A weekend Baja ride: Tecate to Mikes Sky Rancho...the hard way

Kickin’ it with The Kug: A Mostly Orange Story: Tecate to Mikes Sky Rancho, May 18-19, 2013

Friday’s post on the San Diego Adventure Rider site (http://dualsport-sd.com/) started innocently enough: “Last Minute Mikes Sky Ranch 5-18-19-13 -- Easy Ride: Break in new bikes and rebuilds.” Ken (The Kug) had installed a reserve tank on his KTM 450 MXC and wanted to try it out.

The message stated: “Meet and leave Tecate, CA at the Mini Mart 9 AM Sat. Easy ride to break in rebuilds and a new bike. Fully prepared Baja savvy, easy ride, no racing, crashing, stopping to smell the roses ride. Chance of Drizzle Sat AM so dress for the weather.”

Sondra Lagnado, a fun Brazilian with 3 bikes too many, was in. She’d be there with her new (to her) KTM 450 EXC, ready to ride, but made it clear that she would indeed stop to smell the roses.

I was in like Flynn. I called Mikes and confirmed a room and made plans to meet the group in Tecate the next morning. My KLR650’s rear tire—a 50/50 tire anyhow—was looking a bit worn. I did not feel like breaking out the tire tools and swapping on the Kenda I had in my garage. That decision would haunt me the next two days.

I was in Tecate, CA, by 8:30 and met up with Ken by 8:45. Since no one else had arrived, I went down to the Customs house to use the restroom. As I hopped back on my bike, 8 orange bikes were ripping past me, heading into Mexico. Wow, that was fast! I threw my helmet on and I joined them. Through the border and into Mexico in under 30 seconds. “Wow,” I thought, “these guys don’t mess around. Not even so much as a ride plan.” But, hey, I was just along for the ride. I was at the first stop light that I realized…THIS WASN’T MY GROUP! Yikes. They were pretty cool about it. “Uh, we’re riding to Laguna Hanson…wanna come along?” I thanked them and turned around. Well, that was embarrassing. No one will ever know…

A few minutes later, I was joined by Ken, Sondra and Dana Neisler (StevoDaDevo). What a great group they turned out to be: excellent riders, super easy going and very fun to hang out with. If you don’t know this yet, the Kug KNOWS Baja. And Baja knows the Kug...his photo was everywhere, nowhere more prominent than behind the bar at Mikes. Photographic proof to follow...


We headed east from Tecate and turned right onto Compadre Trail. The other riders will name the exact trails and places we went through. We did see Laguna Hanson, the Old Sawmill/Ramona's, Valle T and Mikes. Mikes Sky Rancho: Call from US: 011-52-664-681-5514



It was almost all dirt the first day. I peeled off (wimped out) right before the Ojos Negros/Ensenada cut-off when the sand got deeper than my tires and met the group at Valle T.

Speaking of tires: Don't let anyone tell you that you can't take a top-heavy, loaded down, too-big bike with a bald rear street tire to Mikes. And I heard there was sand, but I didn't see any...

We rode the back way from Valle T to Mikes. I expected to see more of Baja 500 pre-runners, but there was little other traffic.

We arrived to Mikes before 7 and there were a lot of bikes already there. A Chris Haines group and another tour company had lined up what looked to be 50 bikes. It sure didn’t look busy, though. Sondra had bought a liter of Jimador in VdT so we had to wash that back. Dinner was great and we talked bikes with other riders. We had a few beverages and called it a night.



At 6:30 or 7, we were one of the last groups to eat breakfast. After settling the room and bar tabs, we were off by 8:30 or so. The other three had plans to backtrack a bit and try some new trails; I wanted to take a trail over to the coast and ride from Erendira to Santo Tomas. We parted ways—neither bitter nor angry—right before VdT. I’ll let them fill in the details on their return route. I spent an hour opening and closing ranch fences on my way to the coast. When I finally gave up and reached Highway 1, I just slabbed it up to Ensenada. It was getting hot and I had pretty much worn myself out going through fences and around farm roads. No biggie.

