baja photos

[chiodinc]

Baja Trip Report Overview: Rode my `93 Kawasaki KLR 650, single cylinder thumper, from Arkansas to Santa Barbara, California then to La Paz, Baja California South, then back to Arkansas. 6,700 total miles with no major problems. Motorcycle Preparation: Aside from normal maintenance before any long ride, I installed stronger bolts holding my rear sub-frame to the main frame since adding hard saddlebags and top box loaded with tools, spare parts, camping gear and clothes would put considerable stress on this weak link of the frame. Also spooned on a new set of "el cheapo" Duro HF904 Median Dual sport tires with heavy duty tubes. Changed the fork oil to 15 wt. to stiffen it up. Installed a headlight ON/OFF switch and battery voltage monitor so I could use my electric vest and gloves when required. Bike already had a skid plate, radiator guard, highway pegs, tall factory windscreen, center stand and Corbin saddle installed. Phase 1: Arkansas to the Tijuana/San Diego border Rode the super-slab I-40 the entire way since I was in a hurry to get to the West Coast. After stopping at the Big Texan in Amarillo, Texas for a ritual steak dinner, I noticed the rear Duro tire was showing some unusual wear. Most of the center knobs on the tire had cracks at the leading edge base of the knobs. These cracks were about 1/16" deep and 1/8" wide and ran the width of the knob itself. Tire were inflated to 28 psi front and 32 psi rear...hmmmmm. Thought about sending them back with a nasty note once I got to Los Angeles but never did. Next interesting event happened just West of the Texas/New Mexico state line. I pulled off the super slab onto old Route 66 at one of my favorite rest stops, an abandoned motel/caf /bar that offers shade, wind protection and a quiet place to rest. As I was traveling up the off-ramp, the engine sputtered due to lack of fuel, I thumbed the lever over to "Reserve" and nothing happened! A flashlight inspection of the fuel tank showed about 2" of gas in the bottom of the tank and I could clearly see the hole for the reserve was covered in fuel, so what's the problem? Seems the vacuum operated plunger in my fuel petcock was stuck not allowing reserve fuel flow. As I was contemplating a little roadside fuel tank removal/repair a fellow motorcyclist on a BMW GS1100? pulled up. He had left the highway to explore Indian ruins and noticed my dual sport bike and decided to ride on over for a chat. Glad he did! I laid the bike way over on it's left side to get some fuel to transfer from the right side of the tank to the left and set off down the road with my "chase rider" following. That technique worked for 12 miles. Tried the same thing again only this time actually laying the bike over onto the left saddle bag, that gave me another 6 miles...then nothing. BMW rider rides to the nearest gas station (about 10 more miles down the road) and returns with a quart water bottle filled with gas. This gets me to a fuel station. Thanks Brett! You meet the nicest people when you run out of gas. We ride together to Tucumcari for a Mexican dinner to help repay his time and kindness. Tucumcari is the "town that time forgot" on old Route 66 and one can find a very comfortable motel room for under $20, one of my favorite stops. Now nearing Flagstaff, Arizona and have been dodging rain and dark clouds all day. About 30 miles east of Flagstaff, I can see the storm front is heading straight for me so I pull off the highway and put on the rain suit and electric vest. Riding into the storm, I'm dry but getting cold fast. It's then I notice the snow almost down to the roadway. I can't tell if I'm getting snowed or sleeted on, but all the same, it's wet and cold. My fingers are frozen and can barely feel the tips but I ride on because the semi-trucks are hectic, (whatever happened to the concept "Knights of the Road"?) the weather is getting worse and I figure it will clear as I lose elevation. Around Williams, Arizona, the skies clear and it gets almost warm! Yeah! Peel off the cumbersome rain gear and follow Route 66 along my favorite stretch to Seligman, Arizona, another "town that time forgot" on old Route66 Rest of the ride to Santa Barbara was uneventful unless you count getting lost in Palmdale...ha! While visiting my best friend in Santa Barbara, I replaced the "new fangled" vacuum operated fuel valve with the "missing reserve" with an old fashioned manual type from a `83 KLR 600, which fit perfectly, end of my reserve fuel problems! Duro rear tire is still cracked but can't tell if they are getting worse, decide to ride them until the knobs fly off and then cuss Duro for the