Bike
“This is my campsite on the Pacific ocean on my backpacking adventure in Baja Mexico while biking the Baja Divide (January 2022).”
David Deyhle
Baja Divide (Jan 2022)
In January 2022, I set out to bike the northern portion of the Baja Divide on my Surly Ogre. (See all the details of the Baja Divide route, here: www.bajadivide.com.) I biked with a friend who is an experienced bike packer and who had rode the route 10 years earlier. He was also more fluent in Spanish than I was. I flew with my bike from Chicago to San Diego and put my bike together in the airport. We then biked east from the San Diego airport across Mount Otay, crossed the border at Tacate, Mexico (where Tacate beer is made) and headed south through Ojos Negros and west to the Pacific ocean, through Santo Tomos and finally on to La Colonet. At La Colonet, I took my bike on a local bus back to Tijuana and then crossed the border on bike and biked back to San Diego for my flight back to Chicago. Suffice it to say, this was my hardest bike trip yet. Steep hills, rocky terrain, eroded roads and lots of sand. Hot days. Cold nights. Hoping to return one day and start at La Colonet and head further south where there will be more cactus, desert, mountains and the Sea of Cortez. Some pictures from my journey below. In all, my ride was only a modest 300 miles of riding but these were hard earned miles.
RAGBRAI XVIII (July 2021)
From Ragbrai.com:
RAGBRAI XVIII
July 22-28, 1990
RAGBRAI XVIII, July 22-28, 1990, was laid out as the fourth longest at 495 miles. It began in Sioux Center in northwest Iowa for the first time. Sunday morning dawned clear and cool. It was a perfect day, with the high in the low 80s and a tailwind. The first three days from Sioux Center to Spencer and on to Algona and Hampton were among the nicest in RAGBRAI history. (It was a second time for both Spencer and Algona, the first for Hampton.) But Wednesday brought the riders a 20-plus MPH headwind, making the 86-mile day from Hampton to Oelwein one of the toughest ever.
Those who rode the 16-mile Century Loop that day appreciated the short tailwind stretches. The headwind continued Thursday between Oelwein and Cedar Rapids (both first-time communities). On top of the wind, it began raining about mid-afternoon and continued most of the night, resulting in the washout of most of Cedar Rapids’ wonderful plans.
The wind was not as strong Friday when the riders left Cedar Rapids, and it was a pretty ride through the Lake McBride area. Iowa City welcomed the riders with open arms as they passed through on their way to Washington (RAGBRAI’s second time there). Saturday dawned with more rain, which continued until about 11 a.m. The ending reception in Burlington (the third time), where the riders were given the option of riding down famous ‘ Snake Alley,’ was again outstanding. The 1990 ride probably took the title of ‘toughest’ away from RAGBRAI XVII the previous year.
