I received my Cycle World email newsletter this morning and it featured a 2015 ride by moto journalist Peter Egan. Since I hope to be riding Baja after Thanksgiving I took a real interest. The friends I'll be with are long time Baja riders so I'll not have to figure out where to go or what to do. I haven't decided on weather to take my rig or another bike since getting the rig there requires that I rent a trailer and then find a place to stash it while in Baja. https://www.cycleworld.com/2015/11/...RCm-18HHqo-1c-6Inn-1c-18HYom-l5BBevqCEX-IErlV
We rode a sidecar rig down the west coast of the mainland a bit south of Puerto Vallarta and then up and over to McAllen Texas - all paved (or as much all paved as practical), but it was great. Why would the hack require a trailer but the bike would not?
I've frequently hauled bikes in the back of my truck but the last time I did so, I resolved never to do it again, that is the loading and unloading. At my age, backing a bike down my 10 foot ramps is getting a bit scary. The friend who is driving his diesel truck would load and unload both of our bikes. The logistics of this trip have not been settled yet.
Pretty hard to ride all the way down without pavement. Those days disappeared back in the 80's gone and now especially since the paving of Mex 5 is finished. If you are new to Baja there is still lots of stuff to see like the Observatory at the top of the San Pedro Martir, Mission San Javier, La Purisima, San Juanico. Towns like Bay of LA, San Ignacio, Mulege, Loretto are all still pretty chill. There is an inmate Princess (something or another) has a sidecar down in Bahia Conception.
High points and low points are in his epic ride report - The Bakery Quest. The Mexico portion stars with post #196 (link).
@Cody3232 I was going to say this: but also that our favorite places won’t be on your route - we had a good time in Tequila and we REALLY liked Zacatecas. But, the true highlights of the trip were all the things like this where random folks just came up and talked to us. Had a great conversation one morning with a truck full of SWAT team looking federales, and the guy pictured above came up to us at a Pemex and then wanted his extended family to all meet us as well. Great stuff.
I can't really comment on that other than my friend Dan, who has ridden Baja many times, still loves it. It's not the challenge of the dirt roads, or no roads, but the people, the quiet way of life and the beauty of the beaches. Dan also rode a 250 Sherpa to Panama and back. I dropped he and his Sherpa off outside of Parker, AZ and he headed south. Dan's ridden there probably 6-8 times, three times after we did our Arctic Circle ride in 2015. He's been very ill with some type of wasting disease but is trying real hard to get well so that he can do it one more time and show me what I've been missing all these years. This photo was taken during his 2016 ride and I believe it's on the Pacific side because they rode to Cabo and then to the east coast. San Felipe is one of hit favorite places so we'll be going there. The bar and hotel owners even still keep in touch with him. The blue bike is owned by our other friend, Jack, who will also be going with us.
Do it.While there is an unlimited amount of off road riding down here,baja has a lot more to offer.As has been stated many times before,the people make up a huge amount of the charm.I am not an off road rider,but I have still been able to get to some amazing places with my rig.The door is always open.
It's really no different than anywhere else as far as riding.MX1 is the main route north and south,but is little more than a 2 lane road.Sometimes very little !!
It was a very different world then. My mom spent her teen years in Honduras and Guatemala, and we drove down there with her when I got out of the Navy in 75. She said it hadn't changed much since she left in '50, except the Pan-Am hwy itself. My brother lives in Guadalajara now, and we've traveled to Guatemala a couple times in the last 10 years. It's Nothing like it was in '75, unless you get well off the beaten path way down south. There, there's only a slight difference in attire, and that's about it. As for Baja, I strongly recommend y'all have a good time and don't worry.
Hopefully in the not too distance future one of my Baja trips won't be with a race team and I'll have time to stop by and introduce myself. You do live in just about THE most beautiful spots in all of Baja.
take a look at the section of our ride report @DRONE linked above. We don’t speak any Spanish. I mean, I can say cerveza and margarita and I know tortilla is not pronounced tore-till-uh, but that’s about it. We did fine. You would too. I think the main key when you don’t speak the language is don’t be an asshole and people will generally be good to you.
I can't even say "No" in Spanish. Every time I try, it comes out in English. There's a phone app for translating
The very best thing I’ve learned in Spanish (and I’m not sure I spell it right) is: “Lo siento me Espanol is MUY malo” Which translates to “I’m sorry my Spanish is really bad”. Put lots of emphasis on the MUY and you will get a smile every time! You will be much more welcomed for attempting to speak Spanish than if you don’t. I find that much of the time the local people of Baja will like to use you to practice their English. Of course I have to deal with the municipal police I use: “No fumar Español” Which translates to “I don’t smoke Spanish”. That frustrates the hell out of them and they will give up just about every time.
