FJR Forumites Ride Baja Peninsula, Mexico!

[beemerdons]

Baja Ride Day One – Rainy and Cold Trek to Ensenada

Our eleven day motorycle adventure ride to Cabo San Lucas started on Friday, January 25 in Gila Bend, AZ at Love's Truck Stop. Our seven person riding team consisted of BeemerDonS, Mary Ellen, Brian B., Enrique G., Darrel W., Fred F. and Bob L., we were given a fond farewell by SkooterGreg.

All went well with our crossing the border at the Mexicali Commercial Entry Point eight kilometers east of Calexico, we were able to obtain and pay for our Mexico Tourist Permits with relative ease.

Then the misery started, because we rode in a torrential downpour from that point on to our final destination of the Best Western El Cid Hotel in beautiful downtown Ensenada which was also soaked.

One of the highlights of this ride was to have been the monumental La Rumorosa Grade where you can look down five thousand feet to the desert floor, but on this day all we saw was fog and heavy clouds.

Since this Ride Report is meant to also be Baja Riding 101 I wish I could tell you an easy way to traverse the sprawling Mexican city of Mexicali, but I cannot because this huge town is a true mess.

But I can tell you of a great intermediate late lunch stop, Lolo's on the El Jardin (Garden) in Tecate.

Other recommendations are Hussong's Cantina and Papas & Beer Sports Bar on Lopez Mateos Ave.

Baja Ride Day Two – Rainy and Cold Trek to Bahia de Los Angeles (Bay of LA), Chuy's El Favorito!

Here's Brian's pictures from our Baja Trip.

We queued up at the Gila Bend McDonalds. Greg and Henry say goodbye.

First leg through AZ and some of CA was dry.

Fuel stop in Yuma. We crossed over in Mexicali.

We rode up Mexico Hwy 2 up the Rumarosa grade. It would have been more fun,but it was raining since Mexicali.

Here's the now very wet rats.

Here's our stop in Tecate. Still pouring.

We finally made it to Ensenada through pouring rain. Also pouring and flooding in Ensenada.
We holed up in Husong's bar to stay dry. That night, we had an excellent fresh fish dinner at Bahia Ensenada.

 

[beemerdons]

Baja Ride Day Two – Rainy and Cold to Bahia de Los Angeles.

We hardy Baja Adventuristas were starting to see a developing pattern here, we would start out the day's trek riding in the rain and we would put the motos away for the night in the rain. Que Lastima!!!

After an excellent breakfast at the Hotel El Cid Restaurant we rode South. Here are some links for you: https://www.hotelelcid.com.mx/
https://villavitta.com/ https://mariscosbahiadeensenada.com/eng/index.php
https://cantinahussongs.com/home.html https://ensenada.papasandbeer.com/

We were now encountering the Mexico Federale checkpoints, since this Ride Report is also to be considered Riding Baja 101 let me give you our insights. These checkpoints first appear very intimidating, but just relax and you will easily get through them. You and your moto will be forwarded on one at a time to an Inspecting Soldier, simply open your cases and he'll fully examine the contents.

We were rarely asked to see our passports or Mexican Tourist Permits, but keep them readily available.

Between El Rosario and Guerrero Negro there are NO Pemex fuel stations, so we were forced to buy our Gasolina from roadside vendors in 1 gallon cans. Do NOT worry, all the Locals also use this gas.

Spent the night in Bahia de Los Angeles at the Hotel Villa Vitti run by the so very colorful Owner Gigi!

Gigi was an animated and vivacious Hostess with the Mostest Mexicana Mujere, a real live wire here!

Watched the moon rise from the patio of the hotel with Cervezas in hand and pre dinner conversation.

Our meal was prepared by Chef Jerry and it was excellent; great Margaritas and we loved our dinners.

Gigi has a 'house' tequila that she used to comp us shots (no one ordered a shot until she brought Mary Ellen one - being sympathetic toward Maria Elena riding with Los Muchachos Locos) Also......the story of the little chained doggy!?! MEM, the dog lover, took a Mexican lover to bed: A little doggie!!!

Hot water in the showers, comfortable bed and a deal at 50 USD for the night; for Bay of LA, es OK!

Next day, still more rain.

Wet roads and low clouds.

The bikes are starting to look like Mexican rides.

At Santa Rosalia, we stopped for lunch at Mama Espinosa's, a famous Baja landmark.

Here we are at Catavina. Still raining, Still no Pemex station, you buy your gas from these guys.

Here's where the famous Boojum trees start. These "trees" only grow in this one valley.

