Baja Birthday Bash solo w/ pics - Sat/Sun 3/7-3/8

[Goofy Footer 539]

Success!

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I had planned on going to Death Valley this weekend but alas, things got in the way..

So I think a quick trip down to Baja for my bday this weekend might be just what the moto gods ordered. I'll be on a WR250F but am willing to ride with any quality SDAR company so long as we take the dirty way and stay off too much black tar.

Two Day Overnight Option:

If it's a two day ride, Coyote Cals would be my destination. I'd like to ride as many coastal roads as possible. Maybe head to Gloria's? for a delicious dinner. It would be good put a lime in an ice cold Pacifico and welcome in my bday on Sunday. Big bikes with good riders can do Cals if we take the right loops. Nobody left behind.

One Day Sunday Option:

If nobody can do the overnight, Sunday day trip would still be fun. We can run down to the Saw Mill for mini burritos, fresh quest and fuel via the mountain roads which might be plenty damp with the recent rains. The creeks could be full which is always good fun to splash around in. This option is a small bike day.

Any interest? If nobody posts up, I may just bumrush it solo and hope my espanol and seriously handsome smile keep me out of trouble ha. Thanks for reading and I hope to see You at Tecate tomorrow morning or Sunday morning. Again, sorry for the late notice.

Did I mention the weather will be Awesome for riding along the coast?

http://www.coyotecals.com

http://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/1001360-new-restaurant-opened-in-erendira-viejo-y-el-mar/

[Vagabundo 0]

"am willing to ride with any quality SDAR company"

That's it, I'm out.

[Dan Diego 40]

First off, happy birthday, Tim!

Sure wish I could go but the weekend is packed with obligations.

Gloria's is fine, for breakfast or dinner. But try the Russian guy that runs the small place up at the boat ramp in Castro's Village at the other end of town...just a short ride from Cal's. Can't recall his name right now but he speaks impeccable English.

His restaurant is hit or miss. The food is just fantastic if you time it with the day's catch. There is nothing like their lobster or crab burritos! And a frickin' great view to boot. But BYOB there.

I owe ya a beer, brother.

Dan

[Afry 1]

you're killing me, have a great time and happy birthday!

[Goofy Footer 539]

Bummer you 3 fine gents cannot make it. Sorry for the late notice.

If Im solo, I'd prefer not to cross too many gates. I'm debating Compadre to Ojos then south and east towards Indepencia/Caselli Monument and South towards Valle T. Take the easy wine road west then hit the coast and ride North to Cals. Thoughts? Ive never gone South from Ojos and then turn east but I'm nearly certain its been used many times as a Score course.

Return most likely Santo Tomas, Tres Hermanos, Uruapan, Ojos, Tecate.

I might reverse that order. Hmm

Anybody else interested? Any other input is welcome!

[Dan Diego 40]

Dude, that's my ride. All good choices. Sure wish I could join you!

[Afry 1]

Goofy, the trail south from Ojos (by

the checkpoint) then east is no problem and a very fun ride. Starts out fast dirt road with rises and dips. Then tighter 2 track that feels like a mx track through the low canyons. Opens up again with a few rocks then faster 2 track due east to hwy. Have fun!

[Dress4Less 162]

Oh man...so many options...going to go support Afry (Arnie) at Del Mar tomorrow...and Sunday going out towards Borrego Springs to meet up for a ride...have a great B-Day!

[Goofy Footer 539]

Dan and Arnie, thanks for the advice. I have some tracks that I'll be following.

It looks like I'll be heading out solo. I'll put new batteries in my Spot and post the link here soon. I could go out with friends to a nightclub but something about a baja moto trip sounds like a great way to bring in my personal nuevo ano.

[danrider 5]

Happy B day, have a safe ride and a cold beer…..Thanks for the bags today.

[Goofy Footer 539]

Just arrived back in Tecate. 374 miles total, 300ish in the dirt. All solo. Zero crashes. One leaky countershaft seal. El pastor tacos and pacificos were sacrificed to the baja gods.

Pics coming later.

[Dan Diego 40]

Right on! What a great way to spend your b day. Pics, please.

[blakeNY9 0]

Now that's a day of riding. Sorry I couldn't join you.

Happy birthday!

[Goofy Footer 539]

Now that's a day of riding. Sorry I couldn't join you.

Happy birthday!

Thanks for the bday wishes, we'll get you down to baja again soon amigo! Actually it was a day and a half or riding - well, maybe a day and a half minus one hour considering daylight savings time... I changed the thread title to indicate that this thread will include the RR too.

