Yesterday, and today…

You know, it really is amazing how you can get to know what your bike can do.  My red Classic held an honest 40 mph going uphill into a strong headwind hauling me along in the Baja oven.  I was amazed that an engine this small could do that.  I never thought I’d get to a point where I thought a 150cc bike had real power, but once you get used to its capabilities, using it at 100% is cool.

When we arrived in Cuidad Constitucion, we quickly checked into the Oasis Hotel and made a beeline for the swimming pool.  It felt incredibly good.   After cooling ourselves for a bit, we saddled up to find something to eat.  Our hotel was about a quarter of a mile down a dirt road off the main drag, and as soon as we got to the end, a local motorcycle cop stopped us to take a look at the bikes.   His name is Jose (like me, I guess), and he was intrigued.  He knew the bikes are new and that they are something special.   We had a good chat.   I offered him the keys to mine, and then I asked him to give me the keys to his Suzuki police motorcycle so I could try it out.   We had a good laugh over that one.

Simon and Jose, the Cuidad Constitucion motor officer, on our way to dinner

We saw a very cool taco stand just around the corner and gave it a thumbs up.  The tacos, nopales, and grilled onions were great.  I asked our waitresses if I could grab a photo, Simon translated for me, and they thought we were hilarious.

Betty and Gwendolyn, two lovely ladies in Cuidad Constitucion

Simon and Luis...dos tacos, por favor

This morning we were up well before dawn, and we rolled out at 6:45.   I think it was the first time we all got up, got ready, got on the bikes, and hit the road without having to wait on anybody.   I have to compliment J; all of us were getting annoyed each morning because there was always someone (we all took turns being that someone) who kept the group waiting.   Last night as we were enjoying our tacos, J suggested we all just agree on a departure time and be ready to go at that time.  It was brilliantly simple, and it worked. 

As we rolled out of Cuidad Constitucion this morning in the dark, it was a nice, comfortable, and cool ride.   We continued north on Highway 1, and the temperature climbed.   The scenery was magnificent.  Coming down the grade into Loreto from the south is really special.   The views are incredible; each one seems to be better than the last.   We stopped for photos, but I didn’t grab any.  I left my camera in J’s truck.  I had been wearing it around my neck, but a D200 Nikon with a 24-120 lens is heavy, and after a week of being on the road, I decided to give the camera to J.   As much as I love taking photos of California Scooters and Baja, it was getting so hot my attention was focused on finding shade and cool agua.

John's photo of Simon and me coming out of the mountains on the Sea of Cortez, just south of Loreto

We grabbed breakfast this morning at an open-air roadside restaurant just outside of Loreto.  None of us wanted to go into town, for three reasons…we wanted to minimize how much time we stopped riding, we wanted to make San Ignacio early, and the last time we stopped in Loreto, the local policia clipped us for about a thousand pesos for traffic infracciones.  

John grabbed this photo on the way down...Arlene and her new amigos in Loreto

After a great breakfast, we hit the road again, and that’s when my problems started.  I and the rest of the guys are using SPF 50 sunblock, and I got some of that stuff in my eyes.   Man, that was agony.  We stopped about 50 miles further up the road and I took my contacts out, and I poured a bottle of water into my eye.   I put my glasses on and we resumed, but it felt like I had a weld burn (any of you guys or gals who work around welding know what that’s like).  I was having problems seeing, and I didn’t know if it was the sunblock or the glare, or both.  When we got to Santa Rosalia, John went on ahead and found an air conditioned Chinese restaurant (yep, a Chinese restaurant in Mexico).   We had a long, leisurely dinner, and after about two hours, I was good to go.

Tonight we’re staying in the Desert Inn Hotel in San Ignacio (same place we stayed on the way down).  I’m going to wrap this up because I need to check a few things on the bikes and tighten the chain on one.  I may not have Internet access tomorrow, and if that’s the case, I’ll update the blog again when I’m back in the good old USA!