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Northern Baja California, Mexico: 4 Days on Dirt Bikes
I've wanted to make a trip to ride dirt bikes in Baja California since I first saw the movie, "Dust to Glory." When my buddy Brad suggested we join Chilly White on a February ride, all the stars aligned for the trip of a lifetime - or, should I say, one more trip of a lifetime.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...40517868_n.jpg Although it was dumping snow and several inches had accumulated in Bend, Oregon the morning we loaded our bikes into the van, less than an hour south we had sunshine and clear roads. The gods were smiling upon us! |
Dia Uno: Tecate to Ensenada
http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6013-M.jpg Chilly White, our guide, through a little bit of everything at us on the first day. From sandy single track, to rocky jeep roads to dry creek beds. One surprise for me was how mountainous it is in northern Baja. http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6020-L.jpg |
Dia Uno: Tecate to Ensenada
These are some of the most amazing and detailed pictographs I've seen! https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-G...o/P1030450.JPG Some of the riding was pretty technically challenging https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-R...o/P1030441.JPG |
Dia Dos: Ensenada to San Quintin
February 8, 2014
Dia Dos: Ensenada to San Quintin Day two started off right, with an amazing home-style mexican breakfast at this Baja landmark. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L...o/P1030460.JPG Tons of Baja racing history and memorabilia - and the best of Mexican hospitality. Pretty cool to get this group shot in the same spot I've seen photos of Quinn Cody and Kendall Norman pre-riding for the Baja 1000! https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B...o/P1030461.JPG Tanked up with coffee, goat tacos, huevos rancheros and stories from the owner, we headed out to ride a brand new section of single track. This was some seriously steep, rugged country, and only a couple of riders had even been on the single track section. http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6032-L.jpg It started out as freshly graded road, turned in a dirt two-track, then a dry creek bed. Here's Chilly's photo of our "decision point." http://www.enduro360.com/wp-content/...6-001-Copy.jpg Turned out the single track section was the kind of trail you'd love doing on a lightweight 2-stroke bike, but it was going to be a bit of a bike-haul, with bigger bikes, gear - and my STOCK gearing on the 500 EXC (doh!). So we bailed, saving it for another day. http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6039-L.jpg Not that it really mattered, 'cause the next sections of dirt road out to the coast were off the hook, fun and scenic. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Q...o/P1030467.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q...o/P1030481.JPG |
Dia Dos: Ensenada to San Quintin
Dia Dos - Ensenada to San Quintin
Riding along the Pacific Coast for miles and not seeing another soul other than our own group was mind blowing. http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6043-L.jpg Parts of our route are quite well know in Baja racing. We stopped at a hill climb only four pro riders - including Chilly, Johnny Campbell, Laia Sanz and Quinn Cody - were able to conquer at the 2013 Baja Beach Bash: <iframe width="480" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YMYfqKU-KXM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Ben took two runs at it on his KLX 650, but couldn't quite make the top: <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="480" src="http://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/3075216865_9rQxMC9?width=640&height=480&albumId=37 020354&albumKey=rp7Wg4"></iframe> Chilly rode to the top on his first go: <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="480" src="http://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/3075232755_M33bgxP?width=640&height=480&albumId=37 020354&albumKey=rp7Wg4"></iframe> Here's a little taste of the riding: <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="480" src="http://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/3075332582_rhJnMfs?width=640&height=480&albumId=37 020354&albumKey=rp7Wg4"></iframe> Pretty cool being able to literally ride the coastline. Although you can't see it, one mistake in this spot would mean bike and rider falling 15 feet into surf and rock. Brad and I were "in the groove" and chose to ride through instead of walking our bikes: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2...o/P1030504.JPG Even gas stops are part of the adventure. Here, we pulled up in front of this house in a small fishing village and topped of with gallon milk jugs: http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...GOPR0651-L.jpg Took a break at another Baja landmark - the Ship Wreck: http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6631-L.jpg http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6636-L.jpg And right after we started riding again, I got flat front tire. Since we were almost to our next fuel stop, we rode there to