Memorial Day Weekend Wandering to Mike's and San Felipe

[jawhitmoyer 0]

Pat760 and I organized a three day ride through Baja over a couple weeks even though we'd never met. We started PM'ing each other and then finally had an introduction phone call to see if we'd be compatible enough to head out together to parts unknown. On the ride we had a few rough moments where we didn't agree on what is considered a trail, or when it was time to give up on a bad choice of direction before turning back, but overall I think we did pretty well for not knowing each other. That's a credit to this site...lots of good folks who just want to ride.

Pat picked me up Saturday morning around 6am, and we trailered the bikes to Tecate. We parked behind the gas station, suited up and crossed the border without incident. I think we were both expecting warmer weather, because neither of us was dressed for drizzle and low 40's temperatures. The road out of Tecate as a little slick, but once we hit the dirt, the dampness made the ride amazing. Our plan was to stay at Mike's Saturday night, and then if we were feeling good continue on to San Felipe to spend Sunday night.

We headed south on the highway towards Ensenada, and then picked up a series of dirt roads about 5 miles south of the border. It was kind of hard to get warmed up, but we eventually settled into a comfortable pace. Kkug and v-dog were kind enough to share some GPS tracks, but I had been in Austin all week, and didn't have much of a chance to figure out how to use my GPS. Even though I had the correct tracks loaded, I accidentally picked a different one that didn't go anywhere near Mike's. So, here's the adventure...

We made our way south-east from Tecate, heading towards the Pines. At one point we saw a bunch of orange ribbons and then some green "W" signs...we were on the Baja 500 course going the wrong way. I assured Pat so long as we stayed to the right and kept our heads up, we'd be OK for the few miles we needed to follow it. Then about five minutes later a Class 1 buggy came flying around a blind corner and gave me quite a scare. I was leading, so I think the guy slowed down a little for Pat. That was pretty unsettling, so instead of trying to ride 10 mph around every corner, I suggested we back track to a trail we passed, and then just wing it from there. While we getting turned around, two trucks (one a Red Bull race truck) came blasting by, so knew we made the right choice. Just before we pulled off, I could have sworn I heard a horn behind me...one of the trucks was right on Pat's rear wheel.

We made it to Laguna Hanson where we took a short break. The drizzle had cleared up, but my gear was still a little damp, so the it felt good to stand in the sun. As a side note, we saw more water on the roads than in the lake.

We saw a guy on an XR riding south, and we caught up to him at Ramona's. He was riding alone from Mexicali to Ensenada, so after getting gas, we invited him to follow us to Ojos for tacos. From Ramona's to Ojos it was just the boring Compadre Trail, so nothing to report.

After tacos (our guest paid, so that was kind of cool), we got gas at the Pemex, and then headed south on what we thought was the road that kind of traverses Highway 3. We were in the middle of nowhere when we came upon two ranchers unloading feed from a pickup. I told them we were trying to find the highway, and they said, "just go around that hill and there's a road." Well, there was a road, that was maybe used 50 years ago, but it was pretty cool. We saw several wild horses and of course tons of cows. We eventually came out at KM73, so we took the highway east to Santa Catarina. We got lost in that area, because my GPS kept sending us more east than south, but after asking a couple more people and backtracking a bit, we made it Valle T.

We didn't see any signs for Mike's in Valley T, so we headed east and came upon four soldiers who were just kind of checking out a building. They gave us some bad directions, so we ended up back in Valley T again. But when we got gas, the lady told us exactly where to go...we were only a couple of miles short of the turnoff from where we had spoken with the soldiers. At least we got gassed up.

A fast ride up to Mike's, with thoughts only of warmth and beer. It was pretty chilly riding up into the mountains. Once there, we got our room assignment, bikes stored, and clothes changed. What should have taken 160 miles took 260 miles! But hey, like I told Pat, I came to Baja to ride.

We met four nice guys from El Cajon, who, when they heard our story, offered to lead us to San Felipe. They had a 90 mile route planned that was pretty tame as one of the guys was driving a Razor. After a decent steak, I went to bed around 9.00pm. I don't remember what time Pat came in, but I don't think it was too late. We were both pretty beat.

