Motorcycles through Baja Mexico

Well, the journey is over, and all travelers are for the most part, back home safe. J.P went on riding the California coast on his way to Seattle then to parts unknown on his way back to Kansas City.

It’s really hard to describe the feelings now that the expedition is over. I came out of this a much wiser person on Mexico and Baja, seeing a proud people with their heritage and culture bounding. The landscape is one of the most primal desolate environments I have ever encountered, then around the corner is an oasis that the beauty cannot be described. Baja can be a lonely place, immense distances between towns and fuel stops. By motorcycle you really have the ability to live the landscape rather than just travel through it. It was incredibly hot, yet our gear and wide eyed inquisition kept us from overheating.

Cabo San Lucas is a beautiful place, with the beaches and arches in the distance. We really enjoyed our stay there.

The trip itself was actually pretty uneventful. We had no real motorcycle issues, and no real human issues on the trip, but that doesn’t mean it was an uneventful trip! The riding aspect of Baja is not a difficult one, but the mental aspect is much more difficult that I really planned. We saw young children driving the family trucks but they have the contact of a Las Vegas truck accident lawyer in case something happen, as in around age 10! No real regards for passing lanes or passing on corners, as we encountered MULTIPLE times of Semi Trucks passing on corners! Riding in Baja you really have to stay on top of your mental game, as not only cars can pull out in front of you, but Burro’s, Cattle, Bulls, Sheep, Horses and any other type of animal you can think of. I encountered one of the most viscous dog attacks I have ever had, albeit it was a Chihuahua, but it was a really big one! He was ferocious!  Luckily we had full gear on and would have taken quite a bit to get through the boots and riding pants.

Some roads were amazing with scenic ocean vistas followed by perfect winding mountain roads, while other stretches were straight as far as the eye could see. Potholes were frequent, and Topas (Speed Bumps) were questionably marked. Alto signs were also camouflaged and difficult to see. We realized that the Ford F150 and Ford Ranger owns the market, as those vehicles were hands down the most numerous we saw. Not many older cars, as in older than 30 years. The heat is just brutal on machinery, as we encountered as well.

We had originally set up our trip to camp out when we could, but quickly found out hotels were inexpensive and by the end of the day, a cold shower and cool room was much more inviting during July.  Some of our hotels were incredible, some not so much. But all in all I think we most likely chose the best option for accommodations.

The Charity / Orphanage visit. This was definitely a high point in our trip. We chose to do this on the last day we were in Baja, and it was a wise choice. I don’t think we would have had a good perspective of Baja Mexico if we had done it day 1. We worked directly with a charity out of San Diego called Corazon de Vida and specifically picked this location as it was the furthest away from any traffic or outside visitation. It was down a long dirt, sand and gravel road to get to them. The children at the orphanage, Ranchos de los Ninos, were wide eyed at us pulling into the drive way on our adventure motorcycles! The average age for kids there was around 11, and there are approximately 75 children in all. They have separate quarters for girls and boys, ranging in ages 12 and under then 13 and up, as well as a house for mentally and physically challenged children. Each house is staffed with an adult couple, who act as the house monitors. The facility was nice, grounds kept up well. They had cattle, sheep, and a modest farm they attended. About 95% of these children have parents, but either have drug/alcohol issues, law issues, or responsibility issues, choose not to associate with the children. They are a property of the state, and realistically a Foster Home type of environment is the best thing that can happen to them. They are energetic, intelligent, gracious, inquisitive, and polite. We were very surprised at how they have adapted and are dealing with their own situations.

Our pizza party started with two songs led by Alexandro, the Pastor of the local church. After the songs, there was a prayer before the meal. We were able to give the children a Pizza party, cooking 35 pizzas for the children and staff. This was only the 2nd time they had ever had a Pizza Party! The Pizzas were prepared outside, and baked in a portable propane stove, 2 at a time. It took a bit for them to be complete! The next process was serving. They take turns every other day with the boys serving the girls or girls serving the boys. That day was the girls turn to serve. After all children were served it was pizza chaos! We all enjoyed the lunch and drink (We brought fruit punch and orange Gatorade to be served as well) then prepared for the next batch of fun!