Grabbed some fish tacos at a little stand I like in Ensenada (Tacos Floresta) and made good time back to the border. The line was long but I made it around and through in no time and crossed back by about 3PM. I checked Sondra’s Spot and saw that the other had made it back to Tecate by 6PM. StevoDaDevo said they took “the hard way back” which was probably the best, funnest route for them.

I fell in lust with their bikes and was actually turning a bit orange with envy toward the end. I’ve already started looking for a 400 or 525 so I can tackle Baja the way it should be done!

Fantastic ride, great group of riders…but what else can you expect from the SDAR crew?

It was about 400 miles for me. Spot GPS tracks to follow. I see that my Spot missed a few points, but you get the gist of it. Here are a few photos to start.

Study shows that adventure shapes the individual: ADV=Me

I've suspected it all along...

(Id, ego and super-ego for the psych majors among us.

I've received a lot of comments about this from other sites. The main point being: Get off the sofa and onto the road. The world is out there waiting for you---go get it!


Study shows that adventure shapes the individual


Link


The act of exploring helps shape the brain and adventuring is what makes each individual different, according to a study out Thursday by researchers in Germany.

The findings published in the US journal Science may offer new paths to treating psychiatric diseases, scientists said./>

Researchers sought to pin down why identical twins are not perfect replicas of each other, even when they have been raised in the same environment, and studied the matter using 40 genetically identical mice.

The mice were kept in an elaborate, five-level cage connected by glass chutes and filled with toys, scaffolds, wooden flower pots, nesting places and more. The space available to explore spanned about five square meters (yards).

"This environment was so rich that each mouse gathered its own individual experiences in it," said principal investigator Gerd Kempermann of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Even though the mice were genetically the same, and the environment they were kept in was also the same, they showed individually different levels of activity. Some explored a lot, some did not.

And by fitting them with a special micro-chip that emitted electromagnetic signals, scientists could track how much the mice moved around and quantify their exploratory behavior.

"Over time, the animals therefore increasingly differed in their realm of experience and behavior," said Kempermann. Over the course of three months, they developed very different personalities.

Researchers found that the brains of the most explorative mice were building more new neurons -- a process known as neurogenesis -- in the hippocampus, the center for learning and memory, than the animals that were more passive.

Control mice kept in a less enriching environment showed less brain growth.

Kempermann and colleagues said they have shown for the first time how personal experiences and ensuing behavior contribute to individualization, and that neither genetics nor environment alone could cause this personal growth.

"Adult neurogenesis also occurs in the hippocampus of humans," according to Kempermann. "Hence we assume that we have tracked down a neurobiological foundation for individuality that also applies to humans."

The findings offer new understanding of how the brain works, and could shed light on the processes of learning and aging, said Ulman Lindenberger, director of the Center for Lifespan Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin.

"When viewed from educational and psychological perspectives, the results of our experiment suggest that an enriched environment fosters the development of individuality," said Lindenberger.

An accompanying commentary in Science by Olaf Bergmann and Jonas Frisen of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, said the research has two main uses.

"Molecular understanding of neurogenesis will hopefully aid in the rational development of new classes of drugs for psychiatric disease," they wrote.

Furthermore, it "may teach us... how living our lives makes us who we are."

Consumer Reports Weighs in on Motorcycle Reliability

Don't shoot the messenger!


Most reliable motorcycles: Japanese bikes have fewer problems than BMW and Harley models (according to Consumer Reports magazine, May 2013)

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/05/most-reliable-motorcycles/index.htm


Yes, the artfully sculpted lines of a BMW motorcycle and the throaty rumble of a Harley V-twin motor can stir your senses. But they’re often accompanied by more problems than Japanese motorcycles from Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha. Those are the findings from our first motorcycle reliability survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, in which we asked subscribers to tell us about any serious problems or repairs they had experienced with their bikes in the previous four years.

