Getting back on the bike felt good. It was great to have some time to unwind in Cabo, but I was glad to get moving again. Heading back up Baja was more about making miles, I was already looking forward to California and the Pacific coast highway.
One of the frequently discovered abandoned buildings that litter the trans baja highway.
Military base, surprisingly they let us get pretty close and take pictures.
The only disappointment in Baja was the ever present litter that was sprawled along many of the highway stretches. A few times I would take dirt trails leading off into the desert to see where they went. I would find piles of rubbish as trucks would presumably drive a few hundred meters off the highway and dump their load of trash. I would not describe Canada’s environmental track record as stellar, having ridden trails in Alberta that cut through clear-cut forests, strip mined mountains and oil spewing drilling digs. Regardless it was disappointing to see the disrespect of such a beautiful landscape.
Ubiquitous Trash
The highway also has it fair share of small Catholic churches. A few years back my friend John was riding in a remote area of Baja and had a fall, almost sliding off the edge of a cliff. Although not religious, he stopped at the next roadside church for a quick thank you.
Although we were back tracking much of the way, it gave us time to check out and explore more of what we had blasted by on the way down. What was expected to be a long boring trek back ended up being some of the best riding of the trip. The highways are empty in south Baja, the roads smooth, the weather perfect and the scenery stunning.