We purchased a bubble wands, chewing gum, and a balloon with a 20 Peso note in it for each of the 75 children. Alexandro assembled the children after the meal in order of age and sent them into the cafeteria one at a time. We handed each child the Bubbles, gum, and balloon with money in it as they walked by. There is a small store down the road where they could purchase small items if they wanted. It was a BIG hit! A shout out to one of my co-workers for that suggestion! We finished up the day and hung around for a bit just observing and chatting with the staff. It was a wonderful experience.

On the ride back to the hotel, I was really thinking how our one day of donating time and items really didn’t make a difference in the lives of these children, as this happens from time to time. I had to return to the orphanage later that evening and Jorge the chief administrator of the facility reminded me that you cannot change the world in 1 day, but you can influence young lives in ways you have no idea. Who knows the depth we brought to them that day, but I am certain they will remember the 4 motorcycles that rode up that day, so the trip was amazing, of course we avoid lane splitting since this is known the cause accidents among the bikers.

I want to thank everyone that donated to this cause, you made a positive impact on the lives of 75 wonderful children. We could not have done it without your help.

I will post pictures of the trip starting with Day 1 and then separating them into each day with the Charity visit by its self as well.

Thank you again for all your support, both physically and mentally, it was greatly appreciated!

Days 1 and 2 were rather interesting. We made the border crossing, was a nut roll, but made it in, then promptly (due to Russ) got lost in Mexicali. We had a very nice kid help us out and pointed the way to get to Highway 5 to head to San Felipe. We were unfortunately traveling late, and hit our first Military checkpoint. All were nervous. We made it through with no issues and headed on for KiKi’s campground.

We met our first “Character” of the trip, Gus. This guy was a riot! KiKi’s was a beautiful campground and hotel. We loved the views and how close it was to down town. Kiki was an ex Baja 1000 racer running XR650’s, tough dude!

Day 2 and 3.

We found a great little hotel in Santa Rosilia for the evening and then headed out early in the morning to tackle the long set of Kilometers to Coco’s Corner then on to Bahía de los Ángeles. We met one of the most interesting people on the planet that day, Coco. We finally made it into his place late, around 5 or so, and introduced ourselves. Now all the pictures on the internet show a specific area that folks pull up a chair and have a beer. This is not a bar. This is his house. The pictures are really from his living room. He lives on the outskirts of the Baja 1000 race route, and gets a bit of traffic, but only from those who dare to ride out off road to see him. We are just off our bikes, when he asks, who rode the Red one? Dan says well I do! He reply’s with “You crashed didn’t you” with a wink. Dan reply’s, why yes I did…. Was possibly the best line of the trip! I feel so blessed we had the chance to meet him and have a beer and chat for a bit. This piece of history will not be around forever, he is 79, and a double amputee, but sharp as a whip and will let you know it. We put up a few artifacts and then said our goodbyes. Then off to the next stop!

Day 3 and 4, into Cabo San Lucas!

As we left Santa Rosilia the day was long. We stopped at the Bay of Conception and the area was breathtaking! We decided we had to stop by there again on our way north. Then on to vast stretches of nothingness, desert and cactus. We were pushing on to at the very least La Paz, and if possible on to Cabo. We arrived into La Paz late, but before sundown. We fueled up and decided to push on to Cabo. The route taken would have been wonderful in the day, but the mountain road of Mexico Highway 1 into Cabo was very curvy with GENEROUS amounts of Bulls, Steers, Cows with calves, Borough’s, Horses and sheep. This was the most difficult ride of the trip, as it was mostly after dark. We made it into Cabo and eventually found the Condo we were staying at and settled in for the evening. Next morning met us with wonderful views of the beach and Arches! It was a great place to stay. We enjoyed the beaches as well as night life at our destination. The people, food and atmosphere was so much fun! We found out a short time into this ride that Dan had bent the front wheel on the KLR during a slight mishap outside of Coco’s corner. When we got into Cabo we found a small motorcycle shop that could do a repair for us. They did an awesome job, and was so helpful in making sure we were taken care of for the ride back north!

