Tom goes off on a Baja Motorcycle Adventure Solo (a little crazy)
I feel a need to go where I’ve never been, Baja is a good place for that. The time is now before I’m out of time, life has an expiration date.
Last year while riding a big Northern Baja loop I found myself unprepared. The XR400r I rode was not equipped to carry anything so no tent or sleeping bag, not enough warm cloths, it gets cold in north Baja. But the big thing was I didn’t know the fuel options and distances on the routes I made. Fuel concerns caused me to wimp out on multiple sweet trails because ‘I didn’t know!’ wha wha! This year I will not repeat.
What am I missing?
Packing List:
Survival:
- Large water bladder.
- Food bars.
- First-aid kit / suture needles, heavy needles, thread, fishline.
- Big bandages / elastic wrap / light cord.
- Space blanket.
- Flint / water proof matches / fire starter sticks / candle.
- Good multiblade army knife.
- Water purification pills.
- Cipro for food poising.
- Duct tape.
- Tie straps.
- Stiff wire.
- Tarp & cord.
Tools:
- Stock Suzuki tool kit.
- Oil change / filter change tools.
- Tire wrench.
- Chain breaker / spare links.
- Small vice grip, wire cutter, mini pliers.
- Zip ties.
- 16oz motor oil.
- Spare nuts & bolts.
- Electrical wire.
- Tow strap & long rope.
Moto Gear:
- Moto jacket / jersey / pants.
- Moto boots / gloves.
- Goggles tinted & clear.
- Light T-shirt.
- Thermals, turtlenecks & bottom.
- Down jacket / scarf.
- Wool socks.
- Backpack / water / food bars.
Camping:
- Tent & sleeping bag.
- Sleeping pad & small pad.
- Coffee bottles x 2.
- Water bottles x 2.
- Canned food tuna/beans/fruit.
- Instant coffee.
- Fire starter sticks.
- Large tin cup & medium tin cup.
- Camp pants & shirt / swim trunks
- Leather moccasins.
- Dome light & headlight /w spare batteries.
- Reading material / glasses.
Personal:
- Hygiene kit / health pills.
- Face & lip zinc sunscreen.
- Bar soap.
- Camp towel.
Electronics:
- Motorcycle GPS with pre-loaded Baja maps & custom tracks.
- Spot-X satellite text and email device /w emergency SOS.
- Android smart phone /w internet hotspot.
- Small android tablet /w Baja maps & track maps /w fuel waypoints.
- Small travel camera & charger.
- Plugin USB charger hub for wall power & for bike battery.
- USB cable type-C and type-micro & extension cable.
Security:
- Bike cable lock.
- Gear cables and padlocks.
- ID, contact info, paperwork, fakes.
- X, Y, Z.
This seems like a lot of stuff but it is minimal camping gear.
The Bike:
- 1990 DR350S Suzuki
- Scotts steering stabilizer.
- Progressive front springs.
- Luggage rack.
- Air filter skins.
- Bib mousse puncture proof tubes front & rear.
- Dunlop desert tires new chain & sprockets /w 1000 miles of wear.
- This bike finished this year’s NORRA Mexican 1000 in Vintage Lites class 1st place.
While preparing for this ride I used detailed Baja travel and adventure maps I found free on a BajaBound.com newsletter. These maps have fuel options not on my other maps, which is huge for this effort. Real or not I made fuel waypoints all down the peninsula along my GPS track.
Next I alter the tracks to center around fuel and make them work with the bikes fuel range. For certain tracks I will need to double back to the fuel once I run through my range. If that’s what it takes to make this happen, so be it!
The Ride
Day one, San Felipe to Bahía de los Ángeles. I’ve done this route many times so I’m looking for other trails and a new place to spend the night. I seek adventure, we will see…
This ride I’m carrying a tent so I’ll be on the lookout for camping spots starting at Gonzaga Bay. I’m finding lots of great camping areas but it’s early, I like to ride until I can’t. I know of a beach north of Bay of LA where windsurfers camp.
I have all day to get to Bay of LA. There is no shortage of trails I have never ridden.
I first stop in town for camping supplies then head north along the bay. I’m stopping about a mile short of where the windsurfer RVs are parked. Secluded and comfortable, can deal with this!
“The gladdest moment in human life, me thinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton
Day-2: Bahía de los Ángeles to somewhere south in the desert. I’ll be hugging the Sea of Cortez as much as possible. This is a new route for me, what this ride is all about before I’m out of time.
Breakfast and coffee at camp before hitting the road. This is working, it’s a good protocol.
Having good reading material makes it hard to leave this spot.
I need to ride through town again so I load up before hitting the unknown trail. Tacos de Guisado with a view, top notch.
The Baja 1000 race went this way last year, Heidi and I were here! Obviously it’s been graded recently.
Wow what a mixture of great riding, a little bit of everything with lots of deep sand forever and great scenery. I do a side track to checkout Ranch Sanfransqueto. Cool place but it’s still early so I ride on, that’s what I do.
While I was looking at the maps ahead of time I was considering camping here. These buzzards would not budge! I looked over the cliff for a carcass. Not a good feel for camping, and it’s still early.
I pass the grader over an hour ago. Now there are good steep rocky hill climbs and long stretches of deep rutted sand. Fun stuff. I am happy.
I was informed of a place to purchase fuel and to spend the night along this 145 mile stretch, Rancho Piedra Blanca. A ‘Rad’ working ranch as Tim puts it. It looks super inviting and cool but not tonight. I keep riding because that's what I do. Right near dusk I find myself in beautiful desert surroundings. In no time I score a prime desert camp well off the trail. There is a lot of firewood here so I celebrate with a night fire, just for fun.
This was one of the weirdest nights out in the wild ever. First I see a long shooting stars, like the longest ever. Later I see what looks like an alien drone of some sort. This thing moves like a giant firefly and as bright as the brightest planet bouncing around sometimes a quarter mile away then it would scurry to over a mile away, sometimes just above the cactus others it would zoom up hundreds of feet, all the time super bright. Whoa……
Day-3 will be riding through the El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, the center of the Baja Peninsula, the largest wildlife refuge in Mexico. The plan is to find primitive beach camping somewhere past Bahia Tortuga (Turtle Bay) My research suggests RV’ers like to congregate on beaches near or at the tip of this Peninsula. I like to go where others can’t or won’t go, we will see…
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain
The morning temperatures are ideal with no bugs. This is unheard of in Wisconsin.
Coffee and map reading in the tent is good here.
The best freeze dried camp food ever. I’m not sure of how far the nearest food is so I break out the heavy carbs for the start of todays ride. Perfect!
A small village in the wildlife refuge.
This is great.
On a highway streach before hitting the next off road section I stop to fuel the body, a must do (wink) fantastic!
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