{"id":2274,"date":"2018-03-28T21:27:50","date_gmt":"2018-03-28T21:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/diomederacing.com\/blog\/?p=2274"},"modified":"2018-04-05T20:12:23","modified_gmt":"2018-04-05T20:12:23","slug":"baja-on-two-wheels-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diomederacing.com\/blog\/2018\/03\/28\/baja-on-two-wheels-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Baja on two wheels!!! — Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

The trip in total was 3100 miles over 16 days.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There is a large gap in the tracking, as I was driving a support truck for a couple of racers in the Sonora Rally.<\/p>\n

Part I<\/p>\n

Only this time I was going to be riding my Tiger!\u00a0 After driving around there for a few days in Oct helping out the boys with the rally.\u00a0 I really had the urge to get down there on a bike.\u00a0 When Dusty mentioned doing tours down there this winter I was all over that idea.<\/p>\n

Leg#1<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want to put the bike in the truck to take it over to meet up with everyone.\u00a0 Doing that would mean I\u2019d have to go back to La Mesa. (More on that later\u2026)\u00a0 Since I had plans for after the Baja ride to meet up for the second week of my vacation in San Luis Rio, it was better and easier if I was able to ride over.<\/p>\n

So I just packed up the bike with most everything that I could need for the next week and headed off to the west.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Now I wish the trip out there was uneventful, but I wasn\u2019t that lucky.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t any kind of a show stopper, but\u2026\u00a0 I could have done without those few new experiences. \u00a0\u00a0New experience number 1 was being sick with a helmet on.\u00a0 Just to be clear, I didn\u2019t throw up IN the helmet, I was able to bet the chin bar out of the way.\u00a0 Still not something I care to ever repeat.\u00a0\u00a0 Not sure what was up, but I did have dinner a couple of nights before with a friend who ended up sick a day later.\u00a0 So I\u2019m just going to blame him for this one. \u00a0\u00a0That happened twice, so I didn\u2019t make it very far that day, nor did I get to stop in Phx to visit a couple of friends.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0I did find a really cute B&B in Florence, AZ just outside of Phx they were awesome.\u00a0 It also helps that they are riders too!\u00a0 The breakfast then next day was really good too, this time it stayed down\u2026 bonus.<\/p>\n

It was a really pleasant ride too, until I got to the Pine Valley area on I-8.\u00a0 It started to rain, not an issue, rain doesn\u2019t bother me.\u00a0 What became an issue about 30 min into the rain was my fogging visor and the fog on the road.\u00a0 Visibility was horrific, at one point the visor fogged up so that I wasn\u2019t able to read my gauges.\u00a0 Opps.\u00a0 I also found out that my visor needed to be adjusted so it would stop leaking.\u00a0 Opps, again.\u00a0 Those things slowed up the trip a bit.\u00a0 Call me crazy, but I like to be able to see where I\u2019m going.<\/p>\n

Once I made it to La Mesa, I just had to wait for the room to be ready.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t the first of the group to get there.\u00a0 So we all ended up waiting in the lobby for over an hour.\u00a0 Russell was kind enough to give up his and Dusty\u2019s room so that I could go get dried off before we all met for a pre-tour briefing.\u00a0\u00a0 He had driven there, so he wasn\u2019t dripping all over the lobby.\u00a0 That flooring in the lobby was hazardous when it was wet too.<\/p>\n

We all got to meet each other for the first time in the lounge.\u00a0 For the trip there were to be 12 of us with 11 riders and one person driving the truck and trailer for support. \u00a0\u00a0After introductions and a tour over view it was off to dinner, then off to an early bed time so we could be ready to roll at 8am.\u00a0 Ohh, the best laid plans..<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Day 1 of the Tour:\u00a0 The part below in Italics is part of the description from the W38M site, for reference.<\/p>\n

