Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1327402
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 2 JANUARY 12, 2021 P107 as the endorphins flood your sys- tem and the wheels beneath you take you further into the unknown. Following a few days of heavy rain, the roads were flooded for much of the way to our first taco stop in Ojos Negros, a tiny town about 25 miles from Ensenada. Four of some of the finest (certainly fattiest) tacos I've ever digested later, we were back on the road to our night stop in Guadalupe, charging north across our first real sections of the Baja 1000 course. It's hard not to get visions of Johnny Campbell on the world's baddest Honda XR650R sending it at full speed between the fence posts when you ride through this section of Baja. It's equally hard to keep your eyes on the road as the ever- evolving scenery invites your stares, the road climbing higher and higher until you reach what is supposedly a dead-end. Here, we met a local farmer named Eric who invited us through his property for 100 pesos, assuring us it would take us straight into Guadalupe. The road was about 30 miles away, but it took us close to two hours to cover the distance. This was about as gnarly a route as I personally could take an adventure bike on. Massive rocks, washouts, ultra-slim ruts that can catch you out in a millisecond and more jagged edges that munch tire sidewalls than you can pos- sibly remember. Chris crashed twice on his KTM 790 Adventure R, while Jon, on his KTM 1090 Adventure R, took it all in his stride. Somehow, myself and the Yamaha Tenere 700, stayed right-side up, and we got to our overnighter at the Quinta Monas- terio in Guadalupe unscathed—bar the blasted nail I picked up on the ride through town—where we met the fourth rider in our group, Adam Waheed. That night, we dined at the quite delightful Fuego Cocina del Valle vineyard for what can only be described as a pittance for the grade of the food and many, many drinks we consumed. A meal anywhere near this quality in the U.S. would have cost five times the price. The next day, heads slightly ringing, we changed the Tenere's rear tube and we were back in the game, this time headed west to the coast. We cruised through Ensenada, Maneadero and Beni- to Garcia, getting onto the dirt at Santo Tomas. This took us to the utterly breathtaking west coast of Baja, where the Pacific Ocean consumes the landscape, and you feel like you're riding through a water painting. This is what So- Cal was like 150 years ago. There are very few buildings and only a few dirt roads—it is, for the most part, completely unspoiled. Lead rider Jon took us to the idyllic Baja 1000 hotspot of Coyote Cals for mid-afternoon refresh- ments, then we headed up into the mountains for an overnighter at Rancho Coyote Meling, where we were looked after beautifully with home-cooked meals, a roaring out- door fire and plenty of cervezas. The final day of New Year's Eve meant we had to rip back to the border, but we got in one last dose of proper hardcore Baja 1000 racecourse action leaving Coyote Meling. The race often ran right out of the Meling, and it took us right into some pretty desolate country where I was extremely glad both tires on the Yamaha stayed inflated. You would not want to break down out there—even though it was only about 20 miles to Punta Colonet, it felt like 200. With daylight and indeed 2020 running out, we legged it back to the border, enjoyed a few last au- thentic tacos and crossed back into familiar territory at Tijuana. Covered head to toe in mud, it was one of most thoroughly enjoyable trips I've ever done on a motorcycle, and not just for the route. The Yamaha Tenere never missed a beat and took a proper pounding (although thankfully, no crashes); the company was superb and my love for Baja and its riding joys thoroughly ignited. It also hammered home some- thing I've always known—riding to new areas with mates is the single best stress relief I can think of. Whether its Mexico, our own wonderful backyard in the United States or somewhere else, make it your mission to get your buddies together and do a quick two-wheel trip in 2021. I promise, you won't regret it. CN