We arrived to Puerto Vallarta at nightfall in the sweltering heat only to wait an hour to collect our bike boxes and get through customs. Once on the other side, we found our driver Humberto waiting patiently for us along with a couple of women whose ride hadn’t shown up. We agreed to share our ride as they too were heading to Bucerias. Turns out we were on the same flight down and they are visiting from Gabriola Island. After some Tetris to fit everything in the van we were off.

Our Airbnb is back in the barrio about a 15 minute walk to the beach. It’s a lovely Mexican neighbourhood with a spectacular taco stand around the corner. The neighbour raises roosters and needless to say we are up early which is just fine as we need to be on the bikes at first light to get a decent ride in before it’s too hot.

Our host Sara lives on the property and already Nick is keeping himself busy tinkering and repairing things. There was a bit of wood that needed repairing and Nick and I set off to the ferrateria (hardware store) to buy wood glue. Neither of us knew the word for glue and so Nick asked for the “juice to repair the wood” and the guy working understood and also had a giggle.

There are 2 dogs that live here as well named Flower and Flash. They are super lovely and keep us company when Sara isn’t home.

We have been here for four days and have already explored quite a bit. We have walked the beach from one end to the other, explored the back roads on our bikes and completed 2 big rides. This area has changed A LOT in 20+ years since we have been here. It has spread way past the Centro, La Cruz has marina!, and it seems as though PV and Bucerias are connected now. That said, the beach is lovely and we have found good food and a decent mini super nearby.

Our first ride out of town was a 44km loop out to Valle de Banderas – San Juan de Abajo – San Jose de Valle. This area of Nayarit is predominantly agricultural land with a strong indigenous community. There are statues everywhere acknowledging their Aztec heritage and the fields are full of agave, bananas, squash, and other fruits and vegetables.

We stopped along the way to have a quick breakfast from a street vendor and chatted with some locals. The ride was beautiful and while some spots were busy with traffic it was for the most part quiet and cool.

Our next ride took us north on Hwy 200 to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and out towards Punta de Mita. The highway is the main artery connecting the north to Puerto Vallarta and beyond and it is loud, fast and dirty. It reminded me of riding into Merida and I hoped that we would both live to see the end of the day.

That said, drivers in Mexico are very courteous of cyclists but it’s the debris on the road that adds the element of fear. It often forces you closer the cars than is comfortable and those big trucks are scary.

We explored the towns and marina and then decided to ride out to Punta de Mita before heading back. This is where Google failed us. We hopped on the hwy 200 again to get us there and before long the road just ended. Like the pavement stopped and a trail appeared.

We continued down this path for about 6km and we were ALMOST at the first and only exit when security appeared and wouldn’t let us by. Apparently a developer is going to build there and although the government stopped them once they are back again. We begged and pleaded but no go.

So we turned back and tackled that goat track for the second time. I of course, had my eagle eye out for snakes disguised as sticks and tarantulas. Thankfully it was uneventful and once we got back to La Cruz we stopped for a well deserved drink. All in about a 35km ride and we got home very sweaty, dusty and hungry.

Tomorrow we are riding to PV to have lunch with friends from Melaque, wander through some galleries and buy me a new pair of runners. Then back to work on Tuesday!