Bikepacking for Nerds

Tag: Travel

  • Day 3: Sierra de la Laguna Mountains to Todos Santos – 28.1 mi/45.2 km +2375 ft/724 m

    Day 3: Sierra de la Laguna Mountains to Todos Santos – 28.1 mi/45.2 km +2375 ft/724 m

    Sunrise in the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains

    I woke up early this morning to a beautiful sunrise over the mountains. After a quick breakfast, I loaded up Hobbes and we headed off for the day’s first challenge – a 4 mile/6.4 km climb up 1100’/335 m before dropping back down toward the Pacific Ocean on the other side. The climb took about an hour of riding, with a few delays along the way.

    Waterfall next to the roadside.

    The first thing I noticed was a noise coming from the rear end. I forgot to tighten down a strap, it was hitting the rear wheel which caused the noise. As I corrected the loose strap, I noticed one of the bolts holding the rear rack to the seat stay was also loose. Unfortunately, these bolts are on the inside of the seat stay. To tighten it properly means removing the rear wheel. I must not have tightened them completely when I put Hobbes together in the hotel room two days ago. Using the pliers on the Leatherman, I was able to tighten them sufficiently for the day.

    One of many ranches found in the mountains.

    Within another half mile, I was experiencing noise when in the granny gear. Thankfully, I had seen (heard?) this behavior before on Hobbes. For some reason, the B-screw on the rear derailleur seems to loosen on rougher terrain, causing the chattering and, eventually, poor shifting. I was able to improve the shifting with an adjustment to the B-screw, but I didn’t recall how to measure the adjustment properly, so I couldn’t dial it in 100%. This would continue to give me a bit of grief, and something to worry about, for the remainder of the day.

    Eventually, I crested the pass, and was greeted with the sight of the Pacific Ocean in the distance, followed by a long downhill with many streams crossing the road. I continued riding to el Aguaje, a small ranching community where I refilled my water in the flowing stream, drank as much as I could stomach, and sat down under a broad tree to have lunch in the shade.

    My first view down to the Pacific Ocean.

    I made the decision to head toward the coast highway (MEX19) instead of following the route along mostly dirt roads all the way to Todos Santos. This was in an effort to avoid what I had read was a difficult, sandy section. Looking back, I should have continued further north on the backroads before heading west to the coast at el Pescadero or continued all the way until Todos Santos. Lesson learned.

    The route to the coast road was nice, not too washboarded, and not too sandy except when it crossed a dry arroyo. Thankfully, I crossed the arroyo immediately before a large group of off-roaders came tearing through, creating a huge dust storm all around them. No wonder one ranch had signs in Spanish and English asking off-roaders to drive slowly.

    My route took me west to Rancho Nuevo, and then north along the highway MEX19 toward el Pescadero. I don’t enjoy riding on the highway. It’s loud, dirty, and uncomfortable with traffic passing by at 60 MPH/100kph+. 

    I stopped at the first tienda I came to where I bought a Coke and something to snack on while sitting in the shade. With the derailleur still making noise, I hopped online and found a bike shop in el Pescadero that I could ride to before dusk. Hoping to get a quick repair before heading onward, I arrived to find out that there wasn’t a bike shop there at all.

    Climbing the hill just west of el Aguaje.

    Dejected, I managed to find a ride the last few miles into Todos Santos. I checked into my AirBNB, had a well deserved shower, and went out for tacos. 

    Today was difficult. I couldn’t keep hydrated even though I had plenty of access to water. Worse, I wasn’t hungry. Not a bit. At dinner I ordered some tacos, an octopus tostada, and some guacamole. I couldn’t eat everything that I ordered, even though I had been pushing hard all day.

    After food and rehydration, I cleaned up Hobbes, fixed up the derailleur (thanks for reminding me of the measurement I needed, internet!) and went to bed unsure of tomorrow’s plan.

    Ride with GPS route

  • Day 1: Seattle to San Jose del Cabo

    Day 1: Seattle to San Jose del Cabo

    On January 1, I left on the morning flight to San José del Cabo. I was incredibly anxious about my bike – will it make it on the flight? Would it be damaged en route?

    When I arrived in Mexico, I noticed the bag had been opened. The TSA had searched my bag. I’m fine with the bag being searched, but I’m displeased that they tried to remove my framebag, and broke a few pieces of padding between the franebag and frame, and left the bike unsecured in my bag. I have no idea what they were looking for – nothing was removed. Thankfully, nothing was damaged in transit.

