Touratech & MotoDiscovery Copper Canyon Ride – Day 5

Today’s post is written by Brayde Willson, accomplished motorcycle tourer and the only female rider in the Touratech/MotoDiscovery Copper Canyon tour.

Yesterday’s riding was a nice combination of road and relatively easy dirt. I really hit my stride going along the creeks and down the switchbacks, making the day fun and fast. Today’s route back out of the canyon proved a bit more challenging for many. The terrain was a little more technical, and maybe we were a little tired from yesterday, or maybe the hours of riding in the hot sun got to us. There were significant rocky sections on twisty hills and some silt patches, and a couple bikes went down. No one incurred any serious injuries, though, and everyone had smiles on their faces at the end of the day. 

Somewhere along the line, the group’s signals got crossed, and we accidentally passed up our lunch stop for the day. This was a bit of a bummer because Matt and I had been looking forward to taking a cooling dip in the river as much as eating burritos. But oh well, sometimes these things happen–it’s all just part of the experience. 

Each of these trips we take, I find myself mastering another aspect of riding that I find challenging. In Europe two years ago, it was tight turns at slow speeds. In the Southwest last year, it was loose gravel. This year, it must be water crossings. Yesterday, I asked Matt to ride my bike through the longer creek section. Today, though, we came upon so many water obstacles that it would have taken us all day to get anywhere at that pace. And besides, where’s the fun in that? So, with a little coaching and luck, I made it through them all… and had a good time doing it! Today’s mantra: keep the momentum up; when in doubt, power out.

Once we finally made it back to pavement, it was a pretty quick ride out to tonight’s stay in the town of El Fuerte. MotoDiscovery has gone beyond expectation again, setting us up in a luxurious hacienda style hotel off the city’s main plaza. We all clean up and rest a bit, then stuff ourselves silly on tortas and tacos from street vendors. The variety of food has definitely been as much of a highlight on this trip as the riding has been.

– Brayde