Today was one of those days when I didn’t feel like taking any photos or doing any video. We had already experienced three great days on our San Felipe TT250 adventure ride, and on this, our fourth and last day, all I wanted to do was go for a motorcycle ride with my friends. And I did. But let me back up to yesterday.
We were up early yesterday in San Felipe, and when I went out to watch the sunrise over the Sea of Cortez, Captain Dan was already out there taking pictures. I took a bunch, including several to create a panoramic shot from the hotel’s new wing to the north all the way to points south. This was the first shot of that series…
Sunrise in San Felipe (a view looking north at the El Cortez Hotel).
And this is the panoramic shot I put together from six shots…it’s a full 180-degrees from north to south, with the sun rising in the east..
180 degrees of a San Felipe sunrise.
The ride out of San Felipe yesterday morning was great. It was already hot in San Felipe, but the temperatures dropped as we rolled north on Mexico’s Highway 5. We turned left 31 miles later to ride roughly diagonally northwest to Ensenada. I didn’t stop for photos, but I captured great video. This is what it looks like from the seat of a TT250 riding Highway 3 across the desert…
We rode all the way across northern Baja and rolled into downtown Ensenada shortly after noon. We stopped for lunch at a seafood restaurant Willie knows well. I don’t eat lobster any more (you know, old guy cholesterol restrictions and all that), but I can still dream. The lobsters were live, and this guy looked like he knew his day wasn’t going to end well…
Help!
We’d been riding for 3 days, and everybody was in good spirits. Dan said that sometimes you just have to slow down and smell the roses, and I was there to capture the moment…
Stopping to smell the roses.
From there it was back on Highway 3 where it turned northeast through northern Baja’s wine country. I bought a bottle of cabernet at the L.A. Cetto vineyard with the thought that we’d open it with our dinner later in Tecate that night. We did, too, but I’ll get to that part of the story in a minute or two.
The vineyard visit was fun. Here’s a shot of our crew there…that’s Matt, Dan 1, Willie, Mike, Dan 2, and yours truly. A very nice young lady took this photo with my iPhone…
The boys.
We stayed in the Hacienda Hotel last night in Tecate (the El Dorado Hotel, where we had stayed two nights earlier, had no rooms). After we checked in, we kicked around in the Hacienda courtyard for a bit…
Captain Dan and his copper TT.
We asked about nearby restaurants, and the hotel dude recommended a taco place just up the street. We walked over to Dumas Tacos. You can guess at the jokes we made when we saw the sign…
Tacos Dumas had about every kind of taco you can imagine, except chicken. I wasn’t up for tripe or tongue, so I opted for plain old asada tacos (that’s beef), and they were beyond delicious. Willie explained what all of the different meats were, and watching the guy making tacos was a treat all by itself…
The restaurant gave us little Styrofoam cups, I opened my bottle of cabernet sauvignon, and it all went down well. It was quite a night.
We were up early this morning, and the ride home today was cool. Abe and Greg taught us a trick the last time we did a CSC Baja run through Tecate, and we know how to go to the head of the border crossing line on a motorcycle. It took us less than two minutes to get through the US border checkpoint. Willie, Matt, and Mike went home on Interstate 5. The two Dans wanted to ride the same road back that we came in on through the California countryside, and I did, too. It was another glorious ride.
The take-aways on all this? Hey, there are several…
- We did almost a thousand miles on the TT250s, and the bikes performed wonderfully. Willie lost a muffler cap bolt, Dan 1 had a headlight switch that was acting up, and we got some bad gasolina heading out of Tecate, but that was about it. I’ve led groups of guys on other bikes on other Baja rides (Kawis, Yamahas, BMWs, Triumphs, Harleys, and probably more), and what we experienced on this trip was, as they say, par for the course. The TT250s performed as well as any other motorcycles at an eighth of the cost.
- The pace was slower. You don’t roll across the desert at 80 mph on a TT250. These bikes are comfortable at a more relaxed pace. The bike likes to roll at 50 to 60 mph, and we spent a lot of time in that range. I believe we saw a lot more than we normally would as a result of our lower speeds. There was that bobcat I mentioned a blog or two below. We saw two wild turkey flocks. I spotted a roadrunner and a Roadrunner (one made by nature, the other by Plymouth). I saw several coyotes. I enjoy small-displacement bikes and all that they offer, and the TT250 just flat works for me.
- You might be wondering…is the TT250 a touring bike? Folks, if I say it is, the keyboard commandos will want to argue about it. If I say it isn’t, a different set of keyboard commandos will want to argue about that. To both groups, I say: Get a life. Get off the computer and get on a bike. Ride to Baja. Have a Tecate and a few fish tacos. Me? I just rode a thousand miles in two countries on a CSC TT250, so you tell me. On second thought, don’t. I know what I did on my TT250. I had a blast riding it over the last 4 days in places most folks only dream about. That’s enough for me to form my opinion. Your mileage may vary. I know what mine is.
- Speaking of that, I ran about 60-61 miles per gallon on my bike on this trip. I’ve geared it taller (which should improve fuel economy). I have done a few things to the engine (which should degrade fuel economy). I was carrying about 70 pounds of stuff with me (clothes, a cable lock, my laptop, the laptop’s power supply, cameras, lenses, batteries, tools, and more), and all that should degrade economy. We rode long uphill stretches and we rode long stretches wide open (and that’s yet another thing that should degrade fuel ec0nomy). Like I said, your mileage may vary. Mine was slightly north of 60 miles per gallon.
- The Wolfman saddlebags are perfect on this bike. I love them. Dan and Willie had them, too, and they feel the same way.
- Six people is an ideal size for a group like this. I could look in my rearview mirror and know immediately if everyone was still with me. I like this size group. This was the easiest group ride I’ve ever led.
- A 4-day Baja foray is a nice way to do it, and averaging about 250 miles per day makes for a good ride (but not an overly-fatiguing one). I’m up for more of these. If any of our blog readers want to do this again in the near future, let me know. I’m in.
- The ride through the country in the southernmost parts of California (Azusa-Oak Glen-Idyllwild-Anza-Aguanga-Julian-Tecate) was amazing. California really is a beautiful place. Just riding this part of California could be a really fun 2-day adventure, and you can do the entire thing without ever getting on the freeway. Same deal there…if you’re up for a ride like that, let me know and we’d be happy to organize it.
So there you have it…our first adventure ride on the TT250s, a fun-filled 4-day adventure, a great new motorcycle, and another cool tank decal. I had a great time, and I’m pretty sure Dan 1, Dan 2, Matt, Mike, and Willie did, too.
Keep an eye on the blog, my friends. There are many more great stories and adventures coming your way from your favorite motorcycle company!
TT250 Enduro
SG250 San Gabriel Cafe Racer