Velowander

17 enero - highway of death between Mazatlan and Tepic

I recommend riding the toll autopistas whenever possible because they have a shoulder and traffic is less because, presumably, most Mexicans don't want to pay the toll. The authorities may want you to get off to autopista, reactions will depend on the specific officer so always be courteous. We have not been asked to pay a toll on hwy 1D between Tijuana and Ensenada and 15D between Mazatlan and Semblas, short of Acaponeta, Nayarit.

South of Mazatlan, the autopista 15D goes only as far as El Rosario, Sinaloa. Fortunately, there is a new section of 15D under construction between El Rosario and just short of Acaponeta, Nayarit. There was almost no traffic so we had a whole highway with shoulders to ride on, it was very nice. We did have to navigate some obstacles, like a bridge under construction with the rebar exposed and various roadblocks.

When we did have to merge back onto hwy 15 short of Acaponeta, its reputation among cyclists as being the deadliest section between Alaska and Tierra del Fuego is deserved. There were semis passing other semis, blasting air in our faces as they passed us a few decimeters away going the other direction. Fortunately, we only had to ride about 10 km on this deadly road.

We don't plan to continue on hwy 15 to Tepic on our bicycles so we will hitch or take a bus if possible.

posted by David @ 3:00 PM