Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! 
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- Joined
- Nov 27, 2013
- Messages
- 3,069
- Reaction score
- 2,123
- Location
- Highland Village (Dallas) TX
- First Name
- Bart
- Last Name
- Nale
The Trip:
Just got back from an 8-day bucket-list dirt bike ride through Baja Mexico. It was an 870-mile 90/10 dirt/paved adventure with 3 great friends, @markpeterson, Tigra Tsujikawa, and Jim Williams. Jim is a 40-year Baja warrior who headed guided dirt bike tours through the entire peninsula in his past life, so this meant that the rest of us just got to be the mindless monkeys and follow his lead. Jim focused on the more obscure, less traveled trails and areas of the region. Tigra is a long-time Baja veteran who effortlessly rides the terrain. Mark and I were both Baja virgins.
Almost all riding during the trip focused on out of the way dirt tracks that consisted of a non-stop variety of sand, rocks, hard-pack, more sand, silt, more rocks, more sand, and deep sand (my least favorite). When Mark and I first started it took some time to get used to riding at speed in sand but eventually it was a bit more comfortable. Deep sand and silt are hated by all and never gets comfortable. We did very little paved riding, unless to commute from one track to another, and one day to just rest a bit. Also, I never realized how mountainous Baja was, so there was a fair amount of climbing and descending.
Back to Jim, he is a devout minimalist and coached (browbeat, shamed) Mark and I into carrying everything we would need for 8 days in light-weight backpacks with almost nothing but some tools hanging on the bikes. This meant nightly washing of essentials and living with the bare necessities. We were WAY skeptical at first, but realized this minimalist approach was necessary to save as much weight as possible on the bikes and our persons for the technical riding.
The Agenda:
Mark and I shipping our KTM 500/Husky 501s to Jim and Tigra’s place in beautiful Santa Clemente, CA prior to the trip and flew in the day after Christmas. There we loaded up Jim and Tigra’s KTM 500 & 350 on the back of their pickup and Mark and my bikes on Jim’s trailer. Loaded up our gear and headed for El Centro, CA for an overnight stay.
Day 1 of Mexico consisted of us crossing the border and driving the 340 miles to Bahia los Angeles on the shores of the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California). The crossing into Baja is much easier than crossing into mainland Mexico as no TVIP permits are needed and you can easily bring in both bikes and truck. Here we left the truck and trailer for the duration of the trip.
Day 2 was 125 miles ride from Bahia los Angeles to Rancho Piedra Blanca, a working cattle ranch in the middle of the peninsula with some basic traveler accommodations. The owner kept a beautifully clean place and cooked both our dinner and breakfast.
Day 3 was 190 miles (longest day) from the Ranch to San Juanico, BCS (Scorpion Bay), in the state of Baja California Sur, on the Pacific Ocean. This was one of our several crossings of the Peninsula. San Juanico is a small fishing town, but also a surfer haven for Gringos in the know.
Day 4 was 125 miles from San Juanico to, back across to the Sea of Cortez into Loreta, BCS, our biggest town stop of the trip. Along the way we stopped at a beautiful mission.
Day 5 was 135 miles up the coast to Mulege, BCS. A smaller town where we spent a rest day and celebrated the New Years. Not a lot to do but the break was appreciated.
Day 6 was a commute day from Mulege to San Ignacio, a beautiful small town in central Baja centered around an old Mission and well-kept but small-town center. This was my favorite overnight stay.
Day 7 was 180 miles traveling from San Ignacia to tiny fishing village of Santa Rosalita on the Pacific coast. This was the smallest, most desolate stop of the trip. It was very rustic, but the people were very warm. BTW, as was every single other person we met in Mexico.
Day 8 was an 85-mile ride back across the peninsula to our base camp in Bahia Los Angeles. This ride incorporated every aspect of Baja riding all in one day. We stopped for snacks midway at an incredibly isolated mission. Beautiful structure in the middle of nowhere. This is also where I got bitten by a dog who I had just fed and patted moments earlier. Apparently running motorcycles brings out the demon in him and he chomped my foot hard enough to pull it off the peg. My thick riding boots saved the day though, so all was good. Back at base camp we loaded the bikes and gear in preparation for the long drive home the next day.
Day 9 was a 500+ mile slog back to San Clemente that included a 45 minute border crossing wait.
The Summary:
The trip went off without a hitch and exactly according to plan. No injuries, mechanical failures, or other delays. Perfect weather throughout. We did get some cactus attacks that are a bit brutal but not too bad, but that’s it. The ride really opened my eyes to the diversity of Baja and the endless exploration of both terrain and settlements that’s available in the region. Also, riding some of the routes taken by the Baja 1000 really opens your eyes to the crazy skills those riders have. It’s a big trip so I’m not sure when/if I’ll be back, but it absolutely fulfilled all of my expectations.
