Near Ramona - Page 8

WHYNOWTHEN · 12-05-2012, 08:52 AM

I read a bunch of RRs that say "don't ride in Mexico at night!"

Now, that makes total sense to me. There are cows and horses and holes in the road and, according to the American media and most of the guys at my work, lots of bad guys.

So on Friday a few of my silly friends and I left work slightly early and braved the drive south in the torrential southern California drizzle. Four of us headed south on different freeways at roughly 10 mph. Looking at the GPS on my phone, all routes south were red. We had agreed to meet at the border at 6pm. I think we were all finally there by 9. We packed up our little bit of luggage, a bit of extra gas, made sure my mountain bike lights were ready, and three of us rode across the border into the darkness, leaving the light rain behind on the California side.

I own a GPS and have it mounted on my bike, but I really only use it as a map. I have been too lazy to figure out how to use it properly and I seem to have a fairly good sense of direction. I have ridden the dirt roads across the border a few times before (in day light), so felt quite confident as I lead our small group into the dark hills and missed the first important left turn. I knew I had missed the turn but figured I could find another road heading in the right direction. Wrong! I couldn't see any landmarks and got a little lost.

What I did find though, was a group of soldiers with guns and flashlights who leaped out of the bushes for a quick "inspection". They were very cool and told us that we were gringos estupido. I said we were lost, and they asked why I didn't use my GPS. Funny guys. They were quite interested in the fact that my head light didn't work, and my borrowed bicycle lights impressed them a lot. Ten minutes after the first inspection, we flushed out a second group of soldiers. They asked us how many in our party. We said three, and the nice soldier pointed out that there were only two of us. We laughed and explained that we had to go back to look for our amigo.

We found Traveltoad a ways back fiddling with his bike in the dark.

He has an amazing light - a Baja Designs Squadron. It is an unbelievably good light. Only problem was TT's wiring! I thought that I was going to have to share my bicycle lights, but then we found the offending connection and fixed it with a bit of duct tape.

Once it was all back together we agreed to head back to the highway and give up on the whole ride-at-night-on-dirt-roads bit. Then I found the missing turn and we all raced off deeper into the mountains. I did invest a bit of energy in thinking about cows and fences. We had an awesome ride through the low clouds and the only thing I hit was a suicidal rabbit. Got to the place we were headed a little later than expected and settled down for a quick sleep.

traveltoad · 12-05-2012, 12:17 PM

WHYNOWTHEN · 12-05-2012, 02:38 PM

Looks like someone dropped a match.

Fun stuff.

We stopped for a rest under this tree.

And we had a great opportunity to engage in a debate over the virtues of fancy new bikes with fuel injection versus ratty old bikes with carburetors.

Then we found ourselves once again on the wrong side of the fence.

At some point, a responsible member of the group suggested that we should "tend towards stupidity".

Great weekend. Thanks guys!
Wait at the border for motorcycles - 5 minutes.
Wait at the border for cars - 3 1/2 hours! Thank you border officials for being so efficient!

Once again, if you are looking at these pictures and think it would be cool to tell me where you think they are, please don't!

TOPI1967 · 12-05-2012, 04:20 PM

thanks for sharing! I hope there is more...

Bruno T . · 12-07-2012, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WHYNOWTHEN

He has an amazing light - a Baja Designs Squadron. It is an unbelievably good light. Only problem was TT's wiring! I thought that I was going to have to share my bicycle lights

traveltoad · 12-07-2012, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruno T .

riceless950 · 12-11-2012, 06:11 PM

Your thread makes me sad.

I miss you guys and the great rides...

But I'm trying to get over it. I'll just have to go out to the woods and have a big cry/ride

See ya around August I bet.

TOPI1967 · 12-11-2012, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riceless950

your thread makes me sad.

i miss you guys and the great rides...

But i'm trying to get over it. I'll just have to go out to the woods and have a big cry/ride

see ya around august i bet.

wow!

traveltoad · 12-13-2012, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riceless950

Your thread makes me sad.

I miss you guys and the great rides...

But I'm trying to get over it. I'll just have to go out to the woods and have a big cry/ride

See ya around August I bet.

Looks a little dry and dusty...

WHYNOWTHEN · 12-13-2012, 01:51 PM

I bet if someone set that green mess on fire, the trail would be way easier to see.

Miss you Brent. Stay tuned for the over-Christmas upcoming ride!

WHYNOWTHEN · 12-21-2012, 09:00 AM

Bikes are ready. New chain for Rollergirl. New radiator cap and seat cover for me. Big green truck got the once-over from local mechanic. He said those oil leaks are supposed to be there!

Dog and cat have sitters. Lots of packing tonight. Leaving as early as possible tomorrow morning. Already booked a night in a yurt in San Ignacio.
If you don't hear from us in about 2 weeks, send a rescue party. We will be quite far south in Baja, Mexicoooooo!

Happy Christmas and a Messy new year to everybody that bothers reading my mumbling.

bobfab · 12-21-2012, 09:56 AM

You are making me miss so many aspects of the SD-area.

traveltoad · 12-21-2012, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WHYNOWTHEN

If you don't hear from us in about 2 weeks, send a rescue party. We will be quite far south in Baja, Mexicoooooo!

Happy Christmas and a Messy new year to everybody that bothers reading my mumbling.

I'll go! I'll go!

Merry New Year!

WaywardSon · 12-21-2012, 09:08 PM

Nice job.

Great pics.

Think I'll hang around & see if you survive the next couple of weeks

Thanks for taking the time........

WHYNOWTHEN · 12-24-2012, 05:43 PM

Not dead yet!
Damn, that was a long drive. We almost got a puppy in Mulege. We might grab her on the way home if she is still sitting on the beach waiting for us. We are in Loreto, airing out a beautiful vacation house for some friends. Did a truly amazing 90 mile warm up ride today. Looked for bad guys, but couldn't find any. Scenery is out of this world. Rollergirl only gave me the finger once, half way up a long steep climb covered in stone baseballs. Yummy tacos and beer for dinner.

12-05-2012, 08:52 AM	#106
WHYNOWTHEN ^OP where are the pedals? Joined: Jan 2009 Location: closer to Baja Oddometer: 466	I read a bunch of RRs that say "don't ride in Mexico at night!" Now, that makes total sense to me. There are cows and horses and holes in the road and, according to the American media and most of the guys at my work, lots of bad guys. So on Friday a few of my silly friends and I left work slightly early and braved the drive south in the torrential southern California drizzle. Four of us headed south on different freeways at roughly 10 mph. Looking at the GPS on my phone, all routes south were red. We had agreed to meet at the border at 6pm. I think we were all finally there by 9. We packed up our little bit of luggage, a bit of extra gas, made sure my mountain bike lights were ready, and three of us rode across the border into the darkness, leaving the light rain behind on the California side. I own a GPS and have it mounted on my bike, but I really only use it as a map. I have been too lazy to figure out how to use it properly and I seem to have a fairly good sense of direction. I have ridden the dirt roads across the border a few times before (in day light), so felt quite confident as I lead our small group into the dark hills and missed the first important left turn. I knew I had missed the turn but figured I could find another road heading in the right direction. Wrong! I couldn't see any landmarks and got a little lost. What I did find though, was a group of soldiers with guns and flashlights who leaped out of the bushes for a quick "inspection". They were very cool and told us that we were gringos estupido. I said we were lost, and they asked why I didn't use my GPS. Funny guys. They were quite interested in the fact that my head light didn't work, and my borrowed bicycle lights impressed them a lot. Ten minutes after the first inspection, we flushed out a second group of soldiers. They asked us how many in our party. We said three, and the nice soldier pointed out that there were only two of us. We laughed and explained that we had to go back to look for our amigo. We found Traveltoad a ways back fiddling with his bike in the dark. He has an amazing light - a Baja Designs Squadron. It is an unbelievably good light. Only problem was TT's wiring! I thought that I was going to have to share my bicycle lights, but then we found the offending connection and fixed it with a bit of duct tape. Once it was all back together we agreed to head back to the highway and give up on the whole ride-at-night-on-dirt-roads bit. Then I found the missing turn and we all raced off deeper into the mountains. I did invest a bit of energy in thinking about cows and fences. We had an awesome ride through the low clouds and the only thing I hit was a suicidal rabbit. Got to the place we were headed a little later than expected and settled down for a quick sleep. __________________ where does that road go? WHYNOWTHEN screwed with this post 12-13-2012 at 11:54 PM

12-05-2012, 02:38 PM	#108
WHYNOWTHEN ^OP where are the pedals? Joined: Jan 2009 Location: closer to Baja Oddometer: 466	Looks like someone dropped a match. Fun stuff. We stopped for a rest under this tree. And we had a great opportunity to engage in a debate over the virtues of fancy new bikes with fuel injection versus ratty old bikes with carburetors. Then we found ourselves once again on the wrong side of the fence. At some point, a responsible member of the group suggested that we should "tend towards stupidity". Great weekend. Thanks guys! Wait at the border for motorcycles - 5 minutes. Wait at the border for cars - 3 1/2 hours! Thank you border officials for being so efficient! Once again, if you are looking at these pictures and think it would be cool to tell me where you think they are, please don't! __________________ where does that road go? WHYNOWTHEN screwed with this post 12-13-2012 at 01:49 PM

12-13-2012, 01:51 PM	#115
WHYNOWTHEN ^OP where are the pedals? Joined: Jan 2009 Location: closer to Baja Oddometer: 466	I bet if someone set that green mess on fire, the trail would be way easier to see. Miss you Brent. Stay tuned for the over-Christmas upcoming ride! __________________ where does that road go?

12-21-2012, 09:00 AM	#116
WHYNOWTHEN ^OP where are the pedals? Joined: Jan 2009 Location: closer to Baja Oddometer: 466	Bikes are ready. New chain for Rollergirl. New radiator cap and seat cover for me. Big green truck got the once-over from local mechanic. He said those oil leaks are supposed to be there! Dog and cat have sitters. Lots of packing tonight. Leaving as early as possible tomorrow morning. Already booked a night in a yurt in San Ignacio. If you don't hear from us in about 2 weeks, send a rescue party. We will be quite far south in Baja, Mexicoooooo! Happy Christmas and a Messy new year to everybody that bothers reading my mumbling. __________________ where does that road go?

12-21-2012, 09:56 AM	#117
bobfab Studly Adventurer Joined: May 2009 Location: Westminster CO Oddometer: 798	You are making me miss so many aspects of the SD-area. __________________ Project Labor of Love: 1972 CT90 Rebuild Current Stable: DRZ400 \| VFR800 \| DRZ250 \| CT90 \| CB125 Need an airfilter for your DRZ250!? I have too many, PM ME

12-05-2012, 12:17 PM	#107
traveltoad Aaron S Joined: May 2002 Location: SoCal Oddometer: 6,100

12-05-2012, 04:20 PM	#109
TOPI1967 Gnarly Adventurer Joined: May 2010 Oddometer: 131	thanks for sharing! I hope there is more...

12-11-2012, 06:11 PM	#112
riceless950 Let's Ride! Joined: May 2007 Location: The Great Northwet Oddometer: 3,195	Your thread makes me sad. I miss you guys and the great rides... But I'm trying to get over it. I'll just have to go out to the woods and have a big cry/ride See ya around August I bet.

12-21-2012, 09:08 PM	#119
WaywardSon Beastly Adventurer Joined: Nov 2006 Location: Paducah, Kentucky Oddometer: 1,138	Nice job. Great pics. Think I'll hang around & see if you survive the next couple of weeks Thanks for taking the time........ __________________ '99 K1200 LT '96 R1100 RT- Gone '95 K1100 LT- Gone '83 Yamaha Venture- Gone '78 Suzuki GS 750- Gone

12-24-2012, 05:43 PM	#120
WHYNOWTHEN ^OP where are the pedals? Joined: Jan 2009 Location: closer to Baja Oddometer: 466	Not dead yet! Damn, that was a long drive. We almost got a puppy in Mulege. We might grab her on the way home if she is still sitting on the beach waiting for us. We are in Loreto, airing out a beautiful vacation house for some friends. Did a truly amazing 90 mile warm up ride today. Looked for bad guys, but couldn't find any. Scenery is out of this world. Rollergirl only gave me the finger once, half way up a long steep climb covered in stone baseballs. Yummy tacos and beer for dinner. __________________ where does that road go?

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