First night of the Baja trip

After driving a little bit in San Felipe, we decided to leave the city and spend the night a little south of there in Puertecitos. We got there at night, so we didn't see what the place looked like. We were tired of driving and ready to sleep in our tent.

The Baja trip starts

We took off early in the morning to make it by night pass the more populated areas in the north close to the border in Mexicali.

We stopped for gas right before crossing the border to Mexico to avoid stopping close to the border and to get good gas. Some people told us that the gas in Baja could be not as good as the one we get in the US.

 

Crossing the border was pretty easy and fast, but they stopped us and made us open the cases in the back of the bike. Lito's were a little messy and he wasn't happy about it.

 

As soon as we crossed and left the city behind, we found some desert. It got windy and hot. We were already traveling!!!

A few hours later, we got to the first stop at San Felipe to eat and figure out where to spend the night.

Mounting the tires

We were afraid that mounting the tires might be an issue, but it was easier than we thought. With the right technique and tools, the tires went in with no problems. It might be more difficult out there in Baja, but we at least got the practice doing it in the garage before the trip.

New tires

One of the most important things we had to do was to get new tires for the motorcycles. Baja is very unforgiving with motorcycle tires and we didn't want to take a chance. We purchased the tires online and got an overnight shipping to Lito's house. The tires arrived on time and now it was on us to change them.

Getting the bikes ready

During the first week, I worked from Lito and Monique's house while we prepared the motorcycles for our trip.

Trip to San Diego with the van

I took off very early in the morning with the van towards San Diego. The plan is to make a trip to Baja California with the motorcycle I just purchased with my friend Lito, and then bring the motorcycle back to Oregon in the van.

I drove the whole day, and when I got to San Diego, I found Lito laying in the couch with his ankle in really bad shape from a soccer game. He's not as young as he things he is.  ;-)

Added lights to the van

I installed some lights in the van and the wheel chock to transport the motorcycle.

The new license plate holder arrived

I got the new license plate holder for my motorcycle from MAX BMW Motorcycles. They even sent me some M&Ms in the box.

Gemma's birthday in New York

We went to New York for a surprise party for her birthday. Joaquin, Tomas and I flew from Portland on the 9th. Gemma was very surprised when they picked us up at the airport early in the morning. Jen had told her that they were going somewhere, so Gemma had to pack and go in a rush to the airport. The next day, Maria del Mar showed up and later Gemma's brother and his girlfriend joined us. It was pretty cool to see how surprised Gemma was.

Gemma's birthday cake was a huge flan!

The van's floor

I fixed the floor of the van with some plywood and cover it with carpet.

Working on the van

With a grinder, saw and a little bit of patience, the van ended up looking pretty clean.

Siding work for the new windows

I did some siding work with Bo on the new windows we installed in the master bedroom.

Ford E350 Super Duty Van

I got an E350 Super Duty Van to make the trip to San Diego and be able to transport the new BMW Motorcycle back to Portland.

The Van was from the Animal Services at Multnomah county, so it was well maintained, but it had the cages in the back and a strong animal odor to it.

License plate holder broken

The license plate holder on my bike is broken. It is apparently a very common issue on this BMWs.

Fortunately, I found the part number online and I order it from MAX BMW Motorcycles:

Part Number: 46 62 7 680 450
Description: License plate holder
Weight 0.222
Old Part Number 46 62 2 346 390

Veggies from my garden

We started getting some veggies from the garden.