¡Baja, te amo!
November 17th, 2009 | Filed under: Motorcycles, Ride Reports, Travel | RSS Feed

At long last I’ve finally managed to bust my Baja cherry! Just last week I spent a total of nine days on the road alone, riding from San Francisco down to the northern half of Baja California in Mexico and have to say that it was easily one of the best trips I’ve ever taken. Mexico was gorgeous, the weather nearly perfect the whole time and of course everyone I met on the road was super cool, gringos and Mexicans alike. As with all good ride reports this one contains stories of great roads, adventure by way of near disaster/failure, some run-ins with law enforcement and plenty of food, beer and fun to keep y’all entertained (I hope). Read on and I think you’ll understand my new found love for Baja California.

Day 1, Friday November 6th: San Francisco to Ojai (390 miles)
It all started in San Francisco as I was departing from my girlfriend’s house, bound for SoCal. The plan for the day was to head south along the coast until Santa Cruz, then use 101 to get to the Carrizo Plain before dropping into Ojai from the north. While I had rain gear at the ready I was hoping not to use it and oddly enough, woke up to a mild drizzle going on, but by the end of sippin’ my pre-departure coffee and loading the bike it had stopped. KTM flight 950 bound for Baja was ready for departure!

Loaded up and ready to roll

Part of my trip preparation involved blingin’ out my ride with stickers, +10hp!

I left San Francisco and as planned took Highway 1 down the coast to Santa Cruz and beyond, enjoying an easy cruise over familiar territory. I stopped in Castroville for a quick break and a coffee before heading inland a bit to get on Highway 101 south. I opted for 101 as I had a fair number of miles to cover and taking Highway 1 all the way just wasn’t going to cut it, besides, the Carrizo Plain was on my mind and so off I went. The ride down 101 was relatively boring, but then I turned east on Highway 58 and found myself for the most part alone, riding along with a smile on face.

Heading east on Highway 58, I rode the whole way and only saw two other cars, nice!

After rolling down Highway 58 for a while I soon came to my destination turn-off, Soda Lake Road heading south through the Carrizo Plain. For the first stretch the road was paved with a few dirt excursions for things like a view point and my stunted visit to the Painted Rocks. I road the mile or so of dirt road out to where folks park their vehicles and then make the hike out to see the pictographs, but I couldn’t be bothered with the walk, call me lazy. I climbed back on my bike and continued south, soon enough the road turned to dirt, really an easy graded dirt road, but I had fun blasting along with a big ol’ grin on my face.

Entering the Carrizo Plain

Panoramic view of Soda Lake, still bone dry from the summer (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

Ah yes, a sign of good times ahead!

For sure I approve!

I had a great time blasting down roads like this for a fair stretch (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

After reaching the southern end of the Carrizo Plain I turned south on Highway 33 which would take me through the Los Padres National Forest and into Ojai. The first piece of business was to get some gas as my calculations said I had roughly 50 miles left in the tank, and I rode past a sign saying “Next Gas 50 miles”, which would have been in Ojai itself. To be safe I flipped the bike around and returned to the last gas station and found a not so nice surprise. The gas pump had a funny little sign on it, it said “Out of order”! I inquired as to the state of the pump and after some haggling secured two gallons of premium from the owner, more than enough to ensure a safe arrival in Ojai. Up and over the hills I went enjoying a fantastic road (seriously y’all, check it out some time!), along the way I was treated to a gorgeous sunset as I dropped into Ojai, bringing my first day of riding to an end.

Last gas for 50 miles, pump out of order…

The setting sun baked everything in a gorgeous late-day glow, simply incredible.

I spent the night at the Ojai Rancho Inn, but only after a long night tipping beers and eating a delicious shepherd’s pie at the Village Jester. All in all it was a great first day and I staggered back to my hotel room for a solid night’s sleep.

Day 2, Saturday November 7th: Ojai to La Mesa (245 miles)
I woke up a bit later than expected Saturday morning, but given the beer count from the night before I was just happy to not be hung over. I took a shower, packed up my gear and headed out of Ojai, the first stop of the day being Riverside for lunch with my friend Paul. I left Ojai heading east on Highways 150 and 126, I eventually hit I-5 just north of Magic Mountain, and almost immediately I felt an allergic reaction to the SoCal traffic. I quickly bailed out off I-5 and stopped for a quick posing session at Starbucks, naturally!

Loaded and ready for departure from Ojai

Panoramic view over the Ojai Valley (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

Heading east from Ojai on Highway 150

Posing at Starbucks in Santa Clarita

After a coffee and topping up on fuel in Santa Clarita I skirted the LA area and made my way to Riverside where I met my friend Paul who claimed to know of an awesome Mexican joint called Tio’s. I met up with him and we had lunch, he wasn’t kidding, Tio’s was the bomb! I had a delicious plate of carne asada and a nice cold Dos Equis to wash it down (I don’t always drink beer, but when I do I prefer Dos Equis – lol!).

Paul at Tio’s in Riverside

Oh how tasty that carne asada plate was… yum!

