In Baja on the Wing

[advtracker]

We're in Baja on the Wing. It's HOT. Made it as far as La Paz then headed back north. Now for our second stay in San Ignacio. Next Catavina, then Ensenada, then will recross the border next week where the truck is waiting in Yucca Valley, CA. Trailered it down from WA State as it was in the low 30s and raining there.

 

[Bud]

Keep the rubber side down Joe!

 

[greenie]

Good for you! Enjoy your trip. How does the Gold Wing handle the topes?

 

[advtracker]

Good for you! Enjoy your trip. How does the Gold Wing handle the topes?

Very good question. I always take my VStrom South of the Border, but as I brought the pillion unit with me this time, I took the Wing. Her primary job is to warn me about the topes. I go over them at an angle slowly, and so far no problems.

 

[Motomaniac]

Love your wing...I have a white 18 DCT tour! It's great to see that it can handle the Baja area roads. Is getting gas an issue? I live in Southern California and would like to ride down there maybe this fall or next spring. Safe travels!

 

[advtracker]

Love your wing...I have a white 18 DCT tour! It's great to see that it can handle the Baja area roads. Is getting gas an issue? I live in Southern California and would like to ride down there maybe this fall or next spring. Safe travels!

Mine’s a 2018 DCT also. Only had to get Barrell gas once. Actually about 80% + of the paved roads are in good condition. We came down a bit late. Would recommended Feb or earlier due to the heat. 98 deg. is too much. C u @ The Bun Cooler?

 

[Motomaniac]

Mine’s a 2018 DCT also. Only had to get Barrell gas once. Actually about 80% + of the paved roads are in good condition. We came down a bit late. Would recommended Feb or earlier due to the heat. 98 deg. is too much. C u @ The Bun Cooler?

I am going to try to make the Bun Cooler! Safe travels coming home.

 

[Strawboss]

Serious question, how does that work with quarantines now, going there and coming back, just interested, as a trip like that has always fascinated me.

 

[advtracker]

Serious question, how does that work with quarantines now, going there and coming back, just interested, as a trip like that has always fascinated me.

Zero problem. We got waved across the border into Mexico. Stopped by the office to get our FMMs (Immigration permits, like a Visa sort of), and that was it. We could have even skipped the FMM process but that wouldn't have been wise.
Coming back into the US was completely uneventful. A few questions and that was it.

 

[Strawboss]

OK. PM sent.

 

[greenie]

For Americans crossing the border either north or south never changed. Cross border traffic did slow substantially for a few months (I've been watching via webcam https://www.cityoflaredo.com/bridgesys/Cameras/bridge4cam.html ) but it now appears to be about the same as it always was.

 

[nickrides]

Baja Story time
We did alot of month long Van surfing trips down there from 75-95.
Paid quite a few "La Mordida" petty 20 dollars bribes to the cops for some made up infraction.
La Mordida = The Bite
Were approaching Tijuana after a a month long trip and I turn to my wife and say, "we haven't gotten stopped by the cops once".
I look in my mirror and see a cop behind us with the lights on. I'm pissed and say to my self there is no way I'm paying this guy off.
Its like 5 lanes wide and I slowly come to a stop on the middle lane blocking traffic.
He starts honking his horn motioning me to pull over to the side. No way- I don't move.
He comes up to me telling me to move to the side and I respond very slowly like a mentally challenged person.
But I don't move. Traffic is backing way up.
Finally after about 2 minutes of this he pulls around me motioning me to follow. I move over a couple of lanes and ignore him.
He disappears into the million cars.. Whahoo I won!
Nick
2014 C-14

 

[Strawboss]

I'm not so sure you'd be able to do that now, but it sounded fun, in an innocent way.

 

[greenie]

As an unrepentant speeder I've been stopped by police in Mexico maybe 6 times in 21 years. Only once did money change hands - about 20 USD. The other times the police didn't come out and ask for cash but waited for me to offer cash (pen poised 1/8" above a summons book)- which I never did. Often times the traffic stop ended with a handshake and wishes for a safe journey.
Consider what a similar traffic stop in New York or California will cost - $500 by the time all surcharges are paid and that doesn't include what the insurance company might do in premiums.
The wife and I got to know 2 Federal police officers pretty well, ate and drank with them. They impressed me as honest and professional LEOs. Local police officers were less so but still not as bad as legend has it.
I would not let fear of police corruption keep me from visiting this beautiful and enigmatic nation. Mountain roads, oceans, friendly people, terrific food, and what I consider the best beer in the world - it's a motorcyclist's paradise.