Finally, as we approach Bahia de Los Angeles, a break in the rain. And hope !

The overlook into Bahia LA is spectacular.

Relaxing at the hotel in Bahia LA.

Some "artsy" shots of the moon, and moon on the water.

 

[beemerdons]

From Brian "El Jefe" Boles of AZ Beemers: The Rumorosa grade would have been fantastic, but with wet roads and big trucks boiling over tranny fluid, it was spectacular but not fun. Making time in Mexico is difficult under good conditions. You can usually get a moving average speed of about 55 MPH as calculated by GPS. But with the rain, we were in the 40's for a moving average. It also made it hard to keep the group together and some of us bypassed lunch in Tecate to head straight for Ensenada.

For an idea of how hard it was raining, the streets in Ensenada were all rivers, at least 2" deep and in some places 2 foot deep.

I would also recommend The Bahia seafood resturant in Ensenada, excellent.

 

[dj bill]

ay chingow,mucho agua no pinche bueno.el fucko de rido.lol

 

[beemerdons]

Baja Ride Day Three – Rainy and Warm to Loreto via Santa Rosalia and Mulege.

https://www.bajabound.com/bajatravel/eiffel_church_of_santa_rosalia.php We left the Sea of Cortez in bright blue sky sunshine and in just ten kilometers we once again were pulling on all of our rain gear!

We once again hit the sunshine at French Santa Rosalia for a fuel stop with a stop at the Eiffel Church.

We had a delicious (very) late lunch at Mulege and here comes another Riding the Baja 101 travel tip.

Sitting down for lunch in Mexico takes up to two hours, it is just the way it is and not way around it!

If you plan to put in 400 miles a day riding a motorcycle in Mexico: Do not make any stops for lunch!

Even though our La Comida (dinner) in Mulege was delicious, it resulted in 2 hours of us night riding!

We scored in Loreto with lodging at Santa Fe Hotel for only 500 pesos a night; brand new and so clean.

https://hotelsantafeloreto.com/english/index.html https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g150772-d2022056-Reviews-El_Papagayo_Cantando-Loreto_Baja_California.html

We had a wonderful meal at El Papagayo Cantando on the Loreto Village Square; Paella to die for, ese.

The next morning, there was some brief rain, but we finally got south of it to clear skies.
This is the gas station at Santa Rosalia.

Because of the rain, we had seen 3 car accidents on the way down, but nothing like this.
A guy tried to run across the road and didn't make it across and also didn't survive.

Santa Rosalia is an old mining town with an old smelter building.

They also have an "Eiffel Church", a "kit" built steel church structure send all around the world. Google it.

Santa Rosalia is a very old town, and looks it.

Next town down the road is Mulege. It is a river town where the river hits the ocean.

Beach at mouth of river.

As we head south, there's a lot of little coves, with camping areas. I could definitely spend a few days/weeks/months there.

 

[beemerdons]

ay chingow,mucho agua no pinche bueno.el fucko de rido.lol

Mi Amigo DJ Guillermo, es Verdad ese! Con mucho gusto, la Lluvia es no pinche bueno! jes' sayin' and nuff' said!

 

[beemerdons]

Baja Ride Day Four – Loreto to Cabo San Lucas.

Departure today with no rain, had Desayuno in the Hotel Santa Fe restaurant and was good/reasonable.

Rode directly to Hotel Pueblo Bonito Blanco on La Medano Beach on MEX 19 through Todos Santos.

https://www.pueblobonito-loscabos.com/ Highly recommend this hotel, you get a lot for $215 nightly.

The Hotel has two fine restaurants: Cilantro's down by the water's edge and Las Palomas under roof.

https://www.transcabo.com/ Ladies arrived an hour after we got to the lobby via Trans Cabo Shuttles.

1st order of business was drinks and snacks poolside, followed by a fantastic Cilantro's seafood dinner!

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Baja Ride Day Five – Cabo San Lucas Rest and Recover Day.

Today saw our Ladies relaxing on the beach and buying goods and wares from the strolling vendors.

Plus, the PB waiters were kept extremely busy supplying them with Margaritas, Cervezas and Snacks!!

The Riders spent the day doing maintenance on the motos starting with a thorough wash of the bikes.

We discovered an excellent Auto Lavado (car wash) at the corner of Avenidas Vicaro and de Juventud.

For 80 pesos these Hombres cleaned up our bikes like new, we had ten pounds of MEX mud on them!

