 In January 2020, I set out on a solo mission to ride the second half of the Baja Devide and very quickly met a bearded Canadian named John and a very cute dog named Mira. Lead the way, Mira! Which way are we supposed to go? We rode together for a week, having the time of our lives and throwing endless sticks. You want to ride bikes today, bud? You want to ride bicycles? Later that year, smack-dab in the middle of the pandemic, we rode a majority of the Great Divide together. We were like Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, and Mira, the true star of the show. Good morning! Our adventures have taken us to Arizona on the Western Wildlands route, the Trans-Mexico route through Cartel Country where we did not get robbed and now I'm on my way to meet them in Oaxaca, Mexico where they've been based for the past several months. We're going to tackle the Grand Dirt Tour, a 250-mile route through high mountains, agave fields, ancient villages, and I'm on a mission to eat as many frijoles as possible while avoiding the January cold in Colorado. If you've previously watched the series that I made about this adventure, well, this video is quite a bit different. I've taken out all of the music, a lot of the dialogue, and I've left in all the beautiful natural sounds, especially the sounds of tires crunching gravel. This is the kind of video that's good to watch if you're sitting on your trainer or you're at home and you want to just check out some beautiful images for an hour. And if you're new to my channel and you're wondering what this crazy bike is with a weird-looking chain, this is called the Priority 600X. It's a bicycle that I designed with my friends at Priority Bicycles and the whole name of the game is Low Maintenance. So we've got the pinion gearbox here that keeps all the gears enclosed and safe from muck and dirt and all that kind of stuff. And then the gate's carbon belt drive never needs to be lubed last three times longer than a chain. And I love it. I've ridden this bike all over the place now and it's my baby. All right, amigos, let's get to it and be prepared to fall in love with the absolute coolest dog on the planet. Mira la perra! Somebody just attacked me at bed. Hi, buddy. How are you doing? Good morning. I'm so excited to go hang out with you this week. It's time for the harness. Yeah. Wide load coming through. There we go. She's in. We're ready. What does he has? He has. Look at this. We haven't gone far enough yet. You're a little bored. You want to keep moving, don't you? No! No crashes. No crashes. No way. No whammies. Definitely no whammies either. Here we go. Let's go. I'm liking this little path right in the middle of two busy streets. Probably an old rail trail or something. Buenos dias. Ooh, look at that. What'd you get, John? I got empanada de amarillo. So it's mole with some chicken in it. Yeah. Super tasty. Look at that. Fresh card. This really is incredible. The food in Oaxaca is just better. I don't know what they do, but everything just tastes a little better, tastier, spicier, yummy. Oh my God. Okay, that tree is pretty cool. Yeah. That's real big. It's enormous. I don't think I've ever seen a tree that wide. I mean, that trunk is gigantic. It looks like 15 different trees all smushed together. So in the root description, it says that we go through quite a few towns on the entire route, which is nice because we get to explore these awesome little towns, and we don't need to carry a ton of food and water because we can get resupply in lots of different places. Buenos dias, amigo. Buenos dias. Buenos dias. Buenos dias. Buenos dias, amigo. Buenos dias. Buenos dias. You stop whenever you feel like she needs water depending on the heat and how much she's been walking? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, just trying to keep her hydrated and it's a good chance for me to check in on things too, but yeah, it's like, I'm doing it because she has fun. I don't want to hurt her along the way. It's my job to take care of her. And it's fun to take care of her. It's great. Yeah, buddy. You can say hola to pretty much anybody and they will answer you. Thank you. You can say hola to pretty much anybody and they will answer you with lots of enthusiasm. Thank you. You can say hola to pretty much anybody and they will answer you with lots of enthusiasm. Thank you. Oh, yeah, look at that. Buen provecho, John. Igualmente, Ryan. Look at that yumminess. Oh, yummy. Hello, buddies. All right, it's about 5.30 and we have found a nice flat place to camp on right next to this agave field, which is pretty cool. It's booty