Month: May 2012

So our start in mainland Mexico was a bit confused/herky-jerky….slow.  We got up soon enough, but our room didn’t have a wi-fi connection so Pedro

and I went to the office where the connection was good.  I went there with the intention of downloading a bike repair app on my iPhone, because once again my bike was giving me derailleur issues.  Well that turned into checking email, etc.  So about an hour or so passed by before I made it back to the room.

I fiddled with the bike a bit, but truly wasn’t sure if I was only making the problem worse.  Regardless, we got ourselves pretty much squared away, before deciding to get some breakfast.

Dom randomly picked a spot and it turned out to be a pretty good choice.  Breakfast was “Birria”.  A rather soupy affair of carne asada and broth served with fresh tortillas and sides of cilantro, onion, salsa, and a very thin guacamole spread which elevated the dish to damned delicious for breakfast!

Our hosts were three nice ladies who in between bringing us food were very busy giggling and carrying on.  Partly it was Pedro’s hair style/color and partly because one of them was wondering if I was “Papa” to these two.  She was mortified when her co-worker asked us.  I’ve never seen a grown woman so glad to get up from the table and run to a grill in order to hide her face from blushing and smiling.

The next stop was at the local “oficina de correos” or, post office.  I still was lugging around the backpack containing all the items I had taken out of my bags in order to lighten the load and was looking forward to getting it sent back to the states…unfortunately the office was closed.  Because we had gotten behind schedule it was decided to push on to Los Mochis and hope that we could mail from a much larger branch.  Thankfully it was only 24k away and was a flat ride the whole time.

We got there around 2pm and finally located the place.  It wasn’t long before Dom and I stood at the counter while the postmaster went though all the items in the bag.  Of course the first item he removed was my brand new machete.  He let me know that it would not be making the trip.  There were several raised eyebrows at the sight of it being pulled out of the backpack.  We assured them it was merely a camping tool and not to be used for what was going on in their minds!

Thankfully the rest went off without a hitch.  He found a suitable box and got it nicely packed.  A few hundred pesos later and I was given a confirmation number to let me check on its progress home…which should only take about 15 days to get to Vegas…fine by me.

The order of business was to find a bicycle shop.  We found a few, but none had a competent mechanic and we were pointed in the direction of Kiko’s Bici shop.  Dom commented that he had read a blog about the shop and it had a good reputation.  He knew of the shop because there were posters/photos around of the owner’s daughter who is a competitive rider competing for the Mexican international team.

It wasn’t long before Francisco “Kiko” declared my bike to be adjusted properly…time will tell.  Pedro had him check a couple of issues on his bike as well.  They also gave us directions to a good seafood place a few blocks away…and they were right.  The food was delicious with the standout being a plate of overly large looking scallops, but they weren’t scallops…more like abalone.  It was served raw, with lime, onions and garlic and was delicious!

Since we were close to the freeway taking us southbound to Culiacan we decided to find a place to stay nearby instead of heading back to downtown.  We found a place a short ride down the freeway and prior to getting there spoke to a really nice family who was closing up their business for the day.  The offered to let us use the grounds after they left for the night if we didn’t like the hotel.  They were incredibly friendly and we appreciated their offer.  However, a/c, a shower and a OXXO” (think 7-11) nearby was all it took to convince us we made the right choice with the hotel….oh, the OXXO sells cold Tecate beer!

We made up for yesterday’s late start by getting up and on the road by 7:30.  Thankfully for me the riding was again flat, giving me the chance to get prepared for the things to come.  We had a 54k ride towards Guasave.  This is all farmland, a nice change from arid Baja.

My butt was getting tired….just couldn’t seem to find a good spot for it on the saddle, so I was awfully glad to see the sign telling me we weren’t too far away from town.

As we arrived we were met with a couple of kilometers of busses.  Apparently one of the Presidential candidates were speaking and people were brought from all over to attend.

We had just gotten into town when a kid…along with his kid brother, joined us on their moped.  They turned out to be quite the tour guides for us…they found us a cheap hotel, Banamex (Citibank’s sister bank in Mexico), and our place for lunch.

Our guide joined us for lunch and a good thing too.  I ordered the special, was I surprised when she came with a plate loaded with three double tacos.  I could only eat one, Dom one, and Braulio ate the last one…he swore he’d just eaten, but he managed pretty well.