Tio’s was a weird overgrown junk-art installation type affair

I hung out with Paul for a nice long lunch, taking my time to eat the great food and chat with him a bit afterwards. But soon enough the need to move on came over me and so I bid Paul goodbye and left Riverside by making my way south on Highways 215 and then 15. The day’s destination was La Mesa east of San Diego where I was to stay for one night before crossing into Mexico. My stay in La Mesa would not be suffered alone as Keith, a long-time friend from Sonoma who now works in SoCal quite a bit, met me in town to hang out for the night. We met up at the hotel (the ever so deluxe Days Inn La Mesa) and after cleaning up went out for some Thai food and a night out having a few drinks. We hit up a few bars, spending the bulk of our time at a joint called Effin’s which proved to be quite the spot, it’s apparently popular with the local college crowd and that soon enough had us feeling like quite the “old guys” – lol.

Keith is all smiles after Thai food and beer…

I apparently need more beer… lol

Keith and I spent the evening talking shit, getting drunk and having fun. I happily note that while he clearly beat me at darts, I managed to beat him at the punching strength game machine despite him having two attempts compared to my one. Hey Keith, you hit like a sissy! lol We were out a bit later than I had expected, but worries that’s the easy living you can afford when you have no schedule to live by on vacation, nice.

Day 3, Sunday November 8th: La Mesa to San Felipe (250 miles)
I woke up Sunday morning and was more excited than usual, the day to finally hit Mexico was upon me! Keith and I had breakfast in La Mesa at the shitty IHOP like Omelette Factory. Regardless the coffee was hot and the food serviceable, so there wasn’t too much to complain about. Keith and I parted ways after eating and I made my way down to Tecate in order to cross into Mexico. The ride out was nice as it’s a fun and twisty bit of road along Highway 94 and there were a lot of bikes out in the morning. Most of those folks cruise right past the turnoff for Highway 188 to Tecate, but not me, I swung right and soon rode to the border! The border crossing was entirely uneventful as there was no line whatsoever and I was waived straight through without ever even having to put my feet down.

¡Bienvenidos a Mexico!

I stopped in Tecate briefly to handle a few necessary items, not the least of which was to get some pesos. Once I had things sorted I hit the road taking Highway 2 east towards Mexicali. Soon after leaving town the highway actually splits in two parts, the older rougher road that’s free or the newer and much nicer toll road, I opted for the free route as I assume it would be less “sterile” actually taking me through towns and whatnot. Well, that couldn’t last forever as there comes a point where only the toll highway exists winding up and over some mountains. I ponied up the toll (something like 20 pesos or so, about $1.50) and then blasted along the windy but well maintained road having a blast. Along the way I stopped at a scenic overlook to take in the view (see the panoramic image below), what caught my attention was a black truck with three guys hanging about, the truck was blaring Mexican music at an ungodly volume. The three guys were chugging beers and I figured that wasn’t going anywhere good and wanted to get clear of the place before they resumed any driving. I hit the road and sped on my way, continuing east towards Mexicali.

An incredible view along Highway 2 east of Mexicali (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

After coming down out of the mountain pass I soon passed by a tempting treat, one I probably should have at least given a go, and that’s an entry point into the northern end of Laguna Salada, a massive dry lake bed with loads of tracks heading out. Wanting to keep moving, I rode past and soon turned south on Highway 5 with San Felipe in my sights!

Heading south in Mexico’s Highway 5

Lots and lots of sand along Highway 5… Lots!

Awww yeah, San Felipe coming up!

Once in San Felipe I quickly found my way to the main strip along the waterfront and in specific to the Costa Azul hotel. The Costa Azul is a nice beach front joint and with so few people in town I was able to haggle for a decent room rate for the night. I secured a room, unloaded my gear off the bike, cleaned up a bit and then went out for a stroll. I soon found out that I was in town in time to enjoy the “Festival de Camaron”, or the “Shrimp Festival”. What that meant was a night full of music (live bands on stage) and a street full of vendors selling everything you can imagine. I grabbed a seat at a beachside restaurant and stuffed my belly full of tacos (fish, chicken and pork!) and beer. After dinner I spent the night strolling the waterfront, taking in the bands, music and scene in general having a good time chatting with locals and the very few other tourists that seemed to be in town (it was kind of cool to have it be such a heavily local event!).

A panoramic view from my hotel room balcony (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

Tecate and tacos, god it was delicious!

Something about this lone boat on the beach caught my eye

The stage along the waterfront where bands played throughout the night

After my night out on the waterfront I made my way back to my hotel room where I crashed out for the night. I’d only spent one day in Baja and so far it had been great, I knew that so much more was yet to come!

Day 4, Monday November 9th: San Felipe to Gonzaga Bay (115 miles)
Despite being out a bit late the night before I was up relatively early and found myself out and about for a walk along the waterfront. It was quite a change from the night before as the booths, stage and whatnot were all still up and waiting for use, but the masses of people weren’t there. I walked along the beach until I found a restaurant open and serving breakfast, I grabbed a seat and ate a tasty plate of huevos rancheros while taking in the view.

I think it’s clear that this boat is for the birds…

What would become a daily routine, huevos rancheros with a dash of coffee (often times really just Nescafe)

Looking back down along the San Felipe waterfront

After breakfast I refilled my Camelbak with water, packed up my gear and took off, the destination for the day being not just Gonzaga Bay, but my first serious dose of Baja off-road fun! I left San Felipe heading south on Highway 5, the pavement lasting until just after Puertecitos, roughly 50-60 miles to the south. What was funny is that despite being on a “main” highway, there were periodic “dips” in the road that were incredibly sever/deep at times. During the day it was easy to spot them which allowed me time to slow down then hit the gas hard on the up-side jumping my KTM a bit (a tiny bit!), spinning up the rear wheel and generally causing minor mayhem – w00t! Of course the paved ride was also another chance to realize that in Mexico traffic laws are rough guidelines at best, double yellow lines mean little and speed limits mean nothing. Lawless on the road in Mexico, perfect!

