Intro to Baja (Part II): The KLR Ride Report: June 29-30, 2013

The SPOT satellite GPS Tracker message stated, “Well, it appears I'm experiencing a bit of trouble. I'm OK, but my bike is not. Here's my location: 32.51614 latitude, -117.10866 longitude.” *

But I’m getting ahead of myself. You want to hear how our ride down the Baja coast went.


As you might know, I have been conducting a series of weekend rides to explore the off-road trails along the Pacific coast of the Baja peninsula and thought I’d ask others to join me in some "Baja lite" riding, mainly limited off-road riding (80/20) with beach camping and challenging but not extremely difficult terrain.


I threw down the gauntlet and there was some interest from other KLRistas. Alan drove down on Friday from Mojave, about 200 miles away. Now THAT is dedication! We linked up with Shane in El Cajon, who couldn’t make the ride due to conflicts with his work schedule. You know, protecting America’s liberty and all that. Thanks for your service, brother.

Alan and I set off on Saturday morning with a rough schedule planned. Our main goal was to locate and ride a somewhat hidden route from Santo Tomas to the old lighthouse at Punta San Jose. The reason it’s hidden is that surfers want to keep the spot “off the map” from non-locals. I understand that.


By 8am, we had arrived to Tecate, California; by 8:05, we were in Tecate, Mexico. How was I to know that in a few short minutes I would be taking the first of two dirt naps? Ah, but Baja dirt is softer than US dirt.



In short, I leaned over to pick up something I’d dropped and a 400+ pound bike toppled over. After I picked it up, I looked over my shoulder to see if Alan had witnessed by fall. I guess I leaned too much because I fell over again, to the amusement of everyone at the Pemex gas station. No worries, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it…


Temperatures hit 105 but traffic was light on Mexico Highway 3 and we were in Ensenada by 10:15 to meet with fellow KLRista Damaso (and his daughter) at the Starbucks.



We swapped stories and were back on the road by 11am. After gassing up, we stopped by Tacos Poblano in Maneadero for some pretty tasty carne asada tacos and were back fighting the crazy traffic by noon.

Driving along the coast was a lot cooler than inland and we saw a 20 degree temperature drop.

In no time flat we were at the Santo Tomas cut-off. I said to Alan, “Now it gets interesting.” I was fairly confident that I could locate the secret turn-off, allegedly 12.6 miles down a dirt road from Highway 1. At 12.7 miles I’d seen nothing resembling a road so I spoke with a local who advised me to “go back to the highway and take the ‘easy’ road…like the rest of the turistas.” Oh, the humanity! After I explained that I really was going to ride my loaded-down motorbike up those hills and to Punta San Jose, the local man pointed to a cow trail partially covered by bamboo that led up into the mountains. “Vaya por alli,” he said. And we did. For those interested, the GPS coordinates to that turn-off are: Latitude: 31.55337, Longitude: -116.59511 (N31 33.202 W116 35.707).

The rocky trail zigzagged up into the hills and through ranchlands. Some of the trails were best traversed by 4-wheel drives or goats, but our trusty KLRs did fine. At the bottom of one steep trail, Alan told me that skill—not luck—got him through unscathed. Yes, skill…

At the top of a hill, we finally saw the beautiful coast—we made it! We finally came out to the coast road about two miles from the lighthouse and rode up to take a look.


It was a popular surf spot and other than a few shacks, there was nothing there but an old lighthouse. After a quick break, we continued south toward the fishing/farming village of Ejido Erendira.



A few miles later, we hit some deep sand as we approached La Calavera fish camp. Looking back, I saw Alan was standing over his napping KLR.

I should mention that we’d seen no vehicles in the past two hours. Then, in the middle of nowhere, a truckload of surfers drives up to witness Alan’s dirt nap.



The marine layer was so thick we couldn’t see the big religious complex near San Juan de las Pulgas. We snapped photos at Rancho Tampico’s infamous chupacabra warning sign then pushed on to Punta Cabras and Castro's fish camp.


You can see the thick fog of the marine layer settling on everything.

Ironically, a coyote ran out in front of me just before we reached Coyote Cal’s. We stopped in for a well-earned beer and spoke with the surfers we’d seen on the road. They mentioned the seafood restaurant was closing soon so we saddled up and rode off to eat. That ice-cold Pacifico went down so well that another would’ve been great. But dinner called.

