Days 10, 11, 12 and 13

Wow. I've been having a great time. After the night with the terrifying dogs I decided to get a hotel in Camalu and chill out. In the afternoon I was leaving my room to grab a pack of smokes, I saw Bobby and Alix, fellow cyclo-tourists, checking into the same hotel! It was great seeing them again. We hung out that night and watched a couple movies on TV and ate yummy snacks.

In the morning I decided to ride with them and we set off toward San Quintin. We ended up camping at El Eden, an RV park which ended up being beautiful. Lush, soft grass to camp on with showers and bathrooms. Much appreciated. We shared a small make-shift thanksgiving dinner of chile and corn bread. Mmmmm. The children that live here were stoked we were there. They nervously approached and watched us prep camp. Bobby played the banjo for them and Alix broke out a Chinese finger trap. The kids ended up taking us on a tour of the property before we hit the hay. There was also a really cool dog that seemed to like me.

The next morning we packed up camp and made an attempt to reach some inactive valcanos, but just couldnt get to them. We ended up finding an amazing and absolutely beautiful stealth campground in a bay near San Quintin. It was great! The views were spectacular and it was all very peaceful.

Again, we woke up and headed to the grocery store to stock up on food for the day and night. While Alix and I were shopping, Bobby made a connection with a man named Dewey. Dewey invited us over to have an official Thanksgiving dinner! Dewey and his wife are missionaries and hosted this dinner for maybe 15-20 locals. It was amazing!!! HUGE feast with pies, cookies, soda and everything nice. We are full. Dewey gave us the key to an extra apartment on his property and are letting us sleep here for free! Hot showers, heated room with beds and wifi. Couldn't be happier. Dewey arranged for two guides to drive us to the valcanos. Alix and Bobby accepted the offer and took the trip out there. I stayed here and hung out, relaxed and talked with Dewey for awhile about the locals and history of this area.

It's really tough to write posts for each day, far after the day is over. Sorry for the vague attempt. Anyway, pictures....

Day 9.

Great night full of sleep. Woke up early and left San Vicente for Camalu. I was away from the coast for two days, but the ride today brought me back to it. Rolling hills and another tough peak to climb. I had to hike another 4-5km this morning, but it's a good way to stay as safe as possible and save my legs from too much strain. The weather was on my side once again, except for brutal wind during the middle of my day. It calmed down and made for a pretty quiet ride. 65km to Camalu.

My parents arranged for a Western Union money transfer for me to pick up here. With International Fees on my debit card and fees for ATMs, I'm losing a good bit of cash. We figured Western Union would be the best bet for money, however, it didn't work. The business that offered Western Union couldn't connect with the system and the plan failed. Mexico is hit or miss. Can't expect the conveniences we have back home. ATMs it is.

Really scary night... While I was trying to find a place to camp, I hollered at a farmer (nighttime, pitch black) and immediately his three big black dogs came charging at me, with every bit of aggression they had. After maybe 15 seconds of straddling my bike, being circled, one of the dogs made a grab at my leg and tore the zipper from my shorts pocket. I had my hand on my knife and as he bit down I made a go at his neck. The sheath for my knife was bungied onto my handlebar bag, so when I pulled the knife, it was all blade. The dog was clearly hurt and and as it all happened the owner screamed the others away and I bolted. As I rode off the owner kept screaming he was sorry. For a good hour my heart was in full on race mode. I found an empty spot in the middle of a field, pitched my tent and without unrolling my sleeping bag or pad I fell right asleep.

I should've brought mace. We even had it at the bike shop I work at... damn.

Week 2. Day 8.

The coldest night so far. Really glad I have nice clothes and gear. It makes a huge difference. I broke camp this morning and got back on the highway with San Vicente as my destination. I left before Tall Bike Bobby and Alix and told them I'd leave my Colorado flag off to the side of the road if I found good camping.

The ride started off fairly flat and the weather was incredible. Mid 70's, no wind and a bright blue sky. I took a little break in Polamar (I think), and ate some delicious tacos. I took off and after a few turns ran straight into another huge climb.
These mountain roads aren't safe at all. I hike instead of ride so I can get the f*** off the road (no shoulders) if I hear a Semi coming up from behind. There isn't room for me and two cars to be at the same spot on the road at the same time. I hiked about 4-5km. I ride down, but still stop and pull over when the road is busy. On my decent, an ambulance shot up the mountain and I can only hope that it wasn't for Bobby and Alix. Haven't heard or seen them ride through San Vicente.

