The short version is that I started with a group of 9 other Baja riders ( and a couple of road riders who were going to Barrett Junction with us ) on Jan 2. A few days later I crashed along the Pacific coast, got myself sewn up and continued to ride for a bit. I think the antibiotic that I took messed up my digestion and I found myself sick on top of a mountain, and bailed, some 400 miles into the thing. Got back to Tucson, decided that I needed to return and I did. Took a bus down to Vizcaino and I finished riding in Cabo on Mar 4. I rode sections 1-7 and 11-18. So not exactly the whole thing and one day I'll have to go back and take care of those others.
Before the Ride:
I decided to take the Sunset Limited Amtrak train from Tucson to LA. You have to buy a $20 upgrade to take your bike along but you do not have to take it apart. Just remove the bags and then go up to the baggage car and hand it up to them. They strap in in ( someplace ? ) and you go and fetch it at the baggage car at your destination. The Amtrak rules mention 2" wide tires and I had a 3.0 in the front and 2.8 in the back, but didn't get any negative feedback from them. The bike arrived unscathed, but my rear light was broken ( apparently the strap went around in that area, probably should have taken that off ). In LA, I parked next to the Starbucks at Union Station and started to put the bike together. Around 5:30 am I was ready to roll, and had three or four miles of city streets to navigate before I got on the bike path that runs along the LA river. That went well, and soon I was in Long Beach, seeing the stacks of the Queen Mary and looking for a breakfast place.
The day went well, I found a bunch of bike paths and rode through the beach towns. Probably the sketchiest thing was to ride through Laguna Beach. There were two lanes of traffic and a lane of parked cars and not a heck of a lot of room, plus the sidewalks were full of people.
All in all, it was a great day, lots of boardwalk riding, a few Beach Boys tunes on the iPod, and I got to San Clemente and found a hotel.
Next morning, I found the bike path that uses parts of old US 80. I used a Google Map description of how to get from LA Union Station to San Diego and that was working pretty well. It was fun to ride along the coast, between the Amtrak tracks and I5 and the Pacific Ocean on the other side. Things went really well, and we entered Camp Pendleton. And then I found myself routed along I5 for a bit ! Somehow I thought that piece was only a short 1 mile section, but at the rest stop, I figured out that I still had about 7 miles to go on the Interstate to get to Oceanside. I ran into a couple of guys on road bikes who had followed the exact same instructions, and the three of us hauled it from the rest stop to Oceanside ... me fully loaded on a mountain bike and them on road bikes ( I was in front )
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| Rest Stop on I-5 ... there's Baja ! |
The rest of the day was great, got to Pacific Beach, found a place to stay and then spent the next couple of days riding around downtown San Diego, catching sunsets, going to Ocean Beach and out to Point Loma to see the lighthouse.
San Diego to Barrett Junction:
Packed up my stuff at the Comfort Inn in San Diego, rode past the airport and the Midway and the rest of the group started showing up at a little park close to the Midway. We had a couple of road riders show up, who were going to ride to Chula Vista with us, and about 10 of us who were doing Baja Divide. After getting a bunch of pictures taken, we headed out.
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| Baja Divide 2018 - San Diego start |
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| Baja Divide 2018 .. before Otay Mountain |
The first few miles were bike path stuff that followed the Stagecoach 400 route, out to Bonita. Then we took a back alley and some city streets. We stopped at a Trader Joe's and everyone resupplied like there was no tomorrow. Then we found the singletrack around Otay preserve and got a few road miles in. And then it was time to get real. I was actually surprised by Otay Mountain. I think I was a little dehydrated and probably should have hung out at the little store at the bottom of it, but charged ahead. Otay was the real deal, a pretty good road, but steep in places and it kept going. The views were great, but I walked too much. And I looked in front and some people were walking also, and then later found out that a few riders blew it off and went around on the highway to Barrett Junction !
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| Nice views Otay Mountain |
After getting to the top, there was a pretty good descent, and then a really steep descent, and then this piece of old road that ran along the side of a defunct irrigation canal. It was getting later in the day, maybe 3:30 and the shadows were getting longer and I was wondering why I was stuck out here in the middle of this stupid irrigation ditch and then it all got better and I found myself at Barrett Junction.
The restaurant there was open until about 6, the burger and fries were great, and I downed a couple of Cokes and a lot of iced tea. Then I went to figure out where to pitch my tent and ended up in the middle of a field of thistles and other crappy stuff.
