Day 176 – 191: overcoming challenges

November 11 – 26, 2024

In this segment our fortitude was tested with a mechanical breakdown that required us to return to Phoenix multiple times and crossing into Mexico where we’ve been challenged with a new language, culture, money, and style of travel. 

• Day 176 – Phoenix to Maricopa, AZ – 43 miles 
• Day 177 – Return to Phoenix #1 – 25 miles
• Day 178 – Layover (bike repair day)
• Day 179 – Return to Phoenix #2 – 10 miles
• Day 180 – Layover day (bike repair day)
• Day 181* – Phoenix to San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico – 26 miles
• Day 182 – San Luis Rio Colorado to Rancho Mil – 49 miles
• Day 183 – Rancho Mil to La Ventana – 30 miles
• Day 184 – La Ventana to San Felípe – 54 miles/800’ climbing
• Day 185 – Rest Day in San Felípe 
• Day 186 – San Felípe to Puertecitos – 55 miles/1400’ 
• Day 187 – Puertocitos to Rancho Grande – 46 miles/ 2200’ 
• Day 188 – Rancho Grande to Cactus Garden Remote – 41 miles/2800’ 
• Day 189 – Cactus Garden Remote to Nuevo Rosarito – 56 miles/1600’
  CHANGED TO METRIC**
• Day 190 – Nuevo Rosarito to Guerrero Negro – 81 km/306 m climbing
• Day 191 – Rest Day in Guerrero Negro

*We jumped 130 miles with a one-way U-haul 
**We’ve changed most of our cycling data to metric because this is what is used in every country for the rest of our trip. We might keep the climbing in feet but stick with the distance in kilometers 😉

Total distance: 5,300 miles (8,600 km)
Total climbing: 238,000 feet 
Countries: USA, Canada, Mexico
Mexican states: Sonora, Baja California, Baja Sur
Dustin’s hair length: long enough to be annoying – wears headband at all times 🙂 

After a welcomed week-long respite in Phoenix we departed Auntie Shell’s on a Monday morning headed toward the border. The first day went well even though we were navigating heavier traffic than we were used to. We stopped for the night in Maricopa and stayed at a casino because there was no camping and it was our cheapest hotel option. 

The next morning we packed up and headed out and continued to make our way toward Yuma, Arizona…little did we know our plans would change. We took the back way out of Maricopa and passed beef feedlots and then hopped on the road where there was a trash truck about every two minutes (with limited shoulder) so we decided to try the railroad access road. This was great until the sand became really soft and we ended up on private property with “No Trespassing” signed and several abandoned trailers with bullet holes – we bailed on the access road and carried the bikes (removing all panniers, of course!) up an embankment, over two sets of railroad tracks and back to the highway. 

Just a few miles down the road the trash trucks reached the landfill so bicycling on the road became much less stressful. Then the road got a decent 3 foot should and we were delighted. We stopped for lunch in the shade and after lunch Patricia noticed Dustin’s back tire was flat – what?! We’d just changed to new extra-thick tubes and tires! Dustin got to work changing the tire and when he was putting the tire back on it “tacoed” – oh. Shit.

We can fix almost all bike issues on the side of the road but this is a repair that would require a wheel truing tool. After letting the frustration sink in (as we had taken this wheel to a bicycle shop to get properly tensioned), we still had cell phone reception, so we quickly researched our options and decided we needed to head back to Phoenix for this repair – the wheel did not appear to be cracked so hopefully we could get it re-trued and be back on our way. We stuck out a thumb and luckily were quickly picked up by an American couple headed back to Phoenix from Mexico. They drove us all the way to a Phoenix suburb and then Auntie Shell picked us up. 

We got the wheel to a bicycle shop and the mechanic kindly fit us in and re-trued the wheel. We were assured we were good to go to Argentina & arranged with Auntie Shell to drop us off two days later at the spot we had broken down. We enjoyed our extra time with Auntie Shell and indulged our extended stop by binging some shows. Two days later she dropped us on the side of the highway after the landfill and we started heading toward Yuma *again!*. This time we made it 10 miles down the road when Dustin got another flat on the rear wheel – what the (insert expletive)! Again he got to changing the tire and again it was a “rim flat” thinking it was caused by incorrect seating of the tire. While he was changing the tire the wheel once again tacoed and this time he also noticed a small crack around one of the spokes – this wheel is done! 