fix the flat. Chilly - like all top ISDE riders - can fix and flat and change a tire in less time than it take most of us to remove the wheel. "I'm no it!" he said. I handed him my new tube and held the bike. Chilly pulled a nail-sized cactus spine out of tire, replace the tube and we were back on the road a few minutes later. This was our only flat - or mechanical of any kind - during the four days of riding: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w...o/P1030523.JPG More fantastic beach riding http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6064-L.jpg And a glorious sunset http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6063-L.jpg The last hour of riding it was getting pretty dark http://www.enduro360.com/wp-content/...010444-001.jpg Our reward at the end of the day was the beautiful Hotel Mision Santa Maria outside of San Quintin. The hotel manager greeted us and had us roll our bikes up the ramp and park them right at the front doors. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2...o/P1030539.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-F...o/P1030548.JPG Since I got a flat - and Chilly did all the work to fix it - it was "my shout" for a round of the local Molino Viejo Tequila, beers and guacamole. After dinner, we all hit rack pleasantly exhausted, with suenos de Baja dancing in our heads. |
Dia Tres: San Quintin to Mike's Sky Ranch
Ah yes . . . Where was I . . . the beautiful Hotel Mision Santa Maria outside of San Quintin.
Dia Dos left us all feeling pretty good after beach riding like this: <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="425" height="318" src="http://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/3106578101_4vhWDcb?width=425&height=318"></iframe> And this: <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="425" height="318" src="http://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/3106585265_NwzMQh6?width=425&height=318"></iframe> Dia Tres took us back into the mountains for some of the most fun and challenging riding of the trip: <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="425" height="318" src="http://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/3107683734_fNjc5FH?width=425&height=318"></iframe> But not before another beach session with massive wheelie riding by Ben and Bob (here Ben lofted his front wheel for a couple of miles): https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-V...o/P1030571.JPG And a beautiful loop through cactus: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3...o/P1030566.JPG http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6067-L.jpg Followed by a fried chicken lunch that would put the Colonel to shame. BTW, we left our gear on bikes and keys in the ignitions at every stop. Like Gordon said, "Don't worry, we're in Mexico!" http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6070-L.jpg Then back into the mountains for an awe-inspiring afternoon of primo dirt roads and rocky washed out single track, where getting off your line meant having a close encounter with one of these: http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...GOPR0665-L.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n...o/P1030582.JPG http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...GOPR0668-L.jpg A little friendly conversation in Spanish - and a bottle of tequila - buys a lot of goodwill in remote Baja. Chilly White from Enduro360.com guided us through a flawless trip with his extensive knowledge of the area and people. The adventure would have been a lot different trying to simply follow someone's GPS track. Independent travel is great when you have time to burn - we got to enjoy four action packed days of goodness with no hassles. http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6640-L.jpg Baja's diversity is stunning. After climbing into the mountains, we rode in forested areas with multiple creek crossings and springs full of water. http://www.enduro360.com/wp-content/...010472-001.jpg http://www.enduro360.com/wp-content/...010474-001.jpg And miles of mountain roads. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Y...o/P1030589.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-h...o/P1030584.JPG And arriving at the legendary Mike's Sky Ranch, covered in glory dust and glowing with the kind of exhaustion that comes only from doing something you love. http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6642-L.jpg http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6650-L.jpg https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A...o/P1030601.JPG The home cooking and hospitality at Mike's Sky Ranch is equalled only by the amazing collection of memorabilia, including the contributions of friends from home. http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6662-L.jpg https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-N...o/P1030604.JPG And we all slept well, with heads stuffed full of the sights, sounds, smells and experiences of our three days of Baja adventure. http://giantloop.smugmug.com/Motorcy...IMG_6089-L.jpg |
Very nice ride report and awesome trip ! Definitely made me dream :). Thank you for sharing.
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