The Restless Biker

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008. La Paz to La Ventana. 55km's on Pavement by Bicycle. I just had to tear my butt off the bed to turn off the Bugs Bunny show in Spanish. It was time to finally hit the road by bicycle. I barely had anything to drink the night before, yet I was slow as molasses in getting my gear together. I finally made it out the door an hour later at the crack of 9:00am. Getting Ready to Leave the Hotel Nuevo Pekin. But of course I don't function without coffee, so I came to a screeching halt in front of the little cafe to get my wake up juice. I managed to talk to a nice retired Danish man, who used to do a lot of bicycle touring as well. I had to try and listen intently due to a loud American who was shouting a conversation to a German fellow at the next table. I had decided to be on the road by 10:00am and was very close to realizing my goal. That's when Kelly and Tanya walked past. The two Canuck cyclists I had been in contact with and who I ran into in B

Tuesday, January 29, 2008 Public Art Along The Malecon. One Of Two Vegetarian Restaurants in Town. Stefan From Switzerland Showing Off His Stuff. Malecon in La Paz. Another One Of Juan's Fantastic Sand Sculptures. Juan, The Artist. Originally From Oaxaca. Now Living All Over Mexico.

Monday, January 28th, 2008 On the way out of Ciudad Constitucion traffic suddenly stopped. I was puzzled as to why, until I realized that there was an actual traffic light. The first one I had encountered since arriving in Loreto. Looking at the map, the drive from Ciudad Constitucion to La Paz looked a bit flat and boring. To make matters worse, I had vowed to keep the speedometer at 100km/h or less. It's a good thing I had a hammer to smash the glass and some duct tape to tape the needle in place at 100 ...just kidding. Even though I caught myself creeping up to 110 now and then, I did consciously try to keep my vow. It made for some interesting driving with annoyed Mexican truckers becoming frustrated at only being able to do 100 in an 80 zone because of some silly turista. Now the road and desert was lined with small yellow flowers, to beautifully contrast the green cacti and dusty, brownish desert. And there it was!! another road less travelled. What does one do with a rented,

Sunday, January 27th, 2008 Holy cow! It's actually warm today. I could cruise down the transpeninsular numero uno at 140kh/h with the windows open, without freezing to death. After having had days with maximum temperatures of 15-16 degrees celcius, and 11 degrees at night, this is simply wonderful. It should get close to 20 degrees today. The cold outside and the cold inside of me are both gradually vanishing. Soon, I'll be ready to do what I came down here for, some cycling. South of Puerto Escondido. Before starting to head inland. Still part of the Sea of Cortez. Driving on Mexican roads is a thrill in of itself. Speed limits mean nothing, and my average 120km/h in 80km/h zones meant that impatient Mexicans were constantly barrelling up behind me and passing like I was standing still. The roads are good, but that's a bit extreme even for me. One woman passed me and I decided to try and keep up. I had it up to 140km/h and she still left me in the dust. A shortlived stint

Friday/Saturday, January 25/26 Freedom!! at last. The little sardine can, posing as a car, zoomed around the corners as if they barely existed. Before too long, I was driving like a Mexican. It's pretty amazing what a 1.1 litre engine can do when it's only hauling a little tin can. 100km/h in fourth gear uphill? no problema! I don't even know what kind of car it is. It just says "Chevy" ...nothing else. It only costs $35/day ...plus $50/day for insurance ...hmmm! Baja California Sur sure seems to love its' highway warning signs. There is no shortage of signs such as "Respete el limite de velocidad" ..."respect the speed limit". They could have saved a lot of money since no one seems to pay attention. It doesn't help that reduced speed limits appear in the middle of nowhere, for no reason at all. The road doesn't change, there are no more curves than usual, there is no village, yet the speed limit suddenly drops from 80 down to 60, a

Greetings from green and lush Baja California. Yup, green and lush. It's been raining on and off since I arrived. The universe probably arranged it so I wouldn't hop on the bike while nursing a nasty cold. The twin prop Bombardier Q400 took off from Reno and within minutes we had popped out above the clouds. A beautiful sight greeted us with three layers of colours. White clouds, orange glow of the rising sun and slowly fading blue sky. I anxiously craned my neck towards the window waiting for the sunrise, which was perfectly placed directly outside my window. Like yet another masterpiece of mother nature, the life giving sun popped out from the layer of clouds below. On The Way to Los Angeles From Reno. Before too long, on the way to Loreto, we were flying above a dense cover of clouds. I was starting to feel excited about this trip. As we dropped down below the clouds, a strange sight met my eyes. Everything was green. Isn't this supposed to be a desert? As we alit from t

Patti and me. New Year's Eve 2007/2008. I'll miss her. January 16th, 2008 OK kids! The Scrabblebiker rides again. Tomorrow I leave on my next trip. Yup, and I only started packing today. The bike is in the box and all I need to do is pack some clothing, camping gear and all the other things I'm likely to forget anyway. Yes folks, the full chaos lifestyle is back ...woohoo!! I had planned on writing about a lovelorne Scrabblebiker heading off once again. But instead I'm writing as a Scrabblebiker in love. Yes people, I've found love ...shocking eh? So what does a Scrabblebiker do when in love? Cancel her trip? take her lover with her? ...nope, she goes on the trip while her sweetie stays behind due to work commitments. Patti will be there in my mind, and I in her's. Anyway, it's only for 2 1/2 weeks ...damn! I miss her already and I'm not even gone yet. What's it going to be this time? Off to Reno for 4 days for yet another Scrabble tournament. I hope