Bikepacking Baja

In December 2022 my family and I spent a week in Los Barriles, Baja California Sur, Mexico. We stayed at a house near the beach just up the hill from the Baja Divide route. At the time, I had been bikepacking for two years. Through the pandemic I watched a lot of bikepacking videos, including Ryan van Duzer’s series on riding the Baja Divide. On our trip home, I said to my wife, “someday I’m going to ride the Cape Loop of the Baja Divide… maybe next winter!”

Fast forward a few months. I got lost in travel, work, and family. I completed a few bikepacking trips over the summer, yet I had made no meaningful progress toward riding the Cape Loop. I didn’t have an appropriate bike or even a plan to tackle anything longer than an overnight trip.

In late July we returned from our family summer vacation in Europe. I turned 50. Suddenly, I had a lot of time to think about the upcoming year and what I want to do. At the same time, a friend became quite ill, reminding me that you’re never guaranteed tomorrow. This was all the inspiration I needed.

“Steph, I want to buy a new bike, fly to Mexico, and spend 10 days riding and camping across the desert and mountains of Baja California. Alone. What do you think?”

She said, “Yes!” Over the next four days I purchased a brand new 2022 Bombtrack Beyond+ ADV, and a round trip ticket to San Jose del Cabo for early next year.

Let’s do this!