Braulio guided us back to the hotel and gave Dom his cell number.  He said if there was anything else we needed later to just give him a call….what a hustler, but in a good way.

All three of us crashed as soon as we got in the room.  Who knows what this evening holds in store for us?

So after enjoying La Paz for a few days we decided it was time to push on and take the ferry over to Topolobampo in Sinaloa, Mexico.  Sinaloa will be the first state we’ll visit in Mexico.

We bought our tickets on Weds afternoon at the Baja Ferry office not too far from downtown La Paz.  As always, whenever we ride our bikes, we get lots of stares from everyone…I suppose Pedro’s newly minted green hair is part of the reason though.

It was a lot of fun at the ticket counter.  Being the ever effusive kind of guy I am, I started things off with my greeting and asking her how she was (really the spanish I’m most comfortable with…besides, she was cute!).  I bought my ticket and then it was Dom’s turn…unfortunately for him his credit card wouldn’t go through…damn the luck!  Pedro waited….somewhat patiently and gave exact change to the girl which made her smile and Dom blush.  You probably had to be there to really appreciate the moment.

We spent our last night in La Paz eating dinner with Peter, a local tattoo artist, which Pedro/Peter ran into a day before.  We went to a place called “Bandito’s” and I enjoyed one of the best burgers I’ve never been able to finish…typical.

The next day we said our goodbye’s to the staff at Hotel Yeneka.

Pedro had taken off earlier as he was going to stop at a local spa on the way to the ferry terminal and have someone work on his knee…it’s been bugging him and he’s hoping this might help.  So Dom and I pushed off for the 25k ride to the terminal.

The road to the terminal is hilly, which gave wonderful views of the many little bays and the town behind.

The downside of the hills was the fact that my derailleurs were giving me fits again…I had some choice words as I climbed!  Ah well…

When I got to the terminal I spotted Dom just outside the gates.  I could tell something was wrong and once I got inside to join him I learned that he’d been getting the Mexican shuffle….one person sent him one place while another sent him a different way….he did this four times and wasn’t too pleased….along with the fact that once again he’d forgotten something at the hotel.  So I sat tight with our bikes as he grabbed a cab and shot back into town.  It wasn’t too long before he showed back up….with his toiletries bag.

We hadn’t seen Pedro and everyone was getting into line waiting to be let on the ferry.  Just as they opened the gates here comes Pedro…who can’t be missed with his green mohawk!  More than a few stared open-mouthed as he rode up to join us.  He had been delayed as he went to one entry point and had all his bags searched (go figure).

When we got to the entry point Dom was up front and he had to push a button which randomly picks you for further screening or allows you pass through without issue…he got the green light and the Officer at the entrance allowed all three of us to pass through.

This thing swallows a lot of big rigs.  Most of the passengers are the drivers/passengers.  I’m sure this might change on the weekends or holidays, but I was surprised at the lack of pedestrian traffic.

We left promptly at 2:30.  I watched a movie (in Spanish), worked on my Spanish (thanks Dom) and took a fine nap in the Salon (not the hair kind bonehead…the Salon has nice cushy seats that recline).

We pulled into Topolobampo around 9:30 and got off the ferry around 10 or so.  We had been told about a motel in town and since none of us were keen about riding 24k at night we made our way directly there (after Pedro crashed into a concrete barrier….ala PeeWee Herman…I meant to do that!).

We got checked in, unpacked and walked a few blocks into town for some decent tacos and lots of stares.  Wasn’t too long before we were back and sacked out.

Wow, I didn’t realize this much time had gone by since I last wrote.

The three of us took off from Loreto and got to Puerto Escondido…about 25k away.  There was a scenic overlook of the Sea of Cortez and a vendor there was selling green coconuts.

For those of you who haven’t tried one they are unlike any coconut type product you’ve had before.  Since they are green they are still husked so the vendor uses a machete to cut down to the shell and make just a big enough hole to stick a straw into so you can suck out the water.  Once it is gone it’s time to split the coconut in half and using a bent knife he slices away the coconut meat from one half into the other.  It is then presented and a liberal sprinkling of hot sauce and lime juice complete it.  The texture is like eating raw calamari.  Very soft and kinda slimy, but very tasty.