Beach and water on the left, miles of sand on the right, heading south on Mexico’s Highway 5 leaving San Felipe

I tried stopping in Puertecitos for a snack and some photos, but failed. How is that? I pulled into the coastal town and happily saw a sign that said the resort/restaurant was open. Upon pulling in and coming to a stop I was quickly approached by this woman who (in Spanish, I was rockin’ my Spanish all week long!) promptly informed me that the restaurant was closed. She directed me on to some other restaurant another stretch down the road (I passed on it, thanks), but surprised me again by denying my request to take a quick photo as that simply wasn’t permitted. Ummmmm, ok… what could I say. With a smile I put my helmet back on, rode outside the restaurant grounds and up the hill to another spot and took a photo there anyway.

Following that I made my way back onto the highway but quickly started coming upon construction crews. I’d heard that they were extending the road south so I knew that the construction meant dirt was soon to follow and sure enough that proved true, but not without some trouble. Unfortunately I repeatedly suffered from a bit of misdirection, I’d ride in the dirt past the construction crews only to find the road come to a dead end, then backtrack to find I’d missed a turnout hidden behind some large piece of construction equipment (dozer, truck, whatever). What made it worse is that because I’d occasionally wind up on “new road” nothing matched up to the GPS map I had loaded onto my Garmin, doh. Luckily there were a few of us, me on a motorcycle and a few other cars, all headed south so we helped keep each other on track by pointing out the way and using each other as guides of a sort.

I paused for my first water-side photo op not a few miles after hitting the dirt (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

Miles and miles later… and yes, that island is covered in bird poop (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

Once past the mountains the road was rocky and rough, but was generally easy enough to move along quickly

One thing I found odd was that all along the way I’d be riding in the middle of nowhere, miles since the last sign of civilization, and all of a sudden there would be a road breaking off to the side that would lead out to some house! I kept thinking “damn, folks live way out here?!” What I also rode past every once in a while would be abandoned buildings and odd little shacks, each time left me wondering why the heck someone built those houses/stores/restaurants/whatever in the first place, but oh well they made for places to grab a rest in the shade or take a few photos.

I rolled past what should at some point become my new home

And decided to take a self-portrait while there

The dirt road offered a variety of surfaces, from hard pack to loose rock to plenty of soft sand, and while it started in the hills with lots of climbs/descents, it eventually flattened out for the most part with occasional “vados” (dips/gullies) along the way. As time wore on I found myself getting into a groove and I was eventually blasting down the road at 60+ mph, getting more and more comfortable with the loose dirt and soft sand. But each time I did that I’d soon come across patches of deeper sand that would remind me I was riding alone and that I wasn’t all that comfortable with deep soft stuff, so I’d reel it back in a bit to keep myself in check. Through it all I rode with a big shit eating grin as I was having a total blast riding hard and dirty.

At one point one of the “traveling buddy” cars was stopped ahead of me, it was an elderly couple that had been nice all along the way. They waved me down to let me know that the turnoff for Gonzaga Bay as about 15 miles ahead, they were peeling off as they owned one of those homes in the middle of nowhere! I thanked them for the help and guidance and sped off on my own, knowing that Gonzaga Bay wasn’t far off!

As promised the turnoff to Gonzaga Bay appeared, offering this approach view (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

I pulled into Alfonsina’s and found the place a bit of a ghost town, nobody was around. I eventually found three guys sitting towards the beach side and asked them if this was in fact Alfonsina’s and he said yes. I asked if any rooms were available and he kind of snickered, at that point I was in fact the only guest for the night. Hah! Knowing that I haggled with him for a good room rate and then he quickly offered up a cold beer, I parked it on the patio and proceeded to drink three beers, I’d earned them!

The lovely, and on this day all but empty Bahia de Gonzaga (Gonzaga Bay) (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

A nice cold Pacifico

While looking at the stickers I found some SF local love…

Then later at night I found more!

While I’d arrived as the only guest for the night that didn’t last long as we were soon joined by two Mexican guys arriving in the area for work (fishing). They’d been a part of the caravan of vehicles I rode with (although I easily arrived first, clearly) and it was my first chance to just sit and chat with someone using my Spanish. We mumbled through things well enough and my Spanish was better than I’d expected, despite the fact we were steadily knocking back beer. After them another two cars from the tail of our caravan, one a Jeep the other a truck towing two SeaDoo like skis, arrived, although they arrived much later and a lot more beat up. It turns out they were a father, his sons and a friend of the family all there from San Luis Obispo. By night’s end another four people arrived, a pair of women from Ontario as well as another couple from the USA.

I hung out chatting with crew from SLO (owners of Ciopinot), they did some fishing getting a bite and some snags within a few casts! In the end we wound up eating dinner together (a feast of camarones al ajillo and some fried fish special, “chef’s choice”), sipping off a bottle of tequila while drinking beer and eventually playing some poker – I won $40! But at 9pm the generator was shut off, and the place went dark and we all took in the incredible starry night sky before heading off to our respective rooms for the night. I wish it would have been a peaceful sleep though as we were all woken up at 0-dark-thirty by a bunch of coyotes out front yippin’ and yowlin’ for way too long. Ah well, “that damn wildlife!” – lol.