rest of my life, I just love adventure! Crossing into Mexico was easy at the Tijuana/San Diego border. I was using Clement Salvadori's book "Motorcycle Adventures Through Baja" and Neal Davis's book, "Motorcycle Journeys Through Northern Mexico" as guidebooks. As I was dismounting the bike at the Mexican immigration station, another KLR rider flew by in a full wheelie. I took that as a good omen for the trip! Getting my tourist card was no big affair (go to the most northern most office in the immigration complex), simply showed my passport, payed a few bucks and stamp, stamp, I'm legal. The temporary importation papers for the bike were a different story however. What neither book mentioned is the Banco Ejercito office where this paperwork must be done was located three blocks west of the immigration offices. The nice immigration folks told me to just go ahead and leave my bike parked in front of their offices (the equivalent of the US Customs search area) and they would watch it, besides, they told me, they had guns to keep anything "bad" from happening to my bike...alllllrighty then! The immigration guy even left his cushy office to personally walk me to the Banco Ejercito's offices. We enjoyed a nice cold cerveza since it was a long walk and thirsty work! The Banco Ejercito was your equivalent of our Department of Motor Vehicles but more helpful/friendly/prettier women. A slight glitch in my paperwork injected some adventure. Seems my ownership and registration papers (must have the originals and not copies, but you will need to hand over one photo-copy of each, copies readily available at Banco Ejercito) had "Chuck " on them while my passport had "Charles". A cute woman in a tight uniform (gotta love those Latin women!) Took me to the `head manager's office (also a good looking woman who seemed to enjoy her job. US DMUS should take note). As I was convincing her that "Chuck" and "Charles" are the same name and the addresses on both sets of papers matched, she noticed my driver's license had "Charles" imprinted but I had signed it "Chuck"...problem solved, a yellow highlighter made "Charles" and "Chuck" the same person! Used my VISA card as required (American Express not accepted here) to pay the $24.50 fee and my bike is now legal to ride anywhere in Mexico for 180 days. Insurance is not required (is this a great country or what?) But I did buy one day's worth on the US side just so I would have the impressive looking sticker on my windscreen and changed some money in the office (Thanks for the good advice, Rick!). I'm cocked and locked for the trip South! Heading South: Took the Tijuana/Ensenada toll road out of TJ because it's easier and faster and I have traveled to Ensenada hundreds of times and wanted to get past this "Americanized" part of Baja as quickly as possible. Rode down a dirt road to Salsipuedes (about 30 Km north from Ensenada) to enjoy an old favorite surf spot and take a break/nap among the olive trees. Ensenada hasn't changed any for the better. Now looks like any seaside tourist town in California to me. Lots of traffic running south from Ensenada to Santo Thomas and then started thinning out quickly. Nice two lane highway through tomato and strawberry fields. I'm now in virgin territory for me. Between El Socorro and El Rosario, the highway closely follows the coastline, beautiful! Imagine riding from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara without passing through a single town and actually enjoying the ocean view, free from houses! Nice! At El Rosario, the road leaves the Pacific Ocean and heads inland. It's at this point the"Baja Highway" built in 1973 starts. I immediately fell in love with this road. It has a Route 66 feel to it. It was built to lure the rich gringo dollars to Baja yet the rich gringos never came in great numbers, they all fly to Cabo San Lucas now. The Mexican government built huge gas stations, restaurants and hotels but they are now mostly abandoned. Even though Clement's book is only 5 years old, do not use it to plan gas stops as some of the places he recommends are now closed. The road itself, is two lane and well maintained, some occasional potholes but usually well surfaced (it puts I-40 in Arkansas to shame!). I could have easily ridden the entire route on my Honda ST1100 but would not have been able to enjoy side trips on dirt roads leading to deserted beaches without the KLR (too sandy and rocky for the ST). Like Route 66, the Baja Highway used 1930's technology of road construction. They didn't blow holes through mountains for "safety radius curves" but contoured the terrain around them in the most delightful