Just as we were finishing up an old VW van pulled in and I got talking with the driver, Scott Thibodeau.  Scott is from Manitoba Canada and is in the Baja doing a videography of the area.  You can see some of his latest on http://www.wanderglobe.com.  Since I had no desire to do the massive climb ahead and he was headed the same direction I accepted his offer to take me to the top…or Ciudad Insurgentes.  Well, as it turned out, I rode with him all the way to Ciudad Constitucion (Insurgentes didn’t have much to offer).

So yet again I got a bit of a jump on the boys (and yes, this will be a somewhat recurring theme!).  I got a hotel (surprisingly difficult in this town as it is full of crews coming in to harvest and work the fields).  I biked around quite a bit of this dusty spot on the road.  There is darned little gringo money apparent here and the blue-collar background shows a nice slice of everyday Baja Mexican life.

I know it’s hard to believe, but I found the best street taco stand in town.  Four tacos…loaded, with a tray of condiments for 80 pesos.  Life is good!

Considering the hill the boys had to climb I was surprised to hear from them early the next morning letting me know they’d be in town by that afternoon.  Knowing they’d be beat I got cold beers located.

A short while later they arrived.  Pedro’s knees were shot and he confirmed that my hitching a ride was probably a good idea.  They crashed (slept) and I caught up on my reading of “Crime & Punishment”…I’m wondering if all Russian novels are this difficult to get through?

When they finally roused themselves we all went out and…you guessed it, back to the best taco stand in town.  It was good time, especially considering I got to sit next to two cuties from La Paz!  Pedro posted a pic on FB.

We pushed off early the next morning and I saw this restaurant as we left…I have to admit I would have loved trying it.

We covered 100k today, my personal best to date.  It wasn’t too bad, but mainly because the road was nice and flat for most of the ride.

We stopped at a little wide spot in the road and filled our water bottles and took a much-needed rest.  The family working the place was pretty nice and we enjoyed vegetable tamales and bean soup….damn good for the soul!  They had a toddler who didn’t know what to make of the three of us.

We pushed on to El Cien which is pretty much the halfway mark for bicycle riders.  We found one of only two places to eat.  This one had a ton of good feel to it.  The owners Manuel and Susana are relocated from La Paz.  They had lots of photos and it seems that Manuel was a hell of a fighter in his time.  He was doing MMA long before the UFC existed…who knew?

We spent the night inside a “casitas”…basically a little stone cabin.  The funny part was being woken up by at least three crowing roosters.  Pedro (Peter) swears at least one of them was sitting on his while doing so.

I got on the road first.  It was pretty chilly out as there was an overcast sky.  The fog from the ocean comes this far inland.

Today wasn’t going to be the flat riding of yesterday, nope, today was riding up and down arroyos over and over again on the way to kilometer marker 75 where the assault on the big hill is supposed to begin.

It wasn’t too long before Dom passed by me.  We rode together for a few before the rolling terrain slowed me down too much.  Here’s a couple of photos which show the difference between the Nevada desert and Baja.

Dom and I figured that Pedro would have caught up with me by the time I hit the 75 K marker, but such was not the case.  It was around 10-11am by the time we got to the restaurant here.  We ordered up some chow (I ended up with the best plate of Huevos Rancheros yet).  Just as soon as we finished and were getting ready to leave Pedro showed up.  He enjoyed sleeping in more than us.

We took off leaving him in anticipation of his lobster tacos.

I was psyched for the upcoming climb…but it really never materialized.  There were a few long gradual pulls but nothing like the climb from sea level leaving Loreto to the plateau above.  I can’t say I was too disappointed.  However, the rolling hills also became much more stretched out and the wonderfully cool overcast riding weather had been replaced by hot…damned hot.

By the time Pedro overtook me I told him I intended to hitch a ride when the opportunity presented itself.  Opportunity knocked around the 45-50k marker when a van pulled over.  The driver had already picked up two younger guys hitching to La Paz but he still had room for me and the bike in the cargo area.  So without delay we loaded the bike and myself into the rear and shut the doors.  The only down side to this was that I couldn’t see a thing…only feel the sharp turns.

About 20 minutes later we were in the outskirts of La Paz.  We unloaded and I gave the guy 40 pesos…maybe it’ll help convince him to pick up the next biker in need.  The 20 minute ride would have easily taken me three hours to complete…I had no regrets.