[Goofy Footer 539]

DAY ONE - Saturday March 7th

Prep for my upcoming move got in the way of the SDAR DV weekend I had helped organize. The weather weather had been primo over the past few days and the recent rains might mean local trails would be in good condition. Sunday was my bday and I simply wanted some adventure riding. I'll do the club this another day but I wanted to start out my nuevo ano on a bitchen note. BAJA was an easy cho

The question was then whether I'd be alone or with some amigos. My late notice post garnered some attention but I posted too late to get a riding buddy.

Saturday morning I took off. Wait. Who am I kidding. I didn't leave til just after noon! I bought my standard pre-ride ice cream sandwich at the Tecate gas station and it was noon on the dot. I consumed said ice cream sandwich, enjoyed it and then took off probably 12:10 / 12:15. My departure time is somewhat important as I had a full day of riding to complete in half a day.

Loaded and ready to roll from Tecate. I ran into two guys from Huntington Beach who were late on their planned ride to make Gonzaga Bay by nightfall. One XR650L and a 990 Adventure. "We're about an hour past Late" one of them told the other. They were geared up and ready to roll when I arrived at Tecate and when I crossed the border they were still sitting at an Oxxo market.. I hope they got everything settled and got to make their ride.

Compadre Trail - I stopped only a few times to snap pics. This was a pretty area and I had to piss ha. If you don't like sand, baja isn't the place for you but on a 250 it was no problemo

Arriving in Ojos sometime at or just after 2pm iirc. The first time I rode through here I was amazed by the green farmland. This time I rode through here I was amazed by the green farmland. The colors popped!

Saw some Americanos on their KTMs parked at a Taco stand in town so I swung by and said hi. They were amazed that I was solo and questioned my intentions in this foreign land. One of the guys had a friend who broke his leg on their ride through the area I was about to ride through. He said the broken leg occured at 10am and it took them until 8pm to move him 15 miles to the town of Ojos. I received one of those "good luck" head shake goodbyes from them as they departed in their group (13 riders) heading to Mike's.

I briefly thought about heading to Mikes with them but I wanted to Ride My Ride. At this point I had already ventured into the uncertain/unknown solo and I intended to make it. The crew said they were behind and would have to ride under lights to make Mike's anyways. I wanted the coast, I wanted to ride the beach, I wanted to go my way.. and I did.

Well, after eating two of these El Pastor tacos and a CocaCola. 40 pesos maybe? I don't recall.

Opening and closing my first gate solo officially marked my entrance into the next phase of my mini adventure. Mi (spelling?) espanol is muy mal, I survive by an utterly handsome smile, hand gestures, not being a dick to rancheros/showing respect and if hell starts to freeze over, I have stickers and an Abraham Lincoln as my "cuota" to paseo tu bonita rancho senor.

Well, after my second? fence and a few more miles, I was awarded with Mas Verde Vistas

Up and over the two hillclimbs. Neither is that crazy, just some rain ruts to navigate (I will say that they can/have and will catch guys off guard or guys loaded up with big adventure gear so heed some caution). Coming down the backside of the second climb was long, rocky and quite rutted out. That would be a beetch and a half on a bigger / loaded up bike. Light is right imho and I was going to stay at a hostel for the night so I didn't have a ton of crap to haul. Being solo, you always slow your riding down a couple notches - nobody to race, nothing to prove to anybody beyond the fact that You're Doing It and You're Having Fun. I rolled these sections but didn't need to be an enduro hero on them either. Good fun and a nice way to mix up the previously flat trail.

This pic is a little dark because I'm looking into the sun as it's slowly heading into late afternoon.

Lil panorama shot - hard to capture the green-ness / beauty of the hills of northern baja. This is what our SD backcountry would be without houses/pavement etc.

At the bottom of the big hill there is a rancho that you must pass. There are two gates you must cross and one time the rachero got a little mad that we were riding through there. I don't want to argue, I had good ole Abe loaded and ready to rock (I have witnessed that cigarettes also work wonders but I didn't have any {actually, cigarettes may be a smarter option for future riders as not to encourage locals to turn baja trails into a series of toll booths collecting cash. That and I suppose the cigarettes will only hasten the onset of emphsyema for mean rancheros lol kidding kidding}). There were 3-4 vacas in the rancho so I killed the bike and pushed it through the pasture to be as respectful / quiet as possible.