Dan: “So there I was…. bout 20 clicks north of Coco’s… when I flat ran out of talent……”

Leaving Cabo July 10-11

A sad morning as we headed north. We had a good game plan on the return trip. We knew were we were heading and limited the mileage and got on the road much earlier on the second leg. First stop Ciudad Constitution. Better known as Thunderdome. This was the most dry, dusty, windy place we visited. The dust came in waves. It was reminiscent of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl of the early 20th century. Crazy amounts of dust settled overnight. This was also the most active drag racing and evening festivities we encountered after midnight to about 2 am! We left early as our next destination was to stop by the Bay of Conception and the on into Santa Rosilia where we stayed on the way down. The Bay of Conception was as beautiful as it was the week before. We stayed on the beach for a few hours, soaking up the sun, a few tunes on the speaker, a few cerveza’s in the water then on to Santa Rosilia!

Santa Rosalia to El Rosario

The hotel at Santa Rosalia turned out to be possibly the best place we stayed on the trip, outside of Cabo San Lucas. We met Brenda, an Ex Pat and owner of this fine establishment, and she was so gracious to us! We stayed up VERY late solving world issues all the while enjoying tasty beverages. She even opened up her home for us to have a solid breakfast before heading out the next morning. The views from her place were amazing! Then we pushed on to El Rosario, a favorite stop for folks running the Baja 1000. We stayed at a fabulous hotel there, just a door away from Mama Espinosa’s famous restaurant. This eatery has deep ties to the Baja 1000 and it shows!

El Rosario to Ensenada

This was the last leg of our destinations. We would come into Ensenada and stay the night before heading out the next morning to the Ranchos el Nina’s orphanage. The stay in Ensenada was brief, but enjoyable, we packed up on our supplies we would need for the next day, and caught a great meal that night. We enjoyed our first true Mexican wines, from the Valley de Guadeloupe region of Baja. Our hotel was just off the ocean, and the views were awesome!

Ranchos el Nina’s and Corozon de Vida

As we left Ensenada, we traveled about 40 miles due east to the orphanage. This specific orphanage we chose to visit was the most rural of all the locations that Corazon de Vida assisted with. We wanted to go to a location that the children didn’t really get as much attention from organizations and individuals. We arrived at the orphanage around 10 am and got a quick lay of the land so to speak to understand how the lunch and afternoon would be handled. We then headed to our hotel a few miles up the road to clean up before heading back to start setting up our event!