They did such a nice job of cleaning our bikes we all gave them 100 pesos, only just $7.89 US dollars.

https://www.loscabosguide.com/mariscosmazatlan/index.html Had a group dinner at Mariscos Mazatlan.

And we finally arrive in Cabo. Here's part of the hotel pool.

Why do these guys look so relaxed. Oh, yea, they took airplanes down.

First order of business is to get the mud off of the bikes. We grabbed some lunch while the bikes are being washed.

Meanwhile, the girls are on the beach, turning red and running up bar tabs.

Spectacular scenery in Cabo.

Melanie and a new friend from Florida.

Dawn and Melanie are hot, hot, hot in their new beach wraps. ($15, Mexican lady on beach)

The hotel mascots.

Some fireworks at night.

And some night views.

And a morning view.

Sleeping flamingos.

 

[beemerdons]

From Brian "El Jefe" Boles of AZ Beemers: Allow me to start by saying until my F800GS, I haven’t ridden a chain bike since 1978 (Yama XS650). So, definitely no expert on chains here.

Before the Baja trip, the chain was still the stock item. It had been adjusted by DirtBall, but then taken on the Cherry Creek Ride and not adjusted afterwards.

So, as we pull into Bahia de Los Angeles for our second night in Baja, after 2 days of drenching rain and mud, Bob notices that my chain is hanging off of the sprockets like wet dish rags.

OK, I guess I can adjust that. Then everyone one starts asking how old the chain is. “Well, it came with the bike and has the same miles as the bike.” Just under 16,000 at the time.

The look on Bob’s face said it all. This guy is going to bust a chain on this trip and get stranded.

I had no idea chains had such a short lifetime. When we made it to Cabo, a chain search ensued. There used to be a BMW dealership there, but no more. The Harley shop and the Desert Motorsports shop had 530’s and 520’s but no 525’s. I did manage to score a 525 master link, which may help with a roadside repair.

For the long ride home, I kept the chain loosely adjusted, very greasy, and super gentle on the throttle. It cinched up about an inch and a half worth of adjuster, but held together all the way back.

So, question #1 to the experts.

Would I have been able to use a 530 chain? Isn’t the number the width of the chain? Aren’t all of the link pitches the same?

BTW, the Cabo BMW dealership is supposed to re-open soon.

==============================================================================================

From Dave "GypsyTech" Alquist of Quality BMW Service of Mesa, Arizona: Most manufacturers are notorious for using cheap chains on new bikes. My favorite is the Renthal "Gold" o-ring chain. It's been on my KTM since the stock one wore out, and besides the initial break-in adjustment, it hasn't needed anything but a shot of Maxima Chain Wax since.

 

[SkooterG]

Oh boy, here we go. A technical idiot's ride report of Baja. Papa Chuy - only ONE of each photo is required!

 

[beemerdons]

Baja Ride Day Six – Pueblo Magico Todos Santos

https://www.todossantos.cc/ Todos Santos is Officially Designated as a Mexican Historic “Magic City”!

Had lunch at the Famous Hotel California, plus bought our silver jewelry and artwork across the street.

Just 50 miles North of Cabo San Lucas, it's worlds away from the hustle and bustle of Cabo San Lucas.

From Brian "El Jefe" Boles of AZ Beemers: We rode over to Todos Santos, one of the "Pueblo Magico's" a.k.a. officially sanctioned cool tourist desination.
Melanie and I rented a car for this leg, but that's another story/post.

Hotel California, see another post for debate on relevance to Eagle's song.

This is an early gold mining sluce box.

Here's some examples of what you learn in Mexican Maid school.

 

[beemerdons]

Baja Ride Day Seven – El Arco Boat Ride and Pancho's

https://www.cabosanlucastours.net/Glass-Bottomed-Boat.htm Today we rode the glass bottom boat out to El Arco (The Arch) and to Playa del Amor (Lover's Beach). Saw lots of sea life and sea mammals.

https://www.panchos.com/ Had dinner at famous Pancho's, largest variety of Tequila's in all of Mexico!

We took a tour of the islands off Cabo.

Here's the glass bottom boat heading out across the harbor.

Some of the fishes off of the reef.

I had this guy's cousin for dinner, delicious !

The Gulf of California is on this side, the far side is the Pacific.

The Pacific spilling into the Gulf through a crack in the rocks.

The famous Cabo arch.

Sleeping sea lions. Wow, between the fish breath and fish farts, kinda smelly.

We decided to spend some sun time on the island. Great place, not crowded and there's guys there to sell you a cold beer also.

Looking at our hotel on the way back.