twisty way. Just when you are getting bored with straight line riding through the desert along comes a mountain range and twisty, turny fun! Oh, and by the way, when they say "30 km/hr" for a corner, they mean it! I also noticed the severity of the corner is not only marked with speed signs but also lines of "bots dots" and/or painted lines across the road prior to the curve. Rule of thumb, the more rows of "bots dots" or painted lines, the tighter the curve. Just when you are about motion sick of twistys, the road straightens out into the desert again. definitely an "E- ticket" ride! The Duro tires stick very well in curves on pavement and the KLR handles aggressive cornering well. Have I mentioned no traffic, no speed enforcement and excellent road surface? Look, lean and roll on the throttle! Stopped for a late lunch at La Espinita (the Little Thorn), a former bordello on the border between Baja California North and Baja California South...excellent food. They still have the rooms out back but they are now for road weary travelers and not "customers" anymore. There is a huge "modern art" sculpture of the Mexican eagle (I guess) marking the state line but is enclosed by a new military compound, so you can't take pictures of it. I began to notice lots of high speed off road racing type vehicles on the highway. Seems lots of racers were in Baja to set-up for the upcoming Baja 1,000. Lots of nice hardware running down the road at unbelievable speeds. The course was marked in places and I rode about 75 miles of it. Great to imagine myself as Malcolm Smith in the film "On Any Sunday" as I road across the dry lake bed of Laguna Chapala. I enjoyed many off road excursions to secluded beaches and the KLR and Duro tires handled the terrain with ease. The Duros still have all knobs intact and the cracks haven't seemed to be getting bigger, maybe they aren't junk after all. Note to self; if you pack heavy, the rear end tends to wag during quick direction changes. The KLR is too heavy, fully loaded, for serious off road antics, just remember, the throttle is your best friend! If in doubt, gas it! (Thanks for the great advice, Bill!) I never rode past dusk as the sides of the road were littered with dead cows, horses and donkeys, who were apparently standing in the roadway at night soaking up the contained warmth from the asphalt. I stopped for night #1 in the center of the "Natural Central Desert Park of Baja California" in the almost ghost town of Catavina at sunset. There are two hotels in this town, the "La Pinta", a chain all over Baja that caters to "rich American" tastes and the "mini- hotel Linda" which caters to everyone else. Room was $7/night and had a clean bed and bathroom with hot water. The manager warned me the electricity went off at 22:00 but I didn't think to ask the important question of when it came back on. Arising at 07:00, I realized that no electricity also meant no water! Lesson learned. Note: the Pemex fuel station in Catavina has been closed for some time but there are usually guys in trucks with drums of fuel that can be purchased for twice the regular cost. Same is true at the intersection of Punta Prieta. Be sure to fuel up at El Rosario. Your next "regular" station is just north of Guerrero Negro...you have been warned! Traveling through the "Natural Central Desert Park of Baja California" was an experience to see. There are species of cacti there that exist nowhere else on earth. The landscape looked like it had been lifted from the set of "Star Trek". Weirdest plants I have ever seen. My favorite was what looked like an upright single 40' tree limb covered in green hair with a bush on top. I think I saw a total of three other vehicles in 90 some miles. I passed a few military checkpoints but they all waved me through without stopping me. Clement mentions a particularly dangerous curve/arroyo which I had to stop and look at. I counted 23 crosses, signifying highway deaths, dating from 1973 to last year. About ten wrecked and rusting vehicles littered the small arroyo. Very spooky, I considered spending the night to see if there where any ghosts lurking but the place just creeped me out. Long stretches of road with no cops or speed limits but also keep in mind, no ambulances or hospitals either. Late afternoon found me in a wonderful section of mountain twistys when the Sea of Cortez came into view. Wow! Deep turquoise blue water and brilliant white sand beaches, right off a post card. Spent the night in Mulege (pronounced mule-ah-hay) in a cheap hotel, should have camped in the desert instead. The owner insisted I park the bike in his courtyard but the only