Earlier I scoured TripAdvisor.com and found a hotel I wanted to try in downtown La Paz.  Hotel Yeneka is a sight!  It’s a funky, artsy place where the owners have mashed together a lot of junk to make it, well….funky and artsy!

Lastly there is “Bush”, an adorable little cat who likes to keep me company as I write.

While waiting for the boys to arrive I met two other travelers who had just arrived, Neil and his brother Chris, from…Las Vegas.  Go figure.  Really nice guys who are backpacking through Baja.  Not long after the boys arrived so it was off to dinner and cold beer.

So we get out of Mulege pretty early, having learned our lessons.  We rode up and down till we finally see the beautiful Sea of Cortez and a small community at Coyote Bay below us.  We decide to stop and get water (a typical thing at any roadside spot) and end up talking with an Americano.  He got us plenty of water and sent us in the direction of Lucy, who runs a hostal.  We’d decided to call it quits for the day as it was so damn hot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We sat around for about an hour and about then a group of three enduro riders pulled up.  All three are Australians (two had been working in BC and the third joined them there).  They were on their way to Chile and anyplace in between which caught their eye.  A darn good group of adventurers.  They knew they were crazy for motorcycling the way down and were pretty sure we were even more daft than they were.  They were kind enough to tell us they would place a gallon of water 20k down the road for us.

They took off after a couple hours and we decided that we’d leave after we ate some dinner (hey who knows when we might find another place?).  Dom is pretty good at putting down the chow, so I ordered up some fish, chile rellenos and a pork torta (mexican sandwich).  It wasn’t the best but was certainly filling!  Oh how I regretted that!  As we pedaled up the hills I realized that eating a big meal (even if it might be your last) isn’t conducive to hard pedalling!  Ah well.

As we came down a hill my bike started to handle kind of odd and it wasn’t long before I realized I had a rear flat tire….WTF…I’m riding Schwalbe’s damnit!  We pulled off and Dom is pretty certain that it’s the way Raphael installed the tire liner as the cause.  Regardless we put in a new tube, patched the old tube and were off…but not before something stung/bit my rather large right butt cheek as I was bent over with the tire issue.  Damn!

Anyway as it was getting dark Dom and I realized we needed to push it to get to our night time stop area.  I’ve got a great headlight and Dom a great taillight…unfortunately the way we bike wasn’t conducive to utilizing either at their best…ah well!

We got to our destination and at first thought it was a deserted hotel….well it was …kind of?  As we began walking by the front of it I was surprised to see a young man sitting on the veranda (turns out he is a worker for the hotel trying to get it back into shape).  However, a short distance away we can see a dim light on and hear the sounds of a TV.  There is the problem of getting there.  It’s so damn dark out we didn’t see a driveway to the other place, but we did spot a rather broken down foot bridge crossing to it.  I shined my light on Dom and he went across.

I was going across when I heard someone shout to turn the light off.  A short time later we met with Mark, the owner of Playa Buenaventura, a combination of homes and restaurant.  It’s a wonderful oasis and just what the doctor ordered.  They enjoyed kidding me the following morning for ordering four beers, handing one to Dom and downing the rest!  Hey it was cold…and wet…and I was thirsty!

One of the crew there was Peter.  It turns out that Peter is a cycle tourist as well.  He was going to leave the following morning and we decided to cycle together.  A few beers later we crashed on the patio.

Next morning Dom and I were up early.  Peter heard us and eventually rolled out of his tent.  He told us he was going to have coffee and breakfast and would catch up with us a we rode.  So without further adieu off we went.

As usual Dom was out of sight in no time leaving me to myself…but it wasn’t long before I had company…not Peter, but a skip…in my chain!  Somehow, for some reason my chain was skipping as I pedaled along.  This may not seem like much but it’s a real issue when you’re climbing and a semi is going past and it skips.  It tends to unbalance you a bit.

Peter caught up with me and I told him the problem.  It took a while but finally I caught up to them at a little roadside spot.  We found there was a kink in the chain, but none of us really knew what to do about it.  I hate to say it, but I was pretty friggin’ demoralized.  As we pondered the issue, Mark from Playa Buenaventura pulled up in his truck.  He comes to this spot with his water trailer to fill it up and take back.  I decided to hitch back to his place in hopes of catching a ride into Loreto where I’d meet the guys.

