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chrisx
Banned
Posts: 173
Registered: 12-17-2009
Member Is Offline
Mood: baj nomad is broken
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back road guide book?
Books or information source about the SW part of Baja? Is there info available on the location of tiendas, ground water, if any of the villages have
a hotel? If a person wanted to pedal their bike SW out of San Ignacio and take the back roads to La Paz, how would they learn of resupply points. A
report on archaeological sites would be interesting. My baja guide tells me little past Mex 1.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65410
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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This guide is specific to central Baja... covers some of the roads that cross over from Mulege to the Pacific side, authors live in Mulege:
This guide covers all of Baja, but is one of the best of recent years to deal with off the highway sites:
This is the all time best Baja guidebook for facts, details and maps... however, it was last updated in the 1960's with a final 1970 reprint...
Valuable still today.
A revised version in 1975 (with new primary author) to include the new highway was published. The name was changed to 'Baja California Guidebook':
This book was well done and covers many dirt roads in Baja, from 1977:
Finally, of interest to you... but little off the highway information:
[Edited on 12-28-2010 by David K]
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Brian L
Nomad
Posts: 250
Registered: 6-21-2010
Location: Alpine, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Bad Days
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I'd like to hear comments on the picture of the last book, Bicycling Baja. Loaded bike in the middle of the road, loaded burro on other side. Where
is the fat lady in the Honda?
Brian
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65410
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by blane
I'd like to hear comments on the picture of the last book, Bicycling Baja. Loaded bike in the middle of the road, loaded burro on other side. Where
is the fat lady in the Honda? |
The book is from 1988... traffic was lighter, perhaps?
The cover photo continues onto the back and is of the highway to Santa Rosalia... the foot of Tres Virgenes is that slope you see behind the burro/
mule.
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motoged
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6481
Registered: 7-31-2006
Location: Kamloops, BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: Gettin' Better
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Chris,
It appears that you are doing some "first-time" Baja adventuring and are doing that primarily by bicycle.
As you are discovering, there is Baja adventuring....and there is Baja Nomad adventuring. The latter is far more dangerous as there are perils lurking
behind every Nomad
There may not be as many perils riding your bike in Baja
All guide books are immediately out of date once sent to the printer....as a rule of thumb for the "publisher vs writer vs change"....so don't expect
to find what the guidebook says for lots of stuff.
Your best bet is a good Baja Almanac, good puncture-proof tires, lots of water, pesos in small denominations, dried food for emergencies, and
preparation for the reality that a bicycle is a difficult way to explore Baja (sand and hills are not your friends).
This forum is inhabited primarily by citizens of the USA (at home or away) and they really hate any anti-gringo commentary ....justified or not...
(those gringos/"Americans" who agree with you will tend to be quiet or only respond with U2U's so as to not jump into this public fray).
You must get it by now that riding a bicycle anywhere there is auto/truck traffic is inherently dangerous for the bicyclist....and that not all
dangerous drivers are:
- women
- fat women
- fat women in Hondas
- fat American women in Hondas
- fat American women in Hondas who are drunk or high on
prescription drugs ....
Hopefully this trip will help you plan your next one better.....scrounge all the info you can from this and other Baja-friendly forums, as well as
general Googling.....
A friend of mine uses Google-Earth to find routes for Motorcycling Baja....I take that info with a pound of salt as seeing a line on Google Earth
doesn't mean the road won't look like this:
When you hope it looks like this:
or, better yet....you hope it looks like this:
Or even better....
Expect the worst....enjoy everything else
[Edited on 12-30-2010 by BajaNomad]
Don't believe everything you think....
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chrisx
Banned
Posts: 173
Registered: 12-17-2009
Member Is Offline
Mood: baj nomad is broken
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Bonnie Wong wrote a great book. Her back road touring skills are still up to date. The roads South from Tecate to Lagona Hanson are no longer the
same as they were in the 80s. They don't match my 2008 National Geographic map either.
An 1850 cavalry scouts manual could be handy up there. After the snow storm there was water everywhere. And some washed out bridges. Travel was a
little slow with 100 pounds of wet sand on my bike tires.
When the soldiers at the check point on Mex 3 asked me to draw a map I figured I had found an isolated area
Walt Peterson has one memorable line in his book. If your clean you will be treated well, If you are dirty you will be treated accordingly. Or was
it, no forget take a shower. Alright, its been a couple of years since I read that one in the coffee shop at Powell's City of Books. Simply put,
spend a minute or two to shave, people will like you better.
