Starting to feel nervous about traveling solo on motorcycle. I suppose, that in the worse case it's just money.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Day 27 (Saturday June 12, 2010): San Jose del Cabo
Don't ever let anyone tell you that roosters cockle-doodle-doo in the morning... they don't. They do it in the middle of night, and continuously. Needless to say, sleepless night... Even though the temperature is a lot lower than usual in Cabos, it is still extremely draining and we can't seem to muster up the energy to do anything. Normally I want to maximize my time in a new location but I have become jaded with Mexican cities in Baja California. They all feel about the same.
The view from Maria's house.
Day 26 (Friday June 11, 2010): La Paz to San Jose del Cabo
We did not know that we needed to get tourist visas before passing Ensenada. From what we could gather it costs and extra 580 pesos to get one in La Paz than it does in Ensenada. Four trips to the visa office and two trips to the bank (to pay for the tourist visa) later, we get our visas. The process to get my temporary import license is much easier, and the girl that helped me with the details was exremely pleasant.
After making it to San Jose del Cabo we meet up with Maria for a little bit of couch surfing.
San Lucas is almost completely devoid of tourists and they are hurting for tourist money.
Day 25 (Thursday June 10, 2010): Loreto to La Paz
While we were attempting to overtake an erratic semi truck, one of his trailer tires blew out and sprayed Jan with bits of tire. Jan could not avoid a significant chunk of tire and after rolling over it, it was thrown into the air and hit me in the face after bouncing off my front fairing and windshield I get hit in the face going 100kph. The chunk is about 8lbs. Under the circumstances I know I am lucky. Never leave home without a fullface.
Yeah, it didn't feel good... I actually thought a bird had hit me since those shredded edges look kind of like feathers when you are not looking directly at it.
In La Paz, a corrupt cop tries to take my license (I did not have my photocopied ID on me at the time... useful I know). He does not speak any English and my Spanish is terrible. I manage to grab my license back and communicate to him that I will follow him to the station to pay whatever fine he wants me to pay. After leading me down several random streets I get an uneasy feeling and head to the Malecon so that there are loads of witnesses. I hand the policeman 100 pesos and and that is the end of the troubles. Cheapest bribe I have heard of yet.
At night we walk around town and it is interesting that the girls will not veil their interest in you.
Day 24 (Wednesday June 9, 2010): Loreto
Food poisoning. Really do not like this town. I might think differently if I went out fishing though. We are getting some much needed rest though.
Day 23 (Tuesday June 8, 2010): San Ignacio to Loreto
Before heading out we go kayaking in the Oasis. After not sleeping much the night before, the short ride is actually difficult for me. I barely have the energy to enjoy the scenery.
One of the deserted, turquoise water, white sand beaches along the way.
The first time we crossover to the Sea of Cortez side of Baja California.
A little slice of deserted paradise.
We have a seafood dinner in Loreto. The shrimp is good, everything else seems a bit off.
Day 22 (Monday June 7, 2010): San Telmo to San Ignacio
We decide on going for a hard days riding and start early in the morning with the goal of making it to San Ignacio before nightfall. Partway through we pass through a brutally hot desert with huge rock boulders and massive cacti. It is so hot I don't even want to stop to take pictures. Along the way there is a stretch where we are actually worried that we would run out of fuel. After an extremely long and hard day through the desert the sight of palm trees and cool water is intensely relieving. The Canadian owners of the recommended bed and breakfast are on vacation in Canada (heh). We meet a father and son who have been riding the back-roads of Baja California for decades and two people from Oregon who are riding identical blue 2009 KLRs and are on their way back home after going from Oregon to the southern tip of Baja.
No gas... We start to get worried.
In the middle of the desert.
At night I sit by the water of the oasis under the palm trees and gaze upon the stars. That image will stick with me forever.
Jewel of the desert... =P Yeah...
Day 21 (Sunday June 6, 2010): San Diego to San Telmo
We cross the border extremely easily at Tijuana and take toll road '1' along the coast. The riding is easy, and there are plentiful Pemex stations (we were warned that there would not very much fuel) along the way. We get stopped at the first military checkpoint and our bags are searched. The search may have occurred because we pulled off to the parking lot just before the checkpoint since we did not want to travel amongst a military convoy. Extremely friendly soldiers after they did not find any contraband. Jan somehow sees a sign for Cuatro Casas hostel which is 7 miles away from the highway on the Pacific coast. In order to get to the hostel we ride through deep soft sand which is fairly difficult for me loaded down with gear and with street tires. I remember what the red-headed guy outside Golden Gate Cycle in San Francisco told me about sand riding... 'Keep the bike in the high second or low third and ride it like a surfboard.' You were right good sir, you were right! My mountain-biking experience helps me out of a few hairy situations and I manage to make it to the hostel.
Fine, soft, deep sand. I am surprised I made it this far on street tires and loaded down.
The owner dragged the bones one by one from a mile away as the meat rotted off.