I ended up staying a full day with them.  They are awfully good people and I appreciated the assistance they gave me.  Mark’s wife Olivia made some outstanding soup that went a long way to my mental and physical recovery.  Mark and his son Nathan talked me into going swimming in that beautiful blue water and it too helped my spirit.

They told me that a friend would be swinging by later to join us for spaghetti dinner.  Well it turns out that Steve, a Reno guy, is a bicyclist as well and he agreed to giving me a ride the following morning into Loreto.  Life is good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve and I had a good ride into Loreto.  He’s a kindred spirit and I look forward to having the opportunity to return the favor to him in the future.  He’s 61 (doesn’t seem it) and is currently training to do a race in Maui up the volcano on his bike in August.  I’ll look forward to hearing about it.

I had read about a bike shop in Loreto and that’s where we went…Manny’s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t long before Dom and Peter joined us and not long before Manny had my bike up and running…as well as Peter’s.  Manny is a remarkable craftsman and anyone in the area would be well to stop by his shop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the bike shop we had lunch with Steve before he headed off to home.  He’s got to finish packing as he will be in Reno for the next few months waiting for things to cool off down here.  I had some running around to do in Loreto and they guys were good enough to make sure I didn’t get too lost along the way.

They stayed with an Americano living here in Loreto while I chose the San Martin Hotel (on Benito Juarez Blvd.)…I enjoy A/C!

We’re going to meet tonight for a few beers and we’ll be leaving early in the morning for Ciudad Insurgentes (it will take at least two days so won’t have internet).  Stay tuned!

So we started from Santa Rosalia after a good night’s sleep and of course the first thing we did….climb out of town.  Oh by the way, have I mentioned that the roads in Baja have been pretty decent?  It’s true, however the same cannot be said of the roads in most of the towns.  It seems the federal government has been working on the quality of the roads in Baja and it shows, unfortunately the local municipalities must not have the money and the road work shows it.  Cobblestones don’t have anything on the roads in these towns.

Anyway, getting a late start overrides any benefit of a good night’s sleep.  We were about 2/3rds of the way to Mulege when a little oasis popped up on the radar screen.  I sucked down a gallon of water and tried to rehydrate as Dom and I shared a few moments with our two new friends.

 

Somehow I managed to convince myself to swing a leg over and continue on.  It wasn’t too far down the road that Dom told me he was getting a headache from the sun.  He told me he was going to continue on at a bit higher pace and was going to meet me in town.

The two guys we had just left said that there were a few hills followed by a decent into Mulege…they lied….the bastards!  It’s funny how people who aren’t bicyclists have a different view from me about roads…that goes for Dom as well.  They forget that I’ve yet to get my sea-legs…so to speak.

Anyway, many ‘hills’ later (some having been pushed up) I was on the descent into Mulege and none too soon.  By the time I got there I was spent.  I was so finished.

I pulled up and started sucking down water and pouring it over my head in an attempt to cool off.  All of a sudden “Bam”.  My rear tire had blown up!  Apparently the heat must have expanded to a degree that the tube/tire couldn’t stand.  This would be my Schwalbe “Marathon Racer”.

So we got a relatively early start today.  We hit the road at 8am.  I was feeling quite sluggish and can only contribute it to being out of shape, slept like shit (dogs barking, mosquitoes buzzing and head filled with a bit of dread) and didn’t really eat anything for breakfast.

Regardless we got out of town, and wouldn’t you know it…hills…friggin’ hills right off the bat (thank God no tequila).  As a side note, yesterday my front derailleur wouldn’t shift into first gear, so my hill climbing was done in second gear, so with Dom’s help I made some adjustments and got it to shift somewhat properly.

Apparently my mechanic skills need a bit more honing as I still couldn’t get the damn thing to shift until I got to the crest of the hill…..thanks a whole fukkin’ lot!

Anyway….the good news is I didn’t have to get off and push the damn bike today…although there were a couple moments when I thought the vein on my forehead was going to burst!

This bit of climb was complicated by the fact that the road we were on was under construction.  This means the already hilly climb had damn little traction under my tires.  Ah well, quit whining!  I made it to the top and told Dom I needed to stop for a moment.

