Baja Thanksgiving 11-2006

This was a trip I was very excited about.  I had a hard time sleeping the week before I left.  This was also my first trip back on the KTM since I broke my leg 6-15-06 in Big Bear.  The plan was that Tammy's brother's family, Mike, Lori, Megan, Rachael, and Amanda would drive to Jamul from their home in Carson City on Tuesday and Chelsea would fly home from Davis on Wednesday.  The boys, Mike, Gary, Kevin, and I, would drive to the town of Puertecitos in Baja on Wednesday (about a 5 hour drive), then unload our bikes and ride to our house in Punta Bufeo - about 45 miles on the dirt road.  We would watch the Baja 1000 race on Thursday that was only a few miles from our house, and the girls would drive down to our house in Baja on Saturday.  We would stay and celebrate Thanksgiving before driving home the following Friday.  Wow - 10 days in Baja - did I say I was pumped :)

Mike and his family made it down to our house in Jamul on Tuesday and we had a nice visit and loaded up our two bikes.  Mike would be driving his Tahoe with my trailer and our two bikes, and Gary would be driving his truck with his and Kevin's bike.  We drove two vehicles because Gary & Kevin will be going home early on Saturday or Sunday, and not staying for Thanksgiving the following week.  They will both celebrate Thanksgiving with their familys back in the States.

Wednesday greeted us with a beautiful sunny day.  We hit the road early and were looking forward to our trip.  Little did I know that this would be one trip I would not want to repeat...  It started about 40 miles east of San Diego, when Gary pulled up along side us on Hwy 8 making all these hand gestures to Mike and I - we're like, 'What the hell is he saying', then we noticed that the siding on my trailer was being torn away by the wind, and we had already lost one panel.  We stopped on Hwy 8 and removed some screws from other areas on the trailer and screwed the remaining panel to the wood so we wouldn't loose another panel.  We had to make a detour to the Home Depot in El Centro to buy some more screws to repair the trailer - this set us back about an hour.

Then to the border crossing at Calexico.

We drove south thru San Felipe and on into Puertecitos.  We ate lunch, unloaded the trucks and started our ride to Punta Bufeo.  Notice that Kevin is not in any of the pics?  He's the only one with a camera and took most of the pics until he left - thanks Kevin!!

The view from our table.

We all loaded our backpacks and saddlebags with clothes and food.  I already had all the main food items at the house, but we needed to bring all the fresh fruit, veggies, etc.  This turned out to be a bad move on my part, as I had a lot of weight in my saddle bags.  After about 10 miles into the ride, I high sided and crashed on the road HARD!!!  For those non-motorcycle types, a high side is when the back end of the bike gets kicked out 95 degrees so the bike is completely sideways, and when the back tire touches the ground the bike stops and throws you over the high side of the bike.  This was one of the hardest crashes I can remember - one second I was riding the next second I was on the ground in pain.  I think the heavy saddlebags helped the bike's rear end come around faster than normal. 

I knew I was hurt but did not know how bad.  After about 45 minutes, I decided to get back on my bike and continue to my house.  If my condition got worse, we have a truck at the house to use for an emergency evacuation.  So, my three friends had to lift me onto the bike and I made it about 5 feet and crashed again!!  My handlebars were bent preety bad, and I needed to compensate for this, which I didn't.  Now I was hurt and more pissed - 'Put me back on my bike again' I screamed.  They did, and I made it to my house after another 35 miles.  I couldn't get off the bike, so I just crashed into the sand and waited for the guys to pick me up.  They got me into the house and my neighbor Alan stopped by to see what was up.  Mike cleaned the gravel out of my arm, wrapped it, and I sat down in the recliner.  Thank god for Kevin, the next thing I know he's pasing out Tequila shots - I think I'll take a few, or many :)  Alot of Advil and many tequila shots, and I'm feeling alot better.

Team KTM all safe and sound parked in my neighbor's John's porch.

Our house in Punta Bufeo.  It is made of granite, about 1000 sq feet, two bedrooms, one bath, upstairs deck, lower covered pation, and open patio.  And, yes, it's right on the beach.  At high tide just walk about 75 feet and you're in the water.

Here are some pics showing the view from the house.  You can see some of the 5 Enchanted Islands if front of the house.