Gonzaga Bay After Action Report

A couple weeks ago, a group of us rode down to Baja to check on things in preparation for the upcoming El Diablo Run and to see if the newly-constructed highway south to Gonzaga Bay was completed yet. It's not. But it's close. Only about three or four miles of dirt road left and then it'll be smooth sailing to one of Baja's loneliest shorelines. Bittersweet really, as they say: "good roads bring bad people" and all that. Either way, I wanted to be the first people to ride choppers there and back and by the comments from the few locals, I think we pulled it off. We cheated and brought the van and a small trailer which was nice for hauling a big ice chest full of beer, a load of fire wood and the occasional broken bike. In the end, all bikes made it save one (there's just no finding a modern Triumph coil down there). I'll save you the blow-by-blow description, but if you ever want to go, it's an easy route to navigate and even nicer coming back through Tecate where we stayed in some rather posh little cabinas. http://www.rancho-ojai.com/ Here's the route: http://tinyurl.com/ac2hzhv

JD Sansaver of FMF. http://www.flyingmonkeyfabrication.com/ One of the most creative, hard-working and easy going guys ever. Total joy to ride with this dude.

Austin's bike just before heading into Borrego Springs. EDR route.

Just north of San Felipe. No construction on the highway this time for once.

South of Puertocitas on the new highway. It'll probably be full of graffiti and trash in a couple years so it was nice to see it in it's virgin state.

Good as it gets right here.

The last few miles were dirt, but totally doable.

We made it. The PEMEX station was open and the store had ice cold Pacifico. Recently acquired pan did great!

Setting up camp. I think it cost us $2.00 US per person to stay here.

The van was about five hours behind dealing with other stuff so we scrounged a fire.

JD and McGoo relaced his wheel minus three broken spokes (now spaced equidistant) and everyone was together again just before dark.

Just in case you wondered, an empty mini keg placed on a bed of hot coals will blow in about one minute. It isn't smart, but it sure is fun. Close tents get ventilated. Sorry, Evan!

Sunrise on the Sea of Cortez is pretty hard to beat. I woke up just long enough to snap a pic and go back to sleep.

After a dinner of MRE's, breakfast at Alfonsina's in Gonzaga Bay did not suck.

Back on the road again. We rode four across on some stretches of the deserted highway.

Hot Springs in Puertocitas mix with the incoming tide. This pool was too hot to go into yet.

But this one was just right...

Frick the van pilot has had it with cranky motorcycles by this point. A sticky float got a little love and we were back on the road.

You can't stop Black Rob and his well-worn CB750.

I can't help but take photos when riding next to JD.

Charlie "The Cobra" got his ass kicked by two blind guys (don't ask, he doesn't remember) a couple nights before the trip. He wasn't about to give up though, so he jumped in the van.

We tried to steal this kid but he said "Struts are for kooks ess-aye" and hauled ass.

Cabinas in Tecate were a nice surprise for everybody.

Kickstand rubs the belt? We can fix that.

Austin of Odyn Vovk. Forget what people say about "kids these days". There are young guns out there that kick ass. Here's one of 'em.

More youngsters that got it right. Whitney and Eric. Lots to learn from these two.

Jason "Timmy" Ball. No matter what name you know him by, you probably know him. If you don't, your girlfriend most likely does. Just sayin'.

Thanks to everyone for a real memorable trip. This is the part about motorcycles I enjoy the most and this trip well above average. Sorry Joel, Nick, McGoo and Evan, somehow I didn't get any decent pics of you guys. ¡Viva Motos!

-Bill