Those ominous grey clouds that have been following me all day finally decided to open up. I felt the first few drops splash off my open visor. Three lanes of traffic are stopped and I think I have traveled about two blocks over the last 20 minutes. I'm hot and sticky in the hazy humidity and my radiator fan is spilling super-heated air out over my shins and thighs. Guadalajara is the third largest city in Mexico. With five million people in its metropolitan area it is about the size of Phoenix and I'm riding right through the center of it. Periodically other motorcycles whiz by taking the space between the lanes of cars and trucks. This is a practice called lane spitting or traffic filtering. It's legal in a few states in the US but I've never been in favor of it. I think it leads to poor rider behaviors and annoys drivers. However, in other countries, lane splitting is just part of the traffic culture. I'm not totally sure if it's legal in Mexico but I see a line of motorbikes pass me. A food delivery guy with a insulated backpack, a family of four (two adults and two children... none of them with helmets), two young hooligans on ratted out bikes with loud exhaust pipes AND two motorcycle cops! Good enough for me. Years of riding in Kathmandu has honed my skills of maneuvering in chaotic traffic on a motorbike. But Tiggrr is a big bike with a big butt and it is not as agile as the little 150cc bikes I see here. I have to get some airflow going or I'm going to slowly steam to death so I think, what's the worst that can happen? I edge out to follow the two motorcycle cops who are slicing through the traffic with amazing ease. I'm a little nervous at first but within a few minutes I'm starting to feel the rhythm of it. I notice that the traffic actually gives way a little for motorcycles. I've got at least three inches beyond the tips of my handle bars. Plenty of room! When the traffic starts to move a little I can easily fall into one lane or another and when it stops, I edge out between lanes and continue on my way. Nobody honks at me or really gives me a seconds look. It takes me about an hour of lane splitting to finally reach the south side of Guadalajara where the traffic starts to roll normally again. The rain never really materialized. Just sprinkles. I'm headed for Mexico City tomorrow and then I'm going to take a day off the bike to explore. Mexico City is the 5th largest city ON EARTH with nearly 25 million people! I'll wear my GoPro tomorrow and see if I can give you a taste of this experience. I'm staying the night in a small town a little south of Guadalajara called Ocotlan. After checking into a basic (read budget) hotel and decompressing for bit, I walked down to the central square to enjoy some people watching and dinner.