Baja 2022

It was so quiet. I sat on a rock and I didn't hear anything. Even the ringing in my ears that bothers me from time to time was gone, just silence. Then we hear someone yell and Sarah goes "there's someone standing on that hill". I thought she was imagining, but yep, there was someone standing on that hill. Now who could that be? We had camped off the main road just so we wouldn't be bothered in the middle of the night and I thought it could be some of the family from a ranch a couple of miles back. 

Day 1 We left Tucson on Tuesday morning, cruised right along until just outside of Gila Bend when the traffic on I-8 came to a total standstill. Got out and wandered around with all the other people getting out and then suddenly it all started moving and had to run to get back to Sarah's car. Off to San Diego and we hit rain west of El Centro and drove in rain off and on until we found the parking garage near the airport. Pulled the bikes out and off we went to downtown San Diego where we caught the San Diego trolley headed for San Ysidro. Lots of rain, changed money, easy crossing into Mexico and over the bridge to the bus station. Paid $215 MX I think, for a ticked to Ensenada and at 8:30 pm we were on our way.

Changed buses in Ensenada, and it took us about 10 hours or so to get to Vizcaino, which is just a few miles into Baja Sur just south of latitude 28. We pulled the bikes out and reassembled them and rode off to find breakfast and score some resupply. We got about 30 miles in, a little stop at a Tecate tienda to pet a kitty cat and stopped for the night past the rancho out in the Vizcaino desert.

Riding through the Vizcaino desert 

Day 2 started out well, sandy tracks, a little bit of pushing due to my narrower tires. ( my freehub died on my 27.5 wheelset and that wheel was still at the bike shop and I had a 2.35 in the rear and a 2.6 in the front )  All in all it went pretty well and we began to think we were getting close to San Ignacio. Kept thinking we were getting close and at some point, we crested a hill and saw a palm oasis and I thought for sure were were on the outskirts of San Ignacio. Alas, that was a ruse, and we were still 10 miles away, having thought the distance to be covered was from Vizcaino when in reality it was from the Tecate tienda!

It got hot, we had a headwind, I got sand in my shoes, my feet hurt and I think Sarah was hurting too. Finally we got to the real outskirts of San Ignacio where water from the lagoon there was inviting from the side of the trail and I took my shoes off and stuck my feet in. We rode over a carpet of date palm fronds and got to a closed gate that we had to lift our bikes over. And then we hit pavement and 50 feet away was an STX store and cold Cokes and a couple of dogs to pet and life was good again. Took a mile or so ride to the Rice and Beans hotel ( there were closer ones but I was confused about where we were exactly ).

We thought the greenery in the distance was San Ignacio ... Nope!

Day 3 we got breakfast and rode to downtown San Ingacio, checked out the mission and stopped and talked to the folks at Kuyima. Found out the deal for whale watching and rode to Laguna San Ignacio. We followed the signs and got there. Talked to David and he told us we would probably see whales tomorrow and pointed us to the restaurant. We had a great lunch and then he comes in and says if we can be ready in 15 minutes we can go now!  A little while later, we're in a panga headed out in to the lagoon with Ramon as our boatsman. 

Fascinating as we saw whale spout after spout and the boat slowed near the other boat. We splashed our hands in the water and a couple of grey whales appeared, and we scratched their backs just like you would a dog's. So incredible to be out there, sharing this extra-species communication with a creature of the deep. We came back to a beautiful sunset and early to bed in our tents that were pitched in the briefing area for Kuyima to protect us from the wind. Much appreciated!

Grey Whale at Laguna San Ignacio

She's coming up on the side

Day 4 We got up and rolled for El Datil across the salt flats. Cruising along at nearly 20 mph for quite a bit, it was fun riding and we were in El Datil looking for the restaurant. Found the one I went to 4 years ago, but the store had only beer in the cooler. We rode around trying to find the other tienda and finally did. We thought we were getting some macha ( meat ) burritos and instead ended up with a fish and rice mixture that was pretty good. Sarah cleaned her's up and I was doing pretty good and then the lady who was still cooking puts this entire fish on a plate! We were both stuffed and maybe a little dehydrated still and there was no way we could eat that fish! Felt embarrassed that we had over-ordered. Rolled out and we got to where the road from El Datil intersected the road that went to San Juanico and we camped.

