Just got back from a trip to Baja. Great trip. Left the house in Cumming Ga. the day after Christmas at 4:30am and met up with a friend in Woodstock Ga., left there at 5:45am. Hopped on I20W and stayed on it till we hit a hotel in Abilene Tx. at 9:30pm. We fiddled around alot and my friend was on a GSXR 600 so we had to stop about every 120 miles or so for fuel so it was a bit over 1000miles in about 17 hours. Rode through cold, pretty bad winds and several pretty bad dust storms. Also had a tumble weed T-Bone along the way.
Next day,,, we left at 8am, got on I20W till it ran into I10W. Grabbed a hotel in Wilcox Az. at around 8pm so it was a slow day. Cold as heck and my controller went bad on my heated gear. Decided to pull in early. A respectable 780 mile day considering we rode through high winds and cold again.
Left the hotel in Wilcox at 11am {big sleep in due to the cold} and continued on I10 till it ran into I8W and we stayed in Chula Vista. A crappy day with only 450 miles covered in 13 or so hours but we wanted to stay on the USA side for he night. Had no desires to go into Tijuana at night.
Left the hotel in Chula Vista at roughly 7:30am and entered Mexico on Hwy 1. Had all our paperwork ready {passport, title for the bikes, insurance ect.} and nobody wanted any of it. Basically,, just ride right into Mexico. Hell,,, you could have a twin fifty mounted on a tri-pod in the back of your pick-up and all would be cool. We even stopped a Tijuana cop and he told us all was fine, just spend dollars! Grabbed a hotel in El Roserio at Mama Espinoza's around 5pm so once again, a jippy riding day with only 250 miles covered.
Left the hotel at 6am and it wasn't long before we peeled of on the dirt road that runs east-west and connects Hwy1 on the Pacific side with Hwy5 on the Sea of Cortez side. Let me tell ya, we sorta under estimated that dirt road. A good bit of deep/loose sand {the worst} and about five miles from the end it got very rough. Lots of road work leaving good sized rocks and some steep inclines {at least for a couple of loaded down streetbikes}. We camped near Playa La Costilla at around 4pm. Very rough day with only 180 miles covered in 10 hours of riding. Since we seriously under estimated that dirt road, we really didn't have enough water. We were OK but we were left wanting. Beautiful scenery and a great sunset!
Left camp at 7am got back to paved road {Hwy 5} at around 8AM!!!!! Seriously folks,,, that 80 odd mile dirt road took roughly a whole day of riding to cover. I have never had to concentrate so hard for so long just to keep it on two wheels. Like I said the sand was the worst but there were several rocky/loose uphill sections that sucked equally as bad. Very, very happy to see paved road again. Hit the US border sometime around 2:30pm or so, hit I8W then I10 and eventually grabbed a hotel inCasa Grande Az. so around 450 miles that day and a happy New Year back in the USA!
Left that hotel at roughly 7:30am and headed west on I10. We decided to check out the Alamo so we stayed on I10 and ended getting a hotel in San Antonio at around 10 or 11pm I think. Did roughly 950 miles that day. Not too bad considering our sight seeing and picture taking along the way.
Left the hotel around 10:30am and found the Alamo. Took pics and left sorta let down due to commercialism of the place. Continued along I10 and made it to my uncle's house in Silverhill Al. near Mobil so around 720 miles in spite of the Alamo side step and waking up late.
Slept in late and talked over old times with family so we didn't really get moving till 9:30am and I got home around 5pm I think with a stop at Cycle Gear in Alpharetta. That short day netted around 390 miles and the total trip was 5212 miles in slightly less than 9 whole days {around 209 hours or 8.7 days} for a trip average of 600 miles a day. Considering that it took roughly a day of riding just to cover that 80 odd mile stretch of dirt rode,,,,,,, not too shabby for a couple of bike neither of which were in their element the whole time. That GSXR was really out in left field ehh?
