Mulegé,
Baja California Sur, Mexico, 07-12-08
License to Chill
Jim's place at Laguna Beach not only has
a business license attached to the deed, but it's one
of those spots that's licensed to chill: no papers required.
Listening to Jimmy Buffet, Grateful Dead, The Beatles,
The Eagles or even The Stones sends me way back into
my teenage years. At times it's almost eerie, but also
nice in a warm, fuzzy kind of way. Many, many ghosts
come to visit.
There's plenty of great weather and
ample time for tan maintenance, but Ali and I are way
too busy updating the website and finding out more ways
of letting light into Jim's bedroom, which he has generously
given up for us while we are there. Only a few bike
rides eventuate but that is fine by us, mainly because
when we are on the road, that's all we really do. A
household gym in the lounge room and Madonna blaring
through our newly acquired ipod Shuffle (a gift that
Jim had lying around and couldn't get to work) keeps
my muscles from completely collapsing into a total jelly
state.
One morning I say "Now Jim, let's
go surfing" and he gets all spurred up over taking
his board...
Tip of the month: Daze those damned dogs!!
For reasons unbeknown to me,
dogs from all walks of life seem to have
an objection to pedalling legs and will
dash from far, far away to try and rid the
roadside of their pet-hate. Hence, nearly
every touring bike forum has a thread dedicated
solely to advice of how to get out of this,
sometimes very scary, situation.
Now, there are many ways of handling those
dastardly canines when they come hurtling
towards you, savagely bearing their dagger-like
namesakes and looking as if they'll have
you and your bike for dinner. The obvious
one is to stop cycling, place your bike
between you and the offender and try and
walk away. If they continue to annoy you,
then pick up a stone. Most will immediately
cower from this gesture and give you enough
time to get out of there fast, but if they
still persist, throw it at them. You can
also flag down a car and have them shepard
you out of the situation.
In our experience, the above methods haven't
always worked, especially when a pack of
dogs has been involved, and that is why
we purchased a dazer. It fits in the handlebar
bag and can be used a lot quicker than bending
down to find a suitable stone, or hope that
a vehicle timely passes by. So far, it has
worked on every occasion, except on a mother
with newly born puppies (says something
for motherly protection) and a couple of
deaf dogs, which makes sense seeing as the
dazer releases a sound signal that our canine
friends don't find particularly appealing.
It doesn't hurt the beast and is a much
less aggressive way of ridding yourself
of an annoying animal.
Laguna Beach (CA, USA) - Guerreo Negro (Baja California, Mexico)
Kilometres: 824 kilometers and 730 meters
Riding days: 9 days only
Alti meters: 6721 meters up: who said Baja
was flat?
Weather: mostly sunny (a few rainy spells
in Mexico)
Best accommodation: Laguna Beach hide-out, all
the mod-cons at our disposal for three full
weeks! AND the company of Jim... ;-)
Special thanks to:
NA
Gear for a free Primus Omnifuel stove, a Primus fuel bottle,
a windscreen and
a kettle! Thanks Deanna! • Jim Abraham for everything, including the 3
massive bags of lemon drops! We think
of him everytime we have a lemon-drop stop • Jeff for the delicious dried soup mixes
sent from Portland • Brian for the totally amazing book: Middlesex
by Jeffrey Euginides • Kelly and Tim for putting us up in total luxory
for a few nights, the sightseeing around
Cardiff-by-the-Sea and the lift to the Mexican border.
Breakdowns:
20: new tyre Ali
20: new wheel Son
21: flat Ali
28: flat Son
29: 3x flat Son (10 holes: double gee (goat head) prickles!!!!!)
30: 2x flat Son
