Written by Kyle
If you haven’t checked out Part 1, do it now! But a quick recap: We left Colorado headed to our destination, the El Diablo Run in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. So many curvy roads, small mountain towns, and good food!
Day 4 – Into Ol’ Mexico. We headed into Mexico this morning, crossing the border at Los Algodones. It was a warm ride, but we were focused on dodging potholes! A few hours and a couple quick gas stops and we arrived on the beach in San Felipe, Baja Mexico at the Hotel El Cortez. It was a gorgeous day! We hit the beach for a well deserved soak and some sun. We cleaned up and rode to the malecon (the pier en inglés!) to check out the bikes and search out friends. It was people and culture overload after days on the bikes! After a few hours, chats, and a margarita we headed back to the hotel to check out the restaurant on the beach. Delicious fish tacos and fresh guacamole!
Day 5 – We had a beachfront breakfast, then took a ride to Valley of the Giants to see the cardón cacti, the tallest growing cactus in the world. The entrance was gated, not open, and no signs! Still a pretty morning ride, so we headed back to the hotel and out to the beach (you have to take advantage of this when you live in the mountains and it is snowing at home!). We headed over to the EDR camp for the Biltwell Biker games. It was a lot of fun to watch, but hot! We caught up with more friends and reminisced about past EDRs. We headed back to the playa for the bike show and awards, caught up with a couple more friends, checked out bikes and people watched. Pastor tacos for dinner! And for dessert….churros! We decided to head back to our quiet section of beach, so we took them to go. That’s what saddlebags are for, right?!?
Day 6 – Bye bye Mexico! We hit the road early, gassed up, and dodge the potholes headed North. We had an easy border crossing at San Luis, we didn’t even have to take our helmets off! We made the decision to take the fast way home, so today was all freeway, a hot and windy ride. We decided to stop in Anthem, AZ, have some dinner, and get a good night’s rest.
Day 7 – We looked at the weather and were disappointed to see snow back home, and more importantly through Wolf Creek Pass – not great on motorcycles! We decided to change our route and take a more Southern route, East towards Gallup and make a left at Albuquerque. This added a few hours to the trip but avoided all the weather and mountain passes.
We left Anthem, and cut North East through the national forest at Camp Verde. The ride started out beautiful but as we headed up in elevation the temperature dropped to 45 degrees! We were dressed for warmer weather, and by the time we stopped to gear up we were both shaking.
Heading out of the mountains and catching the 40 headed East out of Winslow, AZ we had to deal with 30-40mph winds and blowing dust. We took a rest stop at an Indian trading post so Bee could catch a quick nap. The wind and frequent stops required us to cut our day early and stop in Albuquerque for the night. Hopefully tomorrow will be an easier day!
Day 8 –
It was a windy and chilly ride home from ABQ. The weather lied! It was supposed to be a calm day but we woke up to serious wind, and if you have ever driven that stretch North of Albuquerque, you know it is already windy on a good day. We just throttled it out and made a hard push home. Our cabin was a welcome sight, home sweet home! Over 2000 miles, some beautiful roads, friends, the beach, and tacos. What more can you ask for from a motorcycle trip?
Ramble Around 