The San Luis Obispo crew (dad in the orange, his sons in the dark shirts, family friend at right in the white)

Day 5, Tuesday November 10th: Gonzaga Bay to El Rosario de Arriba (145 miles)
Without any alarm clock or other prompting I found myself waking up and getting out of bed before 6am and in doing so I was greeted by an absolutely gorgeous morning sunrise over the bay. What made it even better was the fact that among the whopping nine of us there, only three of us were even up and those two went on a walk to the other end of the beach. My point? I woke up and got to slowly take in the sunrise on a gorgeous beach, alone and in peace. Damn it was nice…

The sun coming up over Bahia de Gonzaga

Panoramic shot from the beach looking back at Alfonsina’s (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

A normal shot of Alfonsina’s, the open (black) door on the upper floor towards the right is mine

Around 7am the kitchen started rumbling to life with coffee being the first item prepared, something we all were all too glad to get our hands on. Soon after that they took everyone’s breakfast orders and in no time flat food was rolling out. Once again I’d ordered huevos rancheros and it was delicious.

Huevos rancheros, the “potatoes” served were really just fries, but they were crispy and good

After breakfast I slowly gathered my stuff together so I could hit the road. For the first time on the trip I needed to pull a fuse on my bike, it’s one that by design allows me to use lower octane fuel in the bike, and that was needed as down south there just wasn’t any premium gas to be found. I got that sorted, packed up, and then loaded the bike so I could hit the road. I made a pit stop at the Pemex right there to top off the tanks and then turned south heading out towards Highway 1, but along the way I’d make a stop at the legendary Coco’s Corner.

The road heading south away from Bahia de Gonzaga

Panoramic view along the road heading away from Bahia de Gonzaga (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

The ride out was generally fast and I had a lot of fun scootin’ along in the dirt, taking in as much of the scenery as I could. Soon enough I was coming upon an intersection, one that I knew was the home of Coco’s Corner, a legendary stop for Baja off-roaders. As I pulled off my helmet I could hear someone, he sounded old and gruff, yelling something, I think in Spanish. I walked on in and saw Coco and his helper standing off by a truck and I strolled over. Coco has now lost both of his legs below the knees but he seems tough as nails none the less. After some pleasantries I was offered a cold drink, I happily opted for a beer (I hear he’ll mock you if you don’t – hah!). We moved to a shaded area (me by walking, Coco gets around on a small ATV) and I sipped my beer and chatted with Coco in a mixture of Spanish and English (mostly ’cause I kept pushing the Spanish side, his English is fine).

What was funny was that while talking I mentioned having passed by a folding table a few miles back. The table looked in perfect shape and was out in the middle of nowhere and I’d seen no one since I’d left Bahia de Gonzaga. When I mentioned it Coco lit up a bit, he asked me a number of questions so he could sort out just how far away it was. When he convinced himself it wasn’t that far away he asked me to watch the place so he and his helper could go get it! I was offered a second beer and off they went while I sat in the shade sipping on a second cold can of Pacifico. They quickly returned and he was all smiles, when I asked how much I owed he offered that second beer for free, I happily paid for it and left the man a tip. He appreciated that, and he seemed to enjoy the new table!

A nice cold can of Pacifico at Coco’s Corner, a perfect late morning beverage

Coco’s Corner

The cans on the fence at Coco’s Corner

Eventually I said my goodbyes and hit the road, continuing on my way out to Highway 1. Much like the day before my confidence was growing and the road was a fun romp covered in what seemed like no time flat. I’d not only reached the southernmost point on my route, but I’d done so at exactly the mid-way point of my trip (4.5 days into a 9 day trip). I turned right and began heading north on Highway 1, the cacti were cool as hell and the road was generally fast and smooth. I rode Highway 1 until I found my way into El Rosario de Arriba, pulling into the Baja Cactus Hotel where I’d stay for the night.

What I found odd about things like Highway 1, a main route in Mexico, were the speed limits and the lack of concern for them. At times the speed limit would drop to ridiculously low numbers like 40kph (24mph)! All while people seemingly ignored them entirely, I was rolling along at something like 75mph passing most but with others passing me.

Heading north on Highway 1

The Baja Cactus Hotel, a really nice place to stay!

Luckily enough the Baja Cactus is right next door to Mama Espinoza’s, another Baja institution to go along with Coco’s Corner. I had arrived in town early and ate a lunch lunch, then my dinner that night as well as breakfast the next day all at Mama Espinoza’s. Each meal was delicious as hell, and of course I had the huevos rancheros for breakfast.

Panoramic shot of Mama Espinoza’s in El Rosario de Arriba (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

At Mama Espinoza’s I changed up from drinking beer and opted for margaritas instead. I knocked back a few, chatting with a few other riders that were there having dinner (a couple of Harley riding Mexicans). After dinner I bought a few cans of beer (Tecate if you’d like to know) and retired to my room to flip through my photos and such, managing to catch a buzz and drift off to an early sleep (9:30pm ish).

