.com is published with the article.
A complimentary copy of any newsletter or a link to the site where the article is posted is greatly appreciated.
Jay Fran is a successful author and publisher at http://www.motorcycle-financing-guide.com. A comprehensive resource on how to have the best experience and get the best deal on motorcycle financing, bad credit motorcycle loans, high risk motorcycle loans and motorcycle buying.
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