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Not much was left to do of any interest as we finished our last leg north to the border in Tijuana. Given the number of bikes, we had formulated a plan for crossing. Most people at the border understand that motorcycles have "permission" to filter thru the line, to the front. However, we didnt want to piss anyone off by having 16 bikes filter to the front at the same time. Unfortunately, we relied on one of those "i know a shortcut" guys and that is what we, in fact, did. Fernando, the 650 rider, "knew" a shortcut thru Tijuana to a dedicated bike lane for the crossing. Or, he thought he did. After traversing thru the outskirts, thru two roundabouts, we found ourselves at an intersection where the leg to the border crossing was guarded by a man with a rope. Fernando convinced him to let us thru as this was the bike lane. Well, as it turns out, it wasnt. We never did find the bike lane, but we did find 30 other lanes, all full of cars. And, those cars had been waiting for quite some time. In fact, so much time that when 8 bikes crowded in front of them, "words" were thrown. We hadnt planned to crowd someone out, it just ended that way when our leader split the k rails and left us on our own. A true FTroop leader! Fortunately, we were smart enough to split up the group somewhat, but i cant really imagine how pissed the guy behind this group was when he suddenly found himself 8 vehicles further back than what he thought he was. Apologies to him, whomever he may be. 40 mins later, all riders accounted for, we blasted up Interstate 5 to a late lunch and several respective lodgings for the night. Those that had to catch planes the next day, did. Those who had to drive back to Louisiana did. And, no one died. Epilogue: My buddy from Connecticut rode back with me to my place, as he was flying out of Las Vegas. This was the guy who had shipped his bike and when he arrived in Las Vegas, found out his bike had yet to leave the East Coast. He rode Flames. Not nicely, it turns out. But, being the standup guy he is, he said he had an idea. he would ride Flames to Las Vegas and put her on a truck east, as the company owed him one. Once he got it back to his place, he was going to turn it over to Max BMW, a store he used to manage. The goal is that Flames will get a facelift of some sort, up to full restoration if he gets crazy, and i will fly out in August to attend the Rock Lobster Rally and see about riding her back home. I miss the ol girl. ?

Kick started the Tomos, ok that hurt...took a spin, made it into second gear, came home...my inside's dont like bumps yet. Hay, its a ride report. Dint say it was a good one... ?

Day 9, our last day in Baja and return to "civilization".... We woke up to discover it had rained again overnite. Our OCD GS owner woke up to discover that his freshly cleaned gear the night before hadnt faired so well hanging on the clothesline overnite ?. His boots hadnt done that well, either. At least, there was no mud on them. me, i was looking for a sequel to the "fun" i had missed the day before. I wasnt to be disappointed. Knowing what was between us and the pavement, we formulated a bike ferry plan and got everyone out to safety, with just enough "entertainment" for those of us who had missed it the day before. The above results were better than the day before: Lu may be FTroop and AGALOS, but the boy can ride. His K1600 never touched down as he flew thru the mud. But, once again, no one died.

One could get used to this place.

