Baja Adventure Ride

Day 8 - Guerrero Negro to Mikes Sky Rancho (340 miles)

Baja route map This was a long day with about one-third dirt and two-thirds pavement. The goal for the night was to reach Mike's Sky Ranch nestled high in the mountains about 340 miles away to the north.

On the way, we cut over on one relatively long dirt road that was undergoing construction work at the time. Unlike in the US where the road department blocks off the areas of the road under construction, in Baja it is left open and it is up to the drivers to make their way around the workers, their heavy equipment, and occasional missing sections of roadway :^o . It is times like this that having an off-road motorcycle can come in handy during travels through Baja for even the mundane.

On this dirt section of the ride, our group stopped at the infamous Coco's Corner, known as a stop for the Baja 500 race. One older man (Coco) has lived there for some number of decades. Apparently he lost his legs to diabetes some time ago, but is still able to get around and resupplied with the help of some regulars, while welcoming numerous off-roaders that stop by as a long running tradition. The guy is somewhat cantankerous, and won't let you sign his guest log unless you buy something from him, or if you are female, provide him an article of your underwear to hang from the ceiling.

The plan for lunch was to meet at a small seaside cafe at Gonzaga Bay only about 25 miles away from Coco's Corner. With some of the group still taking pictures, I decided to get going in order to minimize the dust trail, assuming the others would be leaving shortly. But after gassing up, and then joining many of the other riders at the cafe, there was no sign for the rest of the group that I started the ride with that day. By the time we were done with lunch and with the rest of the team continuing north, I waited a bit for the rest of the group (Stu, Bill, and Keith) to finally show up. Apparently Stu got another flat, bringing the total to 6 for this trip (and probably a new record according to Kevin). At this point, riding with Stu was like taking your chances with a roulette wheel (land on black and you are flat). Given they still had not had lunch, I half jokingly used this as a convenient excuse to head out on my own, and meet at Mike's Sky Ranch by nightfall.

The ride out to Mike's was good balance of dirt with some occasional sandy areas. As you climb higher, the temperatures started to drop, being a big change from the tropical like weather experienced just a couple of hours before. Reaching there at dusk, the place was a full house due to a couple of other rather obnoxious off-road groups also there. Perhaps I am being a prude, but failed to appreciate dirt bikers with very open exhausts over-reving their engines and blasting through pool area while others are just trying to hang out and drink a beer. The dinner and breakfast setting are quite unique, with good tasting food served in large quantities cooked from a large outdoor BBQ pit. Rooms are more like cell blocks with cinderblock walls and concrete floors, with 2 or 3 bunks to a room. Given the temperatures reaching into the low 40's, it was a good thing the rooms had heaters. When I expressed concern about the lack of any visible ventilation system for these gas heaters, the staff reassured me, saying that "it is okay, nobody has died yet". Just in case, I decided to leave the door to the room ajar, figuring any critter that gets in that night (check your boots in the morning!) would be preferred than dying of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Images (click to select the larger view at bottom)

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