We called a bicycle shop in Yuma and they said it would take a week to get the correct rim and build a wheel for us. So considering our options we moved all of our gear to the other side of the road and hitched back to Phoenix AGAIN! We were quickly picked up, this time by a woman who works for the US government at the border doing agricultural inspections – Amanda was so kind and drove us all the way to Phoenix to a bicycle shop we had quickly researched was good for helping bicycle tourers. We had no idea if they would have the necessary rim or even be able to build a wheel but this shop was only a few blocks from a bicycle co-op where Dustin would be able to build a new wheel if necessary.

We limped into the Bicycle Cellar in Tempe and told them of our woes – *very* luckily they had a rim that would work. This was SO lucky as we have a fairly unique rim size (26”) with a unique spoke number (36 spokes). Next we’d have to get into their repair queue…Eli, the bike mechanic, said “I can build this right now” – what?! After all of our frustration, this was amazing. 

After we’d sorted the new wheel we contact Auntie Shell (again) and she arranged to pick us up from the Mesa train station – what a blessing to have such a wonderful Auntie in town to help us laugh through having to return to Phoenix for a second time. 

We stayed one more day in Phoenix area and made it to Auntie Dawn’s for Turkey Dinner – yum! We had a wonderful (extra) time with family chuckling about our misfortunes. Mentally we needed a boost after having to return to Phoenix twice so we booked a one-way U-haul to jump the 130 miles we had not ridden between Phoenix & Yuma. 

We dropped the U-haul off and rode the 25 miles from Yuma to the Mexico border. It was interesting to see the very agricultural (and flat) areas south of Yuma. We crossed the border along with all of the cars and fumbled our way through finding the Immigration Office so we could apply for a 6 month travel permit for Mexico. Patricia was proud to use her (limited) Spanish to get our permits. After about an hour we were in Mexico with our travel permits and we headed to an accommodation we had booked ahead. 

The next morning we started making our way down the Baja Peninsula and decided to take the most direct route which required over 40 miles of rough gravel along an irrigation canal & along a dike. It was a tough riding introduction to Mexico!  

After a tiring day it was great to reach Rancho Mil, a campground along the Colorado River owned by an American. We were able to get dinner delivered by a local woman and enjoyed the safe sanctuary for our first night camping in Mexico. 

The next morning we began heading towards San Felípe where we had booked an AirBnB in two days time. Highway 5 was great for cycling – light traffic & great shoulder. As the sun began setting we needed camping and asked at a small store (Tienda) if we could camp behind the store. “No problemo!” 

For our second day cycling into San Felípe we had a great tailwind that made our ride into town much easier. We stayed in San Felípe for an extra night as a rest day. 

Leaving San Felípe we cycled toward Puertecitos where we’d heard there were natural hot springs that were cooled by ocean water. The hot spring water came in at 160F and then pools had been set up to allow the ocean water to make the hot springs tolerable. It was really neat – they were different than any previous hot springs we had been to because of the mixing with seawater. 

The next day we had an amazing bike ride toward our next stop of Rancho Grande where we rented a palapa and camped on the beach and we met back up with our cycle touring friends from the UK and reformed our posse. 

We cycled away from Rancho Grande as a cycle posse of four – it was nice to have (most of) the gang back! Some of the Baja stretches are long and honestly boring at cycling speed so to have fun people to break up the day is so nice. It also makes us feel safer when remote camping to have a larger group. We rode until Highway 5 met Highway 1 (the main highway of the Baja) and had an amazing lunch at a restaurant popular with the truckers in Chapala and then cycled a short distance south on Highway 1 to remote camp in a breathtaking cactus garden.  

The next two days riding was fairly straight & limited scenery. We stayed in a hotel at Nuevo Rosarita with “hot showers” – this turned out to be one minute of scalding hot water followed by the rest of the shower being ice cold. Of course when Patricia’s turned from hot to cold she was completely covered in soap and shampoo! 

We made our way to Guerrero Negro, a town famous for whale watching tours, and have an AirBnB shared among our cycling posse. Unfortunately we were a few months early to see the gray whales so we did our chores and preparations for the next segment of the journey.  We’ve caught up the blog, did laundry, grocery shopped, called all our parents, and rested our legs. When pursuing restaurants close to our accommodations we saw “pizza” and decided to try pizza after 10 days of Mexican food – it wasn’t too bad! Sorry forgot to take pictures of the pizza 🙁 

We will continue to make our way down the Baja over the next several weeks making our way eventually to La Paz where we will take a break before ferrying over to mainland Mexico…stay tuned.

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