entrance was through the attached restaurant. In the middle of the dinner rush, he moved tables and patrons so I could ride through to restaurant to park the bike in the courtyard! Try that at Motel 6! The road from Mulege to Puerto Escondido was the prettiest section of the entire trip. It was a desert in full bloom. All the desert bushes were a lush green and so tightly concentrated, you could barely see between them. Brilliant flowers of red. orange and purple added color to the vibrant greens, not to mention the Sea of Cortez in the background...just awesome! This three hours of riding was worth the entire trip. Nothing much between Puerto Escondido and La Paz except flat desert with an occasional twisty mountain section thrown in so you don't go to sleep. Be sure to wave back at the soldiers manning the security checkpoints as they wave you through, imagine how bored they are in the middle of the desert. La Paz: Just before you arrive in La Paz, you pass by another military checkpoint (waved through) and an immigration stop just afterwards. This was the only me I was asked to show my tourist card. No problems, the immigration man was very friendly and spoke English. Bien viaje! La Paz is a fairly large working port city but easy enough to navigate on motorcycle. Most Latin countries are used to seeing motorcycles and acknowledge bikes are legitimate road users. Lane splitting is considered your right when you ride a bike. Passed two motorcycle shops where I got free stickers for the bike and a can of chain lube (normal US price). Spent the night in a "hippie hotel", Hotel Yeneka, for $21/night. Interesting rooms as each is completely painted with a theme as depicted by the room name on the door. I stayed in the "Sun and Moon" room and one wall was painted with the sun flowing into the opposite wall painted with the moon. Very arty in a 60's sort of way. The courtyard was packed with "art junk" and a 1930's truck body. The owner insisted that I park my bike in the courtyard for safekeeping but I chained it to the outside post instead. Note to self; avoid saddlebags that make the bike too wide to fit through a doorway. La Paz is also a tourist town and has a great walkway at the waters edge where you can enjoy the view of the clean bay and fishing boats. Lots of "gringo" type bars and excellent seafood restaurants. Enjoyed my first lobster burrito (lobster tail rolled in a tortilla with lime sauce). Three lobster burritos with rice, beans, salad and beer for $12...burp! Another street vendor was selling "roasted corn in a cup" so I had to try one. He took a roasted ear of corn and removed the kernels, mixed them in a plastic cup with a sour cream/cream cheese type stuff and toped it with some grated white cheese. You can add chili sauce as you like. Sounds strange but was sooooo good! Too bad we don't have cool foods and street vendors still in the States..our loss. By the way, I ate whatever I felt like, drank anything I wanted, including "natural flavored waters" (the Mexican equivalent of kool-aid but made with real stuff like pineapple, strawberry, vanilla beans, even hibiscuses flowers!) And never got sick.....your results may vary. Oh...did I mention, the usual price for a cold beer ran about 60 cents? Just stay out of the "gringo bars" where you will pay upwards of $2.50/beer. My plan was to take the ferry to Mazatlan to ride the road to Durango and visit the Copper Canyon. Plans change as did the ferry schedule and prices. The cargo boat left the next afternoon. I could ship my bike but not me. The regular ferry "might run in three days" but they were "having some problems"with it, and the cost was double what the guidebook suggested (it was $235, which included passage for the bike, a "tourist class" stateroom for me, non-private shower and bath, and a meal for the 19 hour voyage) Damn...too much time and too much money for my plans. Heading North: Rode from La Paz to the seaside port town of Santa Rosalia on the Sea of Cortez where my maps and guide books said another ferry to the mainland, Guaymas, was available. Ha! Outdated information again! The ferry office and ship was there but hasn't run for two months and probably never will again. Spent the night in this old French colonial copper mining town. This was a "real Mexican" town with very little tourist influence. All the old French mining equipment and smelter is still there and nobody said a word as I explored about. This is a working port town but takes on a definite party atmosphere at night. Most folks stay up in the town square until 2 am or so. I stayed in a ratty old motel that reminded me of one of the