Mexico Baja - Part 2 (June 11 to 15)

I am still in Mexicali preparing for my Mexican Baja leg of my bike ride

June 11
Some Notes – I slept like crap last night. I started this morning with a Road Show. Thanks to Brandon he mentioned using Skype/WhatsApp to call my bank and I was able to sort out my online banking issues (verification texts) with having a new Mexican phone number. I also finished getting all my US photos up to Flickr. I ended up taking 13,911 photos while bike touring through the US. I also shared my Prairie to Badlands video to 16 Facebook bike groups.

I then walked to a large modern grocery store without my bike so I could take the time slowly walk up and down the isles looking at food options for when I got back on the road. I found absolutely nothing I could buy for groceries to bring on the bike. Absolutely nothing!

The bathroom at a modern large grocery store

I have noticed that I see no lizards around? I also have noticed that other than a few traffic cops I see no military or security presence? I thought this was a dangerous border city?

I than finished and posted my US summary blog post. You can read it HERE.

June 12
Some Notes – I woke up anxious about the upcoming heat, lack of food and water supply situation when I get back on the road tomorrow.

I shared my US Summary blog post to 36 Facebook bike groups. I also wrote and posted my Arizona & California Part 5 blog post.

I went to a different very modern Walmart. I found Kraft Dinner and some soups. But that was basically it. And then I got stuck in a long line of about 12-15 customers.

Voortman Cookies in Mexico

Getting back to my Airbnb I posted to 27 Facebook bike groups asking if there were any other Canadians bike touring in Mexico now or in the future. [I never got any comments or responses to suggest there are any other Canadians bike touring in Mexico]. I wrote and posted my Mexico Baja Part 1 blog post.

Facebook post

For super I went to the same place – Tacos Alex San Marcos I have been going for tacos the last 3 evenings. This evening the tacos were on the house. I offered Angel a job on my bike ride as my cook. His tacos are so good.

At Tacos Alex San Marcos with Angel Lucero

I then came back to my Airbnb and dismantled and cleaned my camping cooking stove. I am ready to get back on the road except for the fact that I am scared shitless about the heat.

June 13
Km’s Pedalled – 78 km’s

Destination – Km marker 68 on Hwy 5 (past Ejido Cucapah Mayor)

Some Notes – The day was largely uneventful and the landscape south of Mexicali is pretty drab.

Goodbye A/C Airbnb

With a high of at least 111F I managed better than expected. Except in one way, it was not a true test of the heat as I never ran out of cool/cold water until I stopped for the night. I even found a restaurant later in the day an was able to get dinner.

An unusual looking shop

Tomorrow will likely be the real test as I don’t have clue if I will find cold water. At the end of my day though I felt sick like I had a fever with sore joints.

A descansos south of town

June 14
Km’s Pedalled – 100 km’s

Destination – Km’s marker 168 (almost to Playa El Paraiso)

Some Notes – I am felling better from last night. While I was making some soup for breakfast this guy came and dumped a bunch of garbage like 50 feet from me. He never knew I was there. It was so hot already that I could barely finish my breakfast.

I was camped behind that hill of sand. And this garbage was dumped while I made breakfast

I was able to get some cold water from a construction crew and later came across a store. After another 72 km’s I came across a second store. But it was hardly store. They sold water, coke and chips at premium price. The good news of the day was that I never ran out of cold water (which is huge). The bad news was that I basically ate nothing of substance the whole day.

Seconds after a truck passed me these slid of a flatbed trailer in front of me

Pretty much the whole day was a slow grind into a headwind. With a high of 105-110F+ the whole day it seemed my eyes were full of sweat. Thankfully overall a very flat highway and I still have a shoulder. But today went very slowly. I think at least the headwind drops the temperatures by a degree or two. The landscape is the same drap landscape.

Vast and nothing

The last few days I have had tons of people honking with an occasional car making sure I had water or I was good. This evening I was given 3 bottles of water, a package of cookies and a package of nuts.

I was hoping to see these – a Desert Iguana

There really is no other way to describe this current section of the ride as rough, tough and miserable. Fortunately, I am able to realize that this experience is temporary and at some point things will improve all around. I can’t believe I pulled off 100 km’s today. Every Mexican that speaks english I run into tells me it’s too hot.

June 15
Km’s Pedalled – 73 km

Destination – 10 km’s north of Delicias

Some Notes – I am tired. I sort of feel like I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I had 23 km’s to get into San Felipe. In San Felipe I had breakfast (chicken tacos). But I sit here unmotivated and not sure where to go. San Felipe is a good sized tourist town on the Sea of Cortez.

Breakfast and more Voortman Cookies

I sat in the shade on the beach looking over the Sea of Cortez for sometime with no motivation. But alas I could not sit there forever. I got back on my bike and headed out of town.

The Sea of Cortez – San Felipe

I assumed that because the highway followed fairly close to the sea there would be some more services such as food or water down the road. As soon as I got on the outskirts of San Felipe I realized that was very unlikely. And the nice breeze off the water turned back into a headwind and my nice wide shoulder also disappeared.

Ospreys and nesting platforms are common along the coast

I realized that I am exhausted like I would get when I biked during the Canadian winter. In the winter I would have great difficulty sleeping in the cold and get very little sleep at night. And then I would get tired during the day but it wasn’t like I could just set up a tent in the middle of the afternoon in the winter for a nap. It’s the same exhaustion but from the heat of the desert. And I can’t just take nap in the middle of the afternoon under a relentless killer sun. Luckily, I generally sleep well at night in the desert. But even after a full nights sleep I need more.

A new species of cactus for me to see

I came across a sign for a restaurant 3 km down a sandy road towards the sea. I was out of cold water and really had no idea if and where the next town was. I decided to see if there was an open restaurant though I had my doubts. I ended up getting stuck a dozen times in the soft sand and having to push my bike through it. Pushing a heavy fully loaded bike through soft sand under a hot sun is 100x worse than it sounds. Of course, the restaurant was closed but I got 2 bottles of cold water and 2 bottles of Gatorade for my troubles and was told about 15 km’s down the highway was a small town.

Physically my face and cheeks are sore from wiping sweat of my face with my bike gloves. My nose is sore from sunburn. My thighs/legs have a rash from the heat. At night my legs are susceptible to cramps. My ass has sores from sitting on a bike seat all day. My throat is often parched. I am generally exhausted during the day. I am always soaked in multiple days of sweat. I bought some new sweat resistant socks that have been irritating and causing my feet ankles to itch like crazy. Most cyclists bike north to south for a potential tailwind. I get nothing but headwinds.