We sat overlooking crashing waves and ate a fish dinner at the small fishing village. Good stuff.
l


We rode along the coast looking for camp sites before it got dark. We found a few good spots and selected a nice one near the volcano at the southern end of Erendira. While out looking for driftwood for the bonfire, I looked back to see…Alan standing over his napping KLR! What? That was four dirt naps between us in one day.

Here are some photos of us beach camping at the south end of Erendira.



We set up our tents and brought our bikes down to the sand…hoping we were above the high tide line. I enjoyed some cigars and whisky I’d brought along as I listened to Alan tell of his Alaska via KLR adventure. We hit the sack at about 9:30 to the sound of crashing waves.


We were up before 7am and packed up before 7:30. We explored the area a bit and rode through the volcano a bit before riding into town for breakfast and coffee at Gloria’s restaurant. Eggs, coffee, homemade tortillas and a juice concocted on pineapple, cactus and cucumber. Take that, Denny’s!



We left Erendira at about 9:30 and filled up at the Santo Tomas Pemex.

We arrived to Ensenada by 11am after witnessing some interesting driving in Maneadero. We had a couple fish tacos at El Fenix and kept rolling to Tijuana on the toll road. At the first toll booth/military checkpoint, I watched as Alan carried on an animated conversation with the soldier. I’ll have to let him tell you about that.



We bypassed the Mirador (overlook) because the marine layer was so thick that we could only see the tops of the Coronado Islands. There usually is an incredible ocean view.



At about 1pm, somewhere between the second and third toll plaza, my front end started wobbling, a little at first then uncomfortably so. We were moving between 65-75 MPH, so I let off on the throttle and guided my KLR to the side.


Yup, that front tire was about as flat as they get. We had it changed in about 20 minutes and were back on the road, but not before two helpful locals—both motorcycle enthusiasts—stopped to render assistance. One guy ahd owned two KLRs and was thinking about buying another one. Nice folks.



We arrived to the Tijuana border crossing at about 2pm, and it was busy! The lines told me that it was a 3-4 hour wait. For cars. Not us.



By the way, I’ve gotta mention this: Alan rides his bike like a true Mexican. I was impressed with his offensive driving technique. Perfect riding skills for that environment. Way to go, amigo. Anyhow, he was a champ as we negotiated the lines of traffic. In less than 10 minutes we were at the front of the line, through immigration and b-b-b-b-back in the USA. Piece of cake.

We stopped somewhere just across the border to gas up and grab a bite to eat before Alan headed home. He made it home a little after 5:30 that afternoon…not too shabby.



So, getting back to the “I'm experiencing a bit of trouble” message: I realized when I got home that the “help” message my SPOT device had sent was repeated every 10 minutes for the past hour or so. My wife had organized the cavalry and was en route to Mexico to get me. Luckily I caught my brother before he went to rescue me in his pick-up. I subsequently learned that I need to re-set the device after using the “help” feature. I was never in danger or in need of help; I just botched the whole situation by not knowing how to use the SPOT GPS Tracking device. I thought I did! I didn't realize I had to cancel the SPOT help request. I had pressed the "I have a mechanical issue but I'm OK" button when I realized I had a flat tire. When I was back on the road about 25 minutes later, I pressed the "I'm OK and on the road" button but it didn't work as I had not canceled the help message or reset the device. Well, it was a good test, anyhow.



* To Cancel a HELP Message: Press and hold the HELP button for 5 seconds. The Help light will blink RED to indicate that you are cancelling the Help message. Then, the light will stay RED for 5 seconds, indicating the message has been sent. The following message will appear on the SPOT Shared Page.



All’s well that ends well…



Quick stats:



· Total ride miles for me: 360

· Total miles in Mexico: 325

· Dirt naps: 4 (but they were little ones!)

· Flat tires: 1

· Distance from shoreline to tent: 64 feet.

· Fish tacos consumed (each): 5

· Mexican police officers/soldiers interested in “acquiring” Alan’s KLR: 2

· Happy KLRistas: 2



We'll be back, Baja!



Here is the link to view the Spot Adventures track: http://www.findmespot.com/spotadventures/index.php/view_adventure?tripid=323559

Solo Baja ride: Santo Tomas to Erendira – the fun way

June 8-9, 2013

I plan to do a few Baja rides on my KLR this summer. Nothing too crazy, just exploring an area south of Ensenada that I've always really enjoyed. My first ride was in an area I’m familiar with but hadn’t ridden in quite a while. So off I went this weekend.