(Day 1 = La Mesa, California to Mike\u2019s Sky Ranch\u00a0 —\u00a0 \u00a0 ~<\/i>178 Miles<\/i>
\nAfter a night of getting to know each other and preparing for the tour, we will set off as a group and head for the Tecate border. At the border crossing we will take turns as a group getting our tourist visas and exchanging money.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Once we finish with this process, we will make our way through Tecate and link up with the Old Compadre Trail. Wide open vistas and mountain dirt roads will lead us back to Hwy 3. We will stay on pavement and top off with gas on our way to the dirt road entering Mike\u2019s Sky Ranch. Today will be a mix of pavement and dirt at about 50\/50.<\/i>)<\/p>\n

This just struck me as so, odd.\u00a0 Or maybe, it was just sad.\u00a0 Why would someone do this to a McLaren?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Our fearless leader, rolling into the parking lot:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So we all surprisingly on time, in the right spot, ready to go.\u00a0\u00a0 Anyone who\u2019s done a group ride knows just how rare a thing that is.\u00a0 It was from there we headed toward the border crossing with a gas stop on the way.\u00a0\u00a0 It was leaving the gas station, that we noticed that we were a couple of bikes short.\u00a0 So, we pulled over waited a bit.\u00a0 Then headed back to find out what was going on.\u00a0 First issue of the trip, within the first 30 minutes of hitting the road.\u00a0 LOL.\u00a0 Totally, not the tour leaders fault.\u00a0 It was more that one of the riders didn\u2019t realize that the stator on his bike wasn\u2019t large enough to power all the farkles, he\u2019d added on to his F800 so his battery was DEAD.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take too long really to figure out why the bike wouldn\u2019t start, find a replacement battery, head to the store, pick it up, get back and install it.\u00a0 Still it set us about 2 hours behind schedule.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Once back on the road, it didn\u2019t take us long to get to the Border Crossing at the Tecate Port of Entry.\u00a0 Now 12 vehicles crossing the border takes some time, there was also the exchanging of currencies, and the purchase of insurance for Mexico that we all had to have.\u00a0 I had gotten mine before I left, but a couple of the riders had to get theirs.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Next up was the navigation out of Tecate, along with finding some lunch.\u00a0 We stopped a lil place in El Hongo called Taqueria Lety.\u00a0 Since my stomach wasn\u2019t 100% yet I stuck to the Quesadilla. \u00a0Always a safe choice.\u00a0 One of the guys, saw some stuff that looked tasty and had a taco made with that\u2026.\u00a0 He took a bite and then asked what we thought it was?\u00a0 LOL.\u00a0 I told him it was menudo, he asked what that was, I told him Tripe.\u00a0 He asked what that was, I told him beef stomach.\u00a0 He was done with lunch at that point.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After he decided not to eat anymore of tacos, a few others tried it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Outside of the taqueria, a couple of riders on dirt bikes came over to chat with us.\u00a0 They wanted their pictures taken with the group.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It was after being well fed, that we headed back up the road to our dirt section that cut down from Mex2\/3 down to Mex3 and to the road that would take us to Mike\u2019s Sky Ranch, that was to be our stopping point for the day.\u00a0 Now even though we made good time on the dirt roads there was a number mud crossings to deal with, as well as a couple dropped bikes.\u00a0\u00a0 The picture below is Russell dealing with the worst of the mud pits we rode through that day.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The day was stunning, we couldn\u2019t have asked for better weather.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

My bike was pretty dirty by this point.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

It was just a few miles of dirt to get back to the main road (Mex3)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From here it was a few more miles to get to the road that lead to Mike\u2019s:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As you can tell, we were losing the light pretty quick.\u00a0 This was new experiences 3-9, (riding on dirt in the dark, as well as, mud, puddles, sand, rocks and doing a water crossing)<\/p>\n

I was just so happy that I made it without dropping the bike.. I didn\u2019t care it was pitch black out.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We got roughly sorted out, then we were told that we could park the bikes by the pool.\u00a0 Another couple of new things.\u00a0 It was a narrow ramp and weaving up the walkway to get the bike there.\u00a0 Again, I didn\u2019t care if it wasn\u2019t pretty, I made it and I didn\u2019t drop the bike.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After a shower, there was beer by the pool, followed by dinner.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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