Thankfully there was a little place at the top which sold quesadillas.  As we pulled in so did a pickup truck with Calf. plates.  I wobbled inside and the driver asked me where I was from?  I told him and he mentioned he was from L.A. on his way to Cabo with his wife.  That was all there was to it till Dom nodded towards him and mentioned that perhaps this was a good day to hitch a ride to our destination.  Didn’t take too long for me to make up my mind!

We threw the bike, along with all of Dom’s gear in the bed of the truck and off we went.  Holy Shit Batman, this guy drives fast!  I decided to put my fate in God’s hands (funny for me to do), shut my eyes and let the world speed ahead at breakneck speed.

Not long after we pulled into Santa Rosalia.  As we rounded the last corner the air cooled and the Sea of Cortez pulled into view.  My host/driver pulled off to the side and obviously was ready to be rid of me (don’t get me wrong, this was a hellofa nice thing for him to have done and I appreciated it very much).

So here I am sitting on the side of the road with my bike, my gear, and all of Dom’s gear….WTF do I do now….well, I quit whining and load it all onto my bike.  Bungee cords are a wonderful thing!  I got everything loaded up and pushed the bike into town.  A short walk around the center of town confirmed my hotel and shortly thereafter I was enjoying a brief nap in air conditioned luxury!

I sent Dom an email (we both get via Kindle Keyboard) telling him where I was and it wasn’t too long after he showed up.  You should have seen his face when I told him I had everything loaded on my bike!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So here we are, lunch devoured and cervezes  downed…working on our respective blogs.

WTF??  What happened to the “He-Man, Master of the Universe”?  I’ll tell you what happened, he got fat, old and outta shape!

And this is scary for a number of reasons; the climbs we had today weren’t really considered climbs by anyone in the biking community outside of me.  I actually had to get off the bike and push them up the last two hills.  The last one was especially eventful as there were several vehicles waiting for me to get over the crest so they could too.  The roads are narrow as hell, so they can’t swing wide without potentially doing a header into someone coming the other way.  I was too wiped out to get my leg over the saddle and head down the other side.  So, we endured several irritated drivers sharing their feeling with the crazy “once upon a time “He-Man, Master of the Universe”.  They were not amused.  And quite frankly I don’t blame ’em.  This is a land of survival, and so far I got a bit of catching up to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thankfully the rest of the way into San Ignacio was a downhill ride.  Regardless, by the time I got to the swanky (Dominic’s words) Desert Inn Hotel, I was done…baked…stick a flippin’ fork in me…done!  I sat on the steps of the majestic hotel (too expensive 700 pesos [including a continental breakfast]…$51 bucks) in the shade cooling off while Dominic rode into town proper and scouted it out.  It wasn’t too long after I heard the bicycle bell (love/hate relationship) indicating he was back.  Apparently a half mile further was suitable ‘cheap’ accommodations.

We got a room at the “Hotel Posada”, unpacked and crashed!  I briefly spoke to an nice American Lady, who I informed that I needed to lay down prior to falling face first on her flowers.

Not long after I roused myself and saw Dom was out.  I got all my dirty clothes together and rode to the local ‘lavanderia’ in order to get the squared away.  Another side trip to the local ‘mercado’ scored me with a 12 pack of cold cervezas.

Dom was still out when I got back so I sat outside in the shade and made short work of two cans of Pacifico.  They performed the miracles of transforming the day into a workable fashion of ‘rosy’.  Shortly thereafter I saw the nice American lady “Sava” (not her real name, but that’s another story).  We sat around drinking cold beer until Dom joined us a short time later.

We agreed to a slight trade, Sava would drive us around the community and we would buy here dinner.  I think she got the better part of the deal, but it was enjoyable all the same.

We went to “Rice and Beans” for dinner (soup and fried fish) and into the local square after.  Sava took us to a friend’s house…Juanita, a nice lady who’s done a great deal to make her slice of Baja particularly wonderful.  Afterwards it was to the center of town.  Dominic decided to walk back while Sava and I went to the ‘mercado’ (market) and I got some snacks for the next days ride along with a gallon of water and some ice.

I surprised myself by drinking over half a gallon of water…pee’d twice…hmmm perhaps a bit dehydrated??

I enjoyed the company of Sava’s cat, who apparently appreciates the company of men to women.  The door to our room was open and she jumped up on the bed, on my chest and made herself at home.

