To catch up, I did write about Baja day one and Baja day two a few months back. So now to recount a bit and go from there:
I camped one last night on the U.S. side of the border, in a field. The escape from downtown San Diego was an urban affair of bike lanes and pathways out past a massive reservoir and into the hills with the formidable Otay mtn ascent.
I scaled a small ranch fence to get to that last U.S. campsite, so I suspect it was private land. I was tucked on a low rise, out of view of the vicinity it seemed. Fog rolled in making for excellent overnight coverage as well. It felt good to be covert. It was as if I was escaping from the U.S.A. The following day I would finish the paved climb from the base of Otay Mtn to the border at Tecate.
In Tecate, I stayed one more night at a motel to simply slow my roll. Maybe it was 45usd for the night being so close to the border. I would find most of my motel stays were $25. One was $10 for the night which a shack at El Sacrificio… another story. Exchange rate was around 18:1.
I digress. There was no rush to cross town on the bike. My schedule was open ended. I booked a room, stashed the bike, and took to the streets for tacos that night. I would depart early the next morning, well before the city was awake.
The moment I crossed the border my optimism for the opportunity I had created for myself was high, the emotional entrails of leaving everything behind were present and heavy but what was at the present was right. My path was absolutely obvious and incredibly defined. I knew my limits and my path was based upon a most basic survival process as I traveled. Getting through town and into the countryside was good strategy. I needed to find the great expanses of dirt roads I was there for. Tecate was the beginning of those roads. I pedaled 7 miles out of town on the highway and hung a left onto Mexican dirt for the first time. Manteca canyon was the way.