I left San Diego early on Saturday morning. My plan was to ride from Tecate to Ensenada via Highway 3 and the Ruta de Vino (the Wine Route), then down to Santo Tomas via Highway 1. Sure, that’s all slab, but you should know that Mexican highways are like the US' country roads. From Santo Tomas I took a featureless hard-pack road by the side of a little store that led into the hills.



I had no GPS tracks or waypoints. Actually, nothing more than a vague idea of where to turn to locate the small farming/fishing village of Erendira, “somewhere on the coast at the end of the road.” OK, I can do that.

The road passed many small ranches and was not technical at all…just a mix of gravel, sand and dirt. I met only 4 vehicles along the road, all heading in the direction I was leaving. At about the 22-mile mark I saw the coast; I actually smelled it first.



What a beautiful sight. Instead of heading south, I took the road north a bit to see San Juan de las Pulgas, a tiny community on the coast. I spoke with a few gentlemen about the weather and US politics then continued back the way I’d come.

Down the coast, behind newer fences, I saw what appeared to be a large compound and an observatory.



Hmmm, I’ll have to look into that.

NOTE: I spoke with a few locals who told me about a "Scandinavian cult" who had set up residence quite a while ago. See the February 2010 San Diego Reader article titled, “Mysterious Danish Group Builds Exotic Compound on Baja Coast.” Here’s the Google map link: http://bit.ly/L5hyR9

The next stop was La Calavera, a small fishing camp at the bottom of a steep, rocky mountain road.



I had fun negotiating a 400 -pound bike down a road best suited for 4-wheel drive vehicles or goats.



A few minutes later I passed through Rancho Tampico and was advised to look out for chupacabras. That guy’s front yard is the Pacific Ocean…I'll bet he sleeps well. I mean, except for all the chupacabras.



I enjoyed miles of unspoiled coastline as I rode along a fairly well maintained road. I passed through the small surfing town of Punta Cabras. Very tidy and colorful, like I’d expect from surfers.

On I rode to the north side of Erendira, passing by the infamous Coyote Cal’s and then on to Castro’s fishing village. I was dismayed to see Erendira’s main street has been paved. I suppose that’s progress, but there went 40 years of dirt road main street memories.

I passed through the town and turned toward the coast, riding across a sandy river bed. It’s dry now, but I’ve seen it full of rain water and flowing viciously to the sea. The last bad one was in 2010, and it was a whopper.

Soon enough I was up on a mesa and driving between fields of leek, artichoke and brussell sprouts.

The olive orchard isn’t looking so good, but there are still many trees that refuse to give in to the constant sea spray. I picked out a stretch of beach that no one appeared to be using and plopped down for a rest.



Whew! I’ll go into town later and pick up some supplies and eat some crab burritos at Gloria's.

The first day’s ride was about 180 miles; all but about 40 were slab.

I awoke early the next day and rode some of the beach area to the south. There is an old volcano that you can ride through. The tip of Colonet could be seen jutting out miles away. They’re building a big old port there now and many locals and Baja lovers are watching to see what changes come to this area.

I zig-zagged up into the mountains above the small community and soaked up the truly beautiful view. There is nothing like it anywhere, and hardly any of it is commercialized or built up.

I decided to take the highway back, so off I went down the 11-mile or so road that connects Erendira with Highway 1. Soon enough I was back in Santo Tomas and heading to Ensenada. I found it strange that the large checkpoint that the Army had constructed to search for northbound drugs and southbound weapons was vacant.

It was a brisk 67 degrees and misty most of the way.



It felt good as I motored along, thinking about a cup of coffee and a breakfast burrito.

I stopped at Los Poblanos for tacos in Maneadero, and again at El Fenix in Ensenada.



Hey, I’m a growing boy…

There was very little traffic on an early Sunday morning and I quickly made my way through the city.

An astute soldier checked my motorcycle at the first toll plaza, but his comrades seemed bored as they listlessly fingered their rifles. I smiled as he asked me what was in the tail bag.

Me: “Tools, pura herramienta para el moto.”

Soldier: “Tu eres mecanico?”

Me: “Con ese, si— tengo que!”

We both laughed at that.

KLR riders would understand. Well, Spanish speaking KLR riders…

I stopped along the toll road a while later to look at the view from El Mirador (the lookout). It normally provides one of the best views in the area, but alas, the marine layer was still out and refused to allow a view.