boarded up ones on Route 66. Price was $10/night. This was the only time I used my sleeping bag instead of getting under the hotel sheets. This town is unique in that the town church is a metal prefab building designed by Mr. Eiffel of the Paris tower fame. This church was originally displayed at the Paris World Fair in 1889 and then shipped to Baja where it is still used daily. All of the military checkpoints that waved me through on the way down now stopped me on the way back. No big deal, in fact, I looked forward to them. Imagine being a young soldier stuck in the middle of the desert with the "important duty" of searching cars for contraband. I speak Spanish and am retired from the Army so every stop turned into a social conversation (often with free coffee and food). Traded my camp flashlight for dinner with one ill-equipped squad who didn't have a working flashlight to use at night. Another platoon sized element had their bunk beds neatly made up and footlockers dressed right dressed in the desert sand but lacked a tent! Sure sucked to be them! At no time did I ever feel threatened and everyone went out of their way to be friendly and helpful. I'm not recommending this, but taking a pistol would have been no problem as no one ever searched my person and the "searches" of my luggage was just a formality. Warning!! Taking of ANY firearm or ammunition into Mexico is a very big deal (prison time) if caught! I will say that I never felt the need for my usual "personal protection" and felt much safer in Baja than I do in my hometown. No "banditos", no cops looking for bribes, no attempted theft. In fact, the cops gave me the impression they were there to help. Never once saw one hiding on the side of the roadway to "catch a speeder" as they do in the States. Ride down a one-way street? No problem, the cop simply waves you the other way. Going too fast in town? The cop gives you the "slow down" signal, he knows the speed bumps will do they rest. Radar speed traps? We don't need no steeeeenking radar or speed traps, the curves take care of the careless/stupid people. Viva Mexico! My only traffic problem the entire trip was being cut off in La Paz by a SUV driven by, I swear, a cell phone using woman....guess they are a scourge everywhere! Did the "Iron Butt" 725 mile ride from Santa Rosalia to Los Angeles in 11 hours. Big surprise at the border. Since I was in a hurry, I didn't cross at the mellow town of Tecate as my usual practice, I chose the busiest crossing point there is, the Tijuana/San Diego border. The wait on Saturday night at 20:30 was about 3 hours, but not on a motorcycle! While at the end of the line of cars, I noticed the street vendors who hawk stuff between cars were all motioning me forward. Lane splitting on a bike is a very accepted practice in Latin America. The vendors would even knock on car windows to ask them to move over so I could lane split through. Once, at the head of the line, the U.S. Customs officer stopped the next car in line and motioned me through! Total time (including a "refreshment" before I entered the line of cars) was 7 minutes! Viva Mexico! Bikes rule! Within my first half hour "back home"on the super slab to Los Angeles, I was cut off by cell phone yacking idiots too many times to count, paced by the California Highway Patrol and hassled at the immigration checkpoint near San Clemente. So good to be home in a "civilized society"! Note to self; I DO now feel the need for my "personal protection". California to Arkansas Followed Route 66 and some nice dirt sections through the Mojave desert. Perfect sunny and warm weather! Duros still holding up although I am making a concentrated effort to ruin them. Hard cornering on pavement and spinning the tire every chance I get off road, still, no bad cracks or punctures. Ate lunch in Oatman, California on old Route 66. The road to and from Oatman is fantastic! Imagine doing it in a `59 Ford station wagon behind a long line of traffic in the "old days"! Walking down the street, one of the burros that roam the town tried to nip me, quick punch in the nose changed his mind but what worried me was the tourist lady who acted surprised that I would strike a "poor animal". Guess she's never been bitten by a horse or mule! Spent the night in a toasty warm and dry night in a $20 motel in Seligman. Just gotta love those old fashioned 5' tall gas fired wall heaters! Makes the room toasty and fast, perfect for warming up and drying out. before crossing the mountains around Flagstaff, Arizona in the morning. Cold but no snow this time. Just East of Albuquerque, at Clines Corner's, right after sunset, the road was