drknow

Day 5: San Felipe to Tecate to San Diego The Day 2 route was very long on asphalt, so we decided to modify our route back. Initially, I had wanted to head down via Laguna Diablo, but in the interest of making sure the route was beginner friendly, had decided against it based on info that the trip was a bit rocky and sandy. Further discussions with people in the know convinced me this would be a minor issue, and I asked the others if they would like to go back via a different route that used much less pavement. They were all in, so after a good, very cheap (breakfast special 25 pesos), we headed out. The map we had wasn't very clear on the roads for this route, and I was impressed that everyone in the group was cool with me just sniffing my way along. That's the adventure touring spirit! Shut up J-M! From San Felipe the road cuts through a dump. It seemed an odd place to put a dump, so close to town, with a road through the middle, but what do I know. I was a little concerned that we might pick up nails in our tires, or other sharp, pointy stuff, and wouldn't be surprised if Clayton got his near-miss nail there. Past the dump, the road turns to sand whoops, for a few miles. This pointed out the huge inadequacies of my DRZs suspension. I will be making a trip to Precision concepts for modifying and revalving of the shock and forks. Any speed that would allow me to get into a rhythm of jump-one-wheelie-one wouldn't work, as the bike would heavily bottom both ends and bounce off line. It was torturous to go rocking-horse slow over every single whoop. Once that trail hit the larger, graded dirt road, everything was fine for awhile. We ripped up the road, at a great clip and came to the sign for Arco Del Triunfo, which had a dead cow propped against it. I have searched, and have no idea what that is, maybe a prison? If any of you know, clue me in. The dead cow would suggest it's a wonderful location to visit, but we declined and continued on. Recent heavy rains had washed out a few of the low lying dirt areas, and this made navigation a little difficult, which caused a few detours. One of said detours resulted in the only two crashes of the entire trip. I fell over in a deep sand corner at 5 mph, laughing and trying to get up before everyone noticed my sand nap. Too late, as Zina had a sympathetic crash of her own. All was well. Say what you will about sand, it's nice to crash in. The Dry lake bed of Laguna Diablo was amazing. To the west, you have the Sierra San Pedro mountains, which hit their highest point of 10,154 feet direct west of the south corner of the dry lake. The scenery was impressive: Miles of dry, flat clay and then miles of salt baked over the softer clay-dirt at the base of mountains that jut up 6,000 feet from the lake bed. We made it up to Hwy 3 and headed north. After about 40 miles of pavement (which I'd like to go back to with a sport bike), a gas stop in Valle de la Trinidad, and a warmth-snack stop in the middle of nowhere, we took the dirt path up towards El Hondo. This was another attempt to see new terrain rather than go back through the Parque Nacional and up to El Condor. We had been assured that as dirt roads go, this one was pretty well travelled, and would be easy to navigate. While mostly true, it still had us end up in a tiny village at the gates of a cemetery asking directions of school kids and being taken to their house for their parents to point the main road out. It also had us taking a spur to a ranch that also had a mexican family in a dilapidated car ASKING US if we knew the way to El Hondo. As I was leading and the others in the group were bemused at my lack of perfect navigation, I found comfort in this. The road was fairly smooth, the scenery was varied and beautiful, and it was a perfect final stretch of the trip. Once at the libre portion of Hwy 2, we headed back to Tecate with no issues, other than a car almost taking me out with the patented turn-left-in-front-of-you move. I understand now that we were dumb to wait in line at the border crossing rather than lane split, but we were happy to sit and chat and not make the day end too quickly, even with the sun dipping below the horizen. And that was how I spent my Thanksgiving break. Thanks for your help in planning and set up. Hopefully the group will be bigger next time. We're already planning. dk

Day 4: Gonzaga bay, to Coco's Corner, then back to San Felipe We woke up to a very consistant wind, blowing some 25+ mph south. We later figured out it was what the Santa Anas feel like in Baja, who knew? Originally, we had planned to head to Calamajue and back, but since we were postponed, decided we'd just head down to Coco's corner and tic that off of our been-there-done-that list. Coco was still in the hospital, so none of the girls donated any panties or anything, but it was still fun to look at the place in real life, read some of the grafitti/inscriptions/memorabilia and have a beer. Initially, I though the wind might not be a bad idea, as the dust could be pretty nasty when things were calm and four bikes go rippin through. However, once again I was proved wrong. Due to the almost directly south nature of the wind, and our almost directly Northward travel, the wind served to keep the dust in the air longer, allowing all of us to bask in the dusty goodness of the road back. Note to self: take a better dusk mask next time. One of the decisions we made before the trip was to keep our tires inflated with very high pressures (32 psi) to keep the rim bending and all manner of flats to a minimum. So far it had been successful, but with the obvious consequence of a rather substantial lack of traction and increase in bump transmission. Due to Britt's light weight and her bikes ultra light weight, this was a dumb idea for her, but she didn't really complain about it until we started back from gonzaga north. At one of our stops, she said the bike was practically unrideable and very uncomfortable, so I offered to switch bikes with her, warning her that my bike was a good 80 lbs heavier. It became VERY obvious that her bike was not set up well at all. I stopped and took 10 psi out of her tires, which transformed the motorcycle. I then got to rip around on her bike on the whole windy trip back to San Felipe, retracing our steps. Other than the bead blasting that our faces took on the way back once we hit pavement, the rest of the day was unremarkable, with one exception. I discovered Herradura Tequila. If you have never tried it, I urge you to, as you are simply missing out. It is WAAAY too good to be wasted in mixed drinks, and makes the idea of a sipping tequila something to be relished. I'm sure you can probably buy it here, but I've never seen it. We went back to the same hotel at San Felipe, and after showers looked for a new restaurant. We lucked out this time, and anyone going to San Felipe should most definitely hit Chuey's. It's one street off the main street one the water, on the north side of the main street in. dk