Barrett Junction to Ojos Negros:
Got up early the next morning, packed and went to the front of the restaurant, thinking the rest of the group would come by in a bit ( there was an electrical outlet there and I was recharging my phone ). A lady drives up and needed help with the hood of her car ... I helped her and walked back to my phone. Suddenly she's hollering and I go over and she had put ATF fluid in her oil instead of oil ( she grabbed the wrong bottle out of the back of her car ). I look something up with the phone that either says .. don't drive it, or ... drive it slow and get it changed ... tell her that and she puts oil in it and drives off. Started wondering where everyone else was and went around back and didn't see anyone. So I start out on the route. I get a few miles in and then crest a hill and see the whole group in front of me and I pull in right behind them .. how they got ahead of me I still can't figure out .. they should have come right by when we were messing with that car !
The group split up right at Tecate. Some headed straight over to exchange money on the Mexican side, and to score phone SIMMs, some stopped at the grocery. But it all worked out and in a few minutes were were all in Mexico, in front of the TECATE sign. We scored some burrito's at a place a stone's throw from the Border and then took off.
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| Tecate ! We're in Mexico ! |
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| Not all desert ... nice oaks |
When I say took off, we literally did so ... it was like a full fledged race past the Brewery up these really steep little hills ... then we got to an open spot and waited for one fellow to catch up. After that there was a section on pavement, a stop at an OXXO station, buying more food and we were rolling along.
About this time we lost the Canadian's and two other guys, their being way ahead. The group of six of us rode and rode through pretty country, lots of big rocks, some good road sections, some that was pretty rough. About 3:30 or close to 4, a group of 4 of us passed what looked like a pretty good place to stop, that even had a fire ring and we did. The guy and girl who were riding together came up in a bit and thought it was too early to stop and they rode ahead. That took our group from 6 down to 4.
We built a fire for our first night in Mexico. A little later a rancher rode up with two vaqueros and about a dozen dogs. He spoke great English, was German, apparently had a house there, one in California and one in Germany. He said the big green building we had passed was built with drug money, was supposed to be a drug rehab facility. And he just wanted to make sure we weren't idiots who were going to burn the countryside down !
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| running stream north of Ojos Negros |
In Ojos Negros, I found a restaurant, got some tacos ordered, found a hotel for the night and then ran into the other 3 guys the following morning at breakfast.
Ojos Negros to Santo Tomas
After breakfast had a good ride. Something in the description mentioned being able to view the Ocean after Tres Hermanas ... I don't think I ever did figure out exactly where this was :-) Might have seen from the top of a hill there, but not sure. I remember the GPS track taking us straight up the side of some hill several times when it turned out there was a perfectly good road that went around and then up with a much easier grade. Parts of these roads had been used for the Baja 1000, and you would see little signs with arrows on them pointing out the way ( that race had been in late November I think ).
At the top of one of the hills there was a really steep descent, rocky with a giant bike eating gully in the middle ... I could see tracks where it looked like most people had ridden it .. but I got off and walked a good bit. Nothing like surviving for the next day !
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| farm outside of Ururapan |
Ururapan came up, and I stopped at a little store. They had everything in there .. from clothes, to Barbie's, batteries, food, soft drinks, car parts ... you name it ... all in a little tiny place. I rode on, got to Mex-1 and did a few miles to get to Santo Tomas.
At Santo Tomas, I passed the Pemex station and missed the hotel that was there. I found the next one over the hill, a place with the words "hostel" on the side, painted blue. I stopped at the grocery store adjoining it, signed in and got myself a room for the night. Then I realized that they had locked the outside gate and there wasn't any way out. I banged around a bit, got the guy to open the car gate at the top of the hill, went back to the Pemex station ( which had a restaurant ) and got a good meal. Came back to the hotel and got in my room. When I got up the next morning that gate was locked again, but a guy saw me wandering around and opened the gate and let me out. I now call this place the "prison". But the water was hot in the shower and it was quiet.
Santo Tomas to Ejio Erenderia:
Nothing opened for breakfast, I started up this giant hill on the west side of Santo Tomas. It was great riding all the way to the Coast. The excitement builds as you get closer and you see the Ocean and then ride to it, going down this big hill ... there are two ways, one crazy steep, the other has switchbacks and is still steep.
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| Chupacabra's nearby |
All of the places that people take pictures of are down there, the "No Easy Street" sign, the "Chupucabra" sign, etc, things that people who live there have put out. It's getting to be about 11 am or so and I am rolling along nicely.
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| Breakfast spot - Castro's restaurant |
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| wild Pacific Coast |
I had a stick that I was carrying to fend off dogs who run out barking at the bicycles. I had successfully used it a couple of times, holding it in my right hand, swinging at a dog, and that worked. For some reason I decided to move the stick from my right hand to my left ... and in the process of doing that, I crashed.