Day 6, Wednesday November 11th: El Rosario de Arriba to Eréndria (150 miles)
Once again I was up relatively early and found myself packing my gear and getting ready to roll while enjoying a hilarious bit of TV, an original episode of 90210 that had been dubbed over in Spanish, quite entertaining! After packing up my gear and another dose of huevos rancheros at Mama Espinoza’s I topped off the tanks at Pemex and hit the road. My first destination for the day was going to be Punta Baja, a small fishing village at the end of a dirt road, it would be on the order of about 30 miles or so round trip.

My KTM sitting on the Pacific coast for the first time this trip, this is just outside Punta Baja

Panoramic shot of the road heading back towards El Rosario (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

After getting back to El Rosario I once again turned north on Highway 1, the day’s destination was Eréndria but the hope was to take the highway part way, then peel off and use coastal dirt to complete the journey. My first attempt to meet that goal was quickly dashed as I’d pulled off the highway in Camalu as my maps showed a route from there all the way up the coast to Eréndria, but unfortunately that road soon hit private property and so I turned around and went back to the highway to hatch plan B. I wasn’t going to give up on the off-road plan and another 10 miles or so up the highway I found another turn off which proved more fruitful. I sped along the graded dirt road but soon found myself approaching a dead end at another coastal village with no passage onward. What was I to do? Inquire with a local, that’s what!

I came across a guy in his truck and stopped to ask him for help in finding Eréndria, his answer was curious but effective! I had apparently missed a turn somewhere, but instead of going back I was told to ride along a nearby fence, and to do that until it reached another fence which would force me to the left. I was then to follow that fence until it hit yet another fence at which point there would be a gate, and on the other side of the gate would be the road I needed to take. Happy with my new direction off I went as instructed. The path along the fence line was interested, it went from hard dirt to soft sand, then I was surprised by the fact that it suddenly dropped off into, then back out of a creek bed (steep drops on both sides), but it was all quite manageable and I enjoyed the “where the hell am I going?” feel of it all.

Along the first fence, down and out of the creek bed and now out there somewhere was the next fence

I’d come from somewhere out there

I rode along as instructed and sure enough I eventually found the gate in question and the road I needed, as promised, lay just the other side of it. But something else was there waiting for me not 100 yards up the road was three truckloads of military guys carrying a variety of automatic weapons and whatnot, all of whom took immediate interest in the lone motorcyclist popping out of nowhere along the fence line. Before I had the gate closed and had remounted my bike three guys were approaching me and I was waved down and stopped for a nice thorough search of my gear. What I found funny was the questions I was asked, notably when I wiped some sweat from my brow I was specifically asked if I was nervous. Umm, no bro, it’s hot, I’m in full riding gear and I’m sweating, but that’s cool. Oh well, they’re out there checking for drug/gun runners and I had nothing to hide so I let them sift through my gear until they were happy and on I rode when done.

Funny add-on: I had my helmet camera on and running through it all and soon after being stopped I had the presence of mind to ask if it was cool to remove my helmet, my real motive being to put it on my mirror facing backwards to get a better recording of the search!

Me and the local military patrol getting to know each other

The military guys all appeared twelve years old, but they kept a nice stern appearance and hard looks until I passed muster, then they were super friendly and smiled, assuring me the road ahead did in fact reach Eréndria, but none of them knew exactly how far it was. I mounted up and rode on, the road slowly deteriorated from a graded dirt road, to a rough and rutted road, to sand, loose dirt, climbs/drops, gullies and lots and lots of uneven tough riding. I plowed through it all with a smile but soon found myself (my out of shape self) getting tired and out of breath, and despite knowing that a rest was likely a good idea I pushed on, almost too far. I came upon a moderately steep climb, one with lots of rough rocks and loose scrabble to climb over and as I gassed it to climb on up the front hit a rock, I let my body weight move too far back and all of a sudden the front is lifting and bouncing all over the place. Pucker up, hang on and sort shit out time! I managed to avoid looping the bike or even putting it on its side, but the message was clear: take a break, sip some water, catch your breath. Luckily while doing that I managed to snap what has turned out to be my favorite photo of the whole trip, nice.

This is where the road is in great shape, from here it deteriorates to a rough and uneven jeep trail

Lots and lots of gates to pass through, each one needed to be opened and then closed behind me

After my near loop event I paused to catch my breath, I was hot and winded, the break was welcomed

While paused for a rest I snapped this gorgeous (to me) photo, this is what it’s all about!

After a nice rest I mounted back up and pushed on, a few miles on the road began to improve again until to my joy I began seeing little orange sign thingies with arrows. Those in the know might already realize what I’m referring to and that’s the Baja 1000 course markers! I was riding in the direction that pre-runners would be going but I kept a constant eye in the mirror as I really didn’t want a desert runner or trophy truck to come crawling up my ass, bad for me and of course for them!

Baja 1000 racers go this way! And yes, I looked way up road before stopping in the middle for a photo…

After meeting up with the race course I followed it along and it soon wound it’s way out to the coast. I wandered up the coast, taking side roads here and there, dipping inland and back, generally having a great time. The coast was gorgeous in contrast to the gulf side as here there was surf to be seen and what’s more is that I finally spotted my first Baja 1000 pre-runner! It was a desert runner/dune buggy type vehicle that came up from behind me (I saw it well in advanced and moved over) and blasted past me like a bat out of hell. It was insane to see just how fast that guy was moving along in comparison to my own speeds, and so my appreciation for the balls those folks have swelled to new heights – they’re nuts!

