Baja, because it's right over there.

[Zubb 1061]

Saul from Boulder was still in town with his 1090 and planned to ride regardless of the weather.  I tried to tell him on Tuesday that it was going to suck.  But that evening I felt like a quitter 'cause ..... well because I was wussing out over a little rain and a little work.  So I pinged him with plans to leave OB at 0800 Wednesday.  I pulled in Christiano as it's always nice to have a third, especially if he's a friend, a good rider, and oh yeh... I was reminded later he spoke spanish.

It was a random, hazardly-unplanned ride for tacos.  And south for taco's generally works out pretty well.  Rain?  Why worry about it.  Cold? we all have gear for that.  Plans? We don't need no stinking plans. Vamose!

Heated jackets on low, grip heaters on high, country music playlist on repeat.  80mph down I-5 and in spite of the ominous clouds and cold temps we are settling in for a comfy day in the saddle.

Border crossing south is so easy a 5 year old could do it (if he could drive).

First stop... Popotla.  Cause you just gotta see Popotla.  Of course it's WAY too early for taco's so we wheel past the vendors trying to wave us into their stalls, roll onto the beach and scoot to the other end.

Three awfully fine machines if I may say so myself.  I've got a thing for the big dogs.  Get them out, let them run, howl at the moon and race the sun!  Do I actually live in San Diego, surrounded by THIS? someone pinch me.

We drank in the scene for a bit and then roosted some turns.  But not too much as there are plenty of homes right on the bluff and I didn't think it too considerate to roar the bikes up and down for more than a few minutes.

FWIW, the pig is dead.  If you know Popotla, you know the pig.  It's half buried in sand and the dogs keep wandering by to chew off bites of it's head.  Then they'd break away to chase the motorbikes a ways, then go back to the pig.  The dogs didn't appreciate us riding but fortunately we have motocross boots and snappy throttles.  I think that's the closest I've ever come to getting dragged off my bike by a dog.  Glad they weren't bigger.  But, no harm no foul. 

Sidebar: Saul has that aptly named Rottweiler intake on his 1090.  Never was an angrier sounding motorcycle made.  When he cracks it open I swear the ground shakes, leaves fall off trees and car alarms shriek in his wake.  He can be a hundred yards back and when he whacks that throttle, all I hear is this -------

And just like that, he goes FLYING past me in a puff of smoke and a spray of dirt and gravel!

But I digress ....

South.  In search of a better taco.

Ensenada.  What a wonderful town that got swallowed up inside a massive mess of a Mexi-tropolis. There's just no way to get through / past / around it.  You must endure.  It seemed about a week later we popped out the other side and to La Bufadora!

(OK, it was worth it)

It was almost noon so our timing was spot on! We idled through the maze right up to what we considered to be preferred parking.

Moseyed around a bit...

And unfortunately there wasn't any swell to speak of, so the famous spray of La Bufadora wasn't firing.  Oh well.  Just need to come back when it is.

So we picked a spot from about a hundred options and figured if the view was this good, the food must be too.

Hmmm, menu looks good... must be some shrimp tacos on here somewhere...

Wait..... WHAT?

I must admit I'm an adventurous eater.  Cause you only live once, so you might want to grab an opportunity to try something crazy or new when it's in front of you.  (@kkug - fried crickets!)

I decided to pass on the Mule Leg though and stick with the shrimp.

I FOUND A NEW *BEST* TACO!! And I kid you not, their shrimp taco was special.  Extra special!  Can't put my finger on why, it was just the best shrimp taco I've ever had.  

So on my Things To Do in 2022 List:  ride to La Bufadora when there's swell, and order a pile of shrimp tacos (and one mule taco).

After a bit of digesting, and story telling, we grabbed our gear and moseyd through the booths and stalls and people to the bikes.  Saddled up and idled again through the street to the scenic ride back over the mountain top with a view north toward Ensenada and beyond.

So far, a few minutes of mist but no rain so we were feeling pretty lucky.  My weather app said it was raining quite a bit around San Diego.  Maybe we should just stay down here? But, that's just a dream I had once.  Time to ride north now that the bellies are full.  We fueled up as we neared that traffic nightmare called Ensenada and then scooted around to the east side of town until we hit the bypass that goes north up to MX3/via de guadeloupe.  Zooming northeast to Tecate, the roads were clean and relatively empty.  The countryside there is beautiful with wineries here, and there, and seemingly everywhere.  Eventually working our way up into the mountains the air got cooler and we pulled over to put the electric jackets back on.  We had been lucky so far, watching the rain clouds streak their payloads down to the mountain tops and farms around us.  Now we knew our luck was running out as we neared the summit and began the descent to Tecate.  

The rain began and the temps dropped again.  Not to worry as we were still in the mid 40's, but the fogging lens issue was worsening for me.  I cracked my XD4 to the 2nd detent which worked for awhile as I'd rather deal with raindrops stinging my cheeks, than riding blind.  Eventually the foggy lens was winning so we slowed up and I followed Saul's tail light, we being cautious of what we could see and manage with out too much risk.

Tecate was a warm site with a cold hug as we rolled into the heart of it.  But the rain was starting to slow, and then stop so we were happy about that.  As we rode past my favorite taco shop there, it started tugging at my front wheel.  But I resisted and help the bike on course toward the "wall".

Border crossing was text book.  Ride to the front and BP asked us to all 3 go through together with our passport cards ready.  And so we did.

From there it was business as usual on the 94 west toward La Mesa.

Good times, with old and new friends.  250 miles total of varied pavement, muddy Baja corners and epic tacos.

With the rain forecast as it was, I almost wimped out.  So glad I didn't.

By 4pm I was in and out of the hot tub, and putting my "city" jeans on.  An hour later I was at Banbu Sushi with wifey on a happy hour date.  The ride almost seemed like a dream.  Sometimes all you need is 8 hours, a fantastic motorcycle and a few bucks for gas and tacos to have a really good adventure.

 

[tntmo 887]

Glad it all worked out well.  Let me know when you’re ready to go in search of those La Rumarosa tacos I talked about with you.

[Zubb 1061]

3 hours ago, tntmo said:

Glad it all worked out well.  Let me know when you’re ready to go in search of those La Rumarosa tacos I talked about with you.

Damn near forgot. Let’s put them on the late January list!!

[kkug 146]

RIP poor pig -- is it realy stuck in the sand ? That said the last time I saw it it was also buried in the sand -but grunting .

[Zubb 1061]

6 hours ago, kkug said:

RIP poor pig -- is it realy stuck in the sand ? That said the last time I saw it it was also buried in the sand -but grunting .

Piggy is dead and as described above.  Long live piggy's memory.

[Pokey151 244]

Sounds like a great trip

[dirt dame 559]

A taco quest is always a noble cause.

[Bub_Hannah 174]

Looks like a blast was had.

 

I must say...I've always been too chicken to venture past the border on/in a vehicle.

[Zubb 1061]

1 hour ago, Bub_Hannah said:

Looks like a blast was had.

 

I must say...I've always been too chicken to venture past the border on/in a vehicle.

Saddle up. Let’s go. 

[Wierdrider 187]

Awesomeness Kelly 👍👍