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chrisx
Banned
Posts: 173
Registered: 12-17-2009
Member Is Offline
Mood: baj nomad is broken
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Unfortunately 90% of the aggressive drivers have US plates. mostly California and Arizona. Sadly people posting hatred towards bicycles realy drive
that way. All bicyclists I talked with agreed with this statement. The 90%, not the posts. Not knowing how to drive is ignorance. Saying bad
driving is the way to live, ... there are some sick sick people in the world, and the % with gringo plates is disproportionate.
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mcfez
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8678
Registered: 12-2-2009
Location: aka BN yankeeirishman
Member Is Offline
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Go ahead fellow Baja Nomads
Help this guy out some more 
[Edited on 12-29-2010 by mcfez]
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65410
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Sounds like Chris already 'knows-it-all'? Seems the books I posted were of no interest or were nothing new to him, I guess he has them already?
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mcfez
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8678
Registered: 12-2-2009
Location: aka BN yankeeirishman
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by motoged
Chris,
It appears that you are doing some "first-time" Baja adventuring and are doing that primarily by bicycle.
As you are discovering, there is Baja adventuring....and there is Baja Nomad adventuring. The latter is far more dangerous as there are perils lurking
behind every Nomad
There may not be as many perils riding your bike in Baja
All guide books are immediately out of date once sent to the printer....as a rule of thumb for the "publisher vs writer vs change"....so don't expect
to find what the guidebook says for lots of stuff.
Your best bet is a good Baja Almanac, good puncture-proof tires, lots of water, pesos in small denominations, dried food for emergencies, and
preparation for the reality that a bicycle is a difficult way to explore Baja (sand and hills are not your friends).
This forum is inhabited primarily by citizens of the USA (at home or away) and they really hate any anti-gringo commentary ....justified or not...
(those gringos/"Americans" who agree with you will tend to be quiet or only respond with U2U's so as to not jump into this public fray).
You must get it by now that riding a bicycle anywhere there is auto/truck traffic is inherently dangerous for the bicyclist....and that not all
dangerous drivers are:
- women
- fat women
- fat women in Hondas
- fat American women in Hondas
- fat American women in Hondas who are drunk or high on
prescription drugs ....
Hopefully this trip will help you plan your next one better.....scrounge all the info you can from this and other Baja-friendly forums, as well as
general Googling.....
A friend of mine uses Google-Earth to find routes for Motorcycling Baja....I take that info with a pound of salt as seeing a line on Google Earth
doesn't mean the road won't look like this:
Or even better....
Expect the worst....enjoy everything else |
Hey...is that you wearing the shades?
[Edited on 12-29-2010 by mcfez]
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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chrisx
Banned
Posts: 173
Registered: 12-17-2009
Member Is Offline
Mood: baj nomad is broken
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Baja adventuring....and there is Baja Nomad adventuring. The latter is far more dangerous as there are perils lurking behind every Nomad
- fat American women in Hondas who are drunk or high on
prescription drugs .
http://www.bajabooksandmaps.com/index.html?cp=http://www.baj...
maybe this book if I can find one. once out of range of the honda smile returns to my face, and I hum a little tune
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by chrisx
Not knowing how to drive is ignorance. |
Unlike riding a bicycle in front of a truck. That, of course, is brilliant.
Chris........Your defense of self-rightous stupidity is unfathomable. Why do you persist?
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chrisx
Banned
Posts: 173
Registered: 12-17-2009
Member Is Offline
Mood: baj nomad is broken
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like i said yanks are rotten to the core
asking this retard to act nice is without hope
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torch
Nomad
Posts: 295
Registered: 1-27-2010
Location: O.C. Calif. and BCN
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by chrisx
like i said yanks are rotten to the core
asking this retard to act nice is without hope |
wow, really ... really? ok spell it out, ..... (I'm not sure why i wrote that) why not just stay off Mex 1 and only smile.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65410
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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You need to convert that National Geo. giant folding map to the Baja Almanac for some useful road and trail details... Judy at BajaBooksAndMaps.com
should have it... if not http://www.BajaAlmanac.com
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9011
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
Member Is Offline
Mood: Inquisitive
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| Quote: | Originally posted by chrisx
Unfortunately 90% of the aggressive drivers have US plates. mostly California and Arizona. Sadly people posting hatred towards bicycles realy drive
that way. All bicyclists I talked with agreed with this statement. The 90%, not the posts. Not knowing how to drive is ignorance. Saying bad
driving is the way to live, ... there are some sick sick people in the world, and the % with gringo plates is disproportionate.
