-
There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.
Not another Baja ride report…
- Thread starter SRAD600
- Start date
Leo_jb
City boy
Short video of the section of road between BOLA and Los Arcos
[YouTube]37IJ6DYgF9U[/YouTube][/QUOTE]
[YouTube]37IJ6DYgF9U[/YouTube][/QUOTE]
SRAD600
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2003
- Location
- Claremont, California
- Moto(s)
- broken one's
- Name
- Eldrick
- BARF perks
- AMA #3347697
This is the most wonderful thing to open up on a Sunday morning!
Thanks for the armchair ride
Thump
Thanks, it was a nice morning to relive the ride.
Awesome stuff!!!! I almost feel like I am there right now. Cute little kitteh, too.
If you do this next year, I would love to talk to you about tagging along.
Do it!
I'm in
Nice vid, Leo. I'm def. going to start saving for the GoPro.
SRAD600
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2003
- Location
- Claremont, California
- Moto(s)
- broken one's
- Name
- Eldrick
- BARF perks
- AMA #3347697
I am crossing my fingers that I will be among the 4 next year.
Maybe not, after you read what's coming up....
Lunch Box
Useful idiot
SRAD600
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2003
- Location
- Claremont, California
- Moto(s)
- broken one's
- Name
- Eldrick
- BARF perks
- AMA #3347697
Day 6 - Part 1
The morning of day 6 was in complete contrast to the previous day’s sunrises. The cowboy hotel, our habitacion for the night, is still under construction. There’s a large dirt courtyard that’s largely unfinished with rebar sticking up in various places to accept some sort of final construction. There were groups leaving very early in the morning, so the sounds of cars starting, roller bags on the tile floors overhead and random chatter helped me rise from my bed this morning. Leo and I decided a good breakfast was in order so we walked over to a local place and ordered up some grub. A local San Diego guy, Willie, met us for breakfast. Wille is travelling with his GF trying to find good surf breaks, but he does a lot of motorcycle travel as well. We had a good time talking bikes, but after a while it was time to hit the road. We hopped on the highway for a bit, crossed a border and a checkpoint, then found a nice dirt road heading towards the pacific. This was the turning point of our trip so we were now headed north.
We found a nice beach that was accessible by motorcycle. I’d been dying for some beach riding so we crossed over the rocky berm onto one absolutely lovely sand beach. This is not the super soft fluffy sand, but that nice tacky “traction for days” type of sand that just pulls the inner child out of any motorcyclist.
You can tell by the tire tracks that we were having a great time!
We were enjoying some awesome power slides, flying back and forth across the beach. This was soo much fun, there was some video shot here, so hopefully Leo can post that up. Of course, I was having so much fun, getting on the gas harder to spin up the rear, and then crossing up the bike on the brakes while sliding to a stop, then repeating. As time went on, we both got braver on the gas, and heavier on the brakes. Of course I had to be the one to push the limit…I was spinning up the rear in second gear, and as the back tire kicked out I changed directions quickly and stomped hard on the brakes. The rear end kicked out just a little more than I expected, and it was do or die time. I’m sliding to a stop with the rear locked up, the bike crossed up and the handlebars at complete opposite lock. I gave it all the body English I could, trying to balance the slide without lowsiding. Well, I didn’t lowside, but instead launched myself right over the bars in a spectacular highside! Woot…I rolled out of it and popped up giggling like a little kid, it was so much fun! Fortunately nothing major broke. I just popped off a blinker and bent up a barkbuster, both of which were fixed in less than five minutes. What an awesome way to start the day.
You can see in the pic above just where I highsided, rolled and popped up on my feet. Anyway, we mellowed out a bit, did some more beach riding, then decided it was time to move on up the coast. We ran across a surf camp, or a wind surf camp…one of those. I’ve seen photos of this place online before, and it was pretty cool to see it in person. People had semi-permanent camps set up, with rocks stacked up for various things – campfires, wind breaks, ovens, etc.
The sand here is pretty soft unfortunately, it can swallow a wheel whole…ask me how I know.
Still the views were pretty amazing.