After some tasty chorizo and eggs with a side of beans, we headed out around 8.30am. We had a quick ride back down the hill to the highway, and then east for a few miles before picking up a trail that headed towards Laguna Diablo. We were afraid it might be muddy from all of the rain, but it was perfect. Perfect that is until I was doing a little over 90mph when I could feel my rear tire was flat. The guy in the Razor, Carlos, stopped and asked if I needed help, but I assured my Tubliss inserts would get me to Jose's as we were only about three miles away.

At Jose's the group was already enjoying the first round of beers when I pulled in. One guy said this would be a two beer stop while I fixed my tire, but they were all amazed that I had it plugged in about five minutes. Carlos had an electric pump, so that saved me 15 mins of extra right arm exercise doing it manually. They still insisted on two beers, and I agreed to buy the second round for the inconvenience...they were quite happy to partake.

We rode some deep sand and some whoops on the way to San Felipe, but we were at Pete's Cove by 11.30am, wherein they started drinking. Pat and I needed to find a room, so after a couple of beers, we headed into town. We did make a plan to follow them back to Tecate in the morning, because I don't think Pat trusted my "awesome" navigation "skills." And we both had to be at work Tuesday, so getting lost wasn't an option.

We got a great room at the Red Lobster Hotel ($70), just a block from the water. It was still pretty early, so we decided to head out for a two hour ride kind of south along the mountains. That ride started out well enough, but we kept hitting fences and eventually we ended up in a corner we couldn't figure out how to exit. It was hot and we were thirsty and tired. I think Pat was ready to punch me for getting us lost again, but thankfully we found a rancher who cut a hole in his fence so we could make it back to the highway. I offered him $10 or $20, but he kind of gave me a look that said, "keep going." I explained we weren't rich, and he settled for $20. A quick trip back on the highway and Pat and I were friends again.

The weather was awesome, so we spent the evening on the patio at the hotel except for a quick dinner at a local seafood place. The hotel bar closed at 11.00pm, so we wheeled our bikes into the room and went to bed.

We woke up around 7.00am to find both of my tires flat. During our less than excellent adventure the day before, I had four pin holes from thorns. There was a tire repair shop I had visited the night before when my initial tire plug failed, so we limped over and they guy had me on the road in about 30 mins. Pat went on ahead to meet the other guys and let them know I was running behind. It turned out not to be an issue because the Razor wouldn't start, so they were 45 mins behind themselves.

Because the Razor wouldn't start, only two of the four rode with us. These guys (Mike and another guy named Pat) really knew the area, and we made excellent time getting back. The ride was great and uneventful, except for when Pat took a spill on a sandy corner. He whacked his helmet pretty good and banged up his toe, but he got back on the bike pretty quickly and we were off. We did 220 miles and averaged about 42 mph. We got through the border quickly, and were back at the truck around 4.30pm. We both made it home for dinner.

Pat has some pic's he'll post, and I am picking highlights from 20 hours of video. We'll both post over the next couple of days. But all I can say is what I great time I had. Awesome roads, lots of adventure and a solid riding partner made it a weekend to remember!

[Dan Diego 40]

Now that is a fine Baja story. Nice!

The cutting of the fence was cool. Must've been a REALLY nice fence for $20...

Photos, please.

[Mr.JAJA 398]

Nice Adventure. We use to go to Laguna Percebu for years and riding/ driving around to Mike's and Horsepower ranch. But I haven't be there since 2007 when I sold my prerunner down in El Rosario, just out of the green.

[Dress4Less 162]

Great adventure! Looking forward to pics & viddy.

[HotRod82 2]

Great write up, it's good to hear you didn't have any trouble with the ranchers. Lately it seems the ranchers are getting a little grumpy and are tired of dealing with motorcycles.

[beniflas 7]

Awesome story! Some of the best rides I've been on just happen to be whenever someone gets a flat, breaks down or we get lost....uhh I mean temporarily disoriented.

Pics would definitely be icing on the cake.

[Dan Diego 40]

Great write up, it's good to hear you didn't have any trouble with the ranchers. Lately it seems the ranchers are getting a little grumpy and are tired of dealing with motorcycles.