We were already eating but the little girl invited us to her house for food ... El Datil

Day 5 was an early up as we wanted to make some serious progress on the way to Mulege. We took photos of a sign with a "Bad Hombres" sticker on it ( the same name as Sarah's 24HOP team!)  and were about 5 miles into the turnoff to Mulege when Sarah realized she didn't have her phone. Nothing to do but turn around and go back and look for it, so we rode, and rode and rode and pretty soon we were almost to the Bad Hombres sticker sign and that's where her phone had bounced out of a badly designed Revelate gas tank bag. So 20 miles of riding, it's 11 or 11:30 am and getting warm and we have chewed into our water already. We got to the La Ballena turn and decided to head for San Juanico instead.

Well it sounded easy on paper, but nothing is easy ... rode through El Cadege and got into San Juanico in a couple of hours or so and scored a nice casita with a couple of rooms owned by a couple from Oregon. Made a ride to get tacos and beer and had a nice lazy afternoon with time to recharge our electrical stuff and sleep in a bed.

Overlooking the bay at San Junaico

Day 6 We waited for the folks across the street from the casita to open for breakfast and rolled at maybe 9 am. Nice riding along the Pacific coast and then we got to where the road turned to a sandy steep uphill track away from this beautiful paved road we were on. Pushed a couple hundred feet up and decided I didn't want to deal with sand even though this would cut miles off our route. It was a nice ride down the coast on a brand new highway with almost zero traffic. We got to a little town on the coast called Las Barrancas. Found a tienda with Cokes and then found the mini-super and resupplied again and rode to La Purisima. I was doing pretty good until I took about 3 ibuprofens and in a short while my stomach was pretty toasted. Struggled up a hill, getting warm and decided I just needed to lie down, so I did and poor Sarah had to wait on me. Napped for maybe 20 minutes and fortunately a lot of the rest of the ride that afternoon was downhill and we got to La Purisima and found the hotel Sierra. The fellow that ran it was very nice and friendly and he fixed us up with coffee the next morning!

This one had lit candles in it ... on the highway to Las Barrancas

Hotel Sierra .. Sarah getting ready to roll while the kitty takes a little dirt bath

Day 7 Started with an 8 am breakfast that took until 9 or 9:30 I think by the time we got away. Dealt with a valve core issue on one of Sarah's tires, got that fixed and got past San Isidro and started up that long long long hill. And we saw riders! And then we caught up with them, it was Jon and Jess who had started in Mulege. And a few minutes later Will came rolling up the hill followed by Brandon and Troy.

This was a hard section. Joh and Jess and Will, Brandon and Troy all  went ahead. I pushed and walked a little bit, and we finally got to Comondu and they were all there refueling. Hung out at the mini-super for a bit and knowing that we still had another big climb Sarah and I left.

We made the big climb and got through most of the red gravel area until we found a cow wallow on the right and camped there. A little later Jess and Jon passed and Brandon and Troy passed. 

Day 8 we got up and had a pretty nice ride to San Javier. Think we got there before noon, scored some breakfast at the restaurant near the mission and then saw a sign welcoming Baja riders, and got ourselves a room and a palm thatched casita for the night. We hung out that afternoon and Brandon and Troy were feeling sick from some passion fruit they had mixed with their water. The folks running the place were wonderful. We went to the restaurant and scored macha burritos to go for the next day and then somehow missed the fact that they closed a 5 pm and found ourselves without a restaurant! But the folks at the casita's fixed us up a meal and we were saved!  Jess and I wandered down and looked at the 200 year old olive tree and early to bed.

These three ladies were wonderful! They took such good care of us.

On the way to San Javier

The Mission at the end of a very pretty town square

Got up at 5:30 am to roll for the long ride to Ley Federal. Switched on my light and it was dead ... evidently there was enough leakage in the light to drain the batteries. Charged them for a few minutes and we had some coffee and away Sarah and I went. Jess and Jon were going to roll at 6:30. 