shrouded in fog even though it was windy. Not just any fog, mind you, but the freezing kind that won't wipe off your face shield. Yuuuuck! Cold and dangerous! I was following a semi-truck, figuring people behind me could see his tail lights better than mine, when the truck slams on his brakes and jack-knives the rig in front of me. Glad I was on the KLR! Simply hit the dirt and rode around the smoking tires and steel, never did see why the trucker slammed on his brakes. I found a hole in the barrier fence and just beyond it lay the vacant access road (good ole Route 66?) that I creeped along into Tucumcari without further road drama. Checked into the "Americana" motel ($19/night) and enjoyed more gas-fired. wall- mounted heat and hot water shower with a spray pressure so strong it could have peeled paint off the walls. Stepped into a nearby cocktail lounge to enjoy a beer and walked into a Halloween party that was five days late. Knew I was in the right place! Was a local chapter of the Veteran's motorcycle club throwing a late party with a live band...what luck! One biker had actually ridden his motorcycle to the affair in 35 degree weather...his Harley looked cool parked next to my filthy KLR...ha! Nice folks and a grand time was had by all. Time to "Iron Butt" again from Tucumcari, 710 miles, back home. Was disappointed seeing solid road construction on I-40 from the Arkansas state line almost to Little Rock Baja Highway #1 was in much better shape and moved faster too. Cops everywhere with radar, wish I was back in Mexico! Thank goodness for kids in SUVs acting as "radar deflectors"! No drama getting home except I really missed the weather protection of my ST1100 during the rain and cold temperature. Epilog: The following week, I changed the oil, adjusted the chain and removed all the hard bags and went local fire road busting. With the luggage and hard bag weight off the rear, the KLR handles OK in the dirt. The Duro tires are still sticking well on dirt, sand and rocks (took them down a few stream beds trying to tear knobs off) and still have plenty of tread to stick to the pavement on a spirited twisty ride home. The cracks never did get worse since the first 500 miles and no knobs tore off. The tires now have over 7,000 miles on them and have at least another 3,000 miles of tread left. There is some minor cupping of the front but I actually think it works better in the dirt this way. The rear is squared off (understandably) but plenty of center tread left. I surprises me to say, but I will buy another set of Duros to replace these. The stick well for my style of pavement and dirt riding, aren't noisy on the pavement, last decently and are inexpensive. The Pelican case saddle bags worked well but were too wide to fit through motel doorways. The GIVE case top box was just the ticket for clothes and personal items, easy to remove to walk into a motel with. The Wolfman tank bag is a godsend for convenience and was easy to remove to prevent theft while the bike was left cable locked to a post. Since my Mexican paperwork is still good for months, I'm planning on returning to Mexico right after Christmas. I need to see the Copper Canyon, the road to Durango and get a Mazatlan tan! Bike is all ready to rock, anyone interested? Lessons learned: 1) All Mexican kids know the English word ,"Wheelie". 2) I feel "more freedom" in a "less civilized" society than in the United States. 3) The Kawasaki KLR is a very suitable bike for "combat touring". Lacks weather protection. 4) Baja is awesome for it's roads, it's scenery and it's people. 5) Guide books are simply that, don't use them to plan. They make great background info. 6) Cell phone users in moving cars suck! People who drive slowly in the "fast lane" suck! Sneaky Highway Patrolmen with radar suck! People who "dress up" like "bikers" but never ride over 15 miles at a time suck! 7) Thumbs up to: "Official" Mexican women in tight Cheap/cold cervezas "Helpful/friendly" Mexican cops and soldiers Fellow motorcyclists on the road, who stop to chat. Route 66 and the history it represents Gas-fired, wall-mounted heaters in cheap motel rooms. PS: I have pictures of this trip posted @ ????????. Ride like your life depends on it! Chuck Chiodini Heber Springs, Arkansas chiodinc@...

[Guest]

Chuck - Great Ride Report!!! Makes me want to take the trip!! Thank you! Paul

[chiodinc]

Follow this link for pictures that go with the Baja trip report. http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/chiodinc/lst?.dir=/Baja+Adventure&.src=ph&. order=&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ ide like your life depends on it! Chuck