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I find it to be just the opposite over here in Sonora. The fast, inconsiderate drivers all have Sonora or Sinaloa plates. Their titular heads are the
bus drivers, especially the muni ones.
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by chrisx
Unfortunately 90% of the aggressive drivers have US plates. mostly California and Arizona. Sadly people posting hatred towards bicycles realy drive
that way. All bicyclists I talked with agreed with this statement. The 90%, not the posts. Not knowing how to drive is ignorance. Saying bad
driving is the way to live, ... there are some sick sick people in the world, and the % with gringo plates is disproportionate.
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Interesting statistics, but have you noticed how many local Mexicans in have cars with California Plates?
Let's see, we drive that highway about every six weeks or so and we do real scientific statistical analysis every time we are on the highway---tough
job, but someone has to do it.
Here are some examples of our findings.
43.9876 % of the drunk drivers we see are Gringos or Mexicans in cars with California plates.
41.679% of the aggressive drivers are locals
75.489% of the speeding drivers have Oregon Plates
23.9999% of the seemingly lost drivers have Washington Plates
Only number I would place a bet on is that
99.9999% of the small trucks with horses or cattle in the back are driven by locals---had to have a little margin of error.
Really sorry you have such an agenda----When I first saw your picture that Shari posted of you in our village, I thought---gee, that is nice. He
should have quite an adventure riding the back roads.
All of us who drive that highway either in cars, RVs, or motorcycles can tell about many near misses that involved all sorts of vehicles driven by all
sorts of people. We have seen many really bad accidents and one of the worst was when a motorcycle hit a cow.
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ncampion
Super Nomad
Posts: 1238
Registered: 4-15-2006
Location: Loreto
Member Is Offline
Mood: Retired and Loving it
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| Quote: | Originally posted by chrisx
Unfortunately 90% of the aggressive drivers have US plates. mostly California and Arizona. Sadly people posting hatred towards bicycles realy drive
that way. All bicyclists I talked with agreed with this statement. The 90%, not the posts. Not knowing how to drive is ignorance. Saying bad
driving is the way to live, ... there are some sick sick people in the world, and the % with gringo plates is disproportionate.
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It's not aggressive or "bad" drivers that are the problem, it's statistics. Sooner or later, on a blind curve, a truck, a car and a bicycle are going
to all come together. I resent that the bicyclist puts the other drivers in the position of having to make the split second decision - "do I head-on
the truck, or do I hit the bicycle". I only see one answer and I don't want to live the rest of my life with the consequence. If you want to ride
Baja highways on two wheels, make sure it has at least 50 hp and can go 100 kpm.
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Brian L
Nomad
Posts: 250
Registered: 6-21-2010
Location: Alpine, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Bad Days
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| Quote: | Originally posted by chrisx
like i said yanks are rotten to the core
asking this retard to act nice is without hope |
You have a great way of getting us to like you.
Brian
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wilderone
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3894
Registered: 2-9-2004
Member Is Offline
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Lay off chrisx already. He knows now to bike off Mex. 1 for his own safety and others.
"You must get it by now that riding a bicycle anywhere there is auto/truck traffic is inherently dangerous for the bicyclist....and that not all
dangerous drivers are:
- women"
No wrong incorrect. every single car on Mex. 1 passing on blind turns and going too fast are being driven by males. that's the truth. and you know
it.
chrisx - all those small place names are sometimes just one rancho. E.g., at El Alamo, about 30 miles SW of San Ignacio, there is one ranch with one
guy living there. Sometimes a fish camp, and they go out in early AM, return in afternoon. Mostly no hotels, but at Bahia San Ignacio, some campos.
You can resupply there. Lots of archaeological sites, but you have to know what you're looking for - they're not signed or on the map because they've
always lacked professional scrutiny. E.g., the entire Bahia San Ignacio area is covered with indigenous indicia. Not many structures to see - what
you'll be looking for are tools, points, agave roasting pits, pot shards. "Resupply points"? You'll have to barter or purchase from those whom you
will meet along the way, or you will treated to the generosity of Baja Californios. Maybe get a truck ride for a span? But that's the charm of Baja
CA.
Maybe check in here for more specific route planning as you progress. You've done good so far, no? Have a great trip, and ignore negativity here.
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