My KTM taking in the salty sea air and the view

After enjoying the calm gulf waters it was nice to hear and see some pounding surf again

I’d been riding all day and the last meal I’d had was breakfast way back in El Rosario, I was getting tired and my stomach was grumbling for food so I soon found myself pushing on with a bit of “let’s get there” urgency. That urgency only proved frustrating as my maps (paper and GPS) once again weren’t matching the reality of the roads on the coast as I was moving through some recently establish farm territory. After poking down a road or two here or there I had things sorted and in the distance I could see a large concrete pad for a soon-to-be-built building, and atop that pad I could see a crowd of people, two grills with smoke coming out of them and a KTM dirt bike. How interesting…

As I neared the group one guy, an American, came walking out towards me and waved me on over. As I pulled up to them he walked up and asked me “You hungry”, and the only answer I had to offer was “I’m fucking starving”. Here is where these guys turned from random strangers to utter and complete angels: not only did they proceed to feed me grilled fish and grilled steak, with fresh avocado and warmed tortillas, but they proceeded to offer me copious amounts of beer all topped off by an offer to crash at their house along the coast (one I’d just passed by a few minutes earlier)! What turned out even cooler is that the American is a lurker on Adventure Rider, he uses the screen name of beezergeezer and he’s a long time rider, former racer and an all around great guy. They were all cool as can be and it made for an awesome way to end a long and great day of riding, sipping beer in a comfy coastal house knowing I had a nice bed to crash in.

The extremely nice and generous guys that took me in for the night (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

Day 7, Thursday November 12th: Eréndria to Eréndria (200 miles)
I woke up earlier this day than any other, not just because it was another early night the evening before but also because the guys I was staying with were all up and chatting by 5:30am as they had a few hundred acres of crops to check in on first thing. We were all up together, sipping coffee and whatnot, but they were getting ready to roll out and do the morning rounds while I was ready to consult some maps and ponder the coming day’s ride. They left me at the house while they did their rounds for a few hours giving me a chance to sort out my plan for the day and to get myself ready, slowly, for my eventual departure.

Talk about a nice way to start your day, this view and a hot cup of coffee, bliss

A panoramic shot of the beach house I stayed in, not a bad little shack eh? (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

Once the guys came back a few of them had to turn and burn as they needed to drive to Mexicali (where their other farms are) for some afternoon meetings. I took that as my cue to load up and move on, I was headed off to Mike’s Sky Ranch and was quite excited to get going. We said our goodbyes, exchanged email addresses and whatnot and off I went. I rode into Eréndria then out to Highway 1 where this time I turned south, eventually covering the same highway near Calamu I’d been on the day before. Along the way some hunger kicked in and I rode by a “loncheria” that said they were open for breakfast, naturally I pulled up and asked about some huevos rancheros!

Another delicious dose of huevos rancheros for breakfast

And those huevos were served up hot and delicious from “el trailero”

With my belly full and topped off with coffee I continued south looking for the turnoff for San Pedro Mártir. Unfortunately my GPS once again led me astray as I turned off earlier than I should have and was soon wandering about some farm land knowing that things weren’t right. Luckily the locals were once again friendly and they quickly set me on the right path and I found the proper road and began having fun riding up and into the mountains with my eyes peeled for the dirt road peeling off the left that would take me by Rancho Coyote and then on to Mike’s Sky Ranch.

The road in was a nice twisty road with great sweeping corners, too bad they were covering it in chip seal

I rode in for a while and soon enough came to the turnoff I’d been looking for, I rode past a gawking road crew and headed into the dirt with that buzz of excitement knowing that the day’s adventure lay just ahead. The road in started off as an easy graded dirt road, then it slowly worsened as it became rutted, threw up stretches of sand and rocky climbs, but the sand, dirty, whoops, climbs and descents were all to be expected and I was having fun, until…

The ride into Mike’s Sky Ranch from the south, this picture was taken a few miles past Rancho Coyote

The road had thrown a variety of terrain at me including a few relatively steep climbs with loose rocks, but none of it was close to stopping me and all of it was proving fun. Eventually I came to one climb that started off as manageable but as I pushed on it continued to get steeper while also turning more and more to loose rock. At this point a combination of my large bike and need for more riding skills became a problem, in the middle of a steep section I lost my momentum and then stalled my bike. Ugh, not good, not in the middle of a climb! For a good 45 minutes I tried to get moving again but only found myself repeatedly spinning up the rear tire digging it in, or I would get moving (slowly) and then manage to lose traction again and/or stall out.

It took a while but eventually my spirit waned, I was become extremely worn out and tired from all the effort, I’d spent almost an hour and only moved a dozen yards with lots more to go and I had no clue if it was the same, better or worse up ahead. What’s more is that I was pointed up the hill and it had been a long climb already, and I didn’t fancy the idea of trying to back my way down, so I began the task of getting myself turned around – not an easy feat. The path/road was narrow, barely the width of my bike turned sideways, and the grade was steep so I feared tipping over to the downhill side. Eventually I got myself turned around (yay) and began the shameful task of heading back out the way I came (boo).

