Day 10: Seeing the earth from above

Day 10 we rode to Cuatro Palos, a famous viewpoint in the Sierra Gordas, the highest point of our trip, the point I'd been considering the great zenith from when I began dreaming up this journey. It is at 8,900 feet elevation and the views stretch in almost every direction.  

This morning climb to there was the hardest ride of this trip, and also one of the hardest of my bicycle life to this point, perhaps. I had slept wretchedly, not aided by the party until 4am next door with musicians impressively out of tune, and was still processing some challenging news. I felt wobbly of brain. But strong of heart, somehow. I was climbing these mountains where there was little air and my heart was working extra hard for me and pushing me along. 

The road was steep and the morning nippy, my legs groaned. But the pines were glowing silver and the road was quiet. The sunlight began it's descent down the opposing mountainside, coming to meet us as we climbed upwards. We turned a corner after a hauling climb and an enormous expanse of stunning view greeted us. I counted seven layers of mountains stretching to infinity. I started crying then, overcome by the beauty and feeling the love and support of those who care for my family. "There isn't enough air up here for crying AND pedaling" I said to Ellie, "one activity or the other!" She laid her bike down and gave me a huge hug. The beauty of friendship and catharsis.n

We turned off the main highway onto the side road leading to Cuatra Palos. This road was basically a concrete wall. With ribbing for traction, otherwise there was no hope in scaling it. Do we have to go up that thing? We rode until we were going to fall over. Then we pushed the bikes until we decided that was stupid. Then we locked them against a fencef and hiked the rest of the seemingly endless hilly dusty path.

Riding through what they call "Heaven's Door", on the way to Cuatro Palos. 

These seem like huge amazing asparagus to me, but are actually agave plants.

The sun came down the mountain as we went up it.

Pushing our bikes up the cement wall of the road.

And then the view was stunning. Mountains spread out in every direction, and us seeing them all from above. 

You could SEE the Earth as the Earth below. It was dizzying to think what 8,900 feet above sea level was. I was imagining that height if for some reason all this ground holding us up disappeared, if we were just THERE, 8,900 feet above the base. So much topography. Do many folds and structure and history laid out in front of us. 

We got here totally under the own power of our legs. Pedaling, pushing, padding thru dust and then up and up stone steps. I packed away the memories and the views to hold, to bring out again at a time of need. Besides, I couldn't fully grasp them all anyway in the moment. 

The jaw-dropping view at Cuatro Palos. A photo is a dismal approximation.

Then we turned around and came back from whence we came. All the way down to the city of Jalpan, retracing our steps. We were two birds then, flying flying. Thousands of feet down. Our hands doing all the work now on the brakes as our legs rested. It was amazing with the comforting spark of recognition, to pass the places we had stopped for a break, the curve that was particularly hard, that one big field freshly plowed. Recognizing places and reliving memories from only a few days back. "We rode up this WHOLE thing!" sang Ellie. 

We landed in the tiny town of Ahuactlan de Guadalupe again, where we had stayed on the way up, like coming home. We even asked for the same third floor neon green room in that sweet tall hotel. It's amazing how something as simple as being in a same room as before can be so comforting. 

In other news: we are on our third jar of peanut butter.

And now we head north, up route 69, new territory. 

Hot morning drinks at this sweet stand, which we got to visit for a second time in Ahuactlan de Guadalupe. We drank "Teja" which is thick, viscous, made from some type of plant, and is deeply comforting. Everyone who moved through this town seemed to stop for a hot cup here.