That said, it may be a week or two before I go out for any Mexican food back here in the states.
New Years Eve in Mulege BCS! Getting pretty late.
Just got back from an 8-day bucket-list dirt bike ride through Baja Mexico. It was an 870-mile 90/10 dirt/paved adventure with 3 great friends, @markpeterson, Tigra Tsujikawa, and Jim Williams. Jim is a 40-year Baja warrior who headed guided dirt bike tours through the entire peninsula in his past life, so this meant that the rest of us just got to be the mindless monkeys and follow his lead. Jim focused on the more obscure, less traveled trails and areas of the region. Tigra is a long-time Baja veteran who effortlessly rides the terrain. Mark and I were both Baja virgins.
Almost all riding during the trip focused on out of the way dirt tracks that consisted of a non-stop variety of sand, rocks, hard-pack, more sand, silt, more rocks, more sand, and deep sand (my least favorite). When Mark and I first started it took some time to get used to riding at speed in sand but eventually it was a bit more comfortable. Deep sand and silt are hated by all and never gets comfortable. We did very little paved riding, unless to commute from one track to another, and one day to just rest a bit. Also, I never realized how mountainous Baja was, so there was a fair amount of climbing and descending.
Back to Jim, he is a devout minimalist and coached (browbeat, shamed) Mark and I into carrying everything we would need for 8 days in light-weight backpacks with almost nothing but some tools hanging on the bikes. This meant nightly washing of essentials and living with the bare necessities. We were WAY skeptical at first, but realized this minimalist approach was necessary to save as much weight as possible on the bikes and our persons for the technical riding.
The Agenda:
Mark and I shipping our KTM 500/Husky 501s to Jim and Tigra’s place in beautiful Santa Clemente, CA prior to the trip and flew in the day after Christmas. There we loaded up Jim and Tigra’s KTM 500 & 350 on the back of their pickup and Mark and my bikes on Jim’s trailer. Loaded up our gear and headed for El Centro, CA for an overnight stay.
Day 1 of Mexico consisted of us crossing the border and driving the 340 miles to Bahia los Angeles on the shores of the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California). The crossing into Baja is much easier than crossing into mainland Mexico as no TVIP permits are needed and you can easily bring in both bikes and truck. Here we left the truck and trailer for the duration of the trip.
Day 2 was 125 miles ride from Bahia los Angeles to Rancho Piedra Blanca, a working cattle ranch in the middle of the peninsula with some basic traveler accommodations. The owner kept a beautifully clean place and cooked both our dinner and breakfast.
Day 3 was 190 miles (longest day) from the Ranch to San Juanico, BCS (Scorpion Bay), in the state of Baja California Sur, on the Pacific Ocean. This was one of our several crossings of the Peninsula. San Juanico is a small fishing town, but also a surfer haven for Gringos in the know.
Day 4 was 125 miles from San Juanico to, back across to the Sea of Cortez into Loreta, BCS, our biggest town stop of the trip. Along the way we stopped at a beautiful mission.
Day 5 was 135 miles up the coast to Mulege, BCS. A smaller town where we spent a rest day and celebrated the New Years. Not a lot to do but the break was appreciated.
Day 6 was a commute day from Mulege to San Ignacio, a beautiful small town in central Baja centered around an old Mission and well-kept but small-town center. This was my favorite overnight stay.
Day 7 was 180 miles traveling from San Ignacia to tiny fishing village of Santa Rosalita on the Pacific coast. This was the smallest, most desolate stop of the trip. It was very rustic, but the people were very warm. BTW, as was every single other person we met in Mexico.
Day 8 was an 85-mile ride back across the peninsula to our base camp in Bahia Los Angeles. This ride incorporated every aspect of Baja riding all in one day. We stopped for snacks midway at an incredibly isolated mission. Beautiful structure in the middle of nowhere. This is also where I got bitten by a dog who I had just fed and patted moments earlier. Apparently running motorcycles brings out the demon in him and he chomped my foot hard enough to pull it off the peg. My thick riding boots saved the day though, so all was good. Back at base camp we loaded the bikes and gear in preparation for the long drive home the next day.
Day 9 was a 500+ mile slog back to San Clemente that included a 45 minute border crossing wait.
The Summary:
The trip went off without a hitch and exactly according to plan. No injuries, mechanical failures, or other delays. Perfect weather throughout. We did get some cactus attacks that are a bit brutal but not too bad, but that’s it. The ride really opened my eyes to the diversity of Baja and the endless exploration of both terrain and settlements that’s available in the region. Also, riding some of the routes taken by the Baja 1000 really opens your eyes to the crazy skills those riders have. It’s a big trip so I’m not sure when/if I’ll be back, but it absolutely fulfilled all of my expectations.
That said, it may be a week or two before I go out for any Mexican food back here in the states.
New Years Eve in Mulege BCS! Getting pretty late.
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~ this brings back good memories of the time when
