Barbarosa - 4-17-2011 at 02:00 PM
“Gentlemen (you too, Barb), start your engines.”
I’d established just a handful of rules for the Run:
1. I make the all the rules.
2. On the highway, we will stay together, at least for the first several days. (Without good telecommunications devices out there, I don’t want to be
wondering where people are.)
3. No riding at night.
4. (I’m happy with a combined check at a table where we just divvy it up by the number of heads.) If others want to sort it out to the penny, they
will kindly sit at another table.
We opted for a leisurely departure. Not too many miles today. We could wait for the morning commute traffic to thin. What’s the rush? (Well, it
turned out I wasn’t quite right about that.) An easy ride down I-5 to the border. Got there at 11 am and were all done with the FMTs within the
hour. Next stop? All the way to The Rosarita Beach Hotel. They were very accommodating and let us all park in the plaza out front without entering
the lot. Had a most excellent and (as it turned out, way too) leisurely lunch very much enjoyed by all. (We did NOT suffer on our meals on this trip
at all!) We burned an extra hour at that lunch stop, and that proved to be a bit unfortunate.
The construction south of Ensenada had been completed. (What a relief!) And, interestingly, The Federalies weren’t out. All the roads were just
fine. A precursor for what we found during the rest of The Run. Just had a great afternoon.
As we were traveling through the mountains, with an hour or more to our destination for the night (San Quintin), we ran out of daylight. There went
rule #3. We got into some traffic, and one of the riders behind me lost track of the following bike. Part of the group fell back. There went rule
#2. Rats. Not even one day in.
I had been hearing high praise for the new Jardines Hotel. When we got into town, I pulled over to be sure we were all together. We weren’t. Not
even close. Seemed like forever before the stragglers (and, of course, the chase truck) showed up. No big deal. Except it was dark and folks were
tired. And some weren’t happy about being ditched.
Finding the hotel (for the first time) in the dark was not exactly a piece o’ cake. But I did manage to get right to it, or more precisely right to
the restaurant next door. Fortunately, I’d called them before we left home to tell them we’d be there but we weren’t sure when. They were waiting
for us. We took time to check in to our rooms and then hustled back for a truly outstanding dinner. Really exceptional.
And what a great place that hotel is! A bargain, to boot. And though the parking seemed adequately secure, they patrol it all night. There is one
negative about the place. The walls are at the ambient temperature and the in-room heaters really can’t make a dent. The place is chilly that time
of year. (I wonder if with higher occupancy the rooms would be warmed up?)
I should add that in the past, when I’ve stopped in that area, I’ve always stayed at Celito Lindo. We were traveling a bit more upscale this time. I
have a personal standard that motels must be a “Notch Above Scuzz,” and I didn’t trust that they are maintaining quite that standard. Anyway, we
certainly were very pleased with our choice.
It was a fine beginning (even if my rules were already a casualty). The others made it clear to me that future night riding was not an option. (OK
by me. And easy to ensure.) And I reinforced that we’d keep the pack together. (Much easier to ensure in daylight.)