Hot Tamales

Elapsed time: 46 d 05 h 24 m; Distance travelled 9493 km (5898 mi)

Today we celebrate a huge milestone: Ashleigh has officially crossed the Mexican-Guatemalan border and begins the Central American leg of her world record ride.

Mexico tested her on a new level. By now, you’ve probably heard she spent two days bedridden with traveler’s diarrhea (aka Montezuma’s Revenge, named after the ninth emperor of the Aztec Empire, or that '80s video game). But what you might not know is that the roads have been loud, lawless, and relentlessly hot - temperatures have been hitting the low 30s daily since she arrived.

On Day 35, outside of Saltillo, she yelled over the roar of traffic:

“It’s been hot for like a f*cking week, which is no surprise, i’ll take this over the frigidness and the sh*tiness of the Dalton highway, but HOLY BALLS, ha ha, wow… sure makes riding far a little bit harder”.

Most days she’s drinking more liquid than one would think possible:

“I think I drank maybe 6 or 7 liters of water yesterday, plus like 4 or 5 drinks - a Coke, Sprite, or juice, whatever they had.”

Finding shade is a constant mission - no easy task when you’re riding along massive toll highways that cut across the country. She says:

“[I was] on a toll highway.. nobody cared. I thought people would care, but they don’t. There are signs that say no bikes, but there’s also like access points along the toll highway that people are walking on, some people are riding bikes, some people are on their little scooter things. I realized that in Mexico there are rules.. but they’re very loose”.

And while these roads offer efficiency, the views aren’t great; they bypass the vibrant little towns she loves which offer the food we’ve all been waiting for. Her main motivation most days (aside from getting out of one country and into the next) is tracking down the nearest food stand and stuffing her face. And honestly, we’re drooling over here!

Ashleigh is in food heaven - filling up on tamales, tacos, quesadillas, and fresh fruit. Roadside stalls are everywhere, and many motels (getting cheaper by the day) even throw in a free breakfast.

But after the sickness scare, she’s been more cautious.

From her second day in bed, she said:

“[At the market] I got stuff that you can peel. I got a watermelon - it’s a pretty big watermelon. I told him to give me a small one, but that’s what he had, I guess. And two mangoes. She kept putting mangoes in a bag, and I stopped her at two because I only wanted one… and then they kept piling on bananas! And now I have six or seven, so I’ll be having more banana bread sandwiches (laughs).”

And her new food rule?

“From now on, I’ll only eat stuff in plastic packaging, and plastic bottles - which, quite honestly, hurts me, because consuming all this plastic sucks. But you know what? Being sick like this also sucks. So I guess we’re going to eat stuff in plastic.”

It hasn’t been all hard roads, heat waves and roadside bathroom breaks though. Ashleigh’s daily audio recaps have been dotted with the chirping and warbling of tropical birds just outside her motel window - a reminder that she’s in a lush, alive country with beautiful nature all around.

And then, on Day 43, came a moment she’d been chasing for weeks: The ocean.

After riding inland through Mexico for close to two weeks, Ashleigh finally reached the Gulf. She walked across the sand, stood at the edge of the water, and stepped into the sea. It was the first time she’d seen the ocean since Alaska.

She said:

“Today I made it to the Gulf of Mexico, which was totally amazing, seeing the ocean for the first time in 43 days. It was really lovely. I went and, actually, I haven’t put my feet in any water, this entire trip, but I actually went. I was pulled to the ocean, and went and just put my feet in, soaked my face, sat down, and took a few moments to take it in. I haven’t done that, really because I’ve had to keep moving. But it was nice, it was really nice. If I [hadn't been] only 100kms into the ride, I probably would have stayed there and just chilled at the beach for the rest of the day”.

These are the quiet victories that don’t show up on a stats sheet. But they matter. They remind us that this isn’t just a record-setting ride - it’s a journey through landscapes, cultures, and states of mind. And sometimes, despite the mission to keep moving forward, Ashleigh just wants to stop.

There’s a deep tension here: between the drive to keep riding, and the ache to soak things in. Most of the time, the schedule wins. But every so often, a place asks her to stay.

One stretch of road, about 60 kilometers along the coast, left her genuinely stunned. It was the first section of her ride that she said she’d actually come back for. Not for the challenge, not for the record, but for the sheer love of it.

“It was 60km of really amazing riding. I went through all of these little towns, you could just tell that they took pride in the place they lived, it was like farming and fishing, it was all very flat land, it was really interesting. If I had the opportunity to slow down, and take good photos of the houses and some of the goings ons (...) it was really cool (...) it was really beautiful.”

And even in the blur of long days on the bike, Ashleigh has been connecting. One of the biggest joys on this leg of the trip has been speaking Spanish - testing the limits of her language skills and surprising herself with how much she remembers (and how much she’s learning on the fly).

Sometimes, when she’s too tired to speak Spanish, let alone English, Ashleigh pulls out Google Translate. It helps her explain the wild distance she’s already covered, and the even crazier road ahead.

Most of the people she talks to are stunned by her journey, just like all of us following along from home.

Here’s to Ashleigh checking country #3 off the list. ¡Salud!

-Jessie 

This ride is supported by: Augustine House; Arkel Bike Bags; Fluent Frameworks; Long Alley Bicycles; Anytime Fitness Halifax; Acadia Sport Therapy; Showerspass; Night of Adventure; Every person who's donated through the Go Fund Me page; A strong support system: friends, family, and the outdoor community in Halifax.