A while later and just after the funky campground, I came across a second rancho with multiple gates. This one suucked. Why? Dos caballos (spelling?) (spanish for horses) were sitting at the gate opening and either side of the trail was fenced! This means that I had to get around them and they had to scoot by me (without kicking me in my handsome face nor my pristine blue yammie moto) in only a car's width of trail. This was an effort in patience on my part. I don't like vacas and I don't like caballos especially when on the trail and I'm on mi moto. Again, I killed the bike long before I was close to them and walked my bike up slooowly and walked towards them (extremely cautiously - I'm a city kid, I don't know how these guys are going to react and I doubt my English is very comforting to them). Thankfully after a few minutes they bolted along the opposing fence and raced past my bike. This lil endeavor would have sucked in a big group.

Afterwards I had a couple of chuckles. Gotta love baja!

Mas gates leaving the aforementioned rancho. Note the shadows and I still don't really know how much farther I have to go until the hostel.

I translated this to mean Close the Gate Behind You Please You Illiterate Gringo. Dan Diego or somebody with better Spanish skills can you confirm this?

Finally made it west of Highway 1 and it was getting dark. After riding a while with my tinted lenses I swapped them for clears, walked to take a piss and my bike fell over! I guess leaving it in neutral on a slant so I could take a nice picture of it wasn't the best idea as it rolled and then fell. This lil tip over is worth nothing because it tweaked my bars/tire alignment and my headlight was pointing left and wouldn't budge back all the way. Right turns were interesting! Two girls drove by (lost) who I later met at the hostel. One said she thought I was a guy from late 90s boy band as she drove by... Compliment? Not sure how to take that one..

A little while later I finally reached Del Mar! This part of the coast reminds me of northern/western? Santa Barbara. I really like this terrain/part of the ride. Makes me want to retire and move to The Ranch north/west? of SB and drink a beer every night watching the sunset over unmolested California coast.

Needless to say I was fooking Stoked to make it to the coast. I'm super happy in this pic and I have the biggest smile on my face. Felt really good to jump on my moto and head on a lil mini adventure solo. I think young men (and old men too but I'm still a young guy so I can only see things from my viewpoint) Need a lil adventure in their lives. However you get it is up to you but I hope you seek it often and you are rewarded with many smiles/pride. I need another trip asap! Let's ride!!

Yes, it went down easy.

The diggs. I'm a firm mattress kind of guy and the bed was soft but I survived. You can camp at the hostel too if that is your thing. $20 for the night, a shower, working toilet and a waffle in the morning - I'll take it. I stayed at Coyote Cals and I had a great time there. Rick, the owner was very nice to me and gave me a free dinner since I arrived late and they had some panang chicken and rice left over. The typical meal is panang curry fish which everybody loves and always gets seconds on (I actually mucho prefero pollo so I was stoked!). I recommend Coyote Cals - great location on the coast, clean and safe hostel, surfers/moto guys/local mexicans all visit. $20 well spent considering the cost of some other baja establishments.

Oh did I mention the view? I arrived after night had completely fallen and being solo, I got some very surprised looks from the other moto guys.

I met Steph at Cals who is blogging her Scooter Adventure on http://250superhero.blogspot.com/ . She had some fun sketches she drew up. Check out her blog, she's riding a Vespa 250cc scooter all through Northern Baja. Now, what's your excuse? Get out there and have some fun! Braaaapppppp

day two ride report to follow soon

[sdhydro 0]

Awesome stuff i need to get down there. If i wasnt in death valley i would have gone. I think i need to get a passport though. Looks like you had a blast and glad things worked out on your solo trip.

[Goofy Footer 539]

Awesome stuff i need to get down there. If i wasnt in death valley i would have gone. I think i need to get a passport though. Looks like you had a blast and glad things worked out on your solo trip.

Thanks for the comment man. I was planning on going to Death Valley - heck, I started that informal ride thread!! A passport would be best but it's not like you won't be allowed into America with a Driver's License and copy of your birth certificate (allegedly, so I once heard, please do not construe this to be legal advise, Goofy Footer's opinion/thoughts/comments do not represent the man behind the keyboard, heed caution, I know nothing).

A passport should be easy to get and comes in handy. Plus, no hassles. Pick one up and who knows, I might have to resurrect the SDAR Young Guns - Under 30 and Dirty Crew baja ride soon.

[Afry 1]

Passport not needed. Period. But it makes their job easier (they don't have to type all your info in) If you have an old passport or even just your number that helps save them time too. If they are really busy they may not want to take the additional time and send you to secondary were their buddies can do it without holding up the line. When you do get a passport spend the extra $35 and get the credit card version as well.

