Bashing through Baja...FINALLY

Our breakfast stop

Today was the first day of our six-day Baja adventure ride.  We got a fairly late start as we had to drive out past the city limits of Ensenada to get started riding.  Just way too much traffic in the city.  Dangerous.  We pulled in to a little roadside restaurant called Acambaro, where the Haines crew started unloading and prepping bikes, while we went inside (ish) to eat.  Breakfast for most of us was Huevos Rancheras.  Now, if you look at the second picture, you will see what they brought us.  I know what you're thinking, but it was FABULOUS.  Sweet salsa over perfectly cooked eggs on top of a tortilla.  One of the best breakfasts I ever ate!

Huevos Rancheros... and Jay

After breakfast, we headed to the bikes for a quick safety briefing and off we went to explore the wilds of Baja.  About 5 miles of pavement led us to a dirt two-track that wound around hills, valleys, and small ranchitas.  We finally crested a hill and gaped in awe as the Pacific Ocean appeared before us.  All day, we more or less followed the "Coast Road" (in the U.S. it would probably be labeled a goat trail) with lots of detours off for interesting trails.  It was fabulous.  I simply couldn't wipe the grin off my face.  We stopped every half hour or so for pee breaks and taking pictures.  Pepe was riding the lead bike with Ramon bringing up the rear.  The morning passed quickly and we found ourselves at a roadside turnoff where the rest of the crew, Arturo and Oscar, had set up a tent with sandwiches, chips and drinks.  We dug into the chow while the Haines guys checked over the bikes, lubed chains, and re-filled gas tanks.  Jay had been having issues all morning with a wonky rear suspension on his CRF450, so they parked it and pulled out one of the spare bikes for him to ride.

After our filling lunch, we hit the trails once more - only to get about ten miles and have the clutch cable on Jay's new mount snap in half!  Ramon swapped bikes with him and we rode another ten miles or so to meet the chase trucks at a gas station. Oscar and Arturo changed out the cable in record time, while some local kids cleaned our fenders and tanks for a few spare pesos.   The rest of the day was a mix of sand washes, rocky trails, some single-track (yeah!), beach sand, salt pans, desert terrain, and dirt roads.  On our last stop, Pepe announced that we were only about 30-40 minutes from our hotel in San Quinton.  Re-energized by the thought of food and beverages, we upped the speed and quickly rode the last sections, arriving at the beautiful Mision Santa Maria at about 3:30.  It had been an exciting day;  120 miles of riding by six Florida guys who had never been to Baja.  No one crashed, and we felt like we acquitted ourselves well.

Showers in the rooms, cervesas in the bar, and then another amazing dinner finished off a great day.  Tomorrow we will head across the peninsula towards the Sea of Cortez and an overnight at the fishing village of Bahia de Los Angeles - or as the locals call it, L.A. Bay.  It's our longest day at 220 miles, but I know we're all up to the task... assuming us old guys can even get out of bed tomorrow morning! So that's it from your exhausted scribe.  I'll close with the promised embarrassing pictures from last night at Hussong's and a bunch of pictures from today's ride. Good night!