In October 2011, Mike Barker and his riding buddy Don Wiens headed out from their home in British Columbia to explore Baja by motorcycle. They trailered their bikes to a friend's place in Lake Havasu, Arizona, and set out from there with tents and a Spot Satellite Messenger. Barker was riding a 2000 BMW 1150GS and Wiens had a 1998 1100 GS—both of which had been outfitted with Continental Knobby tires. The following is the second installment of their trip; we catch up with them in San Ignacio. To read Part 1 of their journey, click here.
Herding horses and navigating a river
We got up early the next morning and went to Santa Rosalia, where we stopped long enough to visit a bakery and have a quick look at a metal church. After that, we kept going and turned off the main road, deflated our tires once again and headed inland to see the Mission de San Francisco. It was some road—there was gravel on the surface and it was steep and windy and surrounded by huge cacti. I noticed some animals—and once the dust cleared, I realized Don was following some horses.
We carried on and came to a large cemetery with crosses and crypts that were all clean and fresh with whitewash. We tried to follow the road to meet up with the main highway, but the road started to get really crazy. We soon got into what I’m sure was a dried-up river bed full of round river rock. We made it across a roaring river (in my mind), only to realize it was a small stream. We stopped and Don went ahead to check it out while I spent the time trying to get my bike turned around. I was really missing the reverse that my Gold Wing has. Don came back and informed me that it was indeed a road or trail but that probably only one of us would make it through. We didn’t even bother playing rock, paper, scissors to decide to head back the way we came.
Logic would tell you that if you crossed a small stream going in one direction, it should be easy to return through it. Well, I discovered that neither my bike nor I had any use for logic, and the only redeeming factor was that I waited until I hit the side that was dry before dumping my bike. At this point in the trip, I had lost all humility and embarrassment in putting the bike down. I was also starting to wonder if I might have taken this adventure of a lifetime too late in my life. I have to thank Don for being so patient, but upon reflection, I don’t think he wanted to face my wife and have to tell her that he left me behind in the Mexican desert to fend for myself. We made it out of there and all I left behind were bits of plastic.
Back to civilization
We returned to the highway and drove quickly through La Paz, since the sight of Rona and Walmart put us off. We carried on as it began to get dark and stopped in Todos Santos. It is a cool place and we stayed for a couple of days in a little hotel where we could park our bikes in the rotunda next to our room. I went for a walk and befriended a local man who toured me around for four hours while he chatted about Mexico, the people there, the politics and the area. He was born there and was an interpreter and a guide, so his English was excellent. The tour was very educational and it gave me a realistic, behind-the-scenes view of Mexico. After spending two days in Todos Santos, we headed off under sunny skies.
A Canuck connection
The coastal road was great and we stopped a few times; once, when we were getting fuel, we ran into a fellow who was from Canada. He owned a piece of property on the coast and invited us to pitch our tent there for the night, which we did. We found a place called Beer and Art and had a fabulous meal of fresh seafood and mango margaritas. It was a stellar location and well worth the visit. Our new friend decided to take us part of the way through backroads to Cabo San Lucas, so we let air out of our tires and got lost twice. It was lots of fun and we managed to dodge the odd cow as well as a group of off-road rally vehicles along part of the Baja race route.
We entered the hustle and bustle of Cabo San Lucas, which was our endpoint, and got off the bikes, walked to the beach and looked at the mayhem of Jet-Skis, Sea-Doos, parasailers and hordes of people. We bid farewell and headed over to the San Jose area. Don knew a friend from Yale who owned a house on a hill in a gated community that was near a bar, called Buzzards. Buzzards is another place to pop into when visiting the area.
Finishing the journey
The following morning, we decided to begin our trip back and took the coastal road towards La Ribera. It offered spectacular views of the ocean and was virtually deserted.
We headed back on the main road, stopped at another mission and later rode into Sierra De San Pedro National Park. For two weeks we had been in the desert, and suddenly we were driving up a mountain road to the top where there were huge pine trees like the sequoias or the redwoods of California. At the summit was an observatory, although it wasn’t open. We were completely surrounded by flat desert—we found it interesting and a little chilly.
After that, we rode down on a wonderfully paved road that had great twists and corners; by this time I had gotten used to the Knobby treads on my bike tires.
We carried on and decided to enter California through Tecate again. This time, it took longer to cross the border than it had before; we were in a lineup for about an hour, but we didn’t have issues going through customs.
From there, we found a hotel and made it back to Lake Havasu to load up the bikes. However, since the weather was still good, I unloaded all of my gear and continued riding to the other side of Death Valley. At that point, it was time to load my bike and hunker down for the drive home.
Many miles and plenty of smiles
In total, the trip took just under three weeks and we rode a lot of miles each day. It was well worth it and I would encourage anyone to do it. Some folks were skeptical because they had heard about the violence in Mexico, but we didn’t have issues; I think the main problem areas are on the mainland. The people were friendly and the food was good—we ate at a lot of taco stands on the road.
My other riding buddy enjoyed the trip via our Spot and was Googling updates that he received from us and keeping everyone at home up to date. When I talk to him now, I would swear he saw more of the trip than we did.
The bikes are fantastic, the tents worked well and Don and I are still friends.
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