Day 3, San Felipe to Gonzaga Bay. We headed south after a great breakfast. One of the pleasures of travelling in baja is the food, assuming you like mexican food. I do, so life was good. The road from San Felipe to Gonzaga is paved until you get to Puertocitos. I had fun pulling wheelies on the pavement dips that are prevalent along the way. Judging from the divots in the asphalt at the bottom of the dips, I can only assume that other cagers in Mexico don't share my enjoyment. Once you reach Puertocitos, things change. First of all, the paved road ends in the town at gates that say private property. This confused me, as the road to Gonzaga Bay is a State Highway. Evidently a crazy lady started the town, and would shut the road down at night, and put the signs up. As many things Baja, no one bothered to remedy this. Once we realized we were, in fact, still on the correct road, I scouted out ahead looking for a toilet, as the combo of lots of tequila and mexican cuisine was causing a bit of abdominal distress. Of course, there's a whole lotta nothing, so I rode fast and "tight" looking for somewhere to drop trow. About 15 minutes down the road, dodging softball sized, sharp-edged rocks that looked custom made to tear tire sidewalls, I saw what looked like an abandoned house and after tearing past, what appeared to be an outhouse behind it. I turned around, skidded in, and found two quads--one pulling a trailer. I asked the couple standing behind them if I could use "their" bathroom. They looked amused and said to help myself. I know I may be biased, as my need was great, but I stumbled on the best outhouse in the world! There was no ceiling, and no front, but some kind soul had put a rock on the loose lid, too keep it from blowing away, and there was no odor of any kind. It faced the sea, and I was able to sit and watch the ocean and smell the desert breeze. I walked back and introduced myself to the couple, who ended up being French-Canadians from Quebec who had started their 10 month trek in BC and had come down through the US on their way to Cabo. They offered me a beer, and regaled me with stories from their travels while I waited for my gang to show up. The world's best outhouse, interesting world travelers, and free beer. Adventure touring can be very good. dk

Day 2 started with a beautiful morning and a great Mike's Sky Ranch breakfast. We then headed back down the road and I took the opportunity to open up the DRZ a bit. I stopped after 6 miles to take some photos and wait for the group to close back up, when I noticed my duffle bag had ripped at the lower back seam and after inspection, realized that one of the auxiliary fuel bottles, a 22mm socket, a 32 mm socket, a 1/2 to 3/8 adapter socket, and the 3/8 ratchet were missing. Initially, I also thought my pda phone was also gone, but later found it in my bag. We backtracked very slowly all the way back to the water crossing at Mike's, and found all but one socket! I was excited, although at the time I was still missing my phone. Then on the way back out going slow again, Zina's amazing eagle eyes found the last missing socket. It was pretty unbelievable to find all the missing crap, but we burned through about 2 hours in the process. We finally rode out to the road, then jumped on the slab for the trip to Puertocitos. Once on the freeway for a couple of hours, we realized that daylight was fast burning away. One thing about being that far south and this late in the year, is that the sun sets reallllllly early. Daylight was pretty much all gone before 5 o'clock. One of the attractive things about Dual-sporting/adventure touring is that it provides a motorcycling experience, but with a pronounced shift in focus. Speed, the line, acceleration, these things are not nearly as important. Exploration, living in the moment, soaking in the differences, these were my goals. I kept saying, "We're adventure tourers, we..." and would fill in the blank with something inane. Everyone hated me I'm sure. When we reached San Felipe and fueled up, it was a little after 3pm. I said, "We're adventure tourers, we can change our plans at a moments notice!" I then proposed we stay there and head out in the morning. Luckily, rather than get bombarded by a thrown helmet or something, they all agreed. We found a hotel called George's (not particularly great, not awful, but clean--thin walls though). We grabbed showers, bought booze, got some great grub, and wished each other Happy Thanksgiving. It was the FIRST time in my life I didn't eat any turkey on thanksgiving. The margaritas and fish tacos were great! Feeling security minded, we brought the bikes in to the hotel room with us and headed off to dream land. It was a great thanksgiving. dk