We arrived back at around 11:30. Our itinerary was to give the children a Pizza Party for their lunch that day, then after the meal, we would give out a bubble wand, some chewing gum and a balloon inflated with a 20 Peso note inside! We had 75 children to prepare this for! The pizza team were busy baking 35 pizzas for the children and staff, creating and cooking on site with a propane oven, much like a turkey fryer! It took a bit to cook up 35 pizzas so we entertained the kids and wandered about enjoying the early afternoon. The motorcycles where a HUGE hit! So much so we needed a team member to be on Bike detail, picking up one child after another and setting them on the bikes, each bike, and donning helmet for a picture! They had a blast! I had my GoPro with a head mount and gave it to the first little one I found. Her name was Jenny, and she was a pistol! She ran around the area recording what kids do, just having fun! All of us were randomly pulled in all directions by the kids, we really enjoyed the time there. So Alexandro was kind of in charge since Jorge was away on business during the meal. The order of events was as follows. The kids would sing 2 songs, one for us and one normal song. Then a quick introduction of us and our merry band of travelers. We were requested to start our motorcycles, and rev them up as loud as we could! The kids LOVED that! Then a prayer before serving the Pizza. The serving consisted of every other day either the boys would serve the girls or the girls would serve the boys. That day it was the girls serving. We brought Gatorade as well and was a big hit! Lots of orange and red mustaches! After the meal Alexandro, who was also the Pastor of the local Church the children went to, lined up the kids in order of age for a soup line to begin the fun part! Dan started the process giving Bubble Wands to each child, then on to me for a Balloon with Peso’s in them and some bubble gum, then on out the door where Jeff and JP were attacking each kid with Silly String! A great time was had by all! The children were very gracious, and polite. The facilities there were very spacious and livable. The average age of the children was 11, with the youngest being 1.5 years old and the oldest being 24. There were about 60 kids in the main area, with about 20 additional special needs children in a different area. We made sure to visit that area and pass out our items as well! The majority of these children do have parents. Unfortunately they all have some sort of issue making them either not capable of raising their children or they refused responsibility. They are mostly all products of the state. The best recourse for them is Foster Care, but it is very difficult in Mexico as the programs are not as robust as they are here in the States.  We left hoping we had in some way influenced them in a special way. We understood that riding in on motorcycles was quite different, and was really enjoyed. We finally packed up and headed back to the Hotel. While I was riding back, I really analyzed the day. I felt a little off, not really feeling like I did anything to really help these kids. We rode in, bought Pizza, gave out some trinkets, spent a little time with them and finally left. It felt kind of hollow. I had to go back in a bit and see Jorge, and told him what I was feeling. He gave me some of the best advice I have ever had. Understand you cannot change the world in a day. You have no idea the influence you had on each child. You may have given them the hope they needed to see someone having an adventure and could remain with them their entire lives, moving them to do things outside of their comfort zone and grow. We never know the impact we have on other people but we did impact those children that day. I will take out of this that we did reach at least one child to excel in life and move above where they are today. I want to believe we touched them in some way, and I truly think we did. It was a very rich and gratifying experience. This was a culmination of a dream of mine 10 years earlier when Dan, Carl and I dreamed up the trip to Cabo and a nonprofit I started called Our Fathers Legacy. The nonprofit eventually went away, but the dream of the trip and incorporating a charity event into it has always been there.

This was a life goal. Achieved. Generation Adventure was born of this and will continue on.

Valle de Guadalupe to Tecata then on to Tucson,

The end of the adventure, for now.

We left early the next morning, in fact the earliest we had left all trip. We rode into Tecata and finally had the best road quality we had on the entire trip. The border crossing was a breeze and then back on US soil! We rode the southern California Mountains for a bit before hitting the interstate for a long, very hot ride back to Tucson.

I have to say our gear was amazing. We never truly overheated even in 120+ degree weather. We educated ourselves on hot weather riding and used that information to its best. We figured that each of us drank between 1 and 2 gallons of water a day! The sweat actually acted as an air conditioner when riding using our wicking shirts under our mesh jackets. The hardest toll was on motorcycles in the heat, they tended to run on the warm side. JP left us about 20 miles over the border and headed into San Diego then on up the coast to Seattle before heading back to KC. We made Tucson and loaded the bikes for the last time. The next morning we set off for Denver, and Jeff set off for Kansas. While in southern Colorado, I was requested to turn my Spot Tracker back on so my family could track our progress back to Denver. Little did we know that Carl had driven to Colorado that morning from Kansas City, and was waiting for us in Colorado Springs to escort us back to Denver! What a great surprise!

I am so blessed to have been able to do this. Great friends, and an incredible family. I want to personally thank all of you who donated to the cause and helped to make this charity event happen, words cannot express how grateful we are.

Thank you to Dan Salmons, Jeffrey Tromans, James Prideaux, Carl Warren, Kelly Collins Circle, Louise Achey Circle, Chuck Reiter,Stan and Barbara Skinner, Joe Salmons, Laurie Hall, Brenda England Stuteville-Govea, Beth Caldarello. Also a big thanks to all who supported us and pushed us.

I am planning new adventures as I write this. I am as excited as I was planning the Original! Stay tuned for more info!

New Adventures are everywhere. All you have to do is look!

We are Generation Adventure — Explore. Dream. Discover!