San Vicente was 62km and overall it was a pretty great day. I found a hotel for less than $10 and had a good dinner.

Day 7

Beautiful day here in Baja California! Another short ride, just over 20 miles, but I had to stop and camp at Las Canada's Camping and RV resort. It's awesome! Zip line tours, four-wheeling, swimming and horseback riding... None of which I'll be doing, but still very cool. Great scenery too. My tent sits under one of the zip lines, so every now and then a person will come flying by. Pretty fun to watch.

I had a bit of a scare today. My rear tire was punctured and the sealant leaked out and with the air, created a golf ball size bubble. I stopped just in time to repair everything and it seems as though its all in working order.

I want to thank Judy Igoe for donating to the tour. A little bit goes a long way and I really appreciate it. Thanks Judy! I hope you enjoy the blog and I hope all is well for you back home. :)

I met up with two bicycle-tourists. Bobby and Alix. They are touring on modified bikes. Bobby is on a tall bike which is very unique for a tour. Alix is riding a modified Specialized Rockhopper and, again, its a very unique ride. Two very cool people. They gave me an edition of their make-shift tour magazine, which was a blast to read. (Picture of a page below) As Im writing this, Bobby and Alex pulled up to my campsite and have decided to stay here tonight. It'll be nice to have English-speaking company.

Anyway, just another day in paradise! Bye!!

Day 5 Pt. 2

Well, I spoke too soon. I found an awesome campsite with wifi and outlets. 50 Pesos and way better than any US campsite I've been to, except for one in Prescott, AZ. The view is great and my tent sits under a group of large trees. (pictures below).

The ride today was short, 28 miles, but the wind was outrageous. In my face for the entire ride. As soon as I set up camp, it died down and has made for a beautiful afternoon and evening. I'll get to watch the sun go down... and let me tell ya, the colors are astounding. I'm debating staying here for two nights. It's that nice.

Dogs!!! Holy crap. Stray dogs are everywhere. Not just mutts, but Pitbulls and German Sheppards. They love to bark and chase me for about thirty yards. It's definitely a little frightening. Haven't been bitten yet. Ha. I have, however, put one of my knives in a place I can quickly grab it. If any dog chooses to get too close, well, I'm going to protect myself. Sorry pooch.

Here are some pictures!

Day 5.

Getting ready to take off for the fifth day. I'm only riding 20 miles today, to camp on the beach near Chapultepec. The next campground is a ways away, so I'm splitting the ride into two segments.

Morale is high and I'm growing more and more comfortable being out here alone. It's been a great time and challenge so far.

I doubt I'll have any access to wifi tonight, so this will likely be the only post today.

I'll take some pictures of Chapultepec and post them as soon as I can. The weather is beautiful, in fact, it's really hot! Should be a really laid back ride and easy day. Much needed after yesterday!

That's it for now. Bye!

Day 4 Pt. 2

Hellloooo from Ensenada. I'm far behind. The highways here are undergoing a heap of changes and its affected my route in a big way. HW 1D is a toll road that doesn't allow bicycles, runs south along the coast and is now considered the "scenic route," which makes the regular HW 1 a pain in the ass. Regular HW 1 is free, runs through the inland mountains and quadruples the distance between where I started today and where I needed to finish. Anyway, I wasn't discouraged, in fact, I was stoked to get away from the very populated coastal highway. That soon changed...

I took a short break about an hour into my ride today, with hopes to let the rain pass. It did, but not for long. As soon as I came to the peak of the mountains I had to pass, I was absolutely pissed on with rain and wind. No shelter was anywhere in sight. I put my poncho on... then immediately took it off. It turned me into a kite. I kept riding through the decent, which proved very intimidating and scary. Three mud slides were between me and Ensenada. They washed right over the highway, falling off of very high cliffs. At one point, the mudslides pushed the guardrails over the edge, leaving nothing to protect against a very long fall and possible death. I had to hike my bike, basically leaning on the mountain, letting the mud pour on me, like walking underneath a waterfall, but of mud. The road was covered in maybe 1-2 inches of mudflow and crossing it was terrifying. It was slippery and felt like walking through a river. If I had slipped, I wouldn't be here.

One man and another group of three stopped and offered to help and even a ride. I wanted to push through. These are the experiences I want. Life or death, it's better to be challenged. I kicked today's ass after it tried so hard to kick mine.

I didn't take any pics of the mudslide. I was too white-knuckled and the last thing to cross my mind was to stop and snap a few. So, sorry. However, I did take some good ones. Enjoy :) bye for now.