time. All right, Vera, now you can walk around and not get prickers. You look so funny when you have these on. Go after Dad. Go run after Dad. See, you're not going to get... Vera. Those notches from a field in Mexico. I'm jumping in here really quickly to let you know that my book, The Long Way Home, about my very first bike adventure from Honduras to Boulder, is now for sale at dozerbook.com. Look who's waiting outside of my tent. Hi, Mira. Did you bring your toy? Brrr. Buenos dias. Man, it's a nice one. Look, Mira, the sun. The sun just came up. Look at that. Isn't that nice? Hi, buddy. Oh, yes. I love you. Look at that. We can just enjoy the sunrise together. Yeah, yeah. Look at that sunrise. Pretty. All right, thank you. Flat piece of ground amidst a field of spiny thorns. John, are we ready? Oh, yeah, you've been ready. Sorry. Mira. All right, Mira. Yeah. It's a great day, isn't it? We're excited. We're excited too, Mira. Buenos dias. Buenos dias, amigo. So we came through this little pueblo looking for a comedor, a place to get hot food, and none of them are open. It's pretty early, and we talked to some guys on the street. Boom. They just came up with some nice, warm tamales. And now we're just hanging out here making friends. This is Mexico. This is why I love Mexico. You can show up anywhere, pretty much, and make friends very quickly, and they're so generous. And it just really, when you stop and talk to people in these little pueblos, it helps you get to know each little part of this country, because each state is pretty different, just like in the United States. This is a big one. Damn. Hi, John. Hey, Ryan. How are you? Oh, you know, just riding up mountains in Oaxaca. Riding bikes? Riding bikes. Doing what we love. It's like Thanksgiving dinner. Yeah, it's amazing. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. How does that look, John? Dude, this looks so good. This looks really good. We just talked to a local guy at a tienda. We're asking him for safe places to camp, and he's like, camp next to the church. What did you bring me? All the way over there. There you go. Good job. You're so cute. Do you want this stick? Is this what you want? Is that what you're excited about? Huh? Buenos dias, John. Buenos dias, Ryan. How'd you sleep on this piece of cement right here? I got a good seat of summit pad, so I did pretty well. I mirrored it pretty well. Yeah, slept great. Yeah, that's what happens after you ride your bike all day. Yeah, totally. Look how tightly rolled this is. Perfection. Come on, give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me. She loves Keepway as much as she loves fetching. Give it to me. Oh yeah, here we go. It's time to ride bikes. Yes, and it's Sunday morning. There you go. We're in for a lot of uphill today. Yep. Hi, little guy. How are you doing? Yeah. Are you the guard dog? See ya. Lead the way, Mira. We don't need GPS units. We have Mira. She always knows where to go. Ready? Okay, ready to go. And it just goes to show that you can eat vegetarian in Mexico. You made me a bean and cala vasita, which is kind of like pumpkin or like a squash, a little taco burrito. There we go. Para arriba, para arriba. These are about the steepest roads I've ever seen. Yeah, and the thing is, we can both ride this, but we walk faster than we ride. Different muscles. That's how steep these roads are. That's amazing. Hard going down, hard going up. Wow. John just said the grade is about 20%. Mira is clueless that we're going up the biggest hill ever. She's like, yeah, guys, come on. Let's go. Let's go, dudes. Boing, boing. I love that 360 move. Little neighborhood fiesta up there. I love the soundtrack of Mexico. Everywhere you go, there's music. You guys sure are cute. I don't know if you're as cute as Mira, though. This dog is pretty darn cute. They really want to play with Mira. They're so curious. Mira, the owner said you can't go on the bed. You really got to get off the bed now. I'm going to enforce this. You know me. I'm a stickler for rules. Please get off the bed. So John's going over some of the daily stats. We climbed a lot today, huh? Yeah, we only rode 30 kilometers, and average speed is 8.2 kilometers. So, you know. Yeah, probably a running pace for some. But in 70 kilometers yesterday, or rather, let's put it a different way, in 30 kilometers today, we rode more elevation than we did in 70 kilometers yesterday. So we did almost 1,300 meters of elevation gain. High five, John. We did it. Again? We did it again. Good morning. Good to see you. Yeah. Buenos dias, Johnny. Buenos dias, Miguel. Buenos dias. Oh, John, you're