Just remember going down and I pretty much hit on my face, hands and ribs. It was a smooth dirt road, no traffic and I lay there for a bit. It really really hurt. I remember running my tongue over my tooth to see if it was still there ( yes it was ! ) and then started to get up. I spit out dirt and blood and then realized I was bleeding pretty good from a cut on my left small finger. I picked up my stuff that was strewn around, and tried to figure out which side was up. Then a guy came by on an ATV and said there was a clinic in Erenderia, and he would go up there and tell them I was coming. So I started riding the three miles or so to the clinic.
They got me right in. Started stitching my face up, almost passed out and had to lie down, and what needed doing got done. They asked my name and my age, and gave me some Clindamycin and a pain killer and charged me $94 (pesos ), about 5 dollars. The two guys working on me ( PA's ) and the lady doctor ( MD ) all insisted that I stay the night, and a phone call was made and they pointed me to a place near the Ocean. I ended up with maybe four sutures in my finger, and I think about 6 in my face.
I actually felt ok otherwise and planned to continue, so got up the next morning and rode out after a breakfast at a place overlooking the Ocean.
Erenderia to Colonet & Rancho El Coyote:
Rode through Erenderia in the morning, past the "Malibu Surf Club" ( a little area of gringo houses ), got slightly confused by the chain link fence that runs to the beach ( apparently a newer GPS file bypasses it ... I had to go down to the beach and back up ). It was beautiful riding along this wild coast, with waves crashing against the rocks and spray in the air.
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| more Pacific Coast |
Then we turned inland and there were some sandy sections and some steep gullies to go down into and back up and out of. I passed the Johnson Ranch, could hear the surf in the Ocean to the west and then climbed up a bit and down to Colonet.
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| sorta banged up .. still running |
I felt good at Colonet, no reason to quit here, started up and into the mountains towards Rancho El Coyote. The road was great at first, then started winding through a sandy wash. It grew late and I wild camped, built a fire, heated up a can of soup and slept well.
The next morning brought a little more sandy wash, a couple of water crossings and then a set of pretty steep climbs. Some bike pushing involved ! Got to the top of one climb and had an awesome view of the road leading several miles further to the east. More riding more great views and then a section of maybe two miles of total road destruction, just all tore up by Baja 1000, full of sand, total suckage !
And right after that, I was at El Coyote Ranch. Mike who lives there says "you've made it" and "there's other riders up at the house". I go up to the main house and there are Rob, Ron and Adam sitting around drinking a beer. Apparently they had camped a couple of miles further east than me last night and had just gotten here.
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| Rancho El Coyote |
El Coyote Ranch was great. Great food, nice grass to pitch the tent on. A swimming pool that I did not go into ! In the middle of the night, it started to rain. My tent was working great, I was nice and dry and the rain broke in the morning enough to get ourselves all packed up and ready for the ride to Vicente Guerrero.
Rain Day:
The first six miles out of El Coyote were great. Nice smooth dirt road, a little tacky, but nothing to worry about. Got to the pavement and actually started down it for a second, then realized that was wrong and turned. In hindsight I should have gone down the pavement !
Went past Meling Ranch and up the hill into the mountains and Rob, Ron and Adam soon passed me. And then the rain started. At first it wasn't bad, we were just getting wet and were making progress. Then I rounded a corner, and Ron and Adam were stuck in the mud. I stopped, picked up my bike and walked through the muddy stuckage section. We rode some more. Got to an intersection, turned up a hill and the bikes became immovable objects. Drag, push, dig mud out, repeat. Finally got to the top and then there was the big grassy field.
There's a picture on http://theredheadednomad.com 's site of Onna riding through this section. She's riding fast, smiling, and happy. The four of us found ourselves in a very different state, as a mixture of grass, rocks and mud would stick to the tires and jam between the frame and the tires. Again the bikes were these unmovable objects. I think we got into that area about noon and we were still there around 4 pm as we slowly made our way to a farmer's place, the only ranch in the entire area. For a period we were all four stuck out on this grassy plain, all strung out in a line. One would get ahead, then another, then another, as each of us cleaned up his bike enough to advance 50 feet and then get stuck again and get passed by the other. I started to wonder if Carbon would burn ? ( could I just make a bonfire and walk out ? )
Rob went up and talked with the rancher ( Estevan ) and he allowed us to stop for the night in a house that he was using for spare parts and maybe for guest workers to stay in. It got us out of the rain. I was frozen and I think Rob, Ron and Adam were pretty miserable also. To the good, I had a dry sleeping bag, a dry pair of shorts and a dry shirt, so managed to put those on, got in the sleeping bag and started feeling human as we could hear the rain on the roof that night.
