Ian and Lesley: http://vanhalen91.com/
Brian and Lindsay: http://sintopes.blogspot.com/
I set off into the desert with plenty of water and food, dubious of the questionable repair, offering prayers to any deity that would listen. I could use all the help I could get. Breaking Rule#1 of Mexican travel, I drove north on hwy one late into the night. The stars came out to guide my way and were momentarily obscured by the blue LED lights of oncoming tractor trailers. I knocked out over 200 miles the first afternoon and then 330mi the following day. In Loreto, I discovered the weld was deteriorating and had to have a small roadside Soldadero reweld the shoddy spindle. Hoping it would hold, I resolved that worrying about it wouldn't do a thing to the structural integrity of the back end. I put on some tunes and rode on. The longest stretch with no services along Hwy 1 is between El Rosario and Jesus Maria in the Valle De Los Cirrios, 200 mi of desert with a few small villages and occasional roadside Taquerias. |
The tope that broke the Ruckus' driveshaft was in Punta Prieta. I approached slowly but as soon as the wheel impacted the asphalt monstrosity, I knew my ride was over. The RPM's shot high and the bike slugishly limped to a stop. Here I was 400 mi from the US border in the middle of the desert with a completely broken scooter. I wonder what my Mexican insurance would do for me now. I pushed the Ruckus out to the speedbump and waited for a passing vehicle with California license plates. To my surprise and remarkable fortune, the first group of vehicles that slowed had California plates. I stuck out my thumb then put it down, a sign that things were NOT GOOD. The caravan of surfboard covered vans and trucks pulled off the road and the families piled out. I introduced myself and explained my situation. The description of my ride and the folks I met is in some earlier posts in this blog. They helped load the Ruckus into a camper and by the following day, I was crossing the US border in Tecate, unsure that this was real or a dream. As soon as we stopped on the US side, I bent to the ground and kissed it, back in the USA! They deposited me at a Costco in La Mesa and my family friends from Ramona drove down to swoop me up and take me "home" to their ranch while I waited on parts to repair the Ruckus.