Day 8 - The nite at the hotel was kind of low key, with some pool playing and drinking. But, it was apparent that people were ready to get home. We woke the next day to nice weather, packed up and headed out. That day's destination was a place known as Coyote Cals, south of Ensenada (cant figure out why the map shows up twice...) The main group took off for El Rosario, the next gas station about 85 miles away. I hung back to escort one of the guys who was recovering from the night before. Margarita poisoning, or something like that. When we hit the road, about 10 miles north of town, i thought i would check my gas only to discover that yesterdays ' 75 mile range' had become '55 mile range'!! And, with 80 some miles to go, too. Going back wasnt an option (is it ever?) so we motored on, hitting zero range about 20 miles south of town. Given that BMW has some of the best corporate lawyers, i had a good feeling that the miles remaining would be very, very conservative and we finally pulled in for gas with no issues. The east coast of Baja is my favorite because it is usually warmer. The west coast (above) is just as awesome, when the weather cooperates. Mexican fast food. If you ever see one of these, stop! The food was excellent! Unfortunately for the locals, we wiped out that days supply! Things had been going pretty smoothly, which is a sign that an FTroop moment was overdue. Our FTroop nickname (look up the old 60s era American TV show for an idea of what i'm referring to) comes from the fact that during a club ride, it is a 50-50 chance on whether we all end up at the same place, at the same time, even with starting out together. A common thread in an FTroop episode is when Lu is leading, as he was to take us into Coyote Cals after lunch. He split out of the lunch stop at warp speed, with the majority of the riders in tow. Gary and I were lagging for some reason and took off to catch them. I had the route in my GPS and was watching the screen as Gary and I were starting to catch the main group. Getting stuck behind a truck, i didnt see them miss the upcoming turn onto the road to the coast. When i reached that road, i knew something was amiss. No one was waiting for me at the next corner, and i couldnt see them up the road. I thought they may have taken the second turn to this road, so headed up there to wait. Nobody. I turned around and headed out to the beach, sure that they were in front of me and had just kept going at the turn. Reaching Coyote Cal's i realized they were no where around?. So, figured i would check in to the rooms and unload the bike. About 20 minutes later, i went outside at the sound of motorcycles and found one of the funniest sights of the trip. The last 3 miles of road to the hostel are dirt. Given that it had rained that morning, there were large puddles and muddy sections. The guy above prides himself in a clean GS (i know, the first sign of a sick mind), so he of course, went down in a puddle. He unpacked and spent the next hour or so cleaning his gear and his bike. I guess he didnt understand we would be riding out the same way we came in, the next morning.?? Coyote Cals

Day 7 was pretty much a slog north on pavement, our destination being a hotel in Catavina about 300 miles north of San Ignacio. gas stop in Guerro Negro, the border between Baja and Baja Sud. Not sure of the purpose of the Harley monument, which is an army bike. There is an army compound right here, as well. Pemex gas stop at the border. Catavina is known for.... well something that we have no clue about. Strangely enough, there is a nice hotel located there that is a twin to one in San Ignacio. It is notorious for being the only gas supply along a stretch of nothing. And, that gas supply is usually a pickup truck with barrels of gas in the back. I had checked in with the fellow leading the club ride, our buddy Lu, who stated that a new PEMEX (state run) gas station had been constructed in Catavina. True to form for Lu, there was a gas station there, but it hadnt opened yet. So, we were back to finding the truck with gas. I passed on the gas service as my bike said i had enough range (barely) to reach the next known gas station in El Rosario, the next day. This would prove to be wrong <G>. The hotel in Catavina Oh, we hit a little rain coming in to town Bike count was now up to 16, inundating gas stations and restaurants and pretty much everywhere we we went <G>

Day 6 - continued. We had finally reached pavement again, and reached out to the BMW club riders who had been south to do whale watching - here is what that experience is like: (1) A Day With The Whales - YouTube We found out that three of them were in San Ignacio, so we headed south to meet up with them, spending the night at Rice and Beans. The day had been long, warm, dusty and extremely tiring so we made sure to rehydrate. This required 50 margaritas and ended with a large decrease in the Tequila supply in San Ignacio, if not in Baja! so much tequila was consumed that some even changed their pet allegiance.... The plaza in San Ignacio Ran across some fellow GS riders from Sonora, mainland Mexico. They had taken a ferry across from the mainland, and were headed north. Very clean GS's and they eyed our dirty beasts with a grin. Rested and hung over, we left San Ignacio the next day, Day 7. It was time to head north, back to the good ol US of A.

Had a 98 Road King Classic. It was a Harley in the truest sense - rear brake better than front, suspension was so-so. But, the paint and chrome were excellent! (seriously). I love my R18, however. There is a quality that BMW imbibes in all their products that isnt really matched by other bike makers. Not that the others are falling apart. Go ahead and throw out the recall slings, or failed final drive comments. I've never not been taken care of by the mother ship. That being said, i've signed up to test the Harley BMW (Pan American) come late may, at Lake Elsinore. I'm wondering if i should ride my BMW Harley there ?

@Tym......we got a fucking Cockney that needs correcting here!

You’ll find it again or should I say it’ll find you. Everyone has slumps in motivation to do things, sometimes when shit happens for a very long time but from my point of view if you dont force it somehow one day it just reappears. Then Africa will be yours and I’m sure a rollicking good’n itll be ?

We really dont need people, signed, Uranus. ?

Scenery around Coyote Cals:

My heart cant take much more of this! Ack! Medic!