The morning of day 6 was in complete contrast to the previous day’s sunrises. The cowboy hotel, our habitacion for the night, is still under construction. There’s a large dirt courtyard that’s largely unfinished with rebar sticking up in various places to accept some sort of final construction. There were groups leaving very early in the morning, so the sounds of cars starting, roller bags on the tile floors overhead and random chatter helped me rise from my bed this morning. Leo and I decided a good breakfast was in order so we walked over to a local place and ordered up some grub. A local San Diego guy, Willie, met us for breakfast. Wille is travelling with his GF trying to find good surf breaks, but he does a lot of motorcycle travel as well. We had a good time talking bikes, but after a while it was time to hit the road. We hopped on the highway for a bit, crossed a border and a checkpoint, then found a nice dirt road heading towards the pacific. This was the turning point of our trip so we were now headed north.
We found a nice beach that was accessible by motorcycle. I’d been dying for some beach riding so we crossed over the rocky berm onto one absolutely lovely sand beach. This is not the super soft fluffy sand, but that nice tacky “traction for days” type of sand that just pulls the inner child out of any motorcyclist.
You can tell by the tire tracks that we were having a great time!
We were enjoying some awesome power slides, flying back and forth across the beach. This was soo much fun, there was some video shot here, so hopefully Leo can post that up. Of course, I was having so much fun, getting on the gas harder to spin up the rear, and then crossing up the bike on the brakes while sliding to a stop, then repeating. As time went on, we both got braver on the gas, and heavier on the brakes. Of course I had to be the one to push the limit…I was spinning up the rear in second gear, and as the back tire kicked out I changed directions quickly and stomped hard on the brakes. The rear end kicked out just a little more than I expected, and it was do or die time. I’m sliding to a stop with the rear locked up, the bike crossed up and the handlebars at complete opposite lock. I gave it all the body English I could, trying to balance the slide without lowsiding. Well, I didn’t lowside, but instead launched myself right over the bars in a spectacular highside! Woot…I rolled out of it and popped up giggling like a little kid, it was so much fun! Fortunately nothing major broke. I just popped off a blinker and bent up a barkbuster, both of which were fixed in less than five minutes. What an awesome way to start the day.
You can see in the pic above just where I highsided, rolled and popped up on my feet. Anyway, we mellowed out a bit, did some more beach riding, then decided it was time to move on up the coast. We ran across a surf camp, or a wind surf camp…one of those. I’ve seen photos of this place online before, and it was pretty cool to see it in person. People had semi-permanent camps set up, with rocks stacked up for various things – campfires, wind breaks, ovens, etc.
The sand here is pretty soft unfortunately, it can swallow a wheel whole…ask me how I know.
Still the views were pretty amazing.
Last edited:
SRAD600
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2003
- Location
- Claremont, California
- Moto(s)
- broken one's
- Name
- Eldrick
- BARF perks
- AMA #3347697
Day 6 - Part 2
After riding north for a while, the track we were following lead back out onto the beach. We had a hard time finding a good entry point because there was a huge rock berm down to the beach. We were a bit hesitant to try and ride over it, but I think I was feeling good after my highside, so I grabbed a handful of throttle and over I went. I did get some shots of Leo’s ride over.
From here we were racing the tide, rolling down the beach. This was fast and fun, but we ran into a rock outcropping, and didn’t want to risk stranding ourselves in the water, so we decided to head back to the dirt track. Once again there was no easy way to get over the berm, so “gas it and go” was the response.
Once back on the dirt track, it was pretty smooth sailing for a while. Amazing vistas, perfect riding conditions and great roads all combined to provide us with a really fun day.
After riding north for a while, the track we were following lead back out onto the beach. We had a hard time finding a good entry point because there was a huge rock berm down to the beach. We were a bit hesitant to try and ride over it, but I think I was feeling good after my highside, so I grabbed a handful of throttle and over I went. I did get some shots of Leo’s ride over.
From here we were racing the tide, rolling down the beach. This was fast and fun, but we ran into a rock outcropping, and didn’t want to risk stranding ourselves in the water, so we decided to head back to the dirt track. Once again there was no easy way to get over the berm, so “gas it and go” was the response.
Once back on the dirt track, it was pretty smooth sailing for a while. Amazing vistas, perfect riding conditions and great roads all combined to provide us with a really fun day.
Last edited:
SRAD600
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2003
- Location
- Claremont, California
- Moto(s)
- broken one's
- Name
- Eldrick
- BARF perks
- AMA #3347697
Day 6 - Part 3
We made our way into a little town (I forget the name) where we got our first dose of barrel gas. The guy was really nice and had an old station wagon on blocks, the entire rear of the car was filled with gas. He was one explosively entrepreneurial guy…get it.
