BAJA, on 49cc a day!



Morning in BAJA, CA.



    

     Was just thinking back to the various times I have ridden down Mexico way.

     I think I've been to Baja now about a dozen times.



first look at Bahia Conception.



    

     Oddly enough, I have never even been to mainland  Mexico.

    

    

 



Tranquility base!



    

     My early fascination with the peninsula began reading  exploits of the desert racers that once were very popular  in places like the Mojave, and throughout the Mexican outback.

      Growing up during the 60's, and riding my Suzuki A100 street scrambler (anyone remember those) in the vacant lots around my home in Edmonton, I pretended to be A.C. Bakken, Malcom Smith, Mitch Mayes, Rolf Tibblin, Larry Roeseler... or a score of others. 



sister towns across the mountains



university student mountain art, on the way to Loreto



    

      

     It wasn't till the winter of 1998 that I made my first foray into what has become, one of my favorite places to visit.

    

That year, then partner Deb and I rode identical XT600's from Phoenix AZ all the way to Cabo San Lucas... and back via Los Angeles.  I often wondered what was more dangerous... Baja or L.A.

         I still own that XT 600 and would love to re trace that '98 route at some point before I get too old and decrepit!

     As I wrote in Canadian Biker in April 2005...

"Baja is, mesmerizing and addictive... fascinating and unforgiving... dangerous and tranquil..." 

    

      That riding there required above all...

"better than average off road skills, good mechanical comprehension... and most of all, a 35 litre tank of common sense under your helmet..."



always looking for shade in the 105F heat.



    

     That holds true today as it did then.  I've ridden Baja on many different motorcycles. 

    



view of the Cortez (Gulf of California)



     There was the XT 600 of course, the 225 Serow has made several trips, the DR 650 of Lanties, and of course Holly and the very old TS250 Suzuki two stroke... 



beautiful beach... all to yourself.  Conception Bay



      I even made a foray into some of the most incredible and difficult terrain on my trusty 1989 Yamaha DT 50 L/C in the fall of 2006.

     This tiny little Yamaha is the only motorcycle that survived my marital break-up and subsequent demise of Freedom Cycle, my long time maritime MC biz.

does this not look like a prehistoric creature turned to stone?

      That year, Elsie...

(LC for liquid cooled) on the custom made rear rack, Walden Kayak mounted on the roof rack, and my gear stowed in the rear compartment of my Chevy Blazer which itself has seen Baja 3 times over the years... we spent the better part of a month puttering around the trails, roads and mountains above the Cortez.

      As I'm often told by riders, who somehow missed or can't remember the joys of riding something smaller than 2000 cubic centimetres...

"why would you do this?"

Ummm... "Because I can..."



Baja bound!  Catavina Baja Sur



     That trip was one of my best simply because I could literally lift the diminutive bike over rocks and obstacles, and like I keep saying to people, speed is of little importance in Baja CA. (unless you are running the Mille!)

     What counts out there is reliability, fuel mileage and being little helps when the inevitable comes across your path. 

     After all Senor Murphy, frequents Baja at least as often as I...

You tell me...

AS XT600 (old blue) and I are passing through Bragg Creek yesterday afternoon, during a glorious summer's day... we come upon a long line-up on the approach to town.

Emergency vehicles are flashing ahead and this is the sight the greets me as I pass the first intersection to the hamlet.

Now lemme see here.  Clear skies, perfect road, straight as an arrow, yet somehow this guy manages to run off the road and T-Bones a power pole, knocking out power to everything south and west of town.

Strange how these things happen... just glad it wasn't an XT600 instead of a pole!

more on my ride coming up...

Go Your Own Way...



2002 L/C 885cc Triple



Me and My Beloved B.



Okay the punch line is not particularly original, I used it myself in advertising Freedom Cycle 25 yrs ago, but the show was interesting.

Up before everyone else, (dictated by my alarm clock, one little rascal cat named Phoenix) as dawn unfolds, I sat out in the living room, shivering (it's 6C outside, last nights hail still on the ground).

I watched an hour of Triumph's recent history on Speed channel. Essentially we follow the making of a new Thunderbird from start to finish, listening to engineers, designers, assemblers, testers and the CEO, describe the evolution of the incarnation of John Bloor's vision for the line.

Pretty dang interesting, especially for a guy that has a different T Bird in my garage. When my triple l/c T Bird was built, it was as vastly different from the original that Arthur Fonzerelli rode on Happy Days and Brando on the Wild One, as it is from the new Twin cylinder namesake of today.

