"On the Trail"

The Journals from the Road

February 15-17:  Bike tips and mapping trips! - D.F.

Well, I continue to get in a fair amount of exercise with Teresa as I tag along for her workouts. On Tuesday we went to Mexico's National University, which had just started classes after being on a nine month strike. It is called UNAM for short and serves some 280,000 students. Yes, you read that right. This place is huge. We biked up to the library which is covered with pebbles from every state of Mexico to form beautiful murals of the country's history.

Later that same day we went to visit Jorge. Jorge is the owner of Pro Fix, a great bike repair shop in the city. I wanted Jorge to see if he could replace a threaded cylinder that connected my seat to my seatpost. My old little cylinder under the seat (I am sure there is a more professional name for it) became threadless and would not hold the bolt and hence the seat. Not only did Jorge find this very rare part for me, he also showed me how to adjust my derailleurs, true my wheels, and adjust my brakes. I knew how to do all of these things in theory but I got a chance to practice with a master. I would recommend his service to anyone. You can call him in the city at 536-55-14 or email him at ProFix@compuserve.com.

Yesterday, I hopped on the metro again to meet a friend from the last time I was here named Gabriela. She and I got a chance to see her computer training institute and we will meet again to tour the city this coming Sunday.

Today, Teresa, Palomo, Sonja, Antonio, and I all rode about 40 miles north of the city. I couldn't have been hooked up with a better group. I get to tour the city and its outskirts with the pros, by bike no less!!

Tonight I went shopping to add some food to Teresa's cache as I have been decreasing her delectable supply since I came. Tonight Palomo (once again my hero) came over and, with highlighter in hand, helped me make a route through to Oaxaca, Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo. His advice is especially helpful because he has biked many of these roads himself as a national racer.

As you can see I am in good hands as I prepare for my departure, which now looks like it will be Monday.

Peace(Bike),

TAD

www.peacebike.org

An 'edu-venture' around the world for peace.