And here is the Consumer Reports Motorcycle & scooter buying guide (May 2013): http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/motorcycles-scooters/buying-guide.htm


Along with reliability reports on specific brands and models, there are some excellent pieces of information about New or Returning Riders and motorcycle safety and mainteneance (see the classic T-CLOCS checklist).

Ten cities with the worst traffic: For you LD Riders

No real surprises. I rode my motorcycle thru LA last week. Oy, I do not miss that traffic!

I'm fortunate that California allows lane splitting. (And you’ll notice that San Diego does not find itself on this list…)

Many long distance riders will find ways to bypass the chaos that the traffic in these cities pose...either by taking alternate routes or traveling through and around the heavy traffic areas during off-peak hours.



How do you manage to skirt the traffic? Any tips or tricks you care to share?

Ten cities with the worst traffic


http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/05/04/worst-traffic-cities/2127661/


These are the 10 cities with the worst traffic:


10. Boston
Average commute time: 29.2 minutes (tied for 10th highest)

9. Washington, D.C.
Average commute time: 34.5 minutes (2nd highest)

8. Seattle
Average commute time: 27.6 minutes (22nd highest)

7. San Jose
Average commute time: 24.8 minutes (65th highest)

6. Bridgeport
Average commute time: 28.3 minutes (18th highest)

5. New York
Average commute time: 34.9 minutes (the highest)

4. Austin
Average commute time: 25.8 minutes (45th highest)

3. San Francisco
Average commute time: 29.2 minutes (tied for 10th highest)

2. Honolulu
Average commute time: 27 minutes (27th highest)

1. Los Angeles

Average commute time: 28.6 minutes (15th highest)
After being replaced by Honolulu for a year, Los Angeles once again earned the title of the most congested metro area in the country. In 2012, on a Friday at 5:00 p.m., the average driver wasted more than 28 minutes in traffic. Four of the 10 most congested corridors last year were in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The worst is an eight-mile stretch on Interstate 405. Los Angeles also had the second highest population density of any metro area in 2010, behind only New York, at 2,646 people per square mile. Only these two metro areas exceeded 2,000 people per square mile that year. However, in Los Angeles, commuters were far less likely to get to work via public transportation. In 2011, just 6.2% of area workers took public transit to work, versus 31.1% in the New York area.

48 States (plus...) in 10 days or less. Hmm...

I read Ron Ayres wonderful account of his Guiness Book ride...All lower 48 states in a record setting ride of 6 days, 0 hours and 5 minutes. Ron continued on to Hyder, Alaska to establish a new 49-state record of 7 days, 0 hours and 20 minutes. Wow!

If you haven't picked up one of Ron's books, I highly recommend you do. Good stuff, even for armchair Iron Butts.

There are numerous SAMPLE ROUTES from 48/10 riders available; I've come up with one of my own, as well (starting in a corner of Nevada).


I've attached a couple more from others to whet your appetites.



Here are the Iron Butt Association (IBA) rules and info: http://www.ironbutt.com/ridecerts/getdocument.cfm?DocID=19


In short, riders attempting to obtain certification for riding to 48 States in 10 Days ride (ride to all 48 continental United States of America) must adhere to the following rules:

You may take any route you wish to all 48 states, however the following is required:

In each State, you must ride to a city, town or community and document your visit (i.e., picture of "Welcome to State" sign is not acceptable).

Obtain a dated business receipt showing the name of city, town or community along with the STATE (this information should be pre-printed or computer generated, not hand written) and the business name. Most gasoline station receipts are acceptable.

Make a log entry showing date, time and odometer reading for each receipt.

Include a basic map of your route (an old map marked up is fine) so that we can follow your route. If you use SPOT messenger, SPOT maps are also great additional resources that should be included with your package.

It goes without sayinmg that "Only the most seasoned riders should attempt this ride."

Hey, I'm a seasoned rider!

OK, let the planning begin. What bike, when, which route? Ron started his ride in Maine; I lean toward Nevada or Oklahoma.

Questions, questions...

More to follow.