The Baja TJ.  DT50, No One's Ark in tow, and shanty atop to escape scorpions and snakes!

We see a ton of 'car shows' but rarely do we see the actual workings of a modern motorcycle factory. No offence to the OCC (Orange County Chopper) guys (well maybe a little) those fad bikes never really interested me, and I can honestly say, with the passing of Indian Larry RIP, most of them died as well with no regrets on my part.

Out of the hundreds of bikes I have owned over the years, my triple version of this classic Triumph, still has a very warm spot in my two wheeled heart, much as my MG does.

I won't be taking the B east, but the Thunderchicken will make the trip.

Sure, I can sell it and pick up any one of a hundred V TWIN cruisers once there... but having the same thing as everyone else does, just doesn't hold a lot of appeal for me.

I tend to 'Go My Own Way'...



Baja California



Attitude is everything!

Dalhousie Canadian Tire, my second home.

I decided, seeing as it's such a nice day, to do my errands by scooter.  You see... attitude is everything, size means nothing.



Local tennis courts where I never play.



Went across to Varsity from Silver Springs via a 100' stretch of bike path, avoiding even that short stretch of Crowchild Trail.  The little SD50 Sense will top out at around 60kph indicated.  Given it's ahem, snail like acceleration, I'd rather not tempt fate on CT.



C-Train that I rarely use.



A short visit to Canadian Tire, where service is #8.  I didn't find either item I was looking for today although I am there plenty often.

Husky station.  They don't make a lot of money off the little SD 50 Sense.

A stop at the TD for a quick cash transaction.

My fave DQ.

Followed by a ramble around Varsity recently picked as Calgary's top neighbourhood.  Must have been some golfer's on the panel as the aptly named, Silver Springs golf course runs thru Varsity.

Fave Safeway with Starbucks.

I often ride the bike appropriate to the route, or is that the other way round.  Maybe I pick the route and then the appropriate bike.  Regardless, you can have some freedom and fun doing whatever.

Fave $ store (and more) these guys make way more money from me than the Husky!

I scoff at those that must have a Cadillac SUV to do their errands, I'd rather be bikin'

Fave Chapter's (and Starbucks)

Today... the little scooter was the perfect tool.  Got my stuff done, stopped for a few pics, picked up a case of beer for the cooler, and generally am happy to be alive.



Fave local view of C.O.P.



I remembered my trip to Spain in 2002.  Lisa met me in T.O.  (center of the known Universe) and off we jetted to Madrid, and then made our way to Valencia via high speed train.  In Valencia I rented two 125cc bikes, one... a little Harley lookalike, the other a scooter.

The lack of velocity turned out to be an advantage.  It slowed us down considerably and took us via routes we would otherwise not have travelled.

Fave home.

So you see, as Charles Swindoll said, "Attitude is everything."

Ron

Two old dues, not sure which is in better condition, both are loud!



Re-united!



Got up this Sunday morning, bright clear, sunny... a great day to be above ground as they say.

Phoenix (the cat) was meowing as usual right about 6 12 am or thereabouts.

There are many (many!) changes taking place in the Dr.'s household, more on that later.

As a habit, I do a little walk around, check catfood. Make sure the fountain is topped up, after all... it's the little guy's personal watering hole. 

Put his harness on, open the screen door and after my usual Fatherly lecture... "stay in the yard, away from the road, check in regularly..." etc, out he went.



Three Fishing cowboys on Jumping Pound creek... gotta be a C&W song in there somewhere.



Tried going back to sleep, to no avail.  Seems once up, I'm up.

I geared up the old coffee pot, the one that was in my first shop in PEI back in the day, put some clothes on, and fired up the email program.

There's a message from my old friend Ron M.

Ronnie and I first got together during my second stint in Fort Mac Murray or as RM likes to call it, Fort MacHell!



End of the PFT.



He was in town to run the weekly paper, the FM Express, kinda like a softer version of the tabloids, okay about as soft as cotton candy compared to the Enquirer but you get the picture.

I was back licking my wounds from a divorce in which I pretty much had the slate wiped clean. 



Rte 68!



Lost my business, my home, my 50 acres of the "oiland"

My kids were split up, Holly was then 11 and stayed with Dad and Lisa was 8, stayed with Mom.

My World was upside down and I was happy for the life preserver offered to me by old friend and former employer John Metcalfe from Four Seasons Motorsports.

