alfalfa

Day 2 - first full day in Mexico. We left Tecate after getting our tourist visas validated (what a cluster!). These may or may not be required, but given how deep into Baja we were headed, we didnt want to chance it. Actually, given that we had so many newbies already freaked out from entering Mexico, i didnt want to add to the angst. The process of validating the visa requires you to hit the immigration office on the Mexican side of the border. Since there is a cost, you have to have the form filled out and then go to the bank kiosk, and then back to Immigration. Or, since it is 2021, you can fill it out online, pay online, and get it emailed to you already approved. Sort of. Remember, its Mexico. So, one would think that doing it all online means it was verified and good. Nope - still have to go to immigration and see the guy. He does his little stampy, stampy thing and then you are out. But, only if you remember to print out both the FMM AND the bank receipt. Which some hadnt. Anyways, an hour later, we were ready to roll east. We turned south of Mexico Hwy 2, in the little town of Luis Echeverria Alvarez, at the beginning of El Compadre Trail. This is a dirt road that runs southerly from Hwy 2, to Hwy 3 by way of Ojos Negros. It isnt a tough dirt road, but can have tough sections depending on the weather. This time thru, we ran into several places with mud puddles and mud, and some little sand. No real incidents, but some fun mud spins. One of our guys was new to offroad, so we were keeping an eye on him. Other than the first mud drop, he appeared to be having a lot of fun in the dirt, until an hour or so in. Crossing one very large water hole, he spun and dumped the bike, tweaking his back a little (found out he has a couple of fused vertebra). An aspirin and he was ready to go again. We finished the trail with a great, late lunch at a little hole in the wall in Ojos Negros. Allen after his big off in the puddle.

Yeah, but i keep hoping Bruce turns it around....

8 days off road, in a strange land, what could go wrong......?

Whining is the new mantra, and not just for the old. I've been fortunate to hang with older people that still have a zest for life. I attribute it to the motorcycle. During helmet time, i reflect on my addiction to it, and to what i do with it, and i think it is that overall "pioneer" trait that keeps you young. I crack up when someone asks me how old i am and their reaction when i say "64". Riding keeps you mentally alert, which keeps you younger (at least in your head). Humans need to have something that drives them forward. When that is taken away, they sit around and whine. I grew up in Alaska, state motto "The Last Frontier". I watched Star Trek, which searched for new frontiers. I've always wanted to see what was over that next hill. I think that is what kept me positive in life. We need that "thing" to keep us interested.

I've ridden two weeks in mainland Mexico (2013) and in Baja 3 times now. Never had a run in with the Federalis. Baja has check points in several places and most of them just wave us thru. Leaving San Ignacio, all 16 bikes were searched. You see the camo trucks with armed military in the back all over, but for the most part we've had no issues. Unlike in 80s and 90s.

Wellll, we did have a rescue on our first full day in Baja, at Mike's Sky Ranch. He is fine. The other group of riders had one, as well. But, you are jumping ahead of my story ?. You put old men on heavy bikes trying to relive their youth and sometimes we fall. However, as one of our favorite stickers says "But, did you die?", and the answer is "no"

At the risk of incurring the wrath of others, i would say that i havent really changed much about what i do on a daily basis. Have worked in the office the entire time, albeit behind locked doors to keep the public out. At first finding food was a headache (oh, poor me), but there was ways around it. I never stopped riding, whether it be to work, or just out and about. Riding has always been a more singular event for me, only joining a local club in the last few years. Most of those members still continued to get together on weekends and go ride some place. For us, the destination wasnt that big a deal, it was the route. I've taken a couple of longer trips over the past twelve months, with a week in Baja being the most recent. We've followed the local rules with regards to Covid, but we've found that state by state those have been all over the board. The US's response to this outbreak has been right down the two party line. So, no, fortunately, i havent lost my shit, but there have been a few times where panic almost took over. I guess being 64 and more interested in a good life, over a long life, has helped.

We left on a Friday, coming back the following Saturday. 8 days, with a rest day in the middle, where we spent two days at Bahia de Los Angeles.

So, we crossed the border with no incidents, in spite of CNN. First stop? Tacos!!! We commandeered the sidewalk and parking spaces in front of our favorite street taco vendor, then started ordering gross tacos! let's see - 14 riders x 4 tacos each, plus un coca each (or two). Grand total - $30 US. Gotta love mehico! We then headed up to Hacienda Santana, a hotel we discovered two years ago after being rescued by another dangerous Mexican when one of our peeps blew out every spoke in his rear wheel, 20 miles from Tecate. (save that story for when this is done. suffice it to say that people living in Baja really look after each other). Speaking of street food, you can always venture out in the a.m. and find a vendor on a nearby street selling breakfast burritos. Not sure our budget could handle the cost of 30 pesos, but we managed. This place is a little pricey for Baja, but well worth it. Modern, amurican-quality, and one great underground bar. It was there that we started "prepping" for the trip by trying to wipe out their Tequila supply.

Always welcome. Grew up in Alaska, so Canoodians dont bother me, eh?