Great trip Goofy, that's the way to do it. I rode solo down to Mike's a while back and it has a whole new feeling - adventure! - I am needing some Baja!

Looks like you took the route from Ojos to San Tomas? Did you take the north or southern route?

[Bruce 0]

Great pics! I don't remember all the gates. But I do remember the rocky downhill. Gravity pulls down extra hard in that spot. Please tell me that you didn't jump you bike coming up from the beach! At least I hope you landed on you rear tire this time.

[Mikey777 44]

Nice write up and pics. Would like to get down there again too. Had fun on Dana's ride.

[Goofy Footer 539]

Great trip Goofy, that's the way to do it. I rode solo down to Mike's a while back and it has a whole new feeling - adventure! - I am needing some Baja!

Looks like you took the route from Ojos to San Tomas? Did you take the north or southern route?

Adventure! Solo baja is a good time. Baja con amigos is a good time.

I went Ojos to Santo Tomas via Tres Hermanos/Uruaipan.

You could take the old race course from Ojos towards Ensenada (or take the twisties into town) then cut through town and head towards Santo Tomas -- there is a bomber empanada place next to the San Nicholas Hotel which I'm seriously itching for...

You can also take the route we discussed in the beginning of the thread, south from Ojos, east towards Indepencia and south towards Valle T, the Wine Road cutacross road west then north to Cals along the coast.

Great pics! I don't remember all the gates. But I do remember the rocky downhill. Gravity pulls down extra hard in that spot. Please tell me that you didn't jump you bike coming up from the beach! At least I hope you landed on you rear tire this time.

Bruce, I hit 8, count them ocho gates! I had to open 5 of them I believe - solo, that takes some time. I passed through two ranchos, might have to bring some cigarettes or whatnot for the rancheros if I see them next time. It was nice being solo and on a quiet bike, I didn't make a scene - that's harder to do in a large group.

I did hit the beach jump ha. Not fast though as I didn't need to be a hero

Nice write up and pics. Would like to get down there again too. Had fun on Dana's ride.

Thanks for the comment. You can do great single day loops around Tecate or fun 2 day overnight trips to Mikes or Coyote Cals. Check out kkug's upcoming easy taco day ride in late March or feel free to post up a "I want to ride Baja!" thread!

[Goofy Footer 539]

Day Two

Sunday started an hour early - we lost 60 precious minutes due to daylight savings. I awoke at Coyote Cals and after some chatting with a surftrip caravan about their morning session, I took off south along the beach. My plan was to work south along the coast then east into the hills and eventually hook it north to Tecate. Had I calculated mileage? Had I truly accounted for daylight savings? Had I figured out a proper timeline?

nahh

Cals

Firepit at Cals, great place to hangout at night and keep warm

I know a few SDAR guys are quite familiar with this portion of Cals ha

250 Superhero's sketch of Coyote Cals

http://250superhero.blogspot.com/

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=977812

Beach Moto Pron!

BAJA

MAS BAJA

Birthday Beach Bash - success!

open beaches all for mee

I wish I could have spent more time on the beach. One fun ride that I've been thinking about is a longer beach tour - get to Coyote Cals asap then ride south to San Quintin or Quatro Casas then return via the coast. The only goal is to stay west of Highway 1 and go exploring!

Did I mention it's super green in Baja this time of year?

My RR jumps ahead some as I was getting hammered on breaking bumps along the cutacross wine road (might have to start adjusting suspension settings or get it sorted). From Valle T, I took the Goat Trail which was a fun lil section then I started working north on a variety of different trails. Lots to explore in this area, pick a direction and go! I also really want to ride over "The Summit" and down to the desert floor one day too

Check out the rolling hills!

I finally made it to the Caselli Monument. It was great to stop by and hang out under the trees. I remember watching the race progress live in 2013 at work, I was glued to the computer following all the updates and live feeds/tracking. Sad day indeed and I was pretty bummed. Everything I've ever heard about Caselli is about how great of a man he was and how he was so friendly to all and giving of his time. Being that this was my solo bday ride, I took some time to reflect. He died at 30 years old. I'm not there yet but I will be quite soon...

I eventually worked north and got spit out on the highway. After a short transfer north to the bottom of Compadre Trail, I came upon a group of 17? American riders (some from Los Ancianos, a bunch on Betas) and they flagged me down. I was "rocking the colors" with my C&D Cycle graphics and they knew Steve. After some more quizzing as to what the hell I was doing solo in Baja, one guy asked me if I had hit puddles. Of course I had, then as he left he said it looks like your countershaft seal might be leaking..

uh oh...