Ended up operating the MC training program that I had started in FMH, 14 years before, that had died a slow death in the ensuing time frame.

Anywhose... I digress.

I get this email today from RM.



very cool!!!



He says to me in very eloquent terms, he likes reading my Blog.  Says it almost makes him want to buy and ride a DP bike, but his... and I quote "I don't think my poor old shoulders would be capable of much off-roading beyond fire and logging roads!" 

I had to smile and chuckle reading this.  I could take Ronnie on some wicked fire and logging roads right in his back yard.

You see, his back yard is in the B.C. interior.  No, not Bragg Creek but British Columbia.

Although I have not spent much time in his neck of the woods, I'm pretty sure I could dream up some back roads/logging roads/fire roads that would pretty much do him in!

Ron is a street guy and he recently bought back his old GS 750 T that I had bought from him in FMH and then years later sold to a friend of mine locally.



That's PF looking south.



This bike has a very ugly memory for me which occured during a fuel stop in Lac La Biche AB. 

Holly and I were just leaving the service station when a woman driving a large car tried to beat cross traffic and cut the corner into the station, aimed directly at us.

I could see it coming and was totally helpless, with no where to go.  I had time to brace myself on the bars as a reaction.   Wouldn't have been much help at a 50kph head on impact.   She saw me, floored the brakes and a small child standing next to such a responsible Mom, sans car seat or even safety belt, flew off the seat and smacked the inside of the windshield!   The car stopped about 7 and a half inches short of the GS' chrome front fender!!!



Bison farm just west of Calgary.



I was grateful that a collision that would have surely smashed the bike to smithereens, and catapulted Holly and I into oblivion, was avoided... but horrified that her 2-3 something child, took the blow.  traffic tied up both ways as cars screeched to a halt.  Talk about you "nit wits."

Geez there I am off topic again.  Must be old age creeping up on me. Back to the point. 



Yes, that be three bags of grass, sitting in an alley.



Over the years that I have had my writings and ramblings (some would say incoherant babbling) published, I have been contacted by many that have felt like following my travels on their own so to speak.  I have met many people in just this way.  Even during my stint at the Foothills Hospital in '05, a guy trailing a hundred pound fluid pole, loaded with intravenous bottles, oxygen bottle, monitoring equipment, all designed secretly to build up your stamina after heart surgery, recognized me from some article he'd read.  Everyday he'd say, "I know you from somewhere..."  Until the third day he literally screamed aloud... "You're that Doctor guy, that writes those travel stories!"

I even got a phone call one time from 75 year young Gold Wing rider from Yellowknife, that wanted to get an Enduro bike and ride to Alaska, after reading my Forestry Trunk road article.  He wanted some professional advice on what kind of bike to buy for his trek.

This is why I write.  If even one person loads their soft saddlebags and heads south to Baja California, or to the Alps or to the Rockies or the Cabot Trail... I have done my job.

In my early days of teaching the MC training program, and owning/operating Freedom Cycle Inc.  my mission was to put people on motorcycles safely and happily.



Home is where you hang your helmet...



Nowadays, that mission is to keep you riding.

Happy Trails:)

It doesn't get much better than this?

Just a might dusty today...

Everytime a truck went by today, it was followed by a hanging, choking cloud of Rockie Mountain dust.  NO idea where there were hauling to, but let me tell you, those truckers rip along at speeds you couldn't imagine. 

It's everyman for himself, just don't get in their way, they take up the entire road surface.



Health food...

I stopped many times for photo ops and trailside snacks.  Okay, my choice of food may not be the healthiest at times, (Old Dutch kettle crunch) but hey... after all, I was living on the edge.



Gorgeous!  Just gorgeous...

EVEN though I have ridden this particular route a hundred times, in winter while it's under a blanket of snow 20' deep, or during rainstorms that suddenly popped up out of nowhere, well okay, the Rockies) or even sometimes on days just like today... it never gets old.



So, that's why it's so dang dusty!

Before I head off to the East coast to live out my years in blissfull retirement, I will do several of my Magical History Tour rides one last time.  Who knows when I will be back in these parts if ever.



Memorial...

In August of 1941, during the dark early days of WW2, 10km back in those mountains, an RCAF training Anson twin engine aircraft, had mechanical trouble and crashed in those mountains.  Two died while the third crewman, survived the crash and was rescued.



