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Hola from the US/Mexico border town of San Ysidro, CA! Thanks to FedEx's delayed delivery of
a package I was waiting for I too was delayed leaving from Phoenix today. I rode MC-85 thru Buckeye,
AZ to Gila Bend, AZ where I jumped on I-8 west towards CA. Traffic was very light and I was able to
make good time thankfully.
I don't know what the official temperature was today but I can tell you it was BLAZING. There's a
joke about that the 4 seasons in AZ are warm, hot, very hot, and you-gotta-be-kidding-hot. It felt
like the latter to me today. That “it's a dry heat thing” is a bunch of crap if you ask me. I
stayed hydrated and just concentrated on getting out of the desert as quickly as possible. The first
motorcycle I passed was on MC-85 about 30min after I departed and it was a pair of BMW riders on a GS and
babyG. The next bike I saw was just outside of Yuma and it was, of all bikes, a Strom heading westbound
on I-8. (The wave from the Strom rider would have made the Queen of England proud I'll tell ya!) I didn't
see any other 2 wheelers until after I exited off of I-8.
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Just across the CA line is “Imperial Sand Dunes” which are the largest mass of sand dunes in California. The
dune system extends for more than 40 miles along the eastern edge of the Imperial Valley agricultural region
in a band averaging five miles in width. Very impressive sight indeed and a certain mecca for dune
activites. I heard that part of Star Wars was filmed at Imperial. I stopped for a picture but since
it was 500 degrees I didn't peruse the area:
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I said I was going to ride some side roads and not just slab so that's exactly what I did the last 80mi
today. Just past Jacumba, CA I hit CA-94 to Otay Lakes Rd, which offers great views of the area and
some very nice twisties and sweepers. I actually rode this exact leg earlier this year on the Strom
and at that time noted a particular gas station that seemed to be the turn around point for the San Diego
racers on sportbikes and full leathers. So, I planned to stop there for a short break hoping one would
appear and become my rabbit heading back towards San Diego. I didn't even have a chance to dismount
the bike before an R1 appeared, gassed up then headed back in the direction I was going. The unusual
thing about the rider was his gear... he was wearing a helmet (CA does have a helmet law), jeans,
racing gloves, and a spine protector. No, not a shirt and spine protector, just the spine
protector. Maybe he was going so fast his shirt flew off? Maybe he thinks road rash and
skin graphs don't hurt as bad a broken back? Strangest gear combo I've seen in a while. Here's a
section of CA-94 I rode:
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I approached San Ysidro and my exact exit was, to no surprise, the “LAST USA EXIT.” I later was able
to find a side road and take a picture of the sign:
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I located the San Ysidro Post Office where I'll be heading in the morning to mail my official paperwork to
the SCMA. Part of the SCMA ride requirements is that you mail an envelope from the Post Office at
each of the 4 corners which contains a gas receipt (which is also date stamped) w/your signature, the bikes
odometer reading, along with certain SCMA paperwork as well as a Polaroid picture of your bike near a sign
that contains the name of the “corner” city. The postmark date on the envelope marks the beginning of
the 21 day time limit. So, yes, I am carrying a Polaroid on board though I'm not thrilled about it...
this thing is gargantuan! I'm not sure I've ever taken a Polaroid picture before; I hope to take 4 and
I'd be fine w/those being the only four I ever take! (Anyone in the market for a used Polaroid camera get back
to me in a few weeks). Anyway, I stopped by what is supposed to be the Police Dept here in San Ysidro to
get a picture of my bike in front of the sign. Though it said Police Dept it didn't seem like it, mainly
because there were no police in sight. Here's a test pic:
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I'm thinking the Border Patrol is really THE law here as they are EVERYWHERE. I think BP agents
outnumber residence down here! I'm not kidding, everywhere I went I saw the green people (BP wear green
uniforms)... in cars, vans, trucks, helicopters, Jeeps, motorcycles (ST1300, I think), mountain bikes,
and ATV/quads.
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So, RIGHT on the border is a place called “Las Americas.” If you had to guess what we'd have
immediately after entering or before leaving our country what would it be? That's right, a huge factory
outlet mall. I took advantage of this shopping opportunity and hit the Nike story for another long
sleeve dri-fit shirt. As I was leaving this shopping frenzy (my friends Russ and Ron would have stayed
there for 21 days!) I decided to ride around behind all the stores since my GPS said basically the back
parking lot was Mexico and I wanted to see if I maybe people were making frantic runs across the border
for one of the hot sales going on in the stores or something. So, I found that behind the stores is
a fence and, well, the other side of the fence is indeed Mexico (if you look just slightly to the right of
my Givi bag you'll see a Border Patrol in a Jeep):
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Right after I took that picture I saw three BP's on quads tearing along the fence line towards the
Jeep. They were going so fast I couldn't get my camera back out, however, as soon as I left the
parking lot and went back to the street to head towards my hotel look what came up to the stop light:
Wonder how those quads handle lane-splitting??
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The US/Mexico border crossing as viewed from a pedestrian bridge:
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Made it back safely to the hotel after riding around a bit and I am ready to start the official ride
tomorrow. I'm not real concerned about tomorrow's stretch as my second home is CA and not only that
but lane-splitting just happens to be something I really enjoy and I'm very good at for whatever
reason. Weather looks good for the ride though the central valley may hit triple digits. Ugh. I'll
be glad to get out of the heat, it drains me. If choosing b/w heat or cold I'd much prefer the cold
since I can get myself warm but can not get myself cool if need be. Time for some rest, there's 7,000+
miles awaiting me.
Buenas Noches,
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