The start of the climb that beat me, ugh

After I got myself down and out I rode back towards Rancho Coyote where I took a break to consider my options. By that time in the day it would be nearly impossible to make it all the way around to enter Mike’s from the north and I was bummed out to say the least. I decided that I’d get back to Highway 1 and start moving north and let the final decision come to me on the road. As I was riding out I had an interesting wildlife experience as I came across a coyote walking the other way, the lil’ bugger was simply not afraid of me at all. I sat there stopped watching this guy as he just kept walking right towards me, finally stopping something like 20-30 feet away in order to begin a stare down. Perhaps the coyote smelled me out as fresh and weak meat? The shame was strong at that point, anything along those lines seemed to make sense…

A self-portrait that should clearly demonstrate the mood I was in at this point

Let the stare down begin!

I made my way back out to Highway 1, riding a bit faster than I should have in the faint hopes I might still make it to Mike’s from the north. I rode hard heading north but by the time I reached the turn off to go back to Eréndria I knew that it just wasn’t going to happen, at least not without riding the dirt road into Mike’s at night. Riding at night, let alone off-road at night, just wasn’t going to happen and so I decided to head back to Eréndria and stay where I was supposed to have been the night before, at Coyote Cal’s. I rode into Eréndria and then to Cal’s, only to find out that I was, and for the night would be, the only person staying there besides the two young folks living/working there. I opted to stay in my tent that night and after setting up camp I rode back into town to fill my belly with food. The recommendation was to eat at Vannia’s Cocina Familiar and they were right, the food was outstanding! I shoveled down my dinner with glee and then rode back to Cal’s where I wiled away the night in their cantina drinking beer and chatting with the two “kids” (mid-20′s) that worked there. With my buzz on I crawled out and into my tent for the night, once again falling into a deep and needed sleep. My ego was bruised and needed the alone time to recover – lol.

All alone at Coyote Cal’s in Eréndria

I’m back to smiling after a delicious dinner at Vannia’s Cocina Familiar

FYI, this place offers absolutely delicious eats, it’s not to be missed!

The cantina where I washed down my “sorrows” with cold beer

Day 8, Friday November 13th: Eréndria to Tecate (190 miles)
I woke up to the sounds of seals barking and the surf breaking on the rocks, such a nice way to start the day. I slowly made my way out of my tent and began the task of packing everything back up and onto the bike once again. Unfortunately this day had an extra bit of sour twinge to it as I also woke up to the realization that this was to be my last full day in Mexico – booooo!

Another bitchin’ morning view to start the day

I hit up a corner market to top off on water before once again heading back out to Highway 1 where I turned north bound for Ensenada. The drive started off quite nice, rolling through pastoral farm/ranch land, riding by an occasional winery, etc. But that didn’t last forever as I was quickly approaching Ensenada and the surrounding area where I began to find myself in busy, crowded traffic and I wasn’t liking it much at all. In fact, I was so not enjoying it that I did my best to get into and out of the area as fast as possible, getting on to Highway 3 heading east towards Ojos Negros where I hoped to find some dirt that would take me north all the way to Tecate.

Heading north on Highway 1 past a winery (on the right)

Once I past through Ensenada I finally started to see some real signs of the coming Baja 1000 race as there were a number of trucks loaded up with motorcycles, trophy trucks and desert runners all making their way out to Ojos Negros (the place where outbound pre-running could begin). I followed along checking out their rigs and vehicles, getting and offering lots of thumbs up along the way. The turnoff to Ojos Negros also happened to be right at a military checkpoint and while the trucks and their gear were getting inspected I was waved through, I rode on another few miles down Highway 3 before turning off in the dirt bound for Rancho San Faustino somewhere half way between Highway 3 and Tecate. Once again the road started off as a nice graded road with a great surface (lots of traction and thus lots of speed!), but this time it stayed in good shape the whole way, the only variation being the occasional stretches of road covered in a bit of shallow sand, or the odd wash that had sand that was a bit deeper. All the way though I was having fun hard on the gas, blasting through remote territory with another shit eating grin on my face.

Somewhere south of Rancho San Faustino along a typical stretch of road

As I’d been told by Luckett (Chris) on BARF, there were pine trees to be seen as well

Along the way I did have one interesting diversion and that was a religious shrine (a small “temple” to the virgin Mary) that I came upon by surprise. I was cruising along enjoying the ride when above me to the right rose a small rocky peak and atop it I saw this small building. I couldn’t tell if it was a weather station or what so I looped around the back side and rode, then climbed on up to it. When I did I finally saw that it was a religious shrine so with respect I took a few photos and then marveled at the incredible views that were to be had!

Out in the middle of nowhere I spotted this structure

And it turned out to be a religious shrine

With incredible views like this looking north – the direction I was headed (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

As well as incredible views like this looking south – the way I’d come (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

After my photo op at the shrine I threw my leg back over and kept on riding, I’d decided that upon reaching Rancho Faustino I’d be roughly half way through the day’s dirt ride and so that would make for my next resting point. As I had all day I rode hard and fast along the road as it was in great shape and it kept a nice smile on my face, but unfortunately riding fast means the time spent is less and all too soon I found myself riding past Rancho Faustino where I stuck to my plan and again pulled over to sip on some water and take a few more gorgeous pics (the terrain was too much, it was beautiful in every direction).

The road continues north

A panoramic view of the valley floor through which I was riding (click the image to view a high-resolution version)

And I figured it was time to pose up for another self-portrait

After a good 15-20 minute break the desire to ride overcame me and so I moved on, quickly forgetting the speed lesson I’d just learned. According to my GPS I had roughly 30-35 miles to go before the dirt would end at Highway 2, and yet I was happily charging along at 60+ mph meaning I’d hit pavement all too soon. Oh well, the fun factor was way too freakin’ high and so on I rolled, feeling as confident as ever with the sandy bits that would appear, finding myself trying to jump (lol) off anything that offered a mild chance at getting air (never much) and having a blast trying to spin up the rear whenever I could. It had been an awesome week and I knew this was my last stretch off-road so I made the most of it!

