Despite the friendliness in general, Baja Mexico is not the friendliest place for cyclists. On the shoulder-free highway, one white knuckle bus ride has forced me to give up my hopes (for now) of cycling from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas. However, we did spot this beautiful lady transporting her packages on a bike perfect for Todos Santos.
4 comments:
oh, huh ... I was just reading an article about bike touring through Baja in a recent issue of Momentum that basically said, 'yeah, the highway doesn't have a shoulder and it's kind of scary, but don't worry, traffic thins out after Ensenada.'
Hope you guys are having fun. Enjoy the sun!
heh, as someone who lived in san diego and traveled down to baja california regularly (by car), i can't imagine cycling anywhere near tijuana. even as an experienced and confident driver, i was scared silly by the drivers down there. i never did make it much past ensenada, so it very well may get calmer as it becomes more remote.
I haven't been to Baja, but the traffic in Oaxaca province was pretty terrifying. I would be certain to ride something where you could get off the road in a hurry if you needed to.
I'll be interested to hear more stories about it!
I lived in Baja Sur (Loreto) from 1984 to 1991 so needless to say I've driven that highway many times. Young Mexican men in motor vehicles there either have a death wish or think they are immortal and never mind that someone else may be killed or maimed. All the roads on both sides of the peninsula were primitive and in bad repair. I have watched buses and overloaded trucks passing on blind curves at suicidal speeds and I was not comfortable in that tank of a truck I had. It is no wonder that the steep sides of the mountainous areas are littered with cars, trucks and buses.
I rode a bike almost exclusively in Loreto and it was very bike friendly but I wouldn't go near that highway.
I rode the bus north to the EUA once and had to be tranquilized to do it.
The people are friendly, helpful and non-threatening. They have a much lower standard of living in general so to many all Norteamericanos are rich. I found them to have a real zest for life.
I have many good stories of our life in Baja that if I live long enough I will tell.
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