Guerro Negro to Ensenada - 387 miles (the longest day)
All I can say about this day is "Oh my God, what a windy cold mother f*cker". We awoke to temps in the low 50's and more wind. We hit the road at about 7:30 am and followed the coast up around the checkpoint. We got back onto Hwy 1 and just pinned it north. The road was dead straight and boring as hell most of the way to Catavina. We stopped for breakfast at a small one-woman restaurant along the road when we stopped for barrel gas. The food was excellent and the lady friendly. It cost us less than $10 for breakfast for all three of us.
It was so cold I had been using my grip heaters and after breakfast, I added more layers of clothing to fight off the cold.
After breakfast we continued north stopping several times to buy barrel gas. The section through Catavina was amazing. The rock formations were otherworldly. We failed to get any pictures, my hands were too cold to operate my camera while riding. We stopped in a town called San Quieten to go to the bank. I got separated from Phil and Paul and spent about half an hour trying to reconnect. I had no luck so I pressed on for Ensenada alone. The mountain roads outside Ensenada were spectauclar and I throughly enjoyed riding them. I passed though the small town of Santo Tomas Aquino but did not see the mission. It was a very small town with only one small hotel visible. I stopped just outside town to attempt radio or cell contact with Phil and Paul again but to no avail. I relaized that I had passed into the Pacific time zone and had gained an hour so making it to Ensenada before dark was not going to be a problem.
I pressed on through the mountain passes and came to a military checkpoint near the top of a pass. I spoke with one of the soldiers on duty and asked if my friends had passed. He told me they had not. I described Phil and Paul to the soldier and asked if he would tell them I was ahead of them when they came through. I later found out that he did just as I asked.
I made it to Ensenada at about 4:15 pm and stopped for gas and tried Phil and Paul by radio again. I finally had cell coverage so I called Phil and left a message that I was in Ensenada. The gas station attendants directed me to an internet cafe where I checked in at home and was able to contact a friend who lives in Ensenada named Damasovi. Damasovi gave me directions to an internet cafe in downtown by the harbor that a friend of his owns. I made it through the packed 4 lane traffic to meet him with only a little difficulty. I met with Damasovi and chatted for a while until Phil called. Damasovi recommended a nice hotel along the harbor that was not too expensive and told us were to go to enjoy the nightlife in Ensenada without getting into trouble.
Phil and Paul were unable to stop by to see Damasovi because of the lack of parking and extremely heavy traffic. Damasovi had to go home because he has a new baby so we said our good byes and agreed to try to hook up for a morning ride. I rode down the strip to a gas station and met Phil and Paul. Paul was very harried from the long arduous drive and the heavy traffic was not helping. I led them down the strip to the hotel Damasovi had recommended and Phil got us a room. The hotel, The Old Mission Inn, had secure parking for the bikes with a security guard. We settled in and went to the hotel restaurant for the buffet dinner. The dining room overlooked the stripn and harbor so we watched the parade of cars and semi's that were all decorated and had people hanging off them pass by. It was a Valentine's Day celebration. We retired to bed a short while later because the long windy ride had taken it out of us.
Below is a picture I poached from the internet of the Catavina boulder fields. Here is a link to a great website about the area.
And another I poached.