putting on the hot stuff. Don't warm me up on it. And now it is time for the En Frijolada, which is pretty much just tortillas soaked in beans with some eggs on top. And it really is my new favorite thing. When I get home, I'm going to figure out how to make these things. All right, would you like one morning toss? There you go. All right, John, let's go have a great day. Bam. Buenos dias, amigo. Here's my hand in comparison with one of these blades. They are huge. And it's pretty cool. John, would you say they use these for? I use them for a bunch of different things that I'm aware of. I use them for building materials. They'll get the big, when it comes to blooms, a big tree-like feature that comes out. I use that for structures in the house, like a ridge beam. They'll use the pedals for shingles and stuff. You get in the water, it'll cool off. Yeah. Still climbing. The mirror is still running around backwards, bouncing. Yeah, buddy. We're earning our beans today. It tastes better when you pedal really hard for them. Hey, turkeys. Hey, turkeys. You know, there's something special about drinking water straight out of the ground. It just feels extra pure, you know? Nothing added to it. Just the way it was meant to be. Is this the one you want? You want this guy? That's the one. Adios. Oh, stickers. Oh, mira. Gracias. Calcomonías, no? It's stickers de mira. Ay, mira. This is the reason to go dog-backing. Yeah, yeah, exactly. How many times a day does this happen? I mean, it happens every day, multiple times a day, every town we go. Mira's good at bringing in the friends. Yeah, totally. Mira, you're the best. Everybody loves you. Everybody loves you. They're playing with you. Looks like we've got some egg and papas, some potatoes, some fresh tortillas. Got a cozy place to eat it. Yeah, man. Love it. A lot of times, these people essentially invite you into their own living rooms. This cute little girl has been out here the entire time petting little Mira. And she just said, I think she was thirsty because she kept licking my arm. So sweet. Oh, yeah. Camping spot. As the sun sets. Our bellies are very full, and I asked the lady where we can camp. She's like, you can't be anywhere. This town is tranquilo, so we just went up the hill a little bit and look at this spot right here, tucked in the woods. Five my man. Boom. That was a special day. My notes on the ride are beautiful day. Beautiful day. Scratches from daddy. Shake it off. Look who came to visit. Hi, Mira. She is just the cutest thing in the world. I love traveling with this dog. She makes every day better. Yeah, you do. What are you doing? You're scratching yourself. What are you doing? You cracked me up. You cracked me up. Yeah, you do. And look who's waiting outside the tent. Thank you. Soft piece of ground hidden under all these wonderful trees. Here we go. And there is the morning sun. Mira, your friend is back. Is it wet? Yes, a little bit. You're sleeping, Mira. Thanks for waiting, Mira. You always wait so patiently for us. All right. Feeling ready, John? We are full. Good food. We have a good rest. We're hydrated. It's a beautiful morning. Mira's all dressed up for some downhill riding. Yeah, you are. You ready to rip? What do you think, John? So special. It's a world class destination for bikepacking. Hello, burritos. In Spanish, those are called burros. And little ones are burritos. You can tell by Mira's panting that it's definitely hotter down here. Look at that tongue. Hey, bud. Check it out. And two vegetarian dishes. With eggs. Yes, please. Hotest day yet. We came pretty low into a desert environment. And lots of big climbs. Give me a hug. Yeah, there's my Mira hug. Oh, thank you. Mm-hmm. Please, John. Can I have a cookie? Another amazing day on planet Earth. Really has been a whole week. Everything. I love it. Hey, buddy. Need a butt scratch? Yeah, need a butt scratch? Okay. It's time for the morning Mira tackle. Is this what you want? Is this what you're waiting for? So patiently? Okay. Mira's waiting for you to throw her a stick right behind you. Okay. It's time for your final morning stick. Okay? Ready? Ready? I'm too down. I love your excitement every morning, Mira. It's contagious. Now it's party time. Let's go. That's kind of a big stick, don't you think? I think Mira's trying to stick a stick in those spokes. Come on, baby. Come here. Come on, Mira. You're wondering why we're slow, so slow. Hello. Hello. Buenos dias. Hey, buddy. Ooh, that looks good. What are we eating for lunch, John? Chorizo e casillo. Torta, right? Yeah. So a torta is a sandwich. Ooh, look at that. It's