U. B. U.*

Free range cattle range freely over the range... just feeling free... to roam, and range... at home... on the range, while freely roaming, and ranging...



Honestly now... is this Great or what?

You don't have to be a dual purpose motorcyclist to appreciate this particular scene, do you.  One of the nice things about the PFT, is that you don't have to have a bike like mine.  I see Jeeps, trucks and sometimes (on dry days) passenger cars taking in the scenery.




I get to cross this creek about a dozen times... sometimes without the bridge.

Today I passed several fishermen trying their luck.  Jumping Pound creek criss-crosses the Trail at intervals, making the water inviting for a splash on the face or down the neck on a hot day, like today.




Memorial to the fallen.***

Yup... just another reason that I ride my bikes...  I have been very fortunate to have survived forty three years riding motorcycles.  There is really nothing like it.**

* Union of Bovine Udderhood

** Not even S E X! 

*** Fitting that I write this on the 66th anniversary of the Hiroshima Atomic bombing.





Has this ever happened to you?

I often get asked why I would do something as stupid as riding in the back country of Baja, or the Mojave desert.  It's true, this type of motorcycle activity can be hazardous to one's health, downright dangerous even.  It's hard to come up with an answer for that or even argue with the logic behind it.

On the other hand, take today as an example.  It's a beautiful day, sun is high in the sky, few clouds simply for contrast.  I'm riding towards downtown Calgary on Crowchild Trail, from my home in Silver Springs.  It's Tuesday mid morning, rush hour traffic is gone and just a few scattered vehicles. 

CT is predominately a three lane major N/S, E/W corridor.  One of Calgary's better known roads.  Apart from the three lanes all cross traffic is routed via overpasses.  Further, the C-Train dual track runs down the center of Crowchild with strong concrete protective barriers lining the route. 

As they have been doing for several weeks now, weekday traffic is reduced from three to two lanes for a short stretch, for work crews making repairs or alterations to the C-train facilities.  The posted speed of 80kph (50mph for my American friends) reduces to 50kph (30mph) for a few hundred meters (yards).  The speed reduction is in place to protect workers and road users alike.  Never know when  a cherry picker or dump truck noses into the traffic lane.  There are signs on both sides of the road for a fair distance warning of the speed reduction as well as orange pylons and barrels.  To top it off, there is a large flashing arrow mounted high up off the ground visible for about a km to city bound travellers.  Suffice to say that, this is not a situation where a tree jumps you from behind a car...

ZO... as I have done dozens of times in recent weeks, I begin to slow down when the first 50kph sign is reached.  By the time I have come to the 2nd speed sign, I am riding/driving at around 50.  Yes, typically cars travel at well above the posted limit of 80 kph, and yes many times even though you are in the reduced speed zone, some asshol_ will speed by on the left lane, squeezing in... forcing other cars to slow or move over.

Today after about a 1/4 M at the reduced speed with the work vehicles and crew to my left, I notice a dark colored RAM truck smokin' towards my tail.  I immediately veer to the left within the protective barrel barrier, just as tires squeal!

This lunatic was no doubt well over the 80k speed limit, and for whatever reason (texting/yakking/eating/drinking/adjusting the 6CD changer/putting on make-up, reading email/picking her nose/adjusting his boys/etc etc etc ad nauseum) he/she somehow failed to take notice of the mile and a half of posting, the dozens of bright orange barriers, the flashing work vehicle lights and the 12' overhead flashing arrow... and nearly rear ended me. 

About 10m later while still on the Trail, still in the center lane, back to three flowing lanes, I notice traffic jamming up in the right hand lane and as my speed is now higher than the right lane, I move slightly left and sure enough, a vehicle jumps lanes and pretty near takes me out.  I am certain the driver reacted to the suddenly slowing traffic and simply "changed lanes."  Without looking of course... where is the 12 second rule here?  This guy like many drivers pay little attention to anything around them much less something 12 seconds down the road.  Like the RAM "Charger" truck!

What's the point here?

During my 18 years as a Chief Instructor for the Canada Safety Council Motorcycle Training program, I greeted every new class with these little tidbits of advice;

Ride like you're invisible, your life depends on it.

There are only two types of motorcyclist, those that have fallen down, and those that are gonna!

And lastly, sometimes, a lot of times, you will have to yield your right of way. Better that than telling St Pete (cuz you know you're going to heaven) that you were dead right!

Be safe, happy travels, and keep the rubber side down my friends!