Sarah and I made good time, nice fast roll until we made the turn at the cave attraction and did well until about 3 pm and washboard and heat were wearing both of us down. So we pulled over in a mesquite thicket and napped for 30 minutes or so. We got up and made it to Ley Federal ...  I could see a communications tower for the longest way, still a long way, still a long way ... the darn thing wouldn't come any closer ... and then we were there and it was across highway 1. 

I had  a couple of the burritos left and tossed them by the local basura pile and a couple of small doggies came over and scarfed them up!  We got sodas and some things to eat and headed to highway 1.

A quick ride across three bridges on highway 1 and we were glad to be alive and turned off that road and headed to one of that washes and found a place to camp for the night. It was one of those areas used as an impromptu dump.

In the middle of the night some sort of bird came by, sounded like the call of a hawk right in the trees above us. Sarah texts me 'did you hear that!'  Yeah, I sure did ... it came by a little later and then we heard no more of it.

Crossing part of the Sierra Giganta from San Javier to Ley Federal

Resting in whatever shade we could find on the way to Ley Federal

Day 9 we awoke with clouds, packed up and rode alongside highway 1 on dirt until we turned away from it and then we hit serious fog. Some sort of marine layer thing and we were in fog for maybe 5 miles. A bit of washboard and some sandy sections and quite a bit of tailwind. It all went pretty well and we got to Ciudad. I was in front and made a right turn on the main highway instead of a left like the route showed, and then realized I had lost Sarah who was a bit behind me. We managed to reconnect and rolled toward Hotel Paraiso.

We scored some resupply at the Bodega next door and met Jon and Jess for drinks later. Managed to find a restaurant that closed it's kitchen while they were looking at the menu. Epic fail on choosing a place!  

The Orange Farm

Day 10, Sarah and I started early. We found coffee on the street and headed for the dump .. the route takes you through the city dump. Stinky and on fire, but not too bad. Good miles to San Luis Gonzaga and it comes at a place in the ride where you're ready to stop for a bit. Looked into the tienda and it was closed, full of dirt and dust like it had been closed for years. But a family just across the street from the mission offered macha burritos and coffee and we had those and we got some water resupply too.

We rolled out, Jess and Jon passed us and we passed them. We got to a connector road that I completely had forgotten about. Rode more, connected back with more of a main road and we got about 55 miles in for the day, leaving us with 35 miles for the next day to get to San Evaristo.

San Luis Gonzaga 

Jess found a friend

Day 11, there was so much dew on our tents! Everything was soaked, and we are in what appears to be a totally dry desert, just rocks and cacti. Packed up a wet tent and we started to move. Right outside Las Animas I paused at the top of a little rise and a group of goats entered the road in front of me. Then more and more goats entered, possibly nearly 50 altogether. I started down the hill and Sarah got a nice photo of me behind the herd. We got to Animas and waited for some cattle to come down to a stream and drink and then walked our bikes past them to not scare them. And right at the top of the hill was a little mini-super in someone's home. She had iced cold Jumex's and I drank two right there and took a third to go. That came in handy as there is a sustained long climb out of Las Animas and then you get to what some have called the "Grand Canyon" of Baja. A long downhill and more riding until later in the afternoon we are at the overlook where you can see San Evaristo and the Sea of Cortez. Stopped there for photos and down we started. The road is totally bombed out and really steep and I walked and stumbled a lot, probably walked a good couple of miles. Finally made the climb up to a little descent into San Evaristo and there we were with the comforts of civilization as Lupe and his family welcomed us. Casita's for the night, cold beer and fish tacos!

As we were eating Jess and Jon came in, noticed that we were showered and more or less presentable and go "how long have you guys been here"? Jess had a banged up knee having crashed on the descent that I walked most of. It was a good evening, could have sat there and drank beer for the night, but again early to bed and up the next morning. Was so good to be inside as the wind was really blowing .. exactly the same as it was 4 years ago when I was there. And it turned out that it was Jess on top of that hill the night before!

The goats just kept coming out of the field to the right

The climb is done ... now for 2000 feet of rugged descent ... there was walking

Lupe Sierra and Maggie May's ... must stop in San Evaristo

Day 12. Breakfast of huevos rancheros ( my go to Baja breakfast order ), we scored a 10 litre bottle of water to split between the 4 of us and off we went. Guess I forgot to tighten one of my voile straps as my water bottle popped out making a hell of a racket. Was going to go back, but Sarah had a spare strap at the handy ( mine was deeply buried ), and away we went. 

