Today we get an early start so that we can make it to Urique
while it is still light out deep in the canyon.
We follow a very nice twisty, paved road for many miles until we hit the
main overlook for the Copper Canyon. The road seems like a racetrack with its
flowing curves and nice pavement, and in fact, Juan tells us he works with a
car club that hosts an annual rally race in this area.
We stop at a train station at the upper rim of the canyon
and take in the awesome view. Ivan tells us this is actually a canyon system,
where three different canyons meet up. The local kids clamor to take turns
sitting on our bikes and look at pictures of themselves. After a lunch break of
gorditas, we begin our descent into the heart of the canyon, to the town of
Urique, following the “lower road.”
The road is unpaved but in decent condition with some rocks
and rough sections thrown in. It crosses
the rail line several times along the way.
At one point, there was a bridge out of service, so we had to ride down
the river a little ways to connect back to the road. All the construction workers paused to watch as
we crossed the river one by one on our big adventure bikes. Luckily, this was accomplished without issue.
We visit the Cerochahui Mission Church before making the final, steep descent. The road is rough with switchback after
switchback but offers some amazing views of the canyon and the town below. We drop about 5,000
feet of elevation in just a short stretch.
Our GPS elevation profile from the day's ride. The final descent into Urique drops over 5500 feet in 15 miles! |
Urique, that town waaaaaaaaaaaaay down there, is our home for the evening |
Brayde making the final descent into the heart of the canyon |
It will be another early morning tomorrow, as we will have a
long day of off-pavement riding. We will
double-back on the same road out of the canyon, then make another crossing of
the canyon before we head towards the coast.
-Matt & Brayde
-Matt & Brayde
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