 

[Strawboss]

I asked around and got what I was looking for about travelling and quarantines. I don't travel on planes or trains or busses, so I did not understand the current quarantine situation, I was merely interested as I used to travel to Canada before the troubles but from what we are told here 50 miles from the border that Canada is quite strict regarding people coming to Canada, and I thought maybe restrictions may have been relaxed a bit. In a nutshell, quick testing is what I found out happens at the borders of other countries, test negative, you go on your way.

 

[greenie]

I live about 200 miles from Quebec City - just like going to Europe except without the body odor. My daughter and I started a yearly tradition of her and I (only, no Mom) riding to Quebec City when she was about 12. We did this 22 years in a row never missing a year... until 2020 when Canada closed its borders. She started off riding with me, then when old enough on her Ninja 250, then a Yamaha R-6. We have matching radar camera images from one trip that only cost $125 Canadian each (about $30 USD ) It was a wonderful experience where we had face time in an otherwise busy life. .. Plus I could impress her with my Spanish when ordering meals or beverages (saving what little French I knew for Mexico trips)

Canada has gone full bat guano crazy enacting laws forbidding outside walks after 8PM and expensive mini internment like quarantines in hotels for those few determined enough to enter Canada now. Cross border trucking is still permitted, but for the way I feel now that should be shut off too if Canada is so worried about Covid.

 

[advtracker]

I've ridden in Argentina twice, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico three times. I've been pulled over at formal established roadblocks by the police and military countless times. No one has ever asked or even hinted at a bribe. At all times the police and military have been courteous and professional.
Someone tells a story, maybe embellished, maybe not, and it circulates like wildfire. I'll tell all of you, Latin America is a beautiful place with wonderful people. Far friendlier than the USA. Don't get me wrong, I'm a strict "borders matter guy", but never, I repeat never, have I ever felt threatened in anyway by anyone. Not once.
You doubters don't know what you're missing. Your loss, not mine.

 

[greenie]

"You doubters don't know what you're missing. Your loss, not mine." Absolutely!
We toured the US and then in 1986 (even in 1986 Mexico was said to be very dangerous) started dipping our toe by crossing the Mexican border incrementally - first on foot, then in a car, then an RV, and finally a motorcycle. Each time we came back to the US healthy & happy. Friends and relatives never understood.
When our daughter was a young teen she attended a public school in Sinaloa when we were camped on the ocean - a very poor area. She made friends and learned by that experience that much of what American media and Hollywood movies portray as Mexico is a complete fabrication. The friends she made never appeared to resent her or us for our relative wealth. She stayed with friends overnight in a nearby town (pop. 31,000) and was on the streets with friends late at night. Families are strong in Mexico and there were a lot of eyes making sure that our daughter and her friends were safe. How often do we see teen-aged children socializing out on US city streets in the daytime let alone 11pm? This was in the State of Sinaloa - then as it is now a very active drug area.
It is experiences like advtracker relates that is the essence of living a full and realistic life. Preconceptions are often misconceptions that stunts learning about life; what we are told is true often is not true.
The biggest risk we face riding in Mexico is the traffic. It moves quickly. City riding on multi-lane roads with worn glass smooth pavement and faded lane markings requires just the right mixture of caution and reliance. In the mountains many Mexicans drive fast with impressive skill.
For six years (not this year sadly) I started my riding season in Mexico - riding between 2,000 and 5,000 miles touring Mexico. Then I came home and spent the rest of the riding season trying to remember that I was still not in Mexico, riding slower and with more caution.

 

[advtracker]

"You doubters don't know what you're missing. Your loss, not mine." Absolutely!
We toured the US and then in 1986 (even in 1986 Mexico was said to be very dangerous) started dipping our toe by crossing the Mexican border incrementally - first on foot, then in a car, then an RV, and finally a motorcycle. Each time we came back to the US healthy & happy. Friends and relatives never understood.

I'll second that emotion. Yes, the traffic is the worst danger. Extreme caution is necessary, especially on the autopistas. (4-lane highways.) The murder rate in Mexico is worse than here but IMHO, thats' principally bad guys going after other bad guys. I feel safer in any Latin American country far more than I would in certain inner city neighborhoods here. Of course theirs areas down there you want to avoid, but give me any country where this isn't the case.