What I thought was about 6 separate climbs turned out to be mostly one really long climb, several sections with concrete on the road and maybe 18% grades (??) .. we got through it and had some beautiful riding along the Sea of Cortez, some of the best of the trip. Some washboard getting to and from  Punta Coyote and a quick little stop at the tienda in a lady's house where she provided cold Pepsi's and cookies! More washboard that continued until we got to the shrimp factory. Then the road improved greatly!  

More riding along the sea, past the wrecked boat, past the pier for the phosphate plant and to San Juan de la Costa. Glad I knew the tienda was way up on that hillside .. I know Sarah was behind me and wondering why in the hell we were having to climb this stupid hill, but there it was. It serves the miners for the phosphate mine, so is really well stocked. We refueled, fed another street dog, ate the last of the burrito's we scored at Lupe's in the morning and went to find a camping spot on the beach for the night. Took about 3 miles to find the perfect place, an open gate with a little trail that went towards and along the beach and behind a small hill. It was a perfect place for our last night on the road.

Yes Sarah, there really is a tienda at the top of that stupid hill :-)

Day 13 had a beautiful sunrise. Packed up and began to roll towards La Paz. We were on pavement now, a couple of steep climbs but all rideable, and then the road moved away from the coast range and flattened out and with a little tailwind we were doing 17 or 18 miles/hr for a good distance.  We stopped at El Centenario and I remembered to take my Camelback with me this time! The last few miles unwound quickly and by 10:30 am we were on the Malecon taking photos. Got some breakfast, couldn't get two rooms at the Pension California hotel and went to the Quinta Lolita hotel. The water was hot, the shower was great and a bit later we went back to the Malecon and ran into Shelby, Brandon, Troy and Will in front of the ice cream shop and then Jess and Jon came in. 

Had a nice dinner that night with them and a bunch of other folk, everyone talking about where they started, how their rides went, just a fun time. And I'm sitting there twice or three times older than a bunch of these folks, but we all got there one our bicycles.

WE MADE IT !

In front of the ice cream shop ... Jess and Jon had just arrived

Day 14, I get a text from Sarah and she's researched the cost for a flight and we decide to fly instead of taking a 24 hour bus ride to Tijuana. We score breakfast and find a bike box at the rental place near the Malecon. She calls another bike shop and they say they have a box and we walk about a mile or so there and get the box. Head back to the hotel , ride back downtown and borrow a couple of tools to unscrew pedals and we found some packing tape. Packed up the boxes and drag them to the curb, and I try to get an Uber. Immediately realize they don't have an Uber XL and no one is responding so I send Sarah up by Pension California to where the cabs hang out and she comes back in a cab. He opens the trunk and drops the rear seat and only one bike is going in this car. We ask him to call one of his friends, and in 5 minutes or so, another identical cab shows up and we drag Sarah's box to it and away we go in two cabs to the airport.

Sarah had the tickets all lined up, we checked in the bikes and went through security. I walked straight through except for having to remove my bike shoes. Sarah had to argue with them about her little toolset that was in her back back, and they finally relented and we got on a Califa flight to TJ.

In TJ we wait for our bags and Sarah's box comes off the baggage carousel and it's completely open. They opened it for inspection and didn't bother to tape it back up. ( This happened to Jess coming out of SJDC going to Oaxaca also ). Found a cart, bought tickets for CBX at $500 MX and headed for the US. Obnoxious disneyland crowd control things getting pushed out of the way by the two of us with a cart with two giant bike boxes on it, but we finally got through and were out waiting for an Uber XL to show. She drives up and can only take one of us because she had the front seat screened off because Covid. So Sarah takes a ride to San Diego to get her car, and I sit with bike boxes until she returns.

Sarah gets to CBX, we load up and score burgers at McDonald's and drive to El Centro. Up the next morning, breakfast at a Cracker Barrel and home by about 11 am I think. 

Baja was everything I hoped it would be this time around and Sarah was a great person to ride with and camp with and put up with my slowness in the sand! Ready for the next adventure.