got beans and lettuce and tomato and some peppers. Good stuff. Loading up on agua. Mira's going to get a bath. I'm going to get a bite. We've got a Mira lat pool. This is the Olympic training pool. Can she get all the way to the other end? Ladies and gentlemen. Feel so good. Hola, amigos. It's in Frijolada time. Oh, yeah. We are excited, as always. And they put a torta with eggs on top of mine and frijolada. So I grabbed plenty of food today. All right, we've ridden maybe a kilometer outside of town, and we found an abandoned greenhouse. There's John over there. We have flat ground here. Looks good. Is it a good day? Yeah, definitely a good day. High five, brother. Boom. Oh, it's you. Hi, Mira. So all throughout the night, she just sleeps right next to you. Yeah, she does. She gets up and she turns around and cuddles back in. And yeah. Protects, don't you? Yes, you do. Yep. All right, my sweet Priority 600X. One more day in Oaxaca. Olé, olé, olé, olé. Buenos dias. Whenever I come to historical sites like this, wherever I am in the world, it's fun to imagine what life must have been like. And to put yourself in that era and that time period. It's fun. It's why I love history and learning about the world and civilizations and how we all evolved into who we are today and some of the similarities. Way back in the day, they played sports just like we do today. Fun and play was always a big part of human civilization. Gotta have fun, right? It's important. Who's your favorite Aztec team? Aztec Ball League team. Oh, I think the Dain Zoo Fireballs are the my favorite team in the Aztec Ball League. The ABL. That's their home court down there. And how do you do it? Ah, the lady prepares the tortillas and they bring them and they put them in the fridge. They put them in there and then they serve them in the plate and they put the cheese, their onions and their cream and they go with eggs with comal or with tazaj or with cecina. Perfect, thank you. It's my favorite food here in Oaxaca. Yeah. This lady is so sweet. She's the sweetest smile This is going to be such a treat. So this town is known for like rugs hand woven rugs. I just want to take a moment to thank Cass Gilbert from bikepacking.com for creating this amazing route. It's been one of the best short bikepacking routes I have ever done. This is John's second time loving it. It is a classic. So I love Mexico with all of my corazón my heart. I love Oaxaca and since I can't live here permanently something can live here and that's my bike. My 600X. I'm going to leave it here with a wonderful organization called Coyote Aventuras I just met a wonderful human named Carlos and they have a great program where they get kids on bikes. How cool is that? So I'm leaving this beautiful bike here in Oaxaca and I feel really good about it. Your bike will reach the hands of one of the ambassadors of the Project Bike Love program so that it will be one of the guides, mentors and leaders of the kids who will get to know their own surroundings and who can also train with them to teach them how to maintain them. So John, I just gave my bike away so I can't ride with you anymore. I wanted to thank you again for another amazing experience. I mean this has become really special. Being able to do this with you and travel the world and see places together with you and Mira has been a gift so thank you. Yeah, my pleasure. Likewise here too. It's been great to have you come down from Colorado and share your experiences with the culture and the people and this is your way about life so the viewers know that how you go about life and it's genuine, it's from the heart so it's great to be a part of and I know this girl loves it. Mira, I hate saying goodbye to you my dear, yes I do all you're the sweetest in the world. Yeah, it's more like a Asta Loego. Yeah, Asta Loego I will find you again. Somebody on social media commented that I'm like a stalker of yours because I keep tracking you down. Yeah, but a welcome stalker doesn't count. Yeah, exactly. You always know when it's a goodbye you jump up and give me a hug. You always know when the goodbyes happen. Thank you, Mira. I love you. The whole world loves you. Take good care of John, okay? And everybody else who meet keep on providing like in those sunglasses, huh? And thank you so much for watching my adventures and following my videos. It means the world to me to be able to share these stories with you and hopefully inspire you to get off your couches and challenge yourselves in some way shape or form. So I wish you all the best in 2023 and over and out from Oaxaca, Viva Mexico! Viva Mexico!