 

[luvtoride]

Boy, Mary Ellen sure gets around... & great ride report!

 

[beemerdons]

Baja Ride Day Eight – Dos Cabos to Loreto

Today was retracing Day 4 with a return to Loreto and once again staying at Hotel Santa Fe.

Did get a chance to check out Playa Coyote, where I'll be leading Michael O'Keefe in October.


Had a wonderful meal at El Papagayo Cantando on Loreto Village Square; Paella to kill for.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g150772-d2022056-Reviews-El_Papagayo_Cantando-Loreto_Baja_California.html

From Brian "El Jefe" Boles of AZ Beemers: Unfortunately, we had to head back eventually. At least the roads were dry and much more enjoyable.

This is Puerto Escondito.

Another of those nice coves.

This is the village of Loreto. We all took pictures on the Malecon (seawall).

And had a great dinner at a resturant owned by an ex-Houstonite.

Poblano pepper stuffed with beef brisket, cranberries, corn and covered with a creamy cilantro/lime sauce. Yum.

 

[beemerdons]

Boy, Mary Ellen sure gets around... & great ride report!

You're not kidding luvtoride, Mary Ellen REALLY does get around. Oh wait just a minute here, did you mean on motorcycles?

 

[beemerdons]

Baja Ride Day Nine – Loreto to Catavina.

After another nice and speedy breakfast at the Hotel Santa Fe in Loreto we rode North on Ruta Uno.

https://www.bajainsider.com/baja-california-travel/baja-destinations/san-ignacio/visit-san-ignacio.htm Stopped at Iglesia San Ignacio, one of the most pleasant villages in Mexico. Go whale watching here!

https://www.allaboutbaja.com/catavina.html After topping off our motos from the roadside gallon cans we spent the night at Hotel Mision in Catavina, the dinner was Fantastico and Margaritas Excelente!

Morning sky in Loreto. And some shots on the way back.

 

[beemerdons]

From Brian "El Jefe" Boles of AZ Beemers: I could quit work and live here . . .

How to move a horse in Mexico, just tie him to a truck and watch the speed.

The church in San Ignacio.

River in San Ignacio

There were 6 Army checkpoints on the route. We got searched in all but one of them. No drugas.

This is the hotel in Catavina. There's not much else there except for the guys who sell gas.

Here's some shots of the boojum forest in Catavina.

That's all folks !

 

[beemerdons]

Baja Ride Day Ten – Catavina to Ensenada.

https://mamaespinoza.com/english/ We left Catavina at 0730 for a ride for Desayuno (Breakfast) at Mama Espinoza's Loncheria in El Rosario, famous as the first checkpoint in the Baja 1000 Mile Race.

https://www.ensenada.com/en/ Had a SB party in Ensenada, watched the first half of Super Bowl at an upstairs Restaurant on the Malecon and then watched the 2nd half in Tequila's Cantina on Lopez Mateos

============================================================================================

Baja Ride Day Eleven – Ensenada to Phoenix.

All good things must come to an end and today we rode back home to Arizona: 3,300 hard miles riding with some wonderful Friends: Mary Ellen, Brian, Enrique, Fred, Darrell, Bob and Don meshed so well!

Our Ladies: Donna, Melanie, Mary, Linda, Dawn and Lindal joining up with us made this very special.

Our last meal together was at Lolo's at El Jardin in Tecate, Baja then the border crossing to Interstate 8.

https://www.baja-web.com/tecate/ If you can only visit one Mexican village, I highly recommend Tecate.

 

[MEM]

Well done, Papa !

 

[beemerdons]

Excelente: My lovely "La Princesa" Donna and BeemerDonS had a fantastic vacation in Cabo San Lucas that we will never forget:

Our view each morning from Playa Bonita Blanco Hotel, Donna and Papa were so sad to leave this "El Paradiso"!

Mi Motocicleta es muy Rapido:

Un muy Malo Hombre, Bandito Papa Chuy Viejo:

The Heroes of the 1910 Mexican Revolution, with Francisco "Pancho" Villa in the middle (HotRodZilla's Great-Great Grandfather):

Muy Bonita Maria Elena:

Los Hombres y "La Reina" MEM:

I wish that my totally worthless illegitimate Bastard Son SkooterG was more like his Primo (Cousin) Enrique, Henry has a job: Senor Garza is a City of Mesa, Arizona Fireman/EMT!

And unlike SkooterG who prefers young boys, Enrique loves beautiful women: Here is Henry with his gorgeous wife Dawn:

Mi Sobrino (Nephew) Enrique: