Baja again: Dos Pendejos

[motoged]

Originally Posted by Gadget Boy

Thanks for another great update!! Looks great and YFF's are having a great time

GB,
Okay....so I may have a bit of a roof over the tool shed

Here's to you over there on the east side

[KenR]

Originally Posted by Zerodog

Keep it coming.I am getting pumped for my Baja trip.

+1!!

[motoged]

Originally Posted by jonz

I've always managed to bypass it but have always wanted to check it out. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks; I'll be able to say I've checked it out. By the way, do you happen to have any gps coordinates/tracklogs of the ride from San Juancio to Mulege since that is high on the list of probable rides?

Jonz,
Mulege can be a base for at least 4 days of different routes, but some require some pavement to get to and from the double-track roads and gravel/dirt/river rock roads....no problem on dual sport tires, but sometimes an issue when using knobbies....we used Trelleborg Supermaster for rear tires "because I haven't found a tire that lasts longer" and Pirelli MT 18 HD front and Kenda 776 for front...Bridgestone ultra heavy duty tubes...



My GPS wasn't working for some wierd reason (it would not show the routes we were making on the map page, so I stopped using it....better as it was one less gadget/task to attend to....

Ged

[motoged]

It's nice to wake up in the morning and see that your bikes are still outside the door. Sometimes we cabled then to a post...sometimes we didn't....






After several days of riding, we "chillaxed" and had a day for laundry, a no-gear ride out to the beach again, a margarita tour , and a rip up an arroyo beneath the last section of highway's last curve into town....a smokin' mixed ride day....


The depot in the room was chillaxing:




La serenidad was serving up some big ones ....




The restaurant by the mouth of the river (north side) was serving tasty ones....












The arroyo pit stop allowed the tequila to mellow the late afternoon sun...







A ride up to the hills on the north side of town...










A cruise by the river...



And a fine dinner....and that was that....




And after the sun set...




Party hats were handed out ....

[Mercury264]

More More

[VascoMerlin]

Tell your boss to the shut the f*ck up, and finish this thing.

I have nothing better to do!

[motoged]

Originally Posted by KLRific

Tell your boss to the shut the f*ck up, and finish this thing.

I have nothing better to do!

Cap'n,
I AM the fokkin' boss....so it creates some real conflict for me trying to shift gears from cervezas, fish tacos, and sweaty riding gear to being back at the orifice...

I will spend some time tonight adding more re: riding around Bahia de Concepcion....pics, smuggling stories, and more unfathomable stuff like that...

Tune in later..... in the meantime, you must be able to find something to do, even in NJ

[Zerodog]

Keep it coming. This is the area we want to check out!!!!

[motoged]

Zerodog et al,

The Mulege - Loreto area offers a wide range of moto-adventure possibilities.

The San Felipe-Gonzaga Bay-Coco's Corner-Bahia de los Angeles stretch is also a classic area to ride as this forum attests....and some folks seem to think Cabo San Lucas is a destination of worth (I think it is worth seeing and if you area yahoo who likes to get drunk and then get hung upside down and have a guy make you get more pissed ...Cabo is for you...but after seeing it I like to get out of their REAL quick....too many guys in shorts wearing sandals with white socks for my liking).

Of course, we all have our own ideas about what we think is cool and/or worthwhile....so I can set myself up for criticism by judging some things in the way I do....but in the spirit of some of these ADV Rider posts. FYYFF if you don't agree with me....and FYYFF if you do agree (as this expression is not only a suggestion for others, it seems to be a great term of endearment... go figure !!!

Anyways, YFF's, here is some more....

Mulege is at the northern reach of Bahia Concepcion, a large bay that reaches about 30 kms in length and offers some spectacular beaches, camping opportunities, vistas, and riding.

From the sand dune beaches just south of the Pemex at the south end of Mulege (on the highway), one can see the northern tip of the peninsula on the east side of Bahia Concepcion....




We took a day to do a loop around Bahia San Nicholas at the south end of Concepcion. As we preferred to avoid riding pavement along the coast of B of C from Mulege, we opted to load the bikes in the truck and ride from Isla Requeson near the south end of the Bay......



Isla Requeson is unique in that it has an isthmus that joins it to the peninsula (remember that Baja is a peninsula and cannot be referred to as "the mainland"), a phenomenon that creates a spectacular setting...



We parked at the shack which seemed to be the location for the jefe of the beach ...




I paid the guy for parking and determined that we would be back by 4:00 pm , mas o menos, and explained that we were going to San Sebastion y San Nicholas por la dia....


Oh, Oh....I have just been called to dinner....back with the rest of the day in a bit....

[LaOutbackTrail]

Best pic.

Nice report.
Baja or Copper Canyon first....

[motoged]

Now.....where was I? Oh, yeah.....riding up out of Isla Requeson and heading south on the highway to the south end of Concepcion.

This area is flat and often windy. Remnants of a trailer park or something punctuate the beach and, with a few options of double-track, lead a rider eastward to a few forks in the road....one which leads northward up along the west side of this spectacular peninsula....and one which leads eastward to San Sebastion and then San Nicholas...I wanted Darren to enjoy some of the whoopy winding double track leading north, so we turned left....

Before long, we passed some fishcamps where the clam shell middens are impressive....




I am not sure which type of clams these are, but I will guess that they are what they call chocolate ( "choko..latte") ...years ago when I first saw them, I thought they were scallops...






I particularly like this northern ride as it is often like slalom skiing...the curves and whoops are manageable and a rider can set up a good rythm ...



We rode only several miles north as we wanted to give ourselves enough time in case we would hook up with a Baja Nomad (Vgabndo) in San Nicholas as he promised a beer if we showed up with our noisy bikes ...

