I'll concur with Life in Sepia, I had an absolutely fantastic time. Just the right amount of planning, not too tightly scheduled, did not feel like work. Thanks, again, to George...who refused to take any money for his tweaking, wrenching and advice. He said, "keep it, you'll need it it Baja" It was a pleasure riding with Mike, he took us on a route that I'd never be able to have orchestrated. I really enjoyed being in very lightly traveled places. Places where the village residents are full of waves, smiles (& requests for wheelies). I had brought some stickers, moto branded pencils to pass out, but they fell off out of my broken zippered bag, hopefully some kids will find em. Stellar scenery, a few difficult sections, but just the right amount of challenge for my lame skills. I originally feared riding at night, and still do, but was able to relish the the more desolate, challenging side of night riding. Of course, I took it pretty damn slow, due to cows, burros, & potential unseen changes in the road....lots of these. Sorry to hold the group up at times. I'll send my photos to xymotic so he can pick & choose for the ride report. I'll also do an ride equipment/review post: quick note; Vibranators saved my hands, at least 20-40% reduction in vibes on my 510. Highly recommended. No not as smooth as a drz400, but my hands are not numb after a week of riding. They used to be toast after an hour. As good as the riding & scenery was, the true "gold" of the trip was meeting & spending time with everyone: Gary, John, PJ, Aaron, Mike, Ed, Clayton...and my friend Zack the driver & provider of grand, if not G rated, comedy. "It's all good"
Hola from Los Barriles, Zak and I are trying to change plans a bit and get a hold of Mike, not having much luck with the cell number we have. We're trying to contact his hotel directly, but the hotel name I have doesn't seem to exist in the phone book, the concierge couldn't find it, and I haven't had any luck online. I have a room number but I need the phone number for the hotel. If anyone has this can you PM the info. Thanks Look what I found in the garage over here. Needs a bit of work. I'll do a bit more digging and see what all is needed to revive this beast. George probably has the parts lying around somewhere.
This should be the info on Mike's Hotel. U.S. Reservations Office 224 Avenida Del Mar, Suite D San Clemente, CA 92672 Toll free: 800-365-7613 Phone: 949-498-3223 Fax: 949-498-6300 Costa Azul Adventure Resort KM 118 Highway 200 Amapas Y Las Palmas San Francisco, Nayarit Email: reservations@costaazul.com For weddings contact: weddings@costaazul.com
/ I spoke to mike at his hotel yesterday, but I forgot to pick up a card from the front desk. It's a magnificent place, I guess us yokels ain't sposed to figure out how to get there Anyhow I'll see if I can get some info manana
Nice to hear everyone made it to Cabo safely I've been thinking about you guys a lot, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't wishing like hell that I was there with you all. Maybe next year Have fun in Cabo, and have a safe return trip! I'm really looking forward to more photos and stories as soon as y'all are settled WoodsChick
Some of the stories really are not suitable for publication here what happens in Cabo is pretty dang funny but should stay in Cabo Sushi leads to Saki which leads to Tequila which... well leads to very bad things.
Well, as long as it doesn't lead to Women in Love where Alan Bates and Oliver Reed were constantly wrestling naked.....
Seems to me like that would be an improvement to what actually happened... I mean wrestling is just wrestling no matter how naked you get. Other, worser things happened naked in Cabo.
Still trying to sort out some hosting stuff, lots of pics, and I can't really do my post productions stuff without my desktop. I'm on a borrowed laptop ATM. Here are some nightime tasters. The rest should be up within a week. The "CH" = "Cafe Husky" courtesy of Xymotic and his headlamp. 60sec exposure, other is 30 sec.