Once we left this town we were back on pavement for about five minutes, then onto some more awesome dirt tracks. The sun was getting lower in the sky, and in some places dust was a bit of a problem, so I was spacing out more than usual.
We made our way into a little town (I forget the name) where we got our first dose of barrel gas. The guy was really nice and had an old station wagon on blocks, the entire rear of the car was filled with gas. He was one explosively entrepreneurial guy…get it.
Once we left this town we were back on pavement for about five minutes, then onto some more awesome dirt tracks. The sun was getting lower in the sky, and in some places dust was a bit of a problem, so I was spacing out more than usual.
SRAD600
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2003
- Location
- Claremont, California
- Moto(s)
- broken one's
- Name
- Eldrick
- BARF perks
- AMA #3347697
Day 6 - Part 4
At this point we were getting turned around a bit. We were trying to follow one track, and either got off track or tried to find a shortcut which didn’t work out. We ended up backtracking a bit to get back to the original track. On most of these roads there are two tracks right next to each other, so to avoid dust I’d ride in whichever track Leo was not riding in. Most of the time this worked great, this particular time, not so much.
Leo went to the left in the photo above, and as I’m riding along (in deep sand, my favorite) this sink hole jumped out in front of me and sprawled across the track! Actually I was paying so much attention to staying in the right rut in the sand, I just didn’t notice the sinkhole until it was almost too late...almost. It took me a while to get turned around here because of the depth of the sand and the berms on each side. Eventually I had to push the bike over on its side, drag it around 180 degrees and the pick it back up to ride out the way I came in. Adventure! It was about this time that I began to develop a bit of a disdain towards deep sand.
We got underway again, but the sun was now getting pretty low in the sky. It was getting obvious that we were unlikely to reach our goal for the night. We intended to stay in a town this evening but this lay between us and a bed…
Maybe you can't tell from the picture what that is. Hint: It's Deep…very deep
Super deep..Fu%$King sand…my favorite...especially in dusty, low light conditions. Yay!
At this point we decided to call it quits, and set up camp before we lose all light. We found a little spot right next to the ocean, pulled out or lights and setup camp.
I was totally unprepared for this eventuality unfortunately. I had no extra food, since we’d not seen so much as a tienda all day. I still had some water in my camel-back, but that was about it. Fortunately for us, Leo was prepared for this. He had some MRE’s which he graciously shared with me. I was extremely hungry and very grateful for the food, thanks again Leo. The temps were dropping fast, so I retired to my tent early to enjoy the warmth of my Big Agnes. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit easier, I slept like a log that night.
At this point we were getting turned around a bit. We were trying to follow one track, and either got off track or tried to find a shortcut which didn’t work out. We ended up backtracking a bit to get back to the original track. On most of these roads there are two tracks right next to each other, so to avoid dust I’d ride in whichever track Leo was not riding in. Most of the time this worked great, this particular time, not so much.
Leo went to the left in the photo above, and as I’m riding along (in deep sand, my favorite) this sink hole jumped out in front of me and sprawled across the track! Actually I was paying so much attention to staying in the right rut in the sand, I just didn’t notice the sinkhole until it was almost too late...almost. It took me a while to get turned around here because of the depth of the sand and the berms on each side. Eventually I had to push the bike over on its side, drag it around 180 degrees and the pick it back up to ride out the way I came in. Adventure! It was about this time that I began to develop a bit of a disdain towards deep sand.
We got underway again, but the sun was now getting pretty low in the sky. It was getting obvious that we were unlikely to reach our goal for the night. We intended to stay in a town this evening but this lay between us and a bed…
Maybe you can't tell from the picture what that is. Hint: It's Deep…very deep
Super deep..Fu%$King sand…my favorite...especially in dusty, low light conditions. Yay!
At this point we decided to call it quits, and set up camp before we lose all light. We found a little spot right next to the ocean, pulled out or lights and setup camp.
I was totally unprepared for this eventuality unfortunately. I had no extra food, since we’d not seen so much as a tienda all day. I still had some water in my camel-back, but that was about it. Fortunately for us, Leo was prepared for this. He had some MRE’s which he graciously shared with me. I was extremely hungry and very grateful for the food, thanks again Leo. The temps were dropping fast, so I retired to my tent early to enjoy the warmth of my Big Agnes. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit easier, I slept like a log that night.
