Espinazo del Diablo and Sierra Madre Libre

The old free highway across the Sierra Madre, built as a motorcycle route rather than a generic crossing.

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Why this ride

The old free highway across the Sierra Madre, built as a motorcycle route rather than a generic crossing. The road: Mexico 40 Libre. Distance and riding time are estimates from the checkpoints until the road is measured on this page.

Roadbook

1. Mazatlan start

   Mazatlan is a Pacific port on the coast of Sinaloa, with a long beach, a historic centre and a seafront promenade, the malecon, which stretches for more than twenty kilometres and counts among the longest in the world. It has a population of about three hundred and eighty thousand, a fishing and shrimping fleet, a ferry to Baja California and a reputation for fun. Old Mazatlan has restored plazas, a cathedral from the nineteenth century and a lovely opera house, and the street food, especially the shrimp, is excellent. Pacifico beer has been brewed here since 1900, and the carnival, held before Lent, is among the largest in Mexico.

   The seafront has some surprises. On the headland of Cerro del Crestón stands a lighthouse, said to be one of the highest natural lighthouses in the world, a steep climb rewarded by a view over the city and the ocean. On the rocks below the malecon, cliff divers launch into the surf for tips, and the beaches fill with families at weekends. In winter, humpback whales can be seen offshore.

   For motorcyclists, the road east from Mazatlan is the draw. Highway 40 climbs into the Sierra Madre Occidental toward Durango, crossing the Tropic of Cancer, and the stretch known as the Espinazo del Diablo, the Devil's Backbone, runs along a narrow ridge with drops on both sides. It is a legendary road with hundreds of curves, tunnels and sweeping views, and the Baluarte Bridge, opened in 2012, is a cable-stayed span over 390 metres above the canyon floor, one of the tallest of its kind in the world. The climb takes you from tropical heat to pine forest, and fog and rain can reduce visibility. Trucks are slow on the grades, and rockfalls occur.

   Mazatlan has fuel everywhere, and the road has stations at intervals, but fill before the climb. Tolls are collected on the new highway, and an older free road runs alongside in sections. Start early to avoid the afternoon storms in summer. The best season is winter and spring, when the days are warm and dry. Allow a full day to enjoy the road, and eat a plate of fresh shrimp at the end.

2. Concordia stop
3. Espinazo del Diablo finish · 2400 m

   The Espinazo del Diablo, the Devil's Backbone, is a ridge of the Sierra Madre Occidental that the old highway between Durango and Mazatlan followed for decades along its crest, with the ground falling steeply away on both sides, and the narrow road with few barriers seemed to hang between two valleys. At about 2,400 metres, the air is cold and the pine forest thick, and on a misty morning the road disappears into cloud. Truckers called it the most frightening road in Mexico, and the name stuck.

   The road has changed. In 2013, a new toll highway, the autopista 40D, opened across the sierra with a series of long tunnels and bridges, including the Baluarte Bridge, a cable-stayed span that is one of the highest in the world, standing about 390 metres above the river. The journey that once took six hours or more is now about half that, and most traffic uses the new road. The old highway remains, and riders who prefer curves to speed can still take it, though it is narrow and sometimes in poor condition.

   The country is wild and beautiful. The sierra is covered with pine and oak forest, with deep canyons, waterfalls and small mountain villages, and the air smells of resin. La Ciudad, a lumber town about eighteen kilometres away, sits in the forest, and the logging trucks that rumble through are a reminder of the main industry. Farther west, as the road descends toward the Pacific, the vegetation changes to tropical, with mango trees, banana plants and warm, humid air.

   Services are scarce along the high section. La Ciudad has a small supply of fuel and food, but you should not depend on it, and it is wise to fill up in Durango or El Salto before climbing, and carry a little extra if you can. The toll road has fuel stations at intervals. Fog is common, sometimes thick enough to reduce visibility to a few metres, and the road can be icy in winter, so check conditions. Trucks and buses use the old road, and they often take the middle of the bends. The best season is spring or autumn, and the best time of day is mid-morning, when the mist clears.

Where this sits

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