Saintly but cold riding!

In the Valle de los Cirios

Yesterday was a long day.  We covered over 400 miles, running from Santa Rosalia to San Quintin, passing through more than a few places named for other saints, and finally staying in the Santa Maria Mision Inn.  Wow, it was a long day.  Folks, there’s a whole of riding in Baja, and we covered a good portion of it yesterday.

Yesterday started early in Santa Rosalia, with a quick continental breakfast in the Frances Hotel, and then  a climb up through La Cuesta del Infierno.  Then it was miles and miles and miles of open desert, rolling through a valley dominated by the Las Tres Virgenes volcano, with a stop for lunch at Malarimmo’s in Guerrero Negro.  Then it was more miles along the Pacific coastal plains, and a stop for fuel in Catavina.  Another 50 miles or so took us back into the Valle de los Cirios, where we stopped on a cold and windy mountain top in the late afternoon to grab the lead photo in this blog.   We topped off the tanks in El Rosario, and then it was another 35 miles along the Pacific to the Santa Maria Mision Inn.  It was so cold I almost felt as if I was getting a touch of hypothermia.   A great dinner in the hotel’s restaurant took care of that, but I was so tired I didn’t feel like writing a blog entry last night.   Thankfully, the hotel’s shower had plenty of hot water (not all of them do), and after a steaming shower I crawled into bed and called it a day.

It’s staying cold here in Baja.   When we left San Quintin this morning, we were all feeling it.  We stopped after about 40 minutes for a cup of coffee, hoping the day would get warmer as the sun continued to climb.   The sun moved along like it was supposed to, but the day never warmed.  The ride this morning and yesterday may well have been the coldest and toughest miles I’ve done in Baja on any of our CSC rides.  I don’t mind admitting I’m feeling it.

Our good buddy and fellow rider Joaquin is from Ensenada, and his family has a neat place along the Ruta del Vino to Tecate (that’s Mexico Highway 3).   Joaguin’s brother-in-law is an artist and a sculptor, and they built this place with the intent of renting it for events.  They had a great Mexican style dinner for us there today, and it was awesome.

Joaquin’s family’s chalet. It’s awesome.

A poster Joaquin’s family prepared for our arrival.

Great food and incredible hospitality.

We had a fantastic lunch.

It’s supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow, and the temperatures are supposed to range from the high 30’s to the low 50’s.   We just came back from having tacos for dinner here in Tecate, and there’s a damp chill in the air.  I can’t remember ever turning on the heater in a Baja hotel room, but I sure have the one in this room cranking right now.   It’s cold.  Here’s hoping for a warmer and mostly dry run back to Azusa tomorrow!