We took a break and some pics just north of a small dry lakebed...














At one point in time I glanced over at Darren while we were both taking pics and I saw him crouched behind a shrub and he was motioning me to move away. At first I assumed he was squatting and giving birth to a Republican, so I looked away and sauntered out of his "space".....I later learned that he was taking a pic of some phallic cactus.....




Later, I caught him praying or communicating with extraterrestrials...



When I ride the GS, I usually carry a squashed beer can to place under the sidestand in loose terrain ...w/ the KTM I usually look for a stone or piece of wood...



In Baja, strong sticks are more difficult to find and mostly one finds skeletal innards of chollo or other cactus...




It was fun playing on the harder packed sand in that area....more often the sand was looser and offered less traction...



We motored south back to the fork in the road that would take us out to San Sebastion on the east coast of the peninsula....

This ride is on hard-pack and winds over an alto-plano before it drops you down into a canyon arroyo and eventually spits you out into a remarkable oasis leading to the exquisite circular bay of San Sebastion...






This bay is ringed with a dozen or so homes inhabited by some lucky gringos....itr is a long way in from the highway, but is a place I would give my left huevo for to have a spot...



We backtracked into the palm canyon and rode up a washed out road which leads to San Nicholas. The road was only rough for the uphill to the following improvement...








Bahia San Nicholas beckons and offers some future riding...and hopefully a beer with Vgabndo...





But I must tell a tale from my last Baja ride .... http://www.advrider.com/forums/showt...hlight=motoged
that connects with this one ....

In March '05, I shared the trip with some guys and it was our first time to San Sebastion. By looking at the map, it was a no-brainer that I had to check it out. The four of us rode into the small community and I was wanting a bit more gas to fill up the Clark tank. I asked a fellow working on a backhoe if any was to be had and he pointed towards a house on the north side of the bay that had a few fellows building a stone wall in front of an impressive "beach cabin"....

He indicated that he thought he could ask around and, before he could, his workmate offered the four of us three cans of Coke...a gesture appreciated by the four of us thirsty riders (better flavor than CamelBAck stuff). As we were passing the cola amongst us, another gringo approached us with four cans of cold beer and, with a great smile, said...."Years ago when I was riding around down here I thought it would be so cool if I rode into a place like this and someone just walked up and offered me a cold beer! So here you guys are...."

We all grokked the value of his gesture....Big Time !!!!!!!!!!!

And as we slurped the beer (I got two as one of the guys didn't drink beer) two other gringos approached us...one was about 6'3'' it seemed and he was giving us a wary eye...his buddy seemed friendlier and I asked if he knew if I could get some gas....he said "I can get you some....my place is that one over there". We all chatted for a short while and I motored over to the guy's place.

A roomy "surfer house" was adorned with fishing gear and a range of other stuff. Outside in his "garage" area, he had a range of fuel containers.
The one that I noticed was opaque rotomoulded plastic like my Clark tank and was about a cubic meter in size. I enquired if it was boat gas and he said, "Those are gas cans that the smugglers use and that they throw overboard when they are empty".

WELL>>>> my ears perked up and I said, "I don't want to be uncool, but what could you tell me about smuggling here?"....as, being a worldly fellow, I knew that the Baja is a major pipeline for dope coming out of the Copper Canyon area and other mainland states across the Sea of Cortez.

The fellow was generous enough to offer the following tale:

"The smugglers use solid-hulled Zodiacs with three Honda 250 horse motors to bring across bales of pot and heroin from the mainland. As they use up their fuel they just throw these fuel cells overboard. When we are out in our pangas fishing we sometimes find them floating so we pick them up and sometimes use them."
"I wasn't here earlier in the winter", he continued, "but one night some of the folks here heard a helicopter overhead for a few minutes and it left after what sounded like it was backfiring. When they woke up in the morning they saw one of these zodiacs up on the beach full to the gunwhales with bales of dope....and one guy dead on the beach with a machine gun beside him and one guy dead spread on top of the bales.
That morning the Federales came in with a big truck and hauled all the stuff away."
"Sometimes we might be out fishing and the Federale helicopter will fly right over us about 50 feet and check to see what is in our pangas....their 50 calibers make me a bit nervous."


Now, THAT is a great Baja story if you ask me

When we returned this year I looked for the guy and he was sitting in the sun at the back of his place looking real relaxed. I took my helmet off and said, "I just wanted to say thanks again for the gas last year and introduce my friend to the guy who told me the smuggler story so he wouldn't think I was bullshitting!",,,and i walked over to shake his hand and reintroduce myself.



Yep, San Sebastion would be a great place to spend some time

[motoged]

After riding into San Nicholas, I looked for a white diesel pick-up and Vgabndo but did not see anything like that, so we road out to the highway to the junction at El Rosarito and headed back up to Isla Requeson.

Not wanting to stop riding yet,





We tooled around the beach area at slowmo and found a few sweet spots north of the main beach by following a coastal trail a short ways...











But all good things seem to end too soon and we were back in the truck for another Mulege Mood....Muy Tranquillo pero un poquito consado

[Guaglione]

Hey Ged,

as I sit here in the dreary Seattle cold, sick with flu and coughing up a storm, I am forced to endure another greuling tale of fun and cerveza.

dammit man, can't you let me wallow in my misery without kicking me when I am down??

That Acerbis tank looks pretty spiffy on the KTM. I bet it holds an awful lot of candian bacon!!!

Ciao,

Luca

PS - I pick up the newly re-worked XR650R tomorrow, and the dirt around here is getting nervous.

[Gordy]

Wow!!! What a great ride! Enjoyed the pics!! Thanks!!!!

[ktmnate]

Thanks for a great report

It makes me want to just dump everything and head south.


Nate