02/05/24 day off in Atlacomulco

February 10, 2024

I’d written a boring paragraph about tubeless tires and 26” vs 29” and Mexican bike shops which I took a look at and deleted because if I was following this journal I’d just skip it and go look at the pictures. The TL;DR is that I’m keeping my new tire as a spare and have gone back to riding with tubes. This way I feel I’m in complete control.

Atlacomulco is a strange town. It appears to be nothing more than shops selling things to each other and a few very expensive hotels but really little else. I can’t imagine why someone would come here and spend $400 a night, but if you want to you have several options. Weird. I stayed an extra day because it was already paid for and used the time to calmly prep for the next leg. I’ve decided to go south to Toluca, Cuernavaca and Puebla at which point I’ll decide between Veracruz or Oaxaca

No drier, but I’ve got access to the roof where I was able to string a clothesline

Had a tamale while I searched for fresh juice

Had my juice in the plaza, where everyone was having breakfast

Alberto “El Pelón” Escobar, owner of 26 Only Bikes, replaced my worn tire and gave me route options to Toluca. He said that I’m in a dangerous part of the county but that if I got stopped to drop his name. This isn’t the first time I’ve been warned. All I can say to that is that up to now I’ve only encountered good people and have not once felt unsafe. Alberto said the expensive hotels are for the cartels. The black case behind his left elbow holds a pistol. I’m traveling slowly yet seeing nothing.

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