Day 5 in Baja, our last day in Mexico. We woke up to go to breakfast at the restaurant attached to the hotel, but we found out that they stopped doing breakfast a month ago. *sad face* So we decided to saddle up on the bikes and head just a bit out of town to a breakfast restaurant that John W recommended. Abe had scouted out a better way out of the hotel that didn't have as much deep sand, so we followed him out of the parking lot. He was right, it was much better! I was trucking along on some hard packed dirt and then the next thing I know I was on the ground with the bike on top of me, pinning my left foot under the bag. I hit the kill switch and tried to remove my foot, but it didn't budge. I gathered my thoughts and realized and I could probably push the bag up with my other leg to get enough room to pull my foot out. Thank goodness this is a relatively light bike (minus the 2 weeks worth of stuff I had packed on the back end), as I was able to lift it to get my foot out. I stood up and tried to lift the bike, but I was in a good 3 inches of sand. My good friend Eric walked over to me and helped me pick the bike up and get it stable. Come to find out I hit the one 15 foot patch of deep sand that was on this better route and it got the best of me again!! Oh well, chalk it up to more experience (and to the fact that I won't be riding in sand anytime soon on street tires) LOL
I think I got the 2nd crash on my GoPro, so I will post the video as soon as I can get it uploaded.
I got back to the road to meet up with the rest of the group and we rode about 2 miles down the highway to the restaurant. When we got there, I realized how sore I was from this last fall. I saw the first fall coming so I had time to react, but this one caught me off guard and I felt it. I wasn't injured badly, just had deep bruising on the top of my left foot, which made shifting pretty awkward, but I was going to push through it and get back into the US.
After lunch we split into 2 groups. One group was going up to Mike's Sky Ranch, which was mostly dirt roads, and the other group was heading for the border. I was in the group that was heading back towards the border. Let me tell you, I will be happy if I never have to drive through Ensenada again. They are doing construction downtown, so they have their 6 lanes of traffic condensed down into 1 lane each way and there were stop signs every quarter of a mile. This made traffic horrific and very awkward to navigate with a group of 10 motorcycles. We tried lane splitting, but inevitably continued to get split up or have to wait in traffic. It was definitely not the highlight of our trip. lol
Once we finally made it through Ensenada we turned off to head towards Tecate and the vineyard that we were going to eat lunch at, Cafe Naranjas. The wine country was absolutely stunning and the roads were amazing! I had to catch myself multiple times just staring at the vineyards and wondering how this little piece of Mexico was hiding just miles away from where the majority of tourists visit. Our lunch was phenomenal. The portions were humongous and the food was incredibly seasoned and flavorful! If you're in Baja, be sure to check out this hidden gem and this region... you'll be glad you did!
After lunch we headed for the border, with a quick stop at an overlook for some pictures.
I got back to the road to meet up with the rest of the group and we rode about 2 miles down the highway to the restaurant. When we got there, I realized how sore I was from this last fall. I saw the first fall coming so I had time to react, but this one caught me off guard and I felt it. I wasn't injured badly, just had deep bruising on the top of my left foot, which made shifting pretty awkward, but I was going to push through it and get back into the US.
After lunch we split into 2 groups. One group was going up to Mike's Sky Ranch, which was mostly dirt roads, and the other group was heading for the border. I was in the group that was heading back towards the border. Let me tell you, I will be happy if I never have to drive through Ensenada again. They are doing construction downtown, so they have their 6 lanes of traffic condensed down into 1 lane each way and there were stop signs every quarter of a mile. This made traffic horrific and very awkward to navigate with a group of 10 motorcycles. We tried lane splitting, but inevitably continued to get split up or have to wait in traffic. It was definitely not the highlight of our trip. lol
Once we finally made it through Ensenada we turned off to head towards Tecate and the vineyard that we were going to eat lunch at, Cafe Naranjas. The wine country was absolutely stunning and the roads were amazing! I had to catch myself multiple times just staring at the vineyards and wondering how this little piece of Mexico was hiding just miles away from where the majority of tourists visit. Our lunch was phenomenal. The portions were humongous and the food was incredibly seasoned and flavorful! If you're in Baja, be sure to check out this hidden gem and this region... you'll be glad you did!
After lunch we headed for the border, with a quick stop at an overlook for some pictures.
Our group successfully crossed the border with only one guy getting his bike searched (John must have been a suspicious looking guy- lol). We pulled over after passing through the border and waited for our group to all make it through and to take a break before the final stretch home. This is where I said my goodbyes to my amazing new friends, as I'd be splitting off in just a mile to head east to continue on with my journey. I couldn't help but shed a tear as I hugged them all and said goodbye, as I knew that might be the last time I would see some of my new friends in person. These guys have a special place in my heart and I am so thankful that I got to meet and spend time with each and every one of them. Once the goodbyes were all said, we all saddled up and rode our first mile back in the US together and then I split off to go East on Highway 94 while the rest of them went West. The first thing I needed to do while on my own was to find a gas station, as they are few and far between. Luckily there was a gas station just a few miles down the road, once I made it through some amazing twisty passages. Boy did I have a big grin on my face while riding down through the mountains, though!
After fueling up, I continued on towards El Centro, CA to my hotel for the evening. Once I made it down out of the mountains, I started experiencing the wind. Holy moly were they not kidding with all of the wind advisory signs! I got the snot knocked out of me and the poor bike was struggling to maintain a steady 67 mph pace, even though the speed limit was 70 mph. I had semis and cars buzzing past me, and to be honest, it scared the crap out of me! I battled the wind for the entire last 45 minutes of my ride and I rolled into the hotel parking lot right as the sun set behind the mountains. I checked in to my room, unloaded my bike, bought some food from the hotel store (frozen lasagna, snickers ice cream bar, and a gatorade), and then I passed out after eating.
As I reflect back on my Baja trip, I remember the amazing riding, the wonderful friends, and the memories that I made with my new RX3. I definitely have a love affair with this bike, as it was a rock throughout everything I put it through. It is 100% my new favorite bike in my garage (sorry to my other 2 yamahas), but I am just absolutely in love with it! I cannot wait for the many adventures to come on my amazing new RX3!!
Great to hear you an bike made it back ,pretty much unscathed. Loooking forward to reading more of your ride reports..i have an orange rx3 also ..i frequent the chinariders forum..an really learn alot there, on there im fishman10 Im in PA ,,i dont think anyone else in the state has one ,, so im on my own Ron Fisher
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