It wasn’t long after that the cat left, the mosquitoes came, and we shut the door.

So this morning Will called and gave us his girlfriend’s Mom’s name and info in Guasave (just north of Culliacan). We went to the post office, but through much gesturing and using both Dom’s and my spanish, we learned that we couldn’t simply send the package(s) along their merry way. It seems that Baja is considered a “frontier” territory and as such any mail going to another state (in Mexico) or to another country has to be approved by a customs official. There are several reasons for this, but I won’t go into at the moment. However, all is not lost dear reader! I was anxious to lose the extra 20 pounds of weight. They did tell us we could forward the backpack and contents along to La Paz and they would hold it for me in general delivery. I could talk to an official in La Paz in order to mail the stuff back to the states and make another decision based on what we’ll find out.

So now that that bit of housekeeping is done it’s time to be on our way.

The morning started off pretty chilly and I wondered if I would warm up?  Duhhh!  Once the sun came out, yeah I warmed up…plenty!

Lots of desolate riding…think of riding from Vegas to Tonopah…or Alamo.  Either way you get the idea.

It was flat riding all the way to Vizcaino…a couple of bumps on the road, but nothing a “he-man master of the universe” can’t handle (oh, how I’ll eat those words later).

We got into Vizcaino around 6pm and yeah, it got warm just fine.  Thanks Mom for your voice ringing in my ears to put on sunscreen.

We got a hotel just off the main drive, got cleaned up and hit a nearby taco stand for dinner (a couple of Baja state police were enjoying their dinner too and I took care of their check too…can’t hurt to make the local cops happy).

Needless to say, I slept well.  Knees weren’t hurting too badly either.

Well, here’s the story of the first day’s ride from Guerrero Negro to Vizcaino…it didn’t happen. We started off down the road and I swear to God I was riding a wet noodle. Where did my strong steel steed go?? Apparently even the strongest of steel has a bending/breaking point and I could tell mine was rapidly approaching the point of no return.

We had pedaled perhaps a kilometer out of town before I hailed Dom. I told him what was happening and we agreed it would be foolish to continue.

We checked into a little motel on the outskirts of town and began to methodically go through all my gear. By the time we finished there were two piles. One was stuff I’d decided to send back to Vegas and the other was my cold weather gear. I figured I could forward this along to Culiacan.

I couldn’t send anything at the moment since I didn’t have anyone’s address in Culiacan. I called Will and he didn’t have any of their info either but said he would get someone’s by the next morning.

Dom and I retired to our hotel where they happened to serve dinner. A bowl of soup and a fillet of fried fish put an end to an otherwise somewhat dismal start.

So yesterday morning I got the last of the things off to donations right before Terry Leavitt (that great American) picked me up to take me to the border.  It was a fairly uneventful drive down to San Diego (but not before meeting two beautiful eyed workers @ Chocolate & Spice…had to have a bite to eat of course).

Terry dropped me off with Rosa’s son Will.  Will lives in S.D. and knows TJ like the back of his hand.  So we off loaded the bike and gear from Terry’s SUV into Will’s Civic hatchback…a tight fit.

We did a quick money conversion (no more dollars for me) and breezed through the border….as a matter of fact we breezed through without stopping at immigration and getting my visa…ah well, it’ll give me something to do in La Paz. Whoops!

Got to TelCel and got my iPhone up and running.  Last stop…the bus to Guerrero Negro where Dominic awaits.  We got to the station at 5:40p and the bus leaves at 6p.

Will goes to the ticket counter and tells me they don’t want to take a bike, however they are willing to look it over…a well placed 100pesos later and the bike and gear are okay’d to go.  The bus ride was a long 12 hours…made longer by the way the seat tilted forward constantly trying to dump me out on the floor so my foot was used to prop against the seat in front to resist the urge.

Needless to say I didn’t get much of anything close to sleep, however the young kid in the seat next to me did…after he threw up on my leg.  Ah yes the joys of public transportation.  It’s all good.

We pulled into Guerrero Negro right on time and I see Dom sitting with a big grin on his face.

We’ve gone through my gear (Dom wants to know if I actually sold anything or brought it all), gotten all his gear to him and re-packed it.  This will no doubt be done numerous more times trying to get it right.

We’re off to get some food and then ride 40 miles to Vizcaiano.  God’s speed I hope.