My day one notes: Day 1 dawned and after loading britt's 250 into the truck for the short drive to TEcate, we all pulled in behind and headed out. We parked the truck in Tecate and rode across the border so simply you had to wonder you were actually in Mexico. We took the non-toll hwy (libre) east and headed towards the dirt road that would begin our off-road adventure. I had people before the trip tell me that GPS units are only telling you exactly where you're lost. I vehemently disagree. I only had about 8 waypoints programmed in, but between the compass feature and a AAA map, we were in pretty good shape the whole way. I understand the hot ticket is the Baja Almanac, which is currently out of print. Anyway, once the arrow told us we were at the road, we headed south towards Laguna Hanson. One of the things you'll quickly notice when touring off-road through Baja Norte is that is doesn't really look like what you were expecting. Sure, much of it looks very mojave like, with cactus and dust and exposed rocks, but much of the interior is at a pretty high elevation, and there are trees and greenery that are a bit shocking, at least for me. I pointedly told myself to remember we weren't racing, but rather relaxing and should stop at any point to take photos etcetera. Well, don't take an SLR then, dummy. It was a pain to pull out and put away, and my little digital point-&-shoot would have taken pictures 95% as good, and would have snapped 3 times as many. Oh well. Considering how long this could get, I'll just cover the high points, but there was cool stuff throughout the trip. The Parque Nacional Constitución de 1857 is beautiful, and the Baja route often runs through there. Laguna Hansen is breathtaking and the whole thing will be cooler than you expect. Hwy 3 runs through the middle of Baja Norte, and it's quite difficult to cross the peninsula transversely without using it. The road to Mike's sky ranch from Hwy 3 is pretty rough in spots, you'd definitely need a 4WD truck or dirt bike to get in unless you were crazy. Lot's of fun though. We got there late enough that the sun was setting, which made it quite a bit more challenging, especially since everyone said "Don't ride Baja at night!" Mike's was awesome and considering I'd been reading about the place since I was alittle kid, I was surprised it didn't feel anti-climactic. We had the place to ourselves as it was the day before thanksgiving, but it must be something full of rowdy off-roaders. It's funny how these kinds of trips always change you. My wife is a road-racer and street bike fanatic, but has only done a couple short dirtbike trips in her entire life. This was a major shift for her, and she did so well. The difference in her riding between the first and last day was pretty spectacular. That first night, there was a water crossing, and she pointedly refused to really even try. Afraid of dropping the bike, etc. I showed her the proper technique, and even after the others went across safely, I eventually had to wade back and ride her bike across (on the final day, she ripped across a water crossing with no hesitation, going back for photos as well). Anyway, we had some fun drying the boots that night! Mike's serves you a steak dinner and mexican breakfast for your $66 US per person a night. After hand washing our riding clothes, and drying our boots, we ate and benchraced until about 8pm. Then we all hit the hay. more later... dk

Here are our pics. We'll do the full report as time allows, but it was a great opening Baja adventure, and a good way to shake down the bikes and our gear. I'm ashamed to say we really didn't take nearly as many pictures as we should have. http://www.flickr.com/photos/drknow/sets/72157603298871962/ dk

So, this seems like a perfect idea. Unless I'm missing something, I really wanna try it, especially after dealing with the 32 psi in my knobbies on the road from Puertocitos to Gonaga Bay... http://www.nuetech.com/tubliss.shtml dk

We're all back ok, and had a blast. A trip report will follow, but initial advice upon return is: Loctite, more tools, quicksteel NOT jb weld in little containers that will puncture, purpose built dual sport luggage, and suspension work. dk

But they make those cute butaine ones now! ;-) Hey, you, zipit!

Thanks, got it to work in visualizer. I don't have mapsource, even though I have a garmin (it's a cheapy, foretrex 201). I have a Mac, and Mapsource isn't available for Macs, so no love. I put key waypoints in manually, ouch. dk

I have a feeling I'll be packing a bunch of Britt's stuff. She keeps saying, "But you have a big RACK!" which is normally something I'm all excited about, not the other way around. I'm putting my foot down on the curling iron (it's just too cruel, dontcha think?). dk

:hunter: Ocotillo Wells? I did attach waypoints for Ocotillo Wells on a different thread some time ago but I just verified that the file I attached to THIS thread contains misc. waypoints for Baja......I see there have been 15 downloads.......has anyone else encountered a problem???......works fine for me I've been trying to look at it by uploading the .gpx to a google map, by using http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/ But no love... It keeps saying "No valid GPS data detected!" I'm probably doing it wrong, noobie with the gps stuff. dk

To the best of my knowledge (which I'll readily admit is limited ) you don't need no stinkin' plate/sticker in Mexico......it's the Wild West......my friend and I rode all over Tecate area and south/east towards Laguna Hansen/Mikes on two strokes years ago (carrying oil for range)...... Naw, the plate isn't required, but the liability insurance is. That's the part we're trying to figure out. As for the Doritos, all i can say is... She does like chips.

Thanks for all the help guys, we're getting there. I have a big question, however. Places like bajabound don't have the option (online anyway) for non-street legal motorcycles. For the three of us with DRZs, no problemo, but the crf250x isn't listed. I see tons of people doing the dual-sport thing down to baja on unplated wrs and crfs and xrs, etc. There must be a way they're doing it--hope hope. Anyone have a work around? dk (aka John-Mark)