Somewhere out there the last off-road stretch of my trip comes to an end, boohoo

Sure enough I reached the highway in no time flat and soon after that found myself pulling into Rancho Ojai, something like 10-15 miles east of Tecate. The reservation I’d made was for me and one other (Terry who couldn’t make the trip) to camp there, but now I rolled in alone and asked about a cabin. The folks there were super cool, they let me rent an available cabin for a bit less than 1/3 of the normal cost (normally they’re like $60 per night, they gave it to me for the 2-person camping rate of $20 per night)! I happily unpacked my stuff into good ol’ cabin #7 then headed into Tecate as I was starving after not having eaten much all day (no huevos rancheros today!). In Tecate I sat along the main plaza/park area in the middle of town and threw down a delicious torta and knocked back a few Tecates while doing a bit of people watching, a relaxing way to end the day.

Cabin #7 at Rancho Ojai, my room for the night

Awwww yeah, that torta was tasty and the cold beer refreshing

After my torta and beer I rode back out to Rancho Ojai, stopping at a liquor store on the way to grab a few extra cans for the night. I spent my evening texting with folks at home to coordinate my return the next day and to let everyone know I was alive and well. I threw down the three Tecate beers I brought with me quick style and as with many nights before I found myself crashing out early, which was good as I knew that I’d have a looooong day ahead of me tomorrow. For one last time (this trip) I bid Mexico goodnight and went off to the land of nod, snoring like a mofo I’m sure.

Day 9, Saturday November 14th: Tecate to San Francisco (569 miles)
Day number nine, my last day on the road… sniff sniff, boohoo. I was up and moving early, leaving Rancho Ojai by 7:30am as I knew that well over 500 miles lay ahead of me as I planned on legging it all the way back to San Francisco in one day (I wanted the full day Sunday at home before returning to work on Monday). I took Highway 2 back into Tecate and was soon queued up and waiting, like a sucker, at the border crossing. After sitting in the line of cars for a few minutes an older Mexican gent gestured at me that I should go around and cut to the front. I asked, in Spanish, if that was cool to do and he made it clear that it was. So around the line of cars I went and soon up I was next at passport control!

Here’s where things get a little interesting as I had my helmet camera on and recording, the guy checking my passport either didn’t notice or he just didn’t care as we did our business and he waived me forward. As I moved forward I pulled into a fenced in area where they’d get a dozen or so vehicles and then bring out the drug dogs. I was asked to pull my bike over to one side and get off to stand elsewhere, at first it seemed again that nobody cared about my helmet camera. Until one guy got all serious on me and in a stern voice he asked “that thing’s not on is it?”, when I said it was and promptly removed it to put it in my pocket he went on a rant for  bit, threatening to seize my camera and all that. Eventually he stopped and went back to his business while I waited for it all to be over so I could move on.

Soon enough to drug dogs had done their thing and our group of inspected vehicles was allowed to re-enter the USA and be on our way. Shortly after the border crossing I was riding through Barrett Junction and so I paused for some breakfast, a non-huevos rancheros breakfast, at the Barrett Junction Cafe. While there I chatted up some other folks that were in the area for downhill skateboarding, apparently it’s quite the spot for that crowd and they had a crew from AndrenalineTV filming them (funny to watch the camera guy get shots of the breakfast buffet bar – lol).

Barrett Junction Cafe, the buffet was actually quite tasty

After breakfast I began the long, oh so long and boring slog home. First I rode through San Diego, then up through eastern LA and eventually on to <yawn> I-5 which I took all the way to the East Bay. It was a tough choice to make, I really wanted to get home on Saturday and enjoy Sunday in SF before work the next day, but I also loathed the idea of capping off such an incredible ride with a day full of slab work. My desire to cover the 500+ miles as quickly as possible won out and I spent the day droning along in boredom.

I “enjoyed” hours and hours and hours of this sort of lovely (not) view…

As I neared the Bay Area and started working my way through Livermore towards the Bay Bridge I was treated head-on to a gorgeous sunset, then a striking view of the Bay Bridge and SF skyline against a red/orange sky, it was an epic and gorgeous way to re-enter San Francisco. I pulled up to the exact same spot from which I’d departed nine days earlier, without a doubt the smile is still on my face and I doubt it’ll come off any time soon.

Back at home once again!

Nine days and almost 2300 miles of bliss on my motorcycle. My motorcycles are where I go to find my god, to get to my inner soul, to find action and adventure. Baja served all that up in spades, all while also delivering great food, cold beer and tons of super nice people… ¡Baja, te amo!

What now?
Now that I’m back I’m settling back into regular work life but already dreaming of going back. The whole point of this trip was that I was supposed to ride down with my long-time friend Terry but he sadly had to back out only a few weeks before departure. Naturally he’s been bitten by the jealousy bug after hearing my stories and whatnot so I’m hoping that’s enough to convince him to roll down with me some time soon. I’m thinking March or April, and making it a full two weeks so we can ride all the way to Cabo San Lucas and back. Waddya think Terry, we rollin’ or what?

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