Well hell, I had made it this far. All I needed to do was ride to Ramonas/SawMill for gas then continue north (all the way to La Rumorosa if I had to) on easier trails then hit the highway home. The crew took off and after inspecting my bike, I realized my countershaft nut was Finger Tight yiiiikes!! It was being kept on the countershaft spline by the little plastic cause guard thingy yiiiikes!! I tightened the bolt up with an axle wrench and checked it again whenever I stopped.

So I load up my gear and am ready to take off and huhhhh push the estart and the starter is spinning but I'm getting nuthin. I kick the bike a few times and it kicks through very easy.. nuthin....

As my head starts spinning as to what could have happened in the 3 minutes since I was cruising on the pavement, I start tinkering with the bike. Heck, had I been leaking oil all through the trip and I was so low that the motor seized due to the highway? Had the rings seized to the piston... Not Again nooooo? I immediately checked the oil and I was full (heck, slightly overfilled actually).

Okay I have oil. Hmm, carb? I drained the carb float bowl and let it run for a while. Filled it back up and tried to fire the bike again - same thing. I leaned the bike over to drain the carb.

Then I kicked the bike and smacked the carb.

The bike fired up! I think the float or something got stuck wide open as I jumped off the higway and cut the throttle coasting towards the big group of riders.

WHEW.

As I was struggling to start my bike I started thinking about my potential recovery options. I had a towstrap that I could use to tie the bike into a truck bed, I had some cash to buy a ride to Tecate. Wait, Tecate border closes at night.. yikes. Hmm, if only I had a buddy or sat phone.. Maybe this is why all the guys told me to ride with a friend. Wait, I take care of my bike, the bike ran great the whole trip. Sure I swapped a new chain/spockets and might have undertightened the countershaft sprocket nut but heck, the bike was running great.

Well, my heart rate went up some. Along the next good number of miles I seriously considered investing in a Sat phone. Heck, I suppose I could rent it to fellow SDAR riders when I don't use it. I do like riding solo and this might be a good option for me.

Goofy Mechanics - when all else fails, kick it in frustration and it'll then start!

I gassed at SawMill and the shadows were already quite long. I blasted North nonstop and hit the highway into Tecate. I stopped in town for some tacos, to swap goggles to my clear lenses and get out my passport for the crossing. Dinner is served!

374 miles - 1.5 days of riding. Awesome Time. Riding solo is a very cool experience. It was unique risks but special rewards. Prepare yourself as best you can / feel is necessary. Don't take undue riding risks - ride within your means always. Have good lights and prep your bike (my tires were good, I just had my suspension serviced, new chain/sprockets, new air filter, oil change, decently recent valve check etc etc). Know your bail out points and don't be afraid to ask for directions.

I'm glad I took some time for myself over the bday weekend and reflect on mi nuevo ano. I can hit the bars anytime with the cronies. Baja was beautiful this past weekend. If you're still reading this RR, I hope I was able to share some of the baja stoke. See you on the trail amigos!

[MacDuncan 131]

Atta Boy Goofyfooter, congrats on a great ride, and a solo birthday bash in "ride" form... which is truly a great present to one's self... and of course, a great story in print. Yahoo! John

[mtnmanseth 0]

Two girls drove by (lost) who I later met at the hostel.

Awesome RR! But, I'm still waiting to hear whether our hero got the girl(s)...

[Goofy Footer 539]

Atta Boy Goofyfooter, congrats on a great ride, and a solo birthday bash in "ride" form... which is truly a great present to one's self... and of course, a great story in print. Yahoo! John

I'm glad you enjoyed the story John. I enjoyed the ride and writing about it. Just trying to share the baja stoke!

Two girls drove by (lost) who I later met at the hostel.

Awesome RR! But, I'm still waiting to hear whether our hero got the girl(s)...

And what if I told you they were sisters??? Ha well they partied until 8am that morning in Ensenada.. so they arrived to Coyote Cals late, hung out for a few minutes then passed out. I hung out with a some surf peeps on a week long surf trip and we started pouring over some maps and reading through the Surfer's Guide to Baja. My recommendations to them were Quatro Casas to stay the night and to not surf south of Punta Baja / El Rosario / Mama Espinosas as Hwy 1 turns east and beach access gets difficult.