Come on down and we will show you Baja! (and some curvy pavement in SoCal)

Crude map of the route, just for scale. All told, the trip was about 1800 miles, in 8 days. The goal was to do as much dirt as we could find, and survive. Our last push south was 160 miles of gravel, sand, dirt and rocks. Hence the need for 50 margaritas when we reached Rice and Beans in San Ignacio. Pre-trip: Day 0 With the flyers coming in to Ontario Airport, Gary's house was soon overflowing. This trip started out with a group of about 6-8 riders, but word spread and we peaked at 15. The plan was to meet in Norco Hills, at Gary's, on Friday morning for a shakedown ride (short) south over some great curvy blacktop, finishing up in Tecate. The crossing at Tecate is very low effort, especially compared to the madhouse known as Tijuana. We had a hotel reserved just across the border as I didnt want to hit the newbies with too much the first day. About two thirds of the group had never been south, so they were a little leery. Blame that on the American "news" media, who sell commercial time using sensationalism to the extreme. Rant off. But, first. How to shuffle bikes to Norco. As i was loaning out two of mine, i figured a trailer would be needed. As it turns out, one of our riders from Connecticut arrived in Las Vegas where he was to pickup his own GS from the trucking company, only to find out it hadnt left Philadelphia yet. After the head explosion, I convinced him to take Flames. He rented a car from Vegas and drove to my place. This reduced my headache to just getting one bike south, plus mine, which was accomplished by my brother riding it down. Day 1: At Gary's, the bikes were being packed and prepped. The KTM was ridden down from my place, which meant that Matt hadnt had a chance to pack and prep it. I sold that bike to Gary because i wouldnt take it offroad! Brad Calbert - Skunkwerks Moto. If you are in the midwest and need service on any type of bike, see him. The "cats" before we leave. Damn, thats a lot of bikes!! We headed south over Palomar Mtn, which is a squid staple with all its twisty bits. First flat of the trip honors went to Matt on my KTM. Maybe we could have fixed it quicker if i hadnt left the tool kit out of the bike ? Luckily, we ran in to two guys on KTM's at the top and got the tire fixed. Looked like there was an old tube left in the bike, even tho i had just had new rubber put on. After running the length of Palomar Mountain we stopped at a biker hangout for lunch. We stragglers got there just as the rest of the group was finishing lunch, except Fernando. Fernando was on a Multi-Strada that was making horrendous back fire noises. He finally got it running well enough to head back to San Diego, to drop it off at a shop. The rest of us headed into Baja, just as the sun was setting. Something that always happens, but something we always say we wont do ?

Naw, i can do that anywhere. And, will. Ok, maybe. There was one stop where 50 margaritas may have been consumed....

In hind sight, should have used Baja in place of Mexico. Baja, as it will turn out, has its own spirit that makes it one of my favorite places to ride.

First up was the great bike shuffle. We had four riders flying in from Ohio, Carolina, Missouri and Connecticut. Since you really cant check a motorcycle in your carryon, it was time to round up the extra bikes. Dennis had his son's GS, Gary had a spare GS (the 1250 that i had just sold him because it was too pretty to beat up offroad. oh, well). I had Flames (Bruce's favorite bike) and a KTM 950, which was almost in running condition. ahhh, new shoes but, first, there must be bling. There is a local riding "club" known as the Flying Monkey Adventure Riders, who could be considered nuttier than AGALOS, but they are still young so you have to cut them some slack. Anyways, one of the riders is a graphics artist, or artist period. We needed a trip sticker, so Tristan came thru:

Well, no one died. That's a plus, considering there were 15 of us riding down to get dirty in Baja. Great weather, great friends, and only one "rescue". a good example of the idjits, AKA Agalos, having lunch in San Felipe. Ever seen the commercial where cowboys are herding cats? Well, that is pretty much how these rides go. Fortunately, there is tequila!! Hell, we may even get around to riding bikes....

i think they work perfectly well on the wrong side of the road, being a bike and all

ah, so. i've only owned a 16' Glastron ski boat. didnt have to do more than register it with the state. Did take a Power Squadron boating course.

Rules? I havent really slowed down any riding, been at work continously. Meals are sometimes a challenge, having used delivery services when things were extreme and no eating inside or outside of restaurants. Work allows you to work from home, if you desire. Our only rule is use some frigging common sense. If you feel bad, dont come in until tested. We've had people at work (<5) that were either exposed, or caught it. None of them have passed it on to fellow employees. What i enjoy the most is watching how internal meetings became ZOOM affairs, yet those most worried about sitting in a meeting spend their lunch hour in the same conf room! We do have those who havent seen since March 2020, but really havent missed em, if you catch my drift. The work at home vs work at work seem to be split down political party lines. strange ? During our "lockdown" i've traveled to Idaho for Thanksgiving (3 people dinner, in a restaurant), flying both ways. I've been on two long distance motorcycle rides around the western states, i've been to Baja to watch the 1000 race last November, and am about to go again for a 9 day ride. I've done weekly rides with the club. In all of the above, we've all followed commons sense rules and have yet to expose each other. 90 yr old mother went thru the Kung Flu last April, never hospitalized. Her 83 yr old husband was hospitalized and was home in 3 days. Friends who caught it over Thanksgiving either had very mild symptoms, or were bed ridden for a couple of days with a fever. Now, having said that, i've known some that have died and offer my sympathies to everyone else have had similar experiences. I do everything i can not to infect anyone, but still struggle with the reality of collapsing world economies over a strong flu version. I'm glad we are seeing a 98% survival rate.

Supposedly, your peeps speak English. but, i tried and cant figure out what the RCD and CE laws are ?

was hoping you would be coming to the rescue. how long to get that bike, i mean boat over to Baja?

fo sho. should be tons of pics. given this is AGALOS in BAJA, the stories will be "interesting"!!

easy money. she ALWAYS throws me ? (or,so i claim. cant be lack of riding talent) I bought her some new shoes, so she is just fine Stay tuned for an upcoming Baja ride - up to about 17 bikes now. Lot of first timers going.......

round is a shape?

should be fun to play on!