I've already heard real-life reviews (a few) on the Harley GS and for the most part, people like it. More power than my GS, at about the same weight. The only complaint is the front end look, but then we like the GS front end ?

I'll save this in a separate bookmark to see tomorrow, when I'm sober, from beginning to end!

That's just too much to keep up with. Ride a GS there, and step off one and ride the other back to back. I'm interested (theoretically) on your conclusions

I can provide a translation if required. ?

A couple of shots from a ride out on Sunday with some of the other old farts from around here. Terrible I know but I couldn’t be arsed with a ride report. Must make more of an effort next time. ?

Must be the new drugs big pharma has come out with. ?

We make time and yes, we have a large play area. You are always welcome to come play in it!

Most of my pics are iPhone 11, which has pretty good resolution. Some of them are from people with better cameras. Here is a link to full set of pics, taken by another friend. https://rickks.smugmug.com/Motorcycle-Trips/AGALOS-Baja-2021 The core group of riders in the baja trip do some great and epic rides. It started with a 3 person trip to Alaska in 2009, and has grown in size and craziness over the years. We try to do at least one big trip a year, and Colorado is usually the focal point. We've ridden in Mexico and Colombia, besides the US and Canada. These guys have either created some really good rallies (March Moto Madness is one, Ribfest is another), or attend some GSGiants stuff. Two of the riders in the group were on different GS Trophy teams. The KTM rider was on the latest one, in Mongolia. Dennis was on the team that went to Thailand. Two other friends were on the team that went to Canada. I'm happy to say that they tolerate my poor offroad skills, and i'm not sure why ?

Coming over here to see me again!

Fantastic report Thanks. Alway great to see other peoples corner. You guys have far too much time and play area, very jealous.

It is......we have a population of 7000. It's a town not a village. The population of Granada province is about 920,000.

Good question, has an automatic clutch so my guess is no and i havnt tried. You put her on the centerstnd, and kick a pedal backwards, turns the pedal into a kickstarter. How does it manage such magic? I dunno. Id have to google it to be able to sound like i know what i doing. ?

Doomed. ?

No just music either...RIP Chop.

Does it not start easily if you bump start it at almost walking pace? Maybe easier on the wound than kickstart.

I saw a robin the other day, its on!

Thats a great write up of a very entertaining trip. Thankyou so much for posting it ? Its so well done I’m left wanting to burst out of lockdown and never sit down again ? Fantastic views. Are those pics taken on a phone? They look too good to be a phone. Do you do this trip type of trip regularly?

Not quite as bad as calling a motorbike clothing line ‘John Doe’ ?

Amazing stuff Rick.....that's really riding!

Yer getting the Fat Boy in and out of a garage with awkward access is why my dad wanted to get rid of it. Pulling it backwards at an angle is the thing I struggle with most. I suppose thats why its part of the test here, I stood still so long to recover after pulling my bike backwards in arc on my test the examiner thought there was something wrong ?

I wouldn't have either one anyway but for me, I have to turn the bikes in the back garden and get them in the sheds. Not the most uneven or smallest but this is where I struggle. I still consider myself reasonably fit a strong but for this reason is why I trader the XT1200. If honest Mandis cbf1000 is the bike that's gives me the hardest time and I did drop the previous one. Heavy, low with narrow bars but she's loves the bloody thing.

Ride Log April 10, 2021 Mount Elphinstone Provincial Park is located on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in British Columbia, Canada. There are a few gravel roads that travel through the park and offer the locals a great place to adventure into the backcountry and play the day away. We ride there a lot during the summer and fall, but thought we would ride up there this Spring and see where the snow line was at. The tires on our bikes are not meant for snow in any way, so we go as far as we can. After some slip sliding around, we decided to turn around at 666 meters (more like our tires said, GO HOME SILLY ?) . We will try again soon, as it is one of our favourite roads! ? Fun ride and great experience, I even managed to keep the rubber side down. A slipping and a sliding.... The forest did look beautiful with the fresh snow. ?

This bike IS a pleasure without the guilt. I have ridden the XC and the XE. Actually prefered the taller version. ( I might put a video on of the day, my friend Barbara came from the UK for a visit so I got a Scrambler for 2 days and she rode the Speed Triple, that she prefered to her Monster S4R. Not sure, we talk non stop, will bore you to death!!! ) It is a joy to ride, does not feel like a 1200cc engine and is very nimble. The noise is great and its, to me at least, kind of funny to seat SO high!! Of course on the motorway, at 90mph it was like being a window cleaner working on the shard!! The leg thing is very true, my leg was literally burned, it had a blister... But to be honest, who cares about having a right leg when one can look that cool! Absolutely loved it and if I had the money, it would be my choice for the Yin to the Speed Triple Yang. The Scrambler is a naked bike on stilts!! Triumph in Portugal... Triumph was always a niche brand here, favoured by very specific ( and very few ) guys that were more into historic motorcycle brands and also was preferred by a certain type of snob that wanted to be different from the type of snob that had BMWs. In a country were Honda was the choice of 70% of people, European brands were only for specific people, snobs, and I belong to the Triumph snob group!! You have to see that bikes in Portugal were ( I think still are ) classified as a luxury item, so as I later found out, the idea of a Triumph being for working class men, here was abhorrent! So, a very small market and a group of snobbish people has caused that the Brand was always miss represented and miss handled here. Eventually we ended up with the current scenario where the Importer is in Madrid, for Spain and Portugal, cares very little with the Portuguese side of things and the dealer in Portugal ( there is only ONE dealer here, with 3 shops ) has triumph as an add-on to Harley, his main business that existed before he became Triumph dealership. The motivation of the staff at triumph is next to none, many don't know Triumphs or understand them, even now that they are almost as bland and soulless as all others thanks to "focus groups" ( my personal view, not trying to convince anyone! ) and they don't really have much love for Triumphs. The organization is that of a typical Southern European enterprise with many lunch breaks and coffee breaks and holidays and bank holidays. Parts are non-existent and have to be ordered for the Galaxy far, far away that is Spain... In turn they have to get them for the other ( even further away ) Galaxy that is the UK... And has we know they are not made in that Galaxy anymore, they come form another Universe, China and Thailand!!! Probably stuck in the Sues Canal right now!!! Before they arrive in Lisbon they have many miles and many layers of taxes... So the radiator for my Speed Triple is 395 pounds, plus VAT in the UK and 790 euros, plus VAT, in Lisbon!! Because of "Hipster-ism" and metro-sexuality, the Bonneville found itself "discovered" in these shores and is the most sold Triumph! Hurray for slow beards and checkered shirts saving the dealership form ruin! They sold TWO Speed Triples in 1 year, maybe 10 Street Triples and quite a few Tigers 900, but all together not even half of the Bonnevilles. In 2018 Triumph sold in Portugal 232 bikes, large majority Bonnies. I have loved Triumph since I can remember, I love history and motorcycles, and Triumph is super rich in history and instilling character in their machines.. The Speed Triple had me at hello, literally!! I was a member of the Portuguese Triumph Owners Club before I moved to the UK and in the UK I was head of Jack Lilleys Rat Pack for a while plus always very involved with all things Triumph there I even won the award of "Chattiest Triumph Owner" in the whole country ( picture attached!) , so it is with sadness I agree totally with @Pedro, it is not good to have a Triumph in Portugal... Difficult to buy ( if you want any model other then the ones they have in the showroom already or need finance ), impossible to service due to staff incompetence and unavailability of parts and God help us if we drop the bike and need replacing parts!! Of course everything is super expensive...

They feel perfectly manageable in real life, even when stopped.

there is some barkbusters for a himalayan on fleabay 36 quid

Oh no you’ve lost me there I like warm hands! Have heated grips on full blast on my Himalayan with no issues and the bloke I bought it from admitted (after I transferred the money) the battery had been completely flattened. He’d gone away and his wife said the alarm was going off and she couldn’t stop it. Eventually it stopped of its own accord- cos the battery was knackered. Im still using that battery. Although it’s on an optimate when not in use so there’s that.

I was relieved when I googled mukluk ?

Have a good week everyone. ?

Took these one day whilst having something dug up with extreme prejudice round the corner. Best not to hang about in a yellow vest when people's china is vibrating across the table and they can't hear their tv, they tend to get a bit narky. Hertford Union Canal with Victoria Park in the background behind the towpath.

A few coastal moments on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia ?

They were very gay Pete, they came with the bike but it didn't stop me trying to trail ride with them on

They look gay to me Bob!

Up to 73 now!