Day 18-20 (Thursday June 3, 2010 to Saturday June 5, 2010): Santa Clarita to San Diego
On Thursday we wake up early to pack our things but still only manage to get out of the camp site at 8am since it takes quite awhile to repack our gear... no more camping if it can be helped. Six Flags Magic Mountain is incredible since we didn't have to wait more than 5mins for any particular ride. X2 and Terminator are definitely my favorites. We pass through L.A. During rush hour... 80km of traffic jam. Lane splitting is legal in California however, with all my luggage I am wide and not as agile as most other motorcycles which leads to several close calls.
Amazing 6 dollar blueberry pie that we demolish after six flags.
Friday we spend finding a motorcycle shop (Clairemont Cycle Supply) to get some spare parts and to get some advice about the ride into Baja California. The Baja 500 starts the next day which would be interesting to watch, but we will not be ready to leave until Sunday morning since there are some things that still need to be done before leaving. We have been craving Vietnamese Pho for a week so we find a place that is still open at midnight. It could be a combination of the cravings and hunger but I am pretty sure it is the best I have ever had.
I mail back some bulky items to Canada, and we work on our bikes until the store closes at 4. I am probably making a bigger issue of the border crossing than it should be but I can't seem to stop worrying. Needless to say I have a restless night.
Day 17 (Wednesday June 2, 2010): San Simeon to Santa Clarita
We steal five amazing oranges in Ojai... which makes us wish we had taken more. Fun twisty road but it takes us longer than expected so we roll into the camp site later than expected. Nothing seems to be open except for a supermarket so we chow down on old meatloaf, chicken wings, and ice cream in a parking lot.
Using MacDonald's WiFi and eating oranges.
Meatloaf, chicken wings, ice cream, and sour dough bread, eaten on the pavement. Classy.
Day 16 (Tuesday June 1, 2010): Half Moon Bay to San Simeon
Coastal riding is amazing. There is a reason why every half a mile there is a turn off for people to pull over to enjoy the scenery.
Delicious smelling strawberry fields with huge strings of workers picking the fruit.
The sun is starting to set, the twisties aren't getting less twisty, and we still feel the need to stop for some photos.
I really need to cut down a lot of weight on my bike. Going into a corner 30kph maximum corner with 200lbs of weight on the rear is not a fun time. The Givi side case setup causes the bike to jiggle while riding. The jiggle is not noticeable while riding
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Day 15 (Monday May 31, 2010): On the Road Again.... San Francisco to Half Moon Bay
After being in San Francisco for so long, it feels like we are leaving home. Although, it's still a great feeling to be back on the road even if it was for a very short while... 40 km short. The fog was so thick that it soaked us like rain.
Day 11-14 (Thursday May 27, 2010 to Sunday May 30, 2010): San Francisco
Fixing the bike and enjoying San Francisco while using an amazing loft as a base. Thank you Erik!
This is exactly the kind of bachelor pad that I would want.
Day 10 (Wednesday May 26, 2010): San Francisco
Beautiful sunny day. Beautiful roads. Beautiful scenery. This is exactly what I needed.
View from the base of Coit Tower
Lombard Street
Bird Island (white from the droppings)
Sausilito Beach
Muir Woods (Amazing tight banked corners with lots of elevation changes... Driving heaven)
Day 9 (Tuesday May 25.2010): San Francisco
Probably the lowest point in my trip. . . I am constantly considering calling off the trip. It is a combination of the accident, stuff constantly going wrong, and missing certain people.
Day 8 (Monday May 24, 2010): Weed to San Francisco
The ride from Weed was uneventful. The shoulder pains from the accident are worsening. At the start of my trip I told myself that the journey was more important than the destination but by this point I just want to get to San Francisco to start making repairs to my bike, re-energize, and re-excite myself about this trip.
The more abused a KLR 650 looks the more one knows that the owner has used the bike for the purpose it was made... To get you through anything, to anywhere.
Day 7 (Sunday May 23, 2010): Bend to Weed
We start a bit late and can't seem to find the turnoff that we need to get to Eugene. It is freezing while we ride so we decide to take the shorter route to San Francisco. As we pull back onto highway 97 we stop for gas and fortunately, at that exact moment, my tire decides to go flat. If we had been in the middle of nowhere the situation would have been much more difficult to resolve. One mile back there is a service station that is open and the attendant is extremely helpful. (We have been unable to find the right sized tire irons to purchase so we need to use someone's tools.) The annoying thing about the flat is that I had just bought the tire the day before and it seems like either the installation was not good, or the inner tube was defective since there seem to be fold marks on the tube. The tubeless tire that I bought is difficult to remove (remind me never to go tubeless again) and difficult to remount.
Thank you sir. Without your tools we would not have been able to fix our bike.
Mt. Shasta near Weed, California (no I didn't buy a t-shirt that says 'I love weed').
Never go tubeless, never be annoyed when stuff goes wrong because it probably could be a lot worse, just roll with the punches and hope one of those punches isn't a knockout.
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