Day two of Baja Divide riding brought us to the Mexican border town of Tecate. This is where, in my mind, it starts to feel real. After a quick breakfast and mug of coffee, we left Chicken Ranch just after 7:00 AM. Our initial destination was a restaurant called Barrett Junction, maybe 10 miles away from where we spent the night. It was there that we hoped we'd be able to have a more substantial breakfast with a second cup…
Remember how I said we were going to leave San Diego on Sunday to head towards Mexico? Well, we didn't. Shortly after waking, I found myself overwhelmed with trying to work through a long list of last minute details, many of which were taking far too much time and mental energy to complete. An executive decision was quickly made to delay our departure for one more day, and not surprisingly, Chris and Alisa had no problem with us remaining another night…
I'm writing this post while sitting in a comfortable bed, after an exquisite shower (they are all exquisite when being compared to boaters' navy showers) and a hot meal, all courtesy of some friendly cycling enthusiasts who welcomed us into their home. To tell the truth, our entire adventure since leaving our daughter's home on Thursday morning has been punctuated by experiences just like this, making me think that cycling only attracts people with big hearts. This is the furthest point…
Today is the day. In just a few moments time, we'll be riding our fully-loaded bikes down the driveway, and up the mile-long hill just south of here. We spent yesterday shopping for a bit of food, and solving the puzzle of how to pack all our stuff into the myriad of bags on our bikes. Think Rubik's Cube. I have to say, even though we have tried to be incredibly minimalistic in our gear selection, some might even say…
It seems obligatory that touring cyclists post photos and lists of their kit. So as to not stray too far from the norm, and also to demonstrate just how minimalist we'll be traveling, the photo below and the lists that follow it detail just about all of the clothes that we'll be starting our trip with. That's almost all of our clothes! Mike's clothes: Down-filled puffy jacket Merino wool base layer (pants) Merino wool long-sleeve 1/4 zip top Dryfit T-shirt Sleeveless T-shirt…
I guess we should take it as a good thing that certain friends have voiced concerns for our wellbeing. After all, it's comforting to know that there are people out there who actually care about us. On the other hand, it's funny to hear how some folks still seem doubtful about our efforts (we hear these things through the grapevine, never directly). We experienced this first 8 years ago when we made public our plans to go cruising, but seems…