When I woke up the next morning I discovered the first carnage to my bike. I still don't understand how, but somehow I cracked the casting on the fork where the fork guard attaches. THat first day the we were all very diligent in looking at and fixing our bikes... Mike Kay & 610 SepticSkeptic & 610 BentAero & his 310 (note the Kolpin fuel tank for later Lifeinsepia (510 I think) THe hotel we stayed at was pretty decent, $70 split in 2 or sometmes 3 ways wasn't too bad. Forgot to mention After a checkpoint the group took off but I flagged down Mike and stopped him, JCH4 saw us take off but didn't see us stop so he slid to a stop to avoid crashing into us. Sorry for that dude! Anyway, the next day I snuck a stealth photo of JCH4's road rash from the incident... Got a little reminder of the season. We had a decent breakfast at the hotel, I had my normal order of Huevos Rancheros I dunno what happened between these guys the night before, but Septic Skeptic is suddenly happily out of the closet, and Lifeinsepia is ashamed, very ashamed. Eventually we hit the road. And had a pretty good run through some sandy whoops. No pix cuz it was fast and scary. the road was pretty whooped out so we haded back twoards the water, and Mike wanted to check out his old house so we headed to the beach. The sand on the beach was surprisingly much deeper than the sand we'd been in til that point and I thought that stuff was pretty deep. the sand was full of shell too. Me, Yossarian, Mike and SepticSkeptic got way out in front. We waited a while and eventually Mike decided to turn around and go back for the others. As soon as he turned 'round the others came around the corner. Mike looked back asking if we should proceed or turn back. I thought WTF and gave him a thumbs up. After he went I realized the tide was high and he timed it pretty perfectly to follow the swell of water and not get wet. Yossarian opted for the go around but got a little stuck going up hill Me and SepticSkeptic were the only ones who followed Mike into the Sea of Cortez. My wave timing was, um, not good. I got quite wet and darned near wiped out on a big rock at the end. Eventually though the three of us made it to the other side and I was looking forward to a little more beach riding. But only a few of the others found us again on the beach, and it turned out some of the guys we done with the deep sand so we hit the road for Gonzaga. Even though I knew they were there and what to expect I had some exciting moments on the Vados (dips) in the road to Puertocitos. I caught some pretty good air a couple of times. Gas at Puertocitos was open and we gassed up. We were sposed to meet the chase truck there, but couldn't find him so we drove around a bit looking for him. THe Pemex guy said he saw the truck/trailer go through 15 or 20 min before us. So we hit the road and went toward Gonzaga
Trip 2 the Tip Hola compadres, Just wanted to say what a blast I had meeting you guys and going through your bags; I initially scoffed at all of your 'protections' but who knew how much you needed them (I think 'Alexia' was her name). The week went by so fast; guess that's how it goes when having feliz. Mike's gunna pick me up tomorrow at 6:30am and then we're off non-stop to the USA with a mess o' bikes and memories. Fantastic food, even better company- can't wait until next time. -Zack (Pemex 6287).
Zack seemed like a nice guy, friendly enough... Next thing I knew he was shaving my leg and things got a little dodgy after that. Zack definitely ruff-eed this poor guy. Also, here's some muy importante insider Baja Info you may need to know some day... how to wipe your butt with only one sheet of tp. Vid from norcalslowpoke http://ontheboat.net/gallery2/v/motorcycling/rides/baja-trip_to_the_tip/CIMG2196.AVI
Hey Mr. Zack! You were a star, and chase truck driver extraordinaire. I admire your people skills; tactfully dealing with exhausted and cranky riders is no easy task. A huge thanks to you for doing everything well and with a great attitude. Looking forward to seeing you in Marin.
Thanks to everyone for a great trip. Especially to Mike for going above and beyond in going through with the trip and leading us through Baja and showing us a part of Mexico he knows well. He really gave his time, knowledge, and patience. Great rider and good man. Zack, for coming through in a pinch and driving the chase truck plus giving every Pemex attendant something to talk about for the next few months. Hope all have safe travels home and we get the opportunity to cross paths again. I will follow up with additional comments and some videos/photos. I need to come up with a way to keep a bike on the West Coast.
Well I loaded up my bike last night No more fun for me toolin round San Jose Del Cabo. You guys have a safe drive home, and take Pictures!!!
