Keep your speed up and your OK, don't brush those cactus!

Sand is something many have to work at to master. For me its about focus and riding technique. Vision is key: Where you lookk matters. Look down in front of the bike and you're going down. Look well ahead, way ahead, and you should be OK. Stay balanced on the bike, grabbing tank with knees.

Stand up of course. Although some can ride sand seated ... I cannot. Light grip on bars, elbows up, steer with your feet and knees. And the scariest part of all....go fast, real fast. Problem is the whoop de doos, sharp corners through wash outs mixed with deep sand.

I found my XR250 does not work so great here. My buddies 450's are much better. Light and lots of torque. Hardly a wiggle. My XR did well almost everywhere else.


They are always there waiting...they can smell road kill from 20 miles away.

On day two we left Mike's about 9am for an easy ride over to Valle de Trinidad, a nice dirt road through the mountains to Mex Highway 1, and then south a bit on pavement to Colonet. Here we rode beach south to Punta Camalu to a place called Pirates Cove, very near the town of Camalu.

We found some nice dunes along the way.


Then rode along the beach and on cliffs above the beach for a while.


Riding the beach is great fun in Baja. Observe and respect private property, camper, fisherman and farmers. Also be aware of the tides. We nearly got trapped against a cliff. Radical tides can make some places impassable . Wash bikes well in fresh water after! Ignore this at your peril.



Day three took us back into the interior, heading south east. Bit of sand on the these two tracks through the cacutus forests. Stunning.



Big groups are NOT a great idea in Baja. Slows things way down. We started out big but paired down quickly. We started with nine riders, after day one, down to seven riders. two days later the a CRF450X blew up and one of our WR450's was acting up. Both hitched a ride with a Canadian couple towing a trailer who offered a ride! This is common and easy in Baja. Hundreds of tourists up and down the road
daily.

IMO, Spring is the best time to see Baja. The desert in bloom is not to be missed. Temps are moderate. High winds can be the one gotcha. We had none on this ride but just two days before we arrived the wind blew like Hell. Early Spring (mid March to May 1st) is sort of Off Season....a good thing).



More later,

Patrick

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!