A little while later I was in TJ where some creative drivers were putting my defensive driving skills to the test. I can confirm the KLR’s lack of a rear brake. A brush with a speeding sedan introduced my front tire to a guard rail and had my blood pumping for a moment. That’s TJ driving for ya…

The border wait wasn’t bad at all, but I bypassed the line, anyhow. Considerate drivers awaiting their turn to speak with immigration officers moved to the side so I could squeeze through the lines of cars to arrive at the front. No one seemed to mind except the very last car: our mirrors exchanged glances and his lost. His expletives faded as I moved forward and presented my passport to the grumpy border inspector.

“What are you bringing back from Mexico?”

“Nothing but memories of a good time, my friend.”

He smiled and waved me in.

Off I went to wash some of that Baja dust from my bike and my body.

I’m already planning the next one. Hmmm, they say that the ride from la Bocana to San Quintin is an interesting route…

Intro to Baja KLR ride Summer 2013

I am planning a couple of weekend Baja rides this summer for interested KLRistas, sometime between late June and late July. Below is the rough itinerary. Call it “Baja Lite.”


This will be a limited off-road ride (80/20) with beach camping, spectacular coastal views and some fine Baja cuisine (tacos, ceviche, etc.). This ride will provide those who haven’t experienced Baja an opportunity to see and ride some beautiful Mexican landscape away from the border areas without an extremely difficult ride. While this won’t be as challenging as the ride to Mikes Sky Rancho or the Baja 500/1000 routes, it will give those new to Baja an idea of what’s available in Mexico and likely whet your appetite for future Baja adventures.






We will ride a little over 300 miles total over two days, mainly via the highways, all during daylight hours. The off-road portion will consist of hardpack dirt roads and some light sand. Beach riding is available for the adventurous souls who want to do that. We will ride on Mexico Highways 3 and 1, passing through a couple military checkpoints. As well, we will be on a toll road for about 60 miles on the return ride.


No need to carry too much stuff. Just camping gear, an overnight bag and the tools you’d normally carry for minor repairs and tire changes. There is a hostel (research Coyote Cal’s) and other lodging available in Erendira for those not inclined to sleep on the beach – but I don’t recommend it. Ejido Erendira is a rustic farming/fishing community about 60 miles south of Ensenada with some nice riding opportunities and even nicer people.


Here is a very rough map showing the main routes: http://goo.gl/maps/CMWX7



I have not yet inputted the GPS tracks for the route between Santo Tomas and Erendira along the coast.


I’ll discuss passport, visa (none required) and insurance requirements a bit later.


I know this area pretty dang well and a good time is sure to be had by all. We will likely have some local Mexican KLR riders joining us for at least a part of the ride.


Take a look and let me know who’s interested.

Dan


Schedule:


Friday:

• 6pm (+/-): Meet in San Diego for a “pre” pre-brief (adult beverages at KLR happy hour).
• This part of the ride wouldn’t be mandatory, just a time to get together and meet the other riders.


Saturday:

• 9 am: Meet in Tecate, CA for ride briefing, ride prep and fuel-up (if needed).
• 11:30 am: Arrive Ensenada. Lunch (fish tacos), fuel-up and ride prep.
• 1 pm: Arrive Santo Tomas. Fuel-up if necessary. Ride farm roads to coast.
• 3:30 pm: Arrive Ejido Erendira. Explore coastal and mountain roads.
• 5:30 pm: Dinner at a small restaurant.
• 7 pm: Beach camping at south end of Erendira.


Sunday:

• 7 am: Up and around.
• 8:30 am: Breakfast and coffee at nearby restaurant.
• 10:30 am: Depart Erendira
• 12:15 pm: Arrive Ensenada via Highway 1. Lunch and quick shopping opportunity.
• 2 pm: Fuel-up, ride prep, depart Ensenada via toll road.
• 3 pm: Arrive El Mirador (overlook) for snacks and incredible ocean view.
• 4:30 pm: Arrive Tijuana border crossing.
• 5:30 pm: Arrive San Diego

UPDATE: I am tentaively scheduling the first "Baja Lite" KLR ride for June 28-29. There is also local interest so I will see if I can get a group smaller than 8 to go.

That should be a nice time with good weather for beach camping and epic road conditions.

I'm doing a solo pre-ride next weekend (June 8-9) to check out the Santos Tomas to Punta Cabras to Erendira route and verifying camping and road conditions.