    I called the Cactus Inn Hotel where I was staying, they directed me to the area just outside the terminal where the rental car agency folks wait. They had a representative there for their car rental business (Cactus Rentals) who drove me a few miles to the hotel. I checked into my simple, bare bones room before heading off to buy groceries and get dinner.

    Tacos at Taqueria el Fortachon.

    Well fed, I headed back to the hotel to rebuild my bike, repack my bags, and head off the next morning. Tequila was involved, so building the bike took longer than expected. (More on this in two days…)

    Off to bed early for my first day of riding in the morning!

    (Nota bene: All posts for this trip are being back dated to the date that they occurred, even if I’m writing a few days later.)

  • And so it begins…

    And so it begins…

    Seat 1A on Delta 1914 with the most gorgeous view of Mount Rainier on departure.

    Next stop, San Jose del Cabo!

    Mt. Rainier

  • A shakedown ride, and lots of travel

    A shakedown ride, and lots of travel

    The past six weeks have been a whirlwind. I’ve been from Seattle to Orlando, Atlanta, Seattle, Mountain View, Seattle, San Diego, and back to Seattle.  There hasn’t been much time for biking.  

    I did sneak away to ride part of the Teanaway River Link Up in mid-September.  The winds were challenging, as were the climbs, but the part of the route I did was worthwhile.  I learned a lot about how my bike handles with a full load.Overall the fit and ride were dreamy – I was comfortable during two days in the saddle.  There may be minor tweaks in the future to the fit, but nothing significant.

    Bike in the middle of a fork of the Teanaway River
    Bikepacking the Teanaway Community Forest

    Since then I’ve been refining my camping kit and rethinking how and where I store things on the bike. I’ve purchased a Rockgeist Loop Bar Harness – my original plan didn’t work out, so I didn’t carry anything on my handlebars during the Teanaway Link Up. 

    Looking at the size and weight of the tubes that came with my bike I realized they are twice the weight (almost 450g) and size of a Schwalbe SV19F tube.  I replaced the spare tube mostly for the space savings. Riding a small frame mountain bike means I have limited framebag space. With a 3L Hydrapak Seeker bladder in the framebag, I can now fit a much smaller tube and mount the Lezyne Micro Floor Drive HV pump inside.

    I have also spent time thinking about my packing strategy. I always overpack for bikepacking trips. I need to reduce the volume and weight of my gear, especially since so much never gets used!  I’ve trimmed down my clothing for Baja to a little more than half of one 13L Rockgeist Microwave pannier, leaving the remaining space for toiletries, and first aid.  The other pannier will primarily serve as a food bag, with the hydration kit (filter, 2x 2L empty Hydrapak bladders, etc.), and an electronics kit (Kindle, battery pack, cables, 120V USB charger, GoPro charger, headlamp).  Ultimately, I’ll try to balance the weight left to right in the pannier bags, nothing is fixed in place.

    The heavier food, such as bagged cooked beans, peanut butter, etc, will sit on a fork leg, with the cooking kit on the other fork leg.  My cooking kit consists of a Snow Creek Titatnium Mini Solo, Trangia alcohol stove, Firebox Nano X Case Kit w/ stainless grill grate, Toaks titanium cutlery, and a pair of titanium tongs. This set up allows me to cook over the alcohol stove using the Firexbox as a windscreen, or with sticks, twigs, or charcoal to build a fire inside the Firebox Nano to boil water or grill on top of the fire. Or I can just make a fire because I want to sit by the fire and enjoy the evening.

    Finally, I’ve made a few route updates.  I met a former bike industry executive through Facebook.  She lives in Todos Santos and has offered me a place to stay for the night with a shower and hot breakfast. Bonus: She runs a dog rescue… lots of cute doggos!

    My proposed route, starting from San José del Cabo working clockwise. Each color represents a planned riding day.

    Second, I’ve decided to cut out the trip to La Paz, saving myself ~30 miles of highway riding. Instead, I’ll route from el Triunfo via Los Divasaderos to La Ventana, where I’ll spend two nights to get cleaned up and restock the bike.  I found a cute AirBNB there which should be perfect for my needs.  Then I’ll to Enseneda de Muertos (it has been renamed by entrepreneurs as Ensenda de Sueños to appeal to property buyers…) for a night, before starting down the coast past Los Barriles, through Cabo Pulmo, and back across the mountains to San Jose del Cabo.  

  • Bikepacking Baja

    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!”

    On the beach at Punta Pescadero along the Baja Divide route. (December 2022)

    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.

    Sign along the beach road north of Los Barriles, BCS. (December 2022)

    “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!

    Street sign outside of Los Barriles, BCS. (December 2022)