The next morning, we got up, walked outside and began to realize "we ain't going no place" The barnyard was just mud, mud, and the road outside was the same. Not sure if Rob asked him or if Estevan just made the call, but he comes by later and says his friends are coming in a truck later. The sun came out a little bit and a few things dried out but the road was still trashed.
Around 3:30 or 4, his buds show up. Three guys in an old pickup truck drinking Tecate ! The four of us pile in the back of the truck and away we go, slipping and sliding even with our weight in the back of the pickup. They got us to within a mile or two of Vicente Guerrero at sundown and we made it to FASS bike shop and left our bikes there and walked to the Mission Inn hotel and got a couple of rooms. The shower was awesome, did some clothes washing in the sink, mud everywhere. Salvador at the shop did a little video of our muddy bikes.
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| Adam getting ready to ride to Vicente Guerrero |
Next day was major bike maintenance. Cleaned them up, replaced brake pads, I got a new shift cable and housing. Even replaced the rear tire because the rocks had rubbed some of the outer casing on the sidewalls away and I didn't trust it. Salvador worked his magic on all of our bikes, even working a minor miracle to replace some bearings on Rob's bike the next day !
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| FASS Bike Shop -- Everyone signs the big map |
And we ran into Cannon, who was riding behind us and who had stopped at El Coyote and then took the pavement to Mex-1. Smart man !
Vicente Guerrero to Cielito Lindo:
I did a few miles on Mex-1 the next morning and then reconnected with the GPX route. Was pretty uneventful, but when I got to San Quintin, I was looking for a place to get my sutures removed. I stopped with Cannon and Ron for fish tacos ( some of the best fish tacos ever ! ) and then rode backwards a bit. I finally found the local hospital, Santa Maria, and go inside. I type "I need to get sutures removed" into my Google Translate app on my phone and hold it up to the receptionist, and she reads it and then goes away for a bit and returns writing "doctor out in 30 minutes". So I sit for a bit and she comes out and the sutures come out and I am done. Cost $200 pesos. ( About $10 US ).
Cielito Lindo is a little hotel/resort close to Molino Viejo a set of two or three volcanoes along a little bay on the Pacific side. Rode some sandy stuff to get there, made a couple of shortcuts due to muddy roads and met the other guys there. So five of us sat down for supper. My appetite was pretty much gone at this point. Wasn't sure what was going on but I tried to eat some supper and wasn't very moved by it, had a beer and went to bed. In the morning I pushed some eggs and bacon around my plate and then we loaded up and headed out. The next section would be a long one, into the mountains, getting to Catavina.
Cielito Lindo to the hills and back:
I rode well when we started out. Got to Neuva Odissea and we resupplied at a small store and then started a long climb. It was about 2000 feet of climbing and I dropped back as the other 4 guys rolled on up the hills. I got weaker and weaker and camped at sundown, about 20 miles from Mex-1 in the hills. I couldn't eat and I drank some of a flavored mineral water thing that I had with me.
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| Resupply in Nueva Odissea |
A couple of hours later I came quickly out of the tent on hands and knees and threw up. Obviously I have some sort of problem going on. Managed to get back to sleep, trying to figure out what to do. It was something on the order of 50 some miles to press ahead towards Catavina before I get to a resupply place and 20 back downhill and then 6 to get to Cielito Lindo. When I got up in the morning I headed downhill.
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| Desert |
Finally made it back to that hotel, checked in and I think I had about half of an order of french fries and a Coke, and went to bed. Up the next morning, and pushed some French toast around my plate and checked out.
So I headed up Mex-1 to San Quintin where there was an ATM machine to get some cash, thinking I was going to hole up in a hotel there someplace. I passed the bus station and something said to me "this is hopeless" and so I stopped, checked out the price to get to Tijuana and for $400 pesos I was on the bus and headed north.
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| Tijuana Central Autobuss |
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| Riding north on the Pacific Streamliner - Excellent bike accomodations ! |
Well, at that point I was pretty much committed to going back home, so that's what I did. My appetite was still gone and it didn't really come back until almost a week after I got back home. I think I did one little ride to get coffee after I had been home for a few days ... was pretty slow. Think I made the right call in stopping, but maybe I could have holed up in SQ for a few more days ... maybe it was too easy to just get on the bus. In any event I did want to come back, so that's the second part of this thing !
This is a great story and good info!! Thanks for sharing!!
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