The previous day we had swapped out my battery for one in Danny's broken-down KTM Adventure. After riding through torrential rain, and being parked outside over night, my bike had refused to start. The (faint) hope was that once it dried out everything would be fine, the suspicion was a faulty rectifier as we'd measured an intermittent 18 volts across the terminals. The rectifier had been replaced after 12,000 miles and the bike was approaching 24,000 miles fast. Everything was fine that day and the bike started first time the next morning.
Unfortunately I then required a jump start at the first petrol stop, next stop it started fine, but on what should have been the last fuel stop of the day, it again refused to start. There was enough power to bump start it (compression is too high in the big twin cylinders to bump without some help from the starter motor). Unfortunately within a few km the dashboard turned shutdown and shortly after the engine cut out.
I was on my own at the back of our four bike crew, so was very relieved to see Andy coming back along the road. I told him there was no need to wait, it was still light and Jim could not have been more than a few hours behind in the support truck, but I was very grateful that he opted to stay with me. On removing the seat, small wisps of smoke were still coming out of the hot, swollen battery. There was no way we were going to get this going again without a new battery, and without fixing the underlying issue, any new battery would also be destroyed in around a days riding. I made plans to order the parts from the KTM dealer that was doing our servicing once we got the the US. Luckily Jim was not as far behind as we thought and we were not waiting much more than an hour. The bike was quickly loaded on to the trailer and we made our way to Acapulco, Andy sticking close to the truck as he also had electrical issues and limited power to his lights.
On arriving at the hotel we found out that other riders had had an even worse day. As Danny's bike had previously broken down, he and his pillion Becky had been riding one of Nick Sanders XT 660s. Unfortunately while trying to avoid one of the many speed bumps on the day's route, Danny and Becky had crashed. Becky was caught under a pannier and had broken her leg. She was in a local hospital, sadly the pair would not be taking any further part in the trip. While I did not realise it at the time, this was very fortunate for me. Jim did not want three bikes on the trailer and wanted me to ride the XT. If it had not been for the accident, I would have been in he truck the next day.
We had to wait for Danny to get back from the hospital before leaving and the XT was not in good shape, but the next day we rode from Acapulco to Manzanillo via Lazaro Cardenas. The first issue was nothing to do with the condition of the bike, but after hitting a speed bump I noticed I had a flat front tire. I pulled in to a local tyre shop, as they were trying to find the tools required to remove the XTs wheel Jim pulled up. A new tube was quickly fitted and I was on the road again. The bikes chain was on its last legs so it was no big surprise when it jumped off the sprockets. Andy helped me get it back on and at the next stop Paul adjusted the slack. The wheel was moved back as far as it would go, but we knew it would need adjusting again tomorrow so we planned to remove a link that evening. The route got pretty confusing at Lazaro Cardenas and we passed several riders going in different directions. We spotted Jim and together we got directions from some locals. They warned us that the route was very dangerous due to the Banditos and that we should make sure we were off the road before it got dark. It was obvious from the schedule that we would not be at the hotel in the light, but we assumed we would be able to make it to the dual carriage way sections that are well lit and generally considered safe before it got dark. Despite having no working headlights on the XT, we made it to the hotel by around 11pm.
By 1pm there was still no sign of Jim. He was not answering his phone (not unusual as it was rarely charged), so assuming he had been delayed at one of the military checkpoints we reluctantly went to bed. The next morning there was still no sign of Jim, so Nick and Caroline contacted the police. We eventually got word that Jim was at the police station in Lazaro Cardenas, but the truck and trailer, including my bike and nearly all my luggage had been stolen. We were all pretty shocked but relieved Jim was OK.
Only Jim can tell the full story, but the short version is that a pickup truck with two men dressed as police men stopped Jim shortly after we had last seen him. Two further trucks blocked the road in front and behind. Several heavily armed men wearing bullet proof jackets, carrying knives, grenades, machine and shotguns took Jim away at gunpoint. He was lead in to the jungle and held for several hours with a gun against his head as the gang discussed whether or not to kill him. Eventually they left Jim alone in the jungle.
I can't do Jim's incredible story justice, but using his knowledge of the wind direction he was able to find the coast road - the only road for several hundred kms. The passing federal police refused to help him and eventually a lorry driver took him to safety, leaving him at the local police station once it was light. The police told him he was very lucky not to have been killed, by the time he was found the police had already dealt with several other killings that morning.
So that was it, the end of my adventure. There was much discussion on how the group could nest get out of Mexico. There were pros and cons to riding in a large group, sticking to inland motorways or continuing up the coast. The only real consensus was to get out of Mexico as quickly and safely as possible. I could have continued on the XT and ridden in to the US, but a number of factors lead me to fly back to London instead.
Firstly the atmosphere in the group had changed. Some of this was due to what had happened to Jim, but there was also a knock on effect that was leading to arguments among riders and a lack of direction as a whole. Secondly all the route and schedule plans being discussed all still contained fairly long days. At a minimum we would be riding in small groups. When one person ion a group gets a mechanical problem it delays the entire group. With just 1 or two problems, such as a chain coming off or flat tyre, we could easily end up riding in the dark again - I still had no head lights. The mechanical health of the rest of the XT was severely in doubt too. In terms of able mechanics, we still had Paul Stewart, but I was worried that without a backup truck and mechanic following behind us, that I was at too high a risk of the XT breaking down and getting stuck on my own. The final deciding factor was that there was no way I was going to ride the XT to Alaska - in terms of millage we were not far past the half way mark, at best the bike would get me out of Mexico. Dreams of Prudhoe bay died when the bike was stolen.
By leaving the trip at this point I was really only losing the last few days of motorways in Mexico. So, I made the decision to fly home to friends and family. There is still a small element of regret that I did not ride out of Mexico, but on balance I know it was the right choice.
