Throttle Days Mexican Adventure – wBW Video Review

When Rick asked if I could review the Throttle Days Mexican Adventure video, I was recovering from some surgery and wasn’t allowed to do much of anything else, so the timing was perfect.

I had purchased the previous video in the series, Throttle Days Dual Sport Adventure (review), based on the positive webBikeWorld review a few years ago.

Having found that video mildly interesting, I was curious to see what the Stosh brothers were up to again.

For those of you that are not familiar with these films, they highlight the travels of the “Stosh brothers”, Andy and Joe.

The videos are filmed and produced by the Stosh brothers (“Just regular guys who love to ride”) via their company, Motorcycle Theater.

The introduction to their latest Mexican Adventure (which was identical to the intro in the previous video) leads one to believe that they are going to ride for 100 days straight.

But, you soon find out this is to be broken up over a series of trips over several years, with the Mexican Adventure being the next trip in the series.

Unlike some other motorcycle adventure films, these are not glitzy videos shot in HD with support vehicles, helmet cams and assistants for border crossings, travel arrangements and the rest.

Instead, these are simple videos taken by Andy and Joe via low-tech methods such as hand-held and bike mounted cams and what they refer to as the “broomstick method” — in other words, videos made the way the rest of us would if we were to record our own adventures. As they state at the very beginning of the intro, “We’re not professionals; we’re amateurs”.

This latest installment chronicles their journey into the “Belly of Mexico”, entering the country at Nuevo Laredo on the Texas/Mexico border, dropping down the east coast to Vera Cruz before heading across to the west coast. Their route takes them in a big loop returning to the same border crossing back into the States.

Despite warnings from friends and family, the brothers Stosh don’t seem to be too concerned about issues like water and food safety, bugs or banditos. They also casually dismiss concerns about maintenance, something I found rather foolish, and the results haunted one bike throughout the trip.

Unlike their previous outing (Throttle Days Dual Sport Adventure) — an attempt to ride part of the Trans-America Trail — they have chosen to dispense with camping on this journey, which should make it a bit easier on the poor 1997 BMW F-650 Funduro motorcycles they are riding.

Their dual-sport rides bore a heavy load on the Trans-America outing, and that eventually lead to the demise of the clutch on one of the bikes. The image from a long-ago cartoon of a little burro with an extremely large pack on its back always comes to mind…

This time they will be “Motel-ing” it on the fly which leads them to quite a variety of lodging — some better than others.

Their route in Mexico takes them past several interesting local sites, along with parks of natural and historical value. At these locations they stop and film the location and provide a little background/information about the site. These, along with the local outdoor markets, I found interesting and probably the most enjoyable part of the film.

Along with some beautiful scenery and colorful inhabitants are the obligatory shots of the local food, of which Andy and Joe seem to be constantly in search of. Obviously these boys like to eat and I soon grew tired of the never-ending pictures of 1/2 eaten tacos or burritos. I suspect both of them have cast iron digestive systems…

The brothers Stosh have a few “experiences” along the way and to reveal them would negate the purpose of purchasing the video. And what do we riders usually say? “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey” and a journey is the culmination of experiences encountered along the way.

Conclusion

Andy and Joe were lucky that their adventure didn’t turn into a real pain in the neck because of the lack of some simple proactive preventive maintenance. But, I admire their “just go and do it” attitude.

A lot of us are probably hesitant to just pack the bike and go somewhere they don’t speak the same language and have a different interpretation of proper food preparation and personal hygiene, but the Stosh brothers, Andy and Joe, didn’t give it a second thought. Maybe we could learn something from their adventurous attitudes.

Review Date: July 2011

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