I spoke with folks in the Erendira area about that (north and south of Coyote Cal's) and was told that no compensation was given to the ranchers/farmers/townspeople by the event coordinators (SCORE?) as in the past (for torn up land, fences and crops "slightly" damaged, etc.).

I know that the people in many of those small ejidos totally support the riders...and in many instances, are riders themselves. So there may be a sour taste in their mouths from that.

But it's been my experience that one-on-one, the folks are completely supportive of visitors... Riders and non-riders alike.

[jawhitmoyer 0]

Being fluent in Spanish makes all the difference in the world. We got excellent help from four different ranchers, as well as a survey crew and the soldiers. Frankly, like in the U.S., it's the yahoos that are ruining it for the rest of us.

Forgot to mention, but did 599.3 miles per Pat's computer. I would guess 90% was dirt.

[Pat760 0]

Well I don't know how much more I can add to this RR but pictures. It was truly an amazing experience, I had never ridden down in Baja before and to add to that had never done more then 95 miles in a day. Never having met before the ride was quite the risk for both of us. It was realized pretty quick in the trip that Jim is a faster more experienced rider than I was and I would have to ride a little out of my comfort zone to keep up. My goal for this trip was to gain a little more experience and ride somewhere other than Ocotillo/Borrego, Silverwood, and Corral Canyon. Mission accomplished and made a new friend that I am hoping to do some more trips with. As far as Jim's navigational skills I was not worried too much being that he was able to converse with the locals it was more of a concern that if we did too many miles trying to find our way I was not going to be able to handle the extra miles. Well we did 600 miles in 3 days and made it, when we left Tecate Saturday morning Jim looked at me as we left the van and said EPIC trip. It was, Thanks Jim for taking a chance and inviting me along on your ride. I will leave with a few pictures and as I sift through the rest add a few more as I can.

[jawhitmoyer 0]

Great pics, Pat. Looking forward to the next one. Cabo???? ;-)

[ctoogood 15]

Yes JOE!!! I want to make it to Cabo via the dirt oneday... maybe after a few GPS lessons. (speaking for myself too)

Great pictures and fun adventure.... Thanks for sharing. Ill check back for more pictures and video

Cheers, Chris

[jawhitmoyer 0]

Here's some video from Tecate to Laguna Hanson.

https://youtu.be/hfGimf-s-Vg

[jawhitmoyer 0]

Here's a short video from Jose's (south end of Laguna Diablo) to Pete's Camp, which is about five miles north of San Felipe.

http://youtu.be/6pzNSIGsOns

Pat and I did some riding in the afternoon that day, but my battery must have been dead. I will try to post video from our 220 mile ride back to Tecate tomorrow night.

[AFM24 19]

Yeah, the first trip to Baja is always a treat. Actually every trip to Baja is a treat.

Here's my pic from the first visit to Mike's. Kind of a bummer being the only guest.

[beniflas 7]

Here's some video from Tecate to Laguna Hanson.

https://youtu.be/hfGimf-s-Vg

Close call @ 8:27!

[jawhitmoyer 0]

@AFM24, yeah, that would suck. I am hardly a social butterfly, but it was cool comparing trip notes with other guys.

@beniflas, I cut out the discussion where I told Pat if we stayed to the right and kept our heads up we'd be fine. The video doesn't do justice to how fast things could have gone terribly wrong.

[jawhitmoyer 0]

Last video, from Jamau up to the pines. Pat had a little spill and of course I was right behind him, so excellent footage.

Glad you're OK, Pat!!!

http://youtu.be/y1CrVPZQH6E

[Pat760 0]

Great videos Jim, was wondering what happened on that spill. Looks like I just came in a little too fast hit the rear brake and started sliding sideways. Guessing from there I tapped the front brake in the loose corner and the front washed out. Not the first time I have done that probably won't be the last. good stuff, great trip. Thanks again.

[jawhitmoyer 0]

How about a little SloMo?

http://youtu.be/HY6J6lyWGfM

[Pat760 0]

How about a little SloMo?

http://youtu.be/HY6J6lyWGfM

SloMo doesn't make it seem as hard a hit as it was. Still hard to figure out what I did.