SRAD600
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2003
- Location
- Claremont, California
- Moto(s)
- broken one's
- Name
- Eldrick
- BARF perks
- AMA #3347697
Always good to travel with a buddy, for many reasons. Can't wait to hear about "tomorrow."
Yep, after this trip I couldn't agree more. I had a ton of tools but little extra food. Leo had fewer tools and a bunch of extra food. In the end we needed both.
EDIT: That sand was deeper than it looks in the photos, talk about tedious...
Last edited:
SFMCjohn
13
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2010
- Location
- San Francisco, 94102
- Moto(s)
- KLR, K75s, TR7V, FXSB
- Name
- John A.
- BARF perks
- AMA #2917550
Day 6 - Part 3
We made our way into a little town (I forget the name) where we got our first dose of barrel gas.
Santa Rosalilita?
You guys are taking some great pics of REALLY deep sand ...
Titus58
Need moar dirt
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2011
- Location
- South bay
- Moto(s)
- new-to-me 07 Vstrom (yeah baby), '06 Husky te610
- Name
- Tim
Great report Eldrick and Leo Really feels like I'm there with you guys - maybe next time 
Love all the pics and the story. The description of the deep breathing mammal you could not see (whale I assume?) as you were going to sleep on the beach, and then the pic of Leo enjoying his cup of coffee looking out at the Sea of Cortez the next morning...wow...beautiful, awesome, amazing, transcending...for me this is what back-country adventuring is all about...that and getting silly on the beach
Re the loooonnng ride along the sandy trail that had to be aborted, with barbed wire between you and the road: great solution Next time pack wire cutters and bailing wire: snip-snip, get the bikes across, then patch it up as good as new.
Can't wait for the next installment
Baja. Fuck Yeah.
T
Really feels like I'm there with you guys - maybe next time Love all the pics and the story. The description of the deep breathing mammal you could not see (whale I assume?) as you were going to sleep on the beach, and then the pic of Leo enjoying his cup of coffee looking out at the Sea of Cortez the next morning...wow...beautiful, awesome, amazing, transcending...for me this is what back-country adventuring is all about...that and getting silly on the beach
Re the loooonnng ride along the sandy trail that had to be aborted, with barbed wire between you and the road: great solution
Next time pack wire cutters and bailing wire: snip-snip, get the bikes across, then patch it up as good as new.Can't wait for the next installment
Baja. Fuck Yeah.
T
OaklandF4i
Darwin's exception
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2002
- Location
- San Francisco and Lake County
- Moto(s)
- Husqvarna FE350, TE300, a vintage CR390, and BMW R1200GS
- Name
- CJ
Santa Rosalilita?
Yep, I'm sure thats where the pic was taken. To the right out of the picture is the big concrete boat launch and rock jetties. At one time the MX govt thought it would be a boon to boat tourism if Americans could haul out here and get transported across the penisula to the Sea of Cortez to relaunch..... saving a nearly a 1000 miles of going around the tip. This started back in the Fox reign Needless to say, it never really took off to my knowledge (ie the whole portage idea).
Last edited:
OaklandF4i
Darwin's exception
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2002
- Location
- San Francisco and Lake County
- Moto(s)
- Husqvarna FE350, TE300, a vintage CR390, and BMW R1200GS
- Name
- CJ
Keep the pic's coming! I'm loving them. There are times on my recent trip I would have enjoyed to have been on those big KTMs. Jealous!
There are times on my recent trip I would have enjoyed to have been on those big KTMs. Jealous!
Leo_jb
City boy
Santa Rosalilita it is! The project was called "Escalera Nautica" which loosely translates as water stairway. The idea was to build a series of marinas down the coast of baja. I think this may have been the only one built. Ton of money, brand new road out from Hwy 1, totally abandoned now. I feel sorry for the locals who probably thought it was their ticket to better things.
Leo_jb
City boy
Re the loooonnng ride along the sandy trail that had to be aborted, with barbed wire between you and the road: great solution
T
I actually had wire cutters and wire with me, but I didn't want to cut the fence unless i really had to. It wasn't too tough to simply loosen the barbed wire, pull three posts out of the ground, and lay the fence down.