Here is pic of that dirt road hotlinked from my buddy's page-
Not the roughest part by far. When it was really rough, taking pics was the last thing on our mind at the time. Overall,,, a great trip! :yahoo:
Next day,,, we left at 8am, got on I20W till it ran into I10W. Grabbed a hotel in Wilcox Az. at around 8pm so it was a slow day. Cold as heck and my controller went bad on my heated gear. Decided to pull in early. A respectable 780 mile day considering we rode through high winds and cold again.
Left the hotel in Wilcox at 11am {big sleep in due to the cold} and continued on I10 till it ran into I8W and we stayed in Chula Vista. A crappy day with only 450 miles covered in 13 or so hours but we wanted to stay on the USA side for he night. Had no desires to go into Tijuana at night.
Left the hotel in Chula Vista at roughly 7:30am and entered Mexico on Hwy 1. Had all our paperwork ready {passport, title for the bikes, insurance ect.} and nobody wanted any of it. Basically,, just ride right into Mexico. Hell,,, you could have a twin fifty mounted on a tri-pod in the back of your pick-up and all would be cool. We even stopped a Tijuana cop and he told us all was fine, just spend dollars! Grabbed a hotel in El Roserio at Mama Espinoza's around 5pm so once again, a jippy riding day with only 250 miles covered.
Left the hotel at 6am and it wasn't long before we peeled of on the dirt road that runs east-west and connects Hwy1 on the Pacific side with Hwy5 on the Sea of Cortez side. Let me tell ya, we sorta under estimated that dirt road. A good bit of deep/loose sand {the worst} and about five miles from the end it got very rough. Lots of road work leaving good sized rocks and some steep inclines {at least for a couple of loaded down streetbikes}. We camped near Playa La Costilla at around 4pm. Very rough day with only 180 miles covered in 10 hours of riding. Since we seriously under estimated that dirt road, we really didn't have enough water. We were OK but we were left wanting. Beautiful scenery and a great sunset!
Left camp at 7am got back to paved road {Hwy 5} at around 8AM!!!!! Seriously folks,,, that 80 odd mile dirt road took roughly a whole day of riding to cover. I have never had to concentrate so hard for so long just to keep it on two wheels. Like I said the sand was the worst but there were several rocky/loose uphill sections that sucked equally as bad. Very, very happy to see paved road again. Hit the US border sometime around 2:30pm or so, hit I8W then I10 and eventually grabbed a hotel inCasa Grande Az. so around 450 miles that day and a happy New Year back in the USA!
Left that hotel at roughly 7:30am and headed west on I10. We decided to check out the Alamo so we stayed on I10 and ended getting a hotel in San Antonio at around 10 or 11pm I think. Did roughly 950 miles that day. Not too bad considering our sight seeing and picture taking along the way.
Left the hotel around 10:30am and found the Alamo. Took pics and left sorta let down due to commercialism of the place. Continued along I10 and made it to my uncle's house in Silverhill Al. near Mobil so around 720 miles in spite of the Alamo side step and waking up late.
Slept in late and talked over old times with family so we didn't really get moving till 9:30am and I got home around 5pm I think with a stop at Cycle Gear in Alpharetta. That short day netted around 390 miles and the total trip was 5212 miles in slightly less than 9 whole days {around 209 hours or 8.7 days} for a trip average of 600 miles a day. Considering that it took roughly a day of riding just to cover that 80 odd mile stretch of dirt rode,,,,,,, not too shabby for a couple of bike neither of which were in their element the whole time. That GSXR was really out in left field ehh?
Here is pic of that dirt road hotlinked from my buddy's page-
Not the roughest part by far. When it was really rough, taking pics was the last thing on our mind at the time. Overall,,, a great trip! :yahoo:
What an adventure it was! And the best parts were in the southern half of Baja, or Baja Sur. Santa Rosalia, Loreto, Todos Santos, Mulege, San Ignacio, and La Paz were all great places. I actually didn't think too much of Cabo San Lucas as it was so commercial compared to the other places.
