Baja Off-Road - bennedich

Back to USA

bennedich — Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The border opens at 5am. I wake up at 4.25am and find that I'm not the only one who planned to enter USA today. The line of cars is like a mile long. I drive around a few blockades and position myself 3rd in line (I think 1st or 2nd would have been very rude). The drive to San Diego is less than an hour on small curvy roads. I shower at the downtown gym, have breakfast and drive out to the airport to catch my SF flight. Free unlimited parking within walking distance to the terminal, sweet! I'll return to pick the bike up in a week or two.

What I learned today:

Nothing, for I am fully learned. Ready for Sahara!

Cat did not eat much on Sat and Sun.

My room at the hotel in Tecate.

1. La Bufadora 2. First night 3. Second night 4. Third night

Crossing the Juarez desert

bennedich — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I wake up at 5.20am and decide to keep going north despite the water situation (~0.5 l left now). First of all, I will likely meet more pre-runners in the desert who can help me out (I can see tire tracks in the sand), and second, my guide book mentions Cañon de Guadalupe, a palm fringed oasis with campgrounds, waterfalls, a restaurant and a store and shows a picture of a big Coke sign. It's around 25 miles north of me.

The road becomes a little bit more difficult, but still manageable. After around 10 miles I cross a dried-out river that I recognize on the map, just before the intersection where I'm supposed to turn right. The right turn is so inconspicuous that I don't even see it. After about a mile I can tell (from the sun) that something is wrong. So I go back and find the small road heading north. After around 2 miles it turns really bad, just loose sand where I have no traction at all. The back wheel just digs down when I accelerate and my speed is reduced to ~5 mph. I hit a sand bank and drop the bike. Fortunately, I can pick it up (which is good to know since I was unsure if it was too heavy or not to lift). I stop every 30 minutes to take a small sip of water. It's getting pretty hot (97F/36C later today) and I sweat a lot in the motorcycle gear.

After 4 more miles I come to an intersection which is NOT on my map. Both roads are about equal size. This has me a bit concerned. I pick the left one since it goes in the direction of the mountains where the oasis is. After 4 more miles I encounter another intersection, precisely 10.2 miles after the river like my map says. I'm exhilarated, I just need to take the side road for 6.5 miles to reach the oasis and coca cola! I sip down half of my remaining water right there. After 4 miles, the side road just comes to an end in a sandy pit. I drive around for about 20 minutes looking for where to go. There is nothing. And the mountain is still far away. Moreover, there are no tire tracks at all here which leads me to believe that I'm either on the wrong road, or that the oasis doesn't exist any more (the guide book is 11 years old).

I go back to the main road and find a tree under which I sit down to think about what to do. It's unclear if I have enough gas to go back, I've only gone 80 miles on the tank (20 highway, 60 desert) but a lot of it has been spinning in the sand in 1st or 2nd gear, and in addition I always leave the engine running when I take a rest (since sometimes the engine doesn't start and I have to roll it to a start which I can't do in the sand). On the other hand, if I am where I think I am, it's only 30 miles north until I reach highway 2. I turn on my cell phone but there's no reception. There's ~0.2 l water left. I decide to keep going north.

A few more miles north I reach a ghost town and the road splits into several minor roads. I turn off the engine and listen, but there is nothing. I drive around and hit the horn, over and over. Nothing. I feel exhausted from the heat and constantly having to balance the bike through the sand so I lie down under a tree to get some rest. I continue after 20 minutes, picking the road that leads mostly to what I think is north. After around 2 miles, the road is joined by another road and becomes much better. It looks promising! After 5 more miles I come to an abandoned ranch that is marked on the map! Yey ! The rest of the drive is easy. With about 6 miles to go I meet a car, the first people I've seen since I entered the desert. I finally reach the highway, after 97 miles and 20h (10h driving). There's a refresqueria at the side of the road where I gulp down 2 liters of water. "Are you thirsty?" the store owner asks. I haven't eaten anything (except a few handfulls of chips) in 24 hours so I celebrate with grilled rabbit at a roadside grill. Two hours later I come to Tecate where I spend the night at a hotel, literally 50 meters from the US border.

What I learned today:

Don't attempt to cross a desert with 0.7 l water.

Sun rises over my desert camp site.

Annoying intersection. I end up going left.

Road that should have led to the coca cola but didn't.

Tree providing a little bit of shade.

Taking a rest and trying to figure out what to do.

Ghost town.

First water after crossing the desert.

The giant Tecate brewery.

Wall separating USA and Mexico.

Entering the desert!

bennedich — Sun, 24 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I wake up at 5.30am, and when I see the water and the direction of the road I realize that I made a wrong turn yesterday just after I met the farmer. I see on my map that I just slept at a place called "Los Muertos" -- "The Dead". So I backtrack 8 miles and take the correct road south along the coast. Fantastic driving! The road is pretty bad in parts, with big loose rocks and plenty of hills. After 3.5 hours I reach Erendira where I have breakfast. Then I get back to highway 1 and drive north back to Ensenada. I have a mechanic fix the tail part of the bike which came loose after all the shaking. I then head east on highway 3 crossing the whole Baja. There's lots of motocross riders here. At a broken gas station I meet a group of Mexican riders who tell me that there's an off-road race called Baja 500 coming up, and all the riders I see are pre-runners who practice for the race. They give me some gas and I tell them about my idea to cross the Juarez desert. They strongly advice against it unless I have a GPS since they say it's easy to make a wrong turn. "Go to Mexicali instead. Miau Miau, best whorehouse in Mexico" one guy says. "The girls there will love you" another says. "Long time" the first one clarifies. I look at my map and don't see how one possibly can make a wrong turn, there's basically just one road that I have to follow through the desert, then make a right turn after 27 miles. Amateurs.

When highway 3 meets highway 5 there's a security checkpoint looking for guns and ammunition. I need to fill up with gas before the desert and since the guards look so serious I try to lighten up their day a bit by asking "hay una bomba por aqui" which in Colombian spanish means "is there a gas station around here?". In Mexican spanish it means "there is a bomb here". Both guards jump and ask where the bomb is. I think it's hilarious. Further north I find a mechanic at the side of the road who sells gas of questionable quality in plastic bottles and I fill up the tank. The bike has a range of around 180 freeway miles on one tank.

I enter the desert at around 5pm. The first 8 miles are on a salt lake and offer great driving. As I come off the lake, I happen to end up on the wrong road but find out after only ~3 miles when a fence covers the road. I go back, find the correct road, and start driving north. The road is OK, but very sandy in parts, and I can keep around 10-15 mph. I drive until dusk and camp behind a little bank at the side of the road. This is the moment where I find out that I only have ~0.7 liters of water left and half a bag of chips. I do a little bedtime reading in my guidebook before I fall asleep and come across the following: "dangerous creatures like rattlesnakes and scorpions thrive in most of Baja's backcountry". Excellent! The night is amazing, so quiet and clear, and not cold at all.

What I learned today:

Don't tell a Mexican security guard that you have a bomb.

Camping at Los Muertos.

Breakfast of a champion.

Road leading to the water.

This is me.

Watch out for Chupacabras (blood sucking beasts).

Not So Easy St in Erendira.

Main street in Erendira.

Breakfast in Erendira.

Highway 3 in central Baja.

Where I fill up with gas before the desert.

Oups, wrong road.

Salt lake.

First dirt road!

bennedich — Sat, 23 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The bus arrives in downtown San Diego at 6am. I'm a bit tired and stiff and head to the gym for a morning workout, hoping to regain some energy. It doesn't work, so I head over to Andy's house for breakfast and a short rest. He reminds me of motorcycle insurance for Mexico and helps me get it online. I notice that I forgot the registration at home. This is pretty bad and will definitely be a problem if I get pulled over in Mexico.

The drive down to Tijuana is less than 30 minutes. No traffic at all at the border. Immigration guard tells me it will cost 262 pesos to enter Mexico (1 USD = 13 pesos). I reply "huh, it's supposed to be free?". So he gives me another form to fill out and I get to enter for free. Welcome to Mexico!

I drive straight down to Ensenada (1.5 hours), have lunch, then head to La Bufadora, a geyser 45 minutes south of Ensenada. Then I decide it's time to leave the paved roads and I select a 40 mile dirt route that will take me from highway 1, to the coast, pass a camp site, then back to highway 1. This should be a good warmup before I cross the desert. I'm a bit concerned since I've never driven on dirt before, but it turns out to not be complicated at all! It's a little bit like mountainbiking on dirt, except that the motorcycle weighs 250 pounds. At dusk I meet a farmer on the road and ask him if it's far to the beach. "No no, just 30 minutes." I drive for approximately 1.5 hours before I find an old abandoned camp site next to the water where I spend the night. Freezing! I have to wear all the clothes I brought, including the motorcycle gear.

What I learned today:

Don't park your motorcycle in a downhill. It will roll away.

La Bufadora. Super touristy.

Mexican immigration, Tijuana.

Geyser, La Bufadora.

When I see this I proclaim "no mames!!!"

Hmm. Let's go back and try another road.

Bulls and wild dogs roam the backcountry.

Campsite sign.

Campsite office??

Preparations

bennedich — Fri, 22 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The weekend has been meticulously planned. Nothing has been left to chance. Two weeks ago, I drove my motorcycle from San Francisco to San Diego. It took two full days along highway 1 and the highlight was Big Sur. Awesome views, great motorcycling, and north and south of it there are plenty of beaches where you can camp at night and relax at day! I parked my motorcycle at Andy's house in San Diego and flew back to San Francisco. Today, Friday May 22, I take a 12 hour night bus from San Jose to San Diego. My gear all fits in a regular size backpack and consists of the following:

- 1" 3/4 length sleeping pad (15 oz)
- Emergency bivvy sack (3.5 oz)
- Hydration unit (3 l)
- AAA Baja California guidebook
- AAA Baja California map
- Some clothes, passport, 140 USD

The bike is a 2005 Suzuki DR200SE dual sport and has 6000 Miles on it.

What I learned today:

Don't take a bus to San Diego. Fly instead.

Big Sur.

